Address: 45 Rockefeller Plaza West 50th Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenue
Telephone/Fax: 212-974-2020 212-974-2020 / 212-974-3331 212-974-3331
Website: www.brasserieruhlmann.com
Date Established: January 2006
Executive Chef: Laurent Tourondel
Cuisine: French Brasserie
Managing Partner: Bernard Collin
Partners: Jean Denoyer, Regis Marinier, Bernard Collin and Laurent Tourondel
Brasserie Ruhlmann Is Open Seven Days a week:
Hours: Monday – Friday
Lunch: 11:30am – 3pm
Café: 3pm – 5:30pm
Dinner: 5:30pm – 10pm
Saturday
Lunch: 11:30am – 3pm
Café: 3pm – 5:30pm
Dinner: 5:30pm – 10pm
Sunday
Brunch: 11:30am – 3pm
Click Here For Reservations
Average Prices: Appetizers: $-11$16, Entrees: $22-$48, Dessert: $10-$12
Wine List: 18 Wines By The Glass:$10-$20 1/2. Bottle Range: $24-$80. Mostly French & American. Sensibly Short list by the bottle..
The Space: Designed by Jean Denoyer as an homage to Art Deco artist and craftsman Emile-Jacques Ruhlmann.
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Executive Chef Laurent Tourondel Makes Brasserie Ruhlmann Shine
By Nancy Walman
Jean Denoyer opened this stylish 1920’s Parisian-style brasserie in Rockefeller Center as an artful homage to the Art Deco designer Émile-Jacques Ruhlmann. At Brasserie Ruhlmann, an Art Deco stone relief embellished with hand-laid gold and silver leafing frames the entrance. Throughout the restaurant, meticulous reproductions of Ruhlmann’s work can be seen in every detail. Walls are lined with the rich chocolate hues of faux Macassar ebony, as is the custom-designed side-station in which glittering Christophle flatware is contained.
In true Ruhlmann style, Drouant side chairs with red velvet upholstery and slim cherry-colored tapered legs appear to dance above the intricate mosaic floors. Slender nickel-plated sconces crowned with eggshell-colored lampshades with crimson fringes replicate those found in the artist’s acclaimed 1925 Paris Exposition. Twenty signature octagonal mirrors fill the room, and four octagonal light fixtures of translucent alabaster hang from the ceiling by golden passementerie (ropes and tassels). There is also a huge and inviting outdoor café to enjoy on seductive summer nights.
Chef Tourondel’s (Above) menu, includes Goat Cheese Salad, outstanding Steak (or Big Eye Tuna) Tartare, Salad “with Blue Crab and Mache and a memorable Chicken and Duck Liver Pate (all appetizers), The Seafood Plateau (below) is a must.
Entrees are carefully prepared and copious.
Roasted Chicken may be the best in town. (It certainly is an outstanding value at $25.) We chose Beef Shortrib “Bourguignonne” which melted in our mouths and displayed intense flavor and Hanger Steak, a much abused standard, that is perfection at Ruhlmann. Seafood lovers will adore Crispy Skate Wing Grenobloise with lemon and capers. Sides, such as hand cut fries (order them “well done”) are standouts.
An Elegant Brasserie Ruhlmann Presentation (Above)
The dessert menu is beautifully executed.The menu includes treats you might find scrawled on the chalkboard menus propped outside Parisian street cafés; the sinful Chocolate Hazelnut millefeuilles, a terrific Paris Brest, crunchy with nuts and bursting with cream, House Made Cookies and Macarons, or a first rate Floating Island, to name a few. All were delicious.
Tourondel’s status as one of the city’s most notable chefs has grown in tandem with his celebrated BLT outposts (BLT Steak, BLT Fish, and BLT Prime.) Brasserie Ruhlmann provides the perfect midpoint location for uptown and downtown.
Operating partner Bernard Collin has brought his wine expertise to a beautifully selected list of French and American wines. There is a fine selection of wines by the glass and ½ bottles.
Service and reception at the door were impeccable. Brasserie Ruhlmann is one of the best dining options if you are shopping or going to the theater, and it is also one of Manhattan’s most consistent Brasseries and an absolute must go!
