Nougatine is a casual café attached to Jean Georges in the Trump Tower on Columbus Circle; it is literally in the next room, and has an open kitchen. The dining room is light and airy, though tables are qute cramped. A two page wine list had examples such as Ostertag Gewurtztraminer 2008 at USD 87 for a wine that costs about USD 24 in the shops. At lunch USD 26 buys you three courses of food.
Peekytoe crab cake was reasonable in itself, served with celeriac remoulade, ginger and a few slices of pink grapefruit; it needed more seasoning, however (13/20). A cheeseburger was reasonable enough, served with a salad ring of red onions; matchstick chips were quite good though, and properly seasoned (12/20, more for the chips). This dish was a lot better than an omelette, which in itself was decent but was served with a pretty-looking ring of potatoes that turned out to be both hard and yet simultaneously greasy, an unusual combination that requires talent of a certain kind to produce. I didn’t try dessert but the amount of chocolate dessert left by my chocolate-loving companion did not suggest a happy experience.
For such simple food it was odd to see basic errors creeping in, which after all is at a price that is not sky-high yet is far from cheap. Service was friendly.
Mervin Wolf
I always eat at Nougatine when I am in New York and have never been disappointed. An especially nice experience is to have lunch on the patio on a warm day. Even though it is smack dab on Columbus Circle it somehow manages to be a quiet retreat with a view to the Park. Always great service and food at a reasonable price, for New York City. The prix fixe menu in the evening is really a good value.
Name unavailable
We (me and two other friends) were actually tricked into eating here. Nougatine is part of the bar area of Jean Georges but the bookings take place at a common area. When we asked for a table for Jean Georges, we were told that we would have to wait for about 1.5 hours. Didn't mind the wait as it was early anyway. However when we were finally seated, it was a table at the bar area (i.e Nougatine). Didn't realize at the time that this was a separate restaurant with a completely different menu. The food was incredibly disappointing. A 2/10 is absolutely accurate and at a cost of about £65/person for food alone, it is incredibly overpriced. Needless to say, we won't be going back again and I don't plan to try Jean Georges either. Once bitten, twice shy.