Meet Le Veau d’Or, the Iconic New York Bistro Brought Back to Life by the Frenchette Duo

1. First, a little bit of history.

The original Veau d’Or came to life in 1937, which effectively makes it the longest-running French bistro in New York. It was originally opened by a French family that had a restaurant at Les Halles in Paris, which was not just the largest and greatest food market in Paris but in all of France, and anointed by writer Émile Zola as “Le ventre de Paris” (Paris’ belly).

Le Veau d’Or came before the likes of Le Pavillon, La Côte Basque, and La Caravelle — New York institutions that defined French haute dining in the city in their day — and counted everyone from Grace Kelly to Orson Welles as patrons.

In 1985, Robert Tréboux, a Frenchman and five-year vet of Le Pavillon, purchased the restaurant. When he passed away in 2012, his daughter, Catherine (“Cathy” to everyone at the restaurant), took over. Around then, Hanson and Nasr had just restored and reopened Minetta Tavern, another storied New York institution, under restaurateur Keith McNally.

“We kind of enjoyed that process — breathing some life into an older place [Minetta Tavern] that needed some attention,” says Nasr. “The preservation part of keeping some of the old restaurants around is important for us, too,” adds Hanson.

The duo is adamant that this newest endeavor is not a takeover but a continuation of Le Veau d’Or and all it stood for — something that especially struck a chord with Tréboux, who felt ready to see the restaurant go into its next chapter.

“Le Veau d’Or is a New York institution. Chefs Riad Nasr and Lee Hanson are also a New York institution in the French culinary world. It was only fitting to me that they take over this authentic French bistro,” she says.

2. It’s a French bistro with an $125 prix-fixe menu.

Sound like an oxymoron? To Nasr and Hanson, it’s not — the old Veau d’Or menus were always prix-fixe sets whose price varied depending on your chosen entrée. Now, Le Veau d’Or offers a $125 three-course menu, plus a salad for the table served between the mains and desserts. But don’t expect high-end French cuisine just because it’s prix fixe.

“The menu is not fussy,” says Nasr. “It’s not too cheffy. It’s nostalgic without being kitschy, but it’s not retro, per se — like, is celery rémoulade retro? Is oeuf mayonnaise retro? It’s not to someone who’s been eating that their entire life, but all of a sudden, people rediscover things, because there’s more audacity to be simple in your approach than perhaps before.”

Hence a 30-plus-items menu neatly divided into appetizers, entrées, and desserts (pick your fighters) that reads like a treasure trove of old-school bistro dishes you might find on “plats du jour” ardoises menus in France, but would be hard-pressed to find in New York (if at all). Sure, you’ll recognize escargots and pâté en croûte, but what about consommé Madrilène, a consommé served either hot or jellied? As you’ve most likely guessed, most of the dishes take cues from Le Veau d’Or menus of lore.

3. But get ready to rethink what a “classic” French bistro dish is.

Hanson and Nasr went through the annals of Le Veau d’Or menus in anticipation of this one, and though there are some of their signature touches peppered throughout (like oysters paired with chipolatas, stuffed with piment d’Espelette and smoked paprika here, making them a little spicier), there are many throwbacks.

On the appetizer front, old regulars might recognize the mackerel au vin blanc, which got a plating upgrade (it’s now served with a parsley coulis and vegetables). Or perhaps the caviar rouge à la crème (trout roe and cream), an oldie that’s now served with pommes soufflées — a puffed potato preparation that Nasr and Hanson have been wanting to sneak onto their menus for a while. Also in the apps, tripes à la mode, a Veau d’Or signature, make a glorious comeback and are prepared in the Caen style with Calvados and apple cider, a dish invented by a 14^th-century monk in Normandy (if you want to talk about old school).

Mains will see the return of the offal plate (see “Les Délices Veau d’Or”) and a duck magret with a cherry sauce. There’s also hanger steak with your choice of sauce (Béarnaise or au poivre), lobster Macédoine, chicken fricassée en cocotte with a vin jaune sauce, and lamb gigot.

A salad will hit the table before dessert — unless you choose the optional cheese course (which would come before), with an all-American selection, except for the Comté (the king of French cheeses in this Parisian’s very humble opinion).

Desserts, orchestrated by pastry chef Michelle Palazzo, will include an île flottante (an “island” of meringue floating in crème anglaise), a chocolate gratin, and a peach tarte tatin among others.

4. Y’a quoi à boire ?

When it came to the beverages, Hanson and Nasr tapped two longtime collaborators: Jorge Riera (who oversaw both wine lists at Frenchette and Le Rock) and Sarah Morrissey, the bar manager who created the cocktails at Frenchette.

The cellar runs 100 references deep and is currently an all-French list that highlights low-intervention wines. According to Resy’s very own managing editor and resident wine authority, Jon Bonné (whose most recent book is “The New French Wine”), some exciting bottles include a La Roche from Jean-Christophe Garnier, a Vézelay from Domaine de la Cadette, and a rosé from Hervé Villemade, all of which are under the $100 bottle mark.

If you’re looking for a bit more of a splurge, there’s a Chamery blanc or rouge from Bonnet-Ponson. But the sleeper hit on the list might just be a bottle of red Chinon from Fiona Beeston, priced at $140.

Cocktail wise, Morrissey has assembled a lineup of eight drinks that she says are “nothing crazy.” A namesake Le Veau d’Or cocktail was pulled from an ancient cocktail book that’s been lining the shelves at the restaurant since before Tréboux’s time — it’s a take on a spritz with Dubonnet, kirsch Champagne, and lemon, with a pitted cherry stuffed with anchovies as a garnish. Morissey is particularly excited about the martini, served “your way or our way” — the team’s way involves Old Raj gin and not one but two drinks (the martini and a next-level sidecar that’ll be like a light spritz). It’s essentially what Morrissey imagines a fictional cranky lady would drink at Old Town Bar on a Tuesday at 2 p.m.

There are also two non-alcoholic drinks, beers, and then the shots: the Opal (cucumber, absinthe, pear eau de vie), the Lemon Drop (an ode to the ‘90s with fresh Meyer lemon juice, lemon grappa, and vodka), and the Trou Normand. The last one might be Morissey’s favorite (she’s been pushing it on friends during the restaurant’s soft opening) and is a very refreshing, palate-cleansing, and digestion-helping 50/50 mix of frozen Blanche Armagnac and juiced-to-order Korean green apples.

5. It’s a jewel box of a space.

With just 50 seats, Le Veau d’Or is the smallest of Hanson and Nasr’s restaurants. But the appeal of the old interior (the restaurant is almost 90-years strong) with its natural patina and set character was one of the things that drew them the most.

Low ceilings, sconces, wood paneling, and a mirrored back wall wrap up the intimate room, where red-and-white checkered tablecloths and cherry-red banquettes sit on a floor of zig-zagging red and black streaks.

Some of the memorabilia lining the walls came down, but meaningful references to Le Veau d’Or remain, from old photographs of Les Halles (Remember that original family? Those came from them) to street signs — chief among them is the painting of a sleeping calf (or in French, “le veau dort”) that’s been there for a long, long time.

There’s a tiny bar up front with just five seats for walk-ins, and those will be for drinking only. Meanwhile, Tréboux’s son, Derek Summerlin, operates as the maître d’, continuing his family’s legacy as the third generation watching over the storied restaurant.

“It’s great to be in the space and turn the stoves on again,” says Hanson. “For a while, it was always this side thing that was troublesome for one reason or another, as far as what we had to fix, or what we had to renovate. But being in the space has really been amazing, quite honestly. It’s exciting.”

Le Veau d’Or is open Tuesday through Saturday from 5 to 10 p.m. Lunch will follow soon.

Noëmie Carrant is Resy’s New York-based, Parisian-born senior writer. Follow her on Instagram. Follow Resy, too.