DeuxMoi Made Me Do It…a restaurant guide for millennials
Indochine
French-Indonesian Cuisine with 80’s Vibe
Indochine is the sister restaurant to The Nines and ACME…which are both a 3 minute walk up Lafayette Street if you feel like restaurant hopping. Located in the Bowery section of NYC, Indochine is South of Astor Place and four blocks East Washington Square Park. The Public Theater is across the street, making Indochine a great place to make your reservations before or after the theater. Important to note is that it is easily accessible by bus or subway but not by train or ferry.
Photo Credit: Indochine Facebook
Indochine has a 4.3 star rating on Google and over 400 reviews. Google rates the pricing as $$$$ very expensive..which we figured when we did not see the prices listed on the menu. The pricing reflects the quality of the food with fresh seafood being center stage. Dining here is an experience in itself with flavor profiles you may not experience elsewhere. For example, a lot of asian spices, lime, basil, chili, lemon grass, turmeric, coriander, etc. are main ingredients in the recipes. It is worth making the reservation at Indochine for a special occasion. Keep in mind Indochine is currently only open for dinner. In the past it was open for brunch but it seems like they took a hiatus for winter and have not resumed.
Speaking of dinner…Indochine opens at 5:30pm daily but the closing hours vary. Sunday through Wednesday the restaurant and bar closes at 11pm with the last seating at 10:30pm. Thursday through Saturday the last seating is 11:30pm and closing at 12am. The dinner menu features French-Vietnamese inspired appetizers (hot and cold), main dishes (fish, seafood, poultry, meats), and sides dishes (rices and vegetables).
To be more specific, the cold appetizer offerings include the asian kale salad, spicy beef salad, fluke carpaccio, summer roll of shrimp and chicken, summer roll of vegetables, and crispy tofu. Hot appetizer offerings include the fried spring rolls, crispy rock shrimp, grilled eggplant, steamed Vietnamese ravioli, Asian lump crab cakes, and grilled baby back ribs. Fish, seafood, and vegetable offerings include steamed chilean sea bass, amok cambodgien, spicy shrimp, vegetable stew, crispy dorade. Poultry and meats offerings include spicy chicken breast, shaking beef, pork collar, glazed duck breast, and Vietnamese barbecued chicken. Additionally, you can also order a side order of rice (chose from sticky rice with baby shrimp and Vietnamese sausage, sautéed rice with shrimp and scallion, or steamed white jasmine rice) or a side of vegetable (sautéed pea shoots with ginger and garlic or charred cauliflower with chili, fried garlic, and fish sauce) a la carte. The dessert menu offers chocolate truffle mousse cake, classic French lemon tart, coconut creme brûlée, and hazelnut mousse cake.
Photo Credit: Indochine Facebook
Indochine has not lost the 80’s vibe as evident by the ambiance and decor. In fact, a New York Times article was written about Indochine for its 35th anniversary (in January 2019) describing it in the title as “The Restaurant That Has Helped New Yorkers Feel Famous Since 1984” partly because of the food and partly because of the patrons. When it first started to take off in the late 80’s, Indochine was a celebrity hotspot. Today Indochine still draws in the celebrities…and those who seek to be like them.
Photo Credit: Indochine Facebook
Indochine is actually featured under #DeuxmoiMadeMeDoIt because of a June 2023 sighting reported of Jennifer Lawrence dining.
For other celebrity sightings throughout the city…click here
Update: Another spotted…