Batifol
I want to show you a beautiful French brasserie with exquisite food, bottomless brunch, and all the steak you can eat. And it’s called Batifol. Batifol is located in Kendall Square, Cambridge, and it’s a vibe from the moment you step in the door, with a sort of hustle and bustle that gives you that lively French cafe feel.
Owner Loic Le Garrec grew up in Paris, so he named his latest restaurant Batifol, which means “to frolic” in French- and that’s exactly what you’ll want to do here.
“I always liked the name and I feel that it worked very well in Boston. It's a place that's never boring. There's always people, there's always a good energy. This is a very vibrant Parisian Brasserie. We open every day for lunch, dinner and brunch. We've been here for two and a half years, and it's been very successful so far….. The neighborhood has really embraced our concept.”
The space makes you feel like you’ve left New England and landed in a cozy European restaurant, with banquette seating, a beautiful outdoor patio, and a long marble bar pouring an extensive selection of wines and craft cocktails. As for the food, we recommend starting out with a nice charcuterie board, featuring carefully curated meats and cheeses served with toast points and all of the accoutrements to create that perfect bite. Or, go for the classic crock of French Onion Soup, with a fresh crouton in the center and grueyere cheese cooked all brown and bubbly.
“It's a very simple recipe that we use, but the secret is to … cook the onions..really slow so they caramelize, and you get all the sugar out of them, and you add the meat stocks,… salt, pepper.. little love. And then we serve it with croutons and Swiss cheese…It's really incredible.”
Then there’s the Camembert Roti: a unique dish that’s popular in France. And while it’s rather simple, that Camembert cheese gives it a really rich flavor which pairs nicely with the nuts and honey.
“We take the whole camembert and we roast it in the oven. We serve it with a bunch of dried fruits and salads. In France, we like to eat the cheese warm temperature.. It has more flavor.…you feel like in the middle of the field in Normandy chasing the cows. Very, very tasty.”
The entree menu at Batifol has all of the classic French dishes you’d expect like Coq au Vin boasting deeply flavored, slow cooked chicken that just falls off the bone. And all of that red wine sauce seeps right into the bed of mashed potatoes.
Another popular chicken dish is the Poulet Forestiere, featuring a succulent bacon-wrapped chicken breast served with roasted potatoes and mushrooms over a parsnip and hazelnut puree. If beef is more your thing, nothing is more comforting than a nice dish of Beef Bourguignon. And at Batifol, it’s executed perfectly with a slow cooked short rib in a rich and luxurious red wine sauce. But the Steak Frites here are an absolute must. You can get either sirloin or ribeye- and best of all- on Sundays from 4-10pm you can get all you can eat steak frites for under 40 bucks.
“We do buy very good quality meat to start with. And we serve it with our peppercorn sauce, you know, french fries, a little salad, very, very traditional, very simple. Steak frites is out of this world. Best in town.”
Batifol also offers lunch and a weekend brunch, boasting one of the best bottomless buffets around. The line up includes your typical bacon and eggs, but there’s a lot more than that…with housemade breads, charcuterie, fresh oysters and lots and lots of French pastries. But if you prefer to order off the menu, they have an absolutely outstanding burger topped with brie on a buttery brioche bun. Or you could go for the quintessential French spin on the ham and cheese sandwich.
“The Croque Monsieur. Very traditional, especially in Paris. It's a sandwich you can find in any corner of the city. It's basically a grilled cheese sandwich with ham, and we fill it with a bechamel sauce… and we roast that sandwich so it's nice and crusty on the top…This is one of my favorite sandwich. I eat it every week.”
The best thing to get at the end of your meal is a sampler of their housemade French desserts. And this baby is loaded up with a vanilla ice cream profiterol, delicate macarons, some bread pudding, French meringue, and some fresh, seasonal fruit. And that’s the best way to feast and to frolic at Batifol in Cambridge.
“You should definitely go to Batifol to discover our food, our desserts, and our atmosphere… We have one of the best staff in a city. Our bartenders are very knowledgeable. We have a great wine list, and our price point is unbeatable… so see you soon."
