MANHATTAN — Like a beached luxury liner straight from Calais, a new French food hall, Le District, opened on the southern tip of Manhattan in early spring. It’s come to offer buttery croissants, expensive charcuterie and sweet morsels in fancy tins to the office workers and tourists of downtown Manhattan.
Some have called Le District the French answer to Eataly, the frenetic food court/café/glorified grocery store in Manhattan’s Flatiron District, but the comparison doesn’t quite fit. In reality, Le District is smaller and quiet, located inside Brookfield Place in the financial district. Still, “small” is relative — restaurateurs Peter Poulakakos, Paul Lamas and Laurent Vasseur from the HPH Restaurant Group created this 30,000-square-foot market designed by the firm Icrave; Eataly is 50,000 square feet.
The true job of a market like this is to transport you, and, for the most part, Le District succeeds. To start, veer right just after entering from Brookfield Place, the upscale shopping center and office complex on the north end. You’ll find yourself in La Cure Gourmande, a candyland of apricot-filled cookies, nut-studded nougat, and delicate chocolates. True Francophiles might recognize the place from the Ile St. Louis in Paris, but anyone would welcome one of their decorative tins filled with goodies.
The illusion shatters a bit at the coffee shop just outside, where a croissant failed to deliver the signature, delicate crack of a true French pastry. And, for $5, it should have.
Still, the place is new yet, and you’ll find comfort at Le Comptoir, a more casual bar-style restaurant right in the center. Here, a charcuterie plate, a cheese platter and some surprisingly elegant sardines (fortified with sturdy, chewy bread) soothe any feelings hurt by that croissant.
There are several venues for dining in at Le District. Other options:
>>Beaubourg is a larger restaurant with a more traditional feel, serving French fare with a New York twist-steak frites, escargots, and quenelles.
>>L’Appart is a smallish 28-seat restaurant with a chef’s counter and tasting menus. Reservations a must.
>>Le Bar a place to go for their casual happy hour, offering a small menu of tastes from Beaubourg.
For my money, though, Le Comptoir fits in with Le District’s casual-chic vibe the best.
Of course, you’re here to shop, too, so you might as well get something for dinner. Carnivores will find plenty to ogle in the butcher and charcuterie shops, including jars of duck fat, terrine, pate, and grass-fed beef stacked high.
Despite France’s meat-loving reputation, vegetarians will fare just fine here, judging by the produce section. Saisonniers offers melons, kiwis, cherries and baskets cascading with ramps, fiddlehead ferns and tiny artichokes. Various colors of cherries vied for attention with gleaming berries. The selection isn’t quite as stupendous as Eataly, but it’s still quite good.
Still haven’t found something to suit your fancy? Never fear: As in a bustling French village, you can also choose from a fish stall, a cheesemonger (who will hand out samples, if you ask), a patisserie and even a flower shop, for urgent last-minute hostess (or, if we’re going really French, mistress) needs.
In the Patisserie, glass cases full of macarons, ice creams, waffles and assorted French pastry beckoned. The flavor of sugar- and butter-filled crepes filled the air, transporting me back to Paris. Delices du Chef, a chocolate mousse bar, opening after 3, caught my eye. French or not, who doesn’t love chocolate mousse?
Or try Rotisserie — the Roasted chicken, prime rib, and Shwarma specials looked tasty. Eat here, or take out.
Walking out from Le District, which is near the 9/11 Memorial Museum, City Hall and the New York Stock Exchange, onto the waterfront leaves you startled to find yourself in New York City again.
The watchful gaze of the Statue of Liberty, another gift from France, will bring you right back, though.
Le DISTRICT is at 200 Vesey St, New York; hours and a list of shops at ledistrict.com.
Editor’s Note: This story has been updated from an earlier version to correct a reference to the design firm Icrave, which designed the Le District market and not the Eataly market.
