Le Gamin Cafe

Place: Le Gamin Café

Neighborhood: Brooklyn’s Greenpoint, 108 Franklin St. (between Milton St. & Noble St.)

Mimosa Rating:

The scoop: I went to Greenpoint to go to a boutique on Franklin Street. I was looking for a brunch place nearby, and Le Gamin was recommended. The restaurant is located about four blocks from the G train. If you are coming from the L train and have some time to spare, it is about a 15-minute walk from Bedford Ave. in Williamsburg.

Inside La Gamin

The inside of the restaurant was packed pretty tight. Tables were very close to each other. I could sense that Le Gamin is frequented by the locals in Greenpoint. The décor was simple and not really noticeable, but with the beautiful sun shining through the large front windows, it made you feel like you were in a French café.

With two servers responsible for all of the tables, I was pleasantly surprised that we were quickly seated and orders were taken soon after. We weren’t rushed out after we finished our meal, even though people were patiently waiting outside to get a table. La Gamin’s brunch is cash only.

Bottoms up: They had several types of hot chocolate (sweetened, unsweetened, mixed with Grand Marnier, etc.), coffees, and a few simple brunch cocktails.

Valhrona Hot Chocolate $3.50/$4.50

Valhrona hot chocolate

Valhrona is an unsweetened French hot chocolate. I like it a little sweet, so my initial reaction was that it needed to be sweetened! I added honey to mine and my boyfriend proceeded to add four packets of sugar to bring the drink to his liking. What I like about the Valhrona as opposed to other hot chocolates is that you have control over how sweet you want to make it.

Chew on this: The menu is very authentic French. I wasn’t sure what some of the words on the menu meant and looked them up on Google. According to MenuPages, you can order most of these brunch items during the week as well.

Omelet $10.50 / Served with mesclun salad & home fries. Choose three ingredients.

Omelet

The ingredients chosen were merguez (French sausage), ham and mushrooms. The omelet was cooked to perfection and not overcooked on the outside. The ingredients were scattered throughout the omelet. It was a standard sized omelet. The home fries were cut into mini cubes and were slightly crispy on the outside. They had no seasoning or sauce, which left you to decide how you wanted to make them taste. The side salad was only greens, but the dressing was so delicious it did not matter. The dressing was a Dijon mixture that tasted like it had a hint of cinnamon in it.

Crepe Gamin $9 / Served with mesclun salad. Choose three ingredients.  

Crepe

The ingredients chosen were brie cheese, merguez and caramelized onions. I was surprised when the crepe came in a square shape, but shape didn’t matter. Everything about it was pure heaven. Brie has a very distinct cheese flavor and merguez has a strong spicy sausage flavor, so combining the two couldn’t have been a better choice. The onions added a little crispiness to the crepe. I thoroughly enjoyed every bite, and it was just the right size for me. I walked away wondering if I could recreate this at home.

Open for brunch!

The final bite: Le Gamin in Greenpoint serves authentic and delicious French fare. If you have time while exploring the neighborhood, it’s worth stopping in for brunch.

Reviewed by: Erica