Here’s the UWS Dish: Amélie’s Ravioles du Royans

By Abigael T. Sidi

Last week I visited the upper Upper West Side’s staple brasserie, Café du Soleil; this week, I thought I’d keep the Bastille Day mood alive a little longer by covering the neighborhood’s bistro counterpart, Amélie.

As I did with last week’s merguez sandwich, I went for a pillar of popular French gastronomy: the Ravioles du Royans, a pasta dish named after the region of southeast France where it originated.

Brasseries and bistros are often mistakenly considered one and the same – popular French joints serving popular French classics in a popular French café setting. However, while the line can be blurry, brasseries and bistros are distinct features of the French culinary scene. Brasseries (French for breweries) evolved from Alsacian beer-making shops which, over time, started to serve food along with their pints, and growing in size, prestige, and hours of operation. (Many iconic Parisian brasseries operate 24/7.) Bistros, by contrast, are small, more intimate neighborhood restaurants serving simple and moderately priced (but no less delicious) classic French bites in an informal, more personal setting, with a clientele of mostly regulars looking for solid yet affordable lunch or dinner options. Basically, bistros are to the French what our beloved diners are to us.

As a side note, there is a fascinating debate as to whether the term “bistro” derives from bistraud (wine-seller assistant), bistrouille (a Northern French relative of Irish coffee), or “Bystro! Bystro!” (“Quick! Quick!”), which Imperial soldiers reportedly yelled at French waiters during the Russian occupation of Paris that followed Napoleon’s defeat by Alexander I in 1814. Naturally, the French tend to favor theories No. 1 and 2, while everyone else loves to side with theory No. 3.

Bistros are typically hit-or-miss so it is tradition to share a “bonne adresse” when you find one. Amélie is absolutely that: a bonne adresse. It is one of very few spots in the city to offer a classic among classics of bistro culture, the gourmand yet affordable Ravioles du Royans, a ravioli-derived southeastern French specialty which dates back to 18th-century Italian lumberjacks who worked the forests of the Drome. (If you don’t know that region, go; it is magnificent.)

Amélie’s Ravioles are seasonal: “Stuffed with comté cheese in the winter, goat cheese in the summer,” our server said. As per tradition, they are plentiful and served in a creamy butter sauce. But Amelie adds a colorful touch in the form of diced zucchini (green and yellow), and cherry tomatoes (for a bit of red), then tops everything with a sprinkling of small artichoke chips. The result is a beautiful dish that touches on many textures and flavors, from the velvety ravioles to the crunchy zucchini cubes and crispy chips; and from the deep, succulent goat cheese to the bright, slightly acidic summer tomatoes. Fantastic. And real bistro cuisine.

Amélie’s short and focused menu offers most of the staples you’d expect (the escargots and beef tartare are to die for and were close seconds for this piece), as well as several daily specials which will often include an interesting vegetable gazpacho or catch of the day. Amélie’s personal touch can be found all over the menu. The beef tartare, for example, is hand cut (“au couteau”), which connoisseurs will tell you immediately elevates the dish, and our server delivered the check inside a pocket book on the French Revolution.

Speaking of the French Revolution, Amélie, like Café du Soleil, also celebrated Bastille Day last week. But while Café du Soleil’s event was an open patriotic display bordering on joyful fanaticism, Amelie’s was more quaint and personal, again keeping with the distinct bistro culture. “I had an accordion player come over and we distributed leaflets with song lyrics; it was a lot of fun,” Jason said. “I know them up there at Café du Soleil; I think we both try to do the same thing in our different ways.” I marked my calendar for next year.

Amélie is trying, for sure, and the little extra love they give you has turned into a following, not only within the UWS French community – many members of which live nearby due to the proximity of PS84’s dual-language program – but also among nearby residents, who can often be spotted waiving to the staff as they stroll by on a dog walk.

Amélie was the proud, back-to-back-to-back-to-back-to-back-to-back recipient of a Michelin Bib Gourmand from 2018 to 2023, and it was unclear to me why the restaurant would ever lose the distinction. The interior is sober and unpretentious, again true to bistro style, and the vibe is cozy with conversations kept to civilized noise levels. There are a couple of outdoor café tables on the sidewalk and a handful of seats at the narrow bar.  The restaurant opens at 4 p.m. every week day for happy hour (4-6 p.m.) and dinner (6-9:30 p.m.), and also opens for brunch on weekends (service from noon to 10:30 p.m. on Saturdays and 9:30 p.m. on Sundays.) Take out and delivery are available at these times.

The Dish: Ravioles du Royans ($24)

The Restaurant: Amélie, 566 Amsterdam Avenue (between West 87th and 88th streets)

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