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Who doesn’t love an honest bistro with carefully prepared food, assertive seasoning and affordable prices. Well, have we got a place for you. PETITE ABEILLE is absolutely one of the best bistros in New York. It would be difficult to match it in Europe these days and it’s not exactly a secret.
It’s been around since 1996, when the original location opened on West 18th Street as a tiny waffle and omelet oriented eatery, Petite Abeille (“Little Bee” in French) has been creating buzz with its modestly priced classic Belgian food and extensive Belgian beer selection presented in a cheerful, casually comfortable family friendly setting. One distinguished by enchanting touches of whimsy courtesy of beguiling memorabilia - posters, murals, dolls, books, blue-and-white checkerboard tablecloths and a chalkboard serves as a wine list and the walls - associated with Tintin, the beloved Belgium cartoon series, that embellish each of Petite Abeille’s four current Manhattan locations. Indeed the name was inspired by a Tintin character.
WEB SITE: www.petiteabeille.com
ADDRESSES /
PHONES: 401 E. 20th Street, New York, NY 10010 (212) 727-1505
44 West 17th Street, New York, NY 10011 (212)-727-2989
134 West Broadway, New York, NY 10013 (212) 791-1360
466 Hudson Street, New York, NY 10014 (212) 741-6479 
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Yves Jadot – Brussels born and bred, who arrived in the U.S. in 1986 at the age of 18 with a hundred stake for his new life. Now he oversees a burgeoning restaurant and bar domain which encompasses, in addition to the four Petite Abeilles, Raines Law Room, one of the city’s most stylish cocktail lounges, the Mexican taco and tequila centric Vamos and his latest venture, Jones Wood Foundry, the food driven pub that is making British culinary waves on the Upper East Side.
A Generic Representation of The Belgium Staple
The French-Belgian menu is small, and everything on it is satisfyingly savory, such as a simple pot of mussels in a choice of sauces (beer and bacon, creamy mushroom, or white wine-and-garlic broth); beef stewed with beer and prunes; and a juicy croque monsieur. The pommes frites are top-notch, and there's an impressive array of Belgian beers to pair with your meal. Desserts are pleasant, if you have room left, we recommend a moist cheese cake, shared waffle or the amazing Café Liegeois
espresso float, a knockout concoction of coffee ice cream, whipped cream and more, served in a parfait glass (Simulated Below).
Open daily for breakfast / brunch, lunch and dinner, Petite Abeille proves the old adage that “Belgium serves food of French quality in German in quantities (as in generous portions).” The traditional Belgium fare incorporates stables of the cuisine - sausages, cold meats, pates, eggs, potatoes, creamy sauces, salads, cheese and butter – with such signature dishes as: Croquettes de Fromage, Belgian cheese croquettes and Salade Liégeoise, warm green beans, potato, bacon, onion salad with a poached egg that is a paragon in the world of salads and is not to be missed.
Mussels figure prominently on Petite Abeille’s menu mix, and are the best we have ever tasted. There are five tempting preparations from the classic Marinieres, white wine, celery and garlic and Poulette, creamy white wine and shallot sauce to the more exotic Rasta, Jamaican curry sauce and crisp apple. Our absolute favorite was Grand-Mere Mussels in a creamy beer sauce and bacon essence. The best we ever had! Indeed, Petite Abeille was the first restaurant to present a weekly all-you-can-eat mussels option, now a common New York City offering.
We also adored Macaroni Jambon-Fromage mac and cheese with ham & gruyere, the house version of Mac and Cheese; a Veal T-bone Special and Stoemp Saucisse, 
Waffles too are a menu hallmark with seven enticing choices including: the rich, densely sweet Liege; the flirtatious Chantilly topped with whipped cream and strawberry sauce; and the sinful Banana Split, appropriately decked out with vanilla ice cream, banana, chocolate sauce and whipped cream.
As the first restaurant in New York City to aggressively promote Belgian beer with a then unprecedented selection at the original location, Petite Abeille has been instrumental in the growing popularity of Belgian brews – sales to the U.S. escalated a staggering 257 percent from 2005 to 2009. While all the Petite Abeilles offer an impressive choice of Belgian beers, the flagship E. 20th street restaurant boasts the city’s largest array of drafts with 30 options and another 30-plus by the bottle.
Highlights of Petite Abeille’s beer list include: all the Trappist iterations, the Abbaye Duvel and The Buzz, a dry spicy light ale brewed exclusively for Petite Abeille by Brooklyn’s famed Sixpoint Craft Ales.
It is further distinguished by a number of large bottles, from 25 ounces to the 1.5 liter magnum, 3 liter jeroboam and the 9 liter salmanazar, the largest size on the global market.
Every Monday night, Petite Abeille at all locations encourages exploration of the list by slashing prices in half. Another Petite Abeille promotion first in New York City.
An unpretentious, reasonably priced wine list addressing all the most popular varietals and compiled to complement the food is also available as well as a full bar.
Many foodies believe that Belgium has better food than France and while that remains a moot point, I’ve never met anyone who complained about their gastronomic experience in this charming and underrated country. As a matter of fact, I’ve never heard anyone complain about Petite Abeille, which for the gentle prices and quantity/quality ratio of the food should be on every serious “must try” list. We certainly love it. So will you.
Walman Report Award: One of New York’s Best Bistros.
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