Is New York's Chez Fifi Bistro Worth A Six-Week Wait For A Reservation?

Chex Fifi is the new big hit on New York's Upper East Side.
New York's current bistro boom was joined in January by a place that has, for reasons not entirely clear, turned into one of the biggest hits of the year. It's easy enough to understand why the new bistros Le Veau d'Or, Frenchette and Le Rock are so extremely popular––the owners, Riad Nasr and Lee Hanson, are the darlings of the food media and fashionistas––but Chez Fifi hasn't that kind of pedigree: It is the latest production of the Miami-based We All Gotta Eat Group that runs nearby Sushi No, which, with 12 seats, is full every night.
Even on the Upper Est Side, the name Chez Fifi sounds a bit twee, but given its polished 1920s townhouse looks (previously the Italian restaurant Vivolo) and only 40 seats downstairs and 12 in the upstairs salon, one can understand how easily it fills up each evening, largely with people from the neighborhood, some of whom have already become weekly regulars. Yet beyond its cozy refuge appeal for the locals, Chez Fifi has become the kind of place that those who can't get in beg those who can to work a small miracle. There's no telephone number to call. It took me six weeks to get a mid-week table.
A Basque Txangurro crab dish is one of the best starters at Chez Fifi.
It certainly is one the most handsome dining rooms in the area, with dark mahogany bathed in light from sconces and shaded overhanging lamps, with flowered half-curtains above the booths. In such soigné places one might expect an icy reception, but instead a lovely young woman with a big smile greets you with unfeigned delight that you've arrived, and the waitstaff is every bit as friendly.
The restaurant's website reads, 'To ensure a comfortable dining experience, we ask that our guests present themselves at Chez Fifi with consideration to the ambiance of the space. Overly casual attire, such as athletic wear, pajamas, loungewear, t-shirts, and baseball caps, is not permitted.' If only the management kept to that requirement, for on the night I visited, along with a full cadre of well-dressed women in black outfits seemingly plucked from the racks of Madison Avenue boutiques like Morgane le Fay, Vuori and Agnès b., and most men in jackets, there was also more than one eyesore sporting a hoodie and sweat pants, hunched over his table. The decibel level is, unfortunately, high.
A well-seasoned steak tartare at Chez Fifi
The tables are well set with linens, the stemware pings at the touch, and the complimentary bread and butter are as good as you'll find in Manhattan. If, during the dinner, the tablecloth is spotted or soiled, a fresh napkin is immediately placed over it. There are no salt and pepper shakers on the table, but none of the dishes I tasted needed them.
I don't know how sommelier Tira Johnson put together such an extraordinary wine list, but overnight it ranks with the most comprehensive in town––though very expensive, with only a handful of bottles under $120.
A half chicken with foie gras jus is a good dish for two people.
Indeed, many people have commented on how expensive Chez Fifi is, especially by comparison to other chic bistros like La Goulue and Orsay. I'm sorry to say that it is, especially when charging $162 for a Dover sole––at least $40 to $70 more than its competitors.
But prices are in many cases not quite what they seem, because portions are generous and easy to share. Take, for instance, the half-chicken with frites and salad and a bland foie gras sauce at a whopping $82; at La Goulue it's $44; at Orsay, $34. Yet only a trencherman could devour it all, and a whole chicken at $160 could feed four, in which case each portion comes out to $40. A reasonably priced filet mignon au poivre for $69 is hefty, and a big slab of cȏte de boeuf is listed at 'Market Price,' which may well come to $300 or more.
Chef Zack Zeidman's menu is not large by any means: A selection of charcuterie, four first courses and five main courses. The best of the appetizers is called txangurro, a Basque-style crispy deviled crab nicely seasoned. A salad of endive, dates, walnuts and Fourme d'Ambert cheese was pleasant, but the tartare de boeuf Classique was richly flavorful and seasoned with panache.
A filet mignon au poivre comes with excellent French fires.
Omelettes as a main course at dinner are not as frequent on Paris bistros menus as they once were, but Chez Fifi's with mushrooms and Périgord truffles that somehow survived winter was not as buttery as I'd expected. And let's face it, with just five main courses on the menu, how many people are dying for an omelette at eight o'clock at night?
Among the main courses is a fine Montauk black bass in beurre blanc, served with cabbage.
Baba i soaked with good rum at the table.
There is a selection of cheeses at an eye-popping $38, but desserts are far more reasonable at $14 for crème brûlée, chocolate mousse with Chantilly cream, and a delicious baba au rhum at $16.
Despite its noise––after nine PM is a quieter time to go––Chez Fifi oozes charm and, though it must be hell for them to balance reservations, a night here runs as smoothly and amiably as a neighborhood bistro should. And if you go with friends and share à la carte dishes, the high prices come into better focus.
Still, even with access, one can get quickly tired of a menu with so few dishes to choose among, when its direct competitors' offerings are so much more expansive, enticing and less expensive.
Maybe the current buzz will die down at Chez Fifi, in which case it would a delight to drop in now and then for one's favorite dish after visiting the Guggenheim or the newly opened Frick Museum. Right now, just getting in at all is a head-butting chore.
CHEZ FIFI
140 East 74th Street
No telephone number
Open for dinner only.

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