On the ground floor of one of the city’s hippest hotels, The Ludlow, U'll find one of the city's hippest restaurants, Dirty French, brought to New York from golden team Torrisi.

Major Food Group restauranteurs Rich Torrisi, Mario Carbone and Jeff Zalaznick, proprietors of red-hot venues including Torrisi, Parm, Carbone and ZZ’s Clam Bar, seem to have the magic touch when it comes to New York bars and restaurants, and Dirty French is no exception. The brick-walled, wood-beamed dining room is furnished with red-and-black ostrich banquettes, an antique French carnival mirror and a vintage bar, displaying stacks of bottles of French wine, plus Belgian beers.

The menu is more dynamic than simply French bistro food, however, with influences from other places infused with French cooking culture – including Morocco and New Orleans - and using modern techniques and bold flavours. The result is dishes like Duck à l’Orange with ras el hanout and preserved oranges, Bouillabaisse Noire with rouget, octopus and rouille, and crêpe indochine served with tuna tartare. The meat is predominantly cooked on a rotisserie, apart from the chicken, and using barbecue methods.

The relatively compact menu also offers a cote de boeuf served in stages, and a tableside oyster service; the raw bar's selection of East Coast oysters are brought to the table when ordered, in a huge silver tub filled with chipped ice, and split open for diners’ inspection.

Ideal For

Romantic dates, client dinners

Favourite Table

The best seat in the house is the booth next to the sommelier station.

Signature Dishes

The côte de boeuf, served in stages - first the rib eye itself, then its fatty cap, which is ground, skewered, and charcoal-grilled; the ‘Boulangere’ rotisserie-cooked lamb saddle with cumin; chicken and crepes for two, also served in two stages – first white meat, with bowls of dipping sauce, then the dark meat, confited in duck fat, and covered in garlic, herbs and kaffir lime.