One of my favorite themed café was Rue la Rue Café. I went there numerous time (you can read about it more here and here), and when they closed – temporarily for renovation, I was told – I have been patiently waiting for its return. However, after what seemed like an extremely long wait, my hopes for seeing them reopen their door had disappeared… The door did, indeed reopen, however, as something completely different. It is now a brand new café called Halo Bistro Café. The exterior has remained the same, except for the new sign, and no more outdoor seating.
We decided to check them out, just to see what this new café is offering. When we stepped inside, it was almost as if we were stepping back in Rue la Rue Café, but without the glamour and memorabilia that filled the room and the walls.
The wallpaper, furniture, and other basic designs stayed input. Even the large chalkboard that still showed the enticing menu from Rue la Rue. But then again, it was a bit confusing, it looks as though they are offering those items on the board. However, when I inquired about it to our server, she said that they are only keeping the board as a decoration, and they don’t offer any of the items written on the board…
They had nice looking baked goods in the showcase window next to the register, just they have in the “golden” days. But then again, the contents looked almost exactly like how they looked the day before when we walked in just to look at their menu. I might’ve been wrong, but I didn’t want to chance ordering something that has been sitting there for a day or longer… So I didn’t order any of them.
Once we were settled, the server brought us two complimentary biscuits. It came with pesto olive oil, which was quite tasty! Biscuits were fluffy and moist, we enjoyed them.
Their menu was somewhat small and limited, and a bit pricey… I went with one of their much cheaper option under the Breakfast Entrée, and chose Breakfast Sandwich ($9). It comes with two farm eggs, bacon, and Swiss cheese on a potato onion bun. It also came with a pickle as well.
The bottom and top bun both had an egg, cheese and bacon! I thought that was quite generous. Put them all together, became a massive breakfast sandwich/burger! The egg on the top was cooked completely, but the bottom one was cooked the way I liked for a delectable egg porn! The sandwich had a nice sweetness to it from the bun and cheese. It was very satisfying at such affordable price.
My hubby also went with one of the affordable items, a Club Sandwich ($13). It came with roasted turkey, bacon, tomato, romaine, and pickles. It was very tall with three pieces of bread, holding generous amount of ingredients. Fresh veggies and turkey, crunchy bacon and fluffy bread, very hearty! Even though it didn’t come with a chips or any kind of side, it was still very filling with its size.
After the meal, we decided to order a dessert to share with coffee. We ordered a Latte ($4) and Crème Brûlée ($9).
Latte was strong and flavorful. Our server was not happy with how the foaming tool was not cooperating, but it still tasted pretty good to me.
The funny thing was, they brought a silver container, which usually contains milk, but when I opened the lid (thinking it is a bit odd to service milk with latte…), I found sugar in it! So glad I didn’t pour crazy amount of sugar into my latte…
Crème Brûlée was bigger than I thought. The bowl was quite hot, but we were not warned about it, so it was a quite a shock when I touch the bowl… They need more training periods with the servers… Berries were nice and ripe, and the custard was creamy, not thick. It was a great to pair to unsweetened latte.
Oh, and the fabulous bathroom door has been removed, and few other small decors as well. The rest remains pretty much the same, but I do miss the incredible door!
Our main server, Mercedes, was nice, professional and polite. Other staffs needs more training on how to serve the table (i.e. how to refill water without spilling water all over the table, or to warn customer if a plate/bowl is really hot). The items we tried were pretty good and very affordable. The lunch/dinner menu items were around $30 each, I am not sure how that will be received by the patrons in this area. I hope they will expand their menu a bit, and offer more dishes for lunch and dinner at affordable price.
Halo Bistro Café – 4394 Broadway, New York, NY 10040