“Alouette is a delightful little storefront on two levels, open to the street, with a cheery bar downstairs and little nooks and corners for romance. Begin with a warm potato tart with organic greens and chive infusion--a superb example of green simplicity. Florida shrimp with cannellini beans make a fine starter, followed up with an excellent entrée of juicy duck breast with creamed rutabatas, red beets, and pommes purée. Hanger steak is good, properly chewy, with crisp gaufrette potatoes and coconut-infused spinach. Lamb pave with a risotto cake and a red wine and shallot reduction came perfectly cooked, as was monkfish and sea bass. The best dessert here was an unusual soupe des fruits with lemongrass jelly and a passion fruit sorbet.” -- Esquire, August 1998

“Stylish, French bistro that's a godsend to the barren Upper West Side dining scene. Alouette is a ‘diamond in the rough.’” -- Zagat, 1999

"What's a classy bistro like this doing on Upper B'way?" ask those surprised by this "much needed" "haven" offering "creative", "good value" French fare and "casually stylish" decor, despite "tight" quarters and service "lapses", it's "a real asset" north of 96th Street." -- Zagat, 2000

"While a soundtrack of ambient Euro music sends the signal that Alouette is going for a hyper vibe than the average uptown French restaurant,
don't let that scare you the food here is excellent. The waitstaff is friendly, knowledgable and efficient a treat when you've endured enough bad service downtown. Alouette is cozy and charming, and patrons of all ages seem to be thouroughly enjoying themselves... and why not?
In a city overun with bistros, they found one that gets it right." -- Time Out September 2000    

"The ambience at this charming French bistro could not be more welcoming.  The roasted beet salad and the onion soup are superb; the duck, roast chicken and hanger steak are all delicios and skillfully prepared.  Tempting desserts-espesially the yummy apple tart."  Forbes 2004

"Alouette is one of those neighborhood restaurants that manages to survive below the radar but in its Upper Westside neighborhood, it is welcome and appreciated.

Alouette opened on Broadway near 97th street in '98 at a time when the options in the area were essentially between Chinese or Indian take-out.  Nowadays, the restaurant situation in the area has greatly improved but Alouette remains the top choice.

The kitchen has been through several chefs, and the once ambitious menu now centers around bistro standards, but they are well prepared and never simply tossed off.

I recently enjoyed a superb dish or braised short ribs, in a red wine sauce.  Steak frites is dependably satisfying, as are the dishes the meat tender, yet full of flavor, with soft root vegetables like seared scallops and sauteed skate wings.  Reliable appetizers include a small goat cheese tart, red beet salad, given an added little crunch from its pumpkin seed vinaigrette, and an excellent duck confit with a small frisee salad.

When it opened 6 years ago, Alouette was a big event in the neighborhood, tables were hard to come by, and the restaurant took time to get itself in order.  Things have setled down and Alouette now cruises along serving good food and offering a good value."  -Eric Asimov, New York Times 2004