text: Hungry and exhausted from a day of touring the city, my boyfriend and I stumbled from the nearest Bixi station into this New York Times-recommended French bistro. We had a 10:00pm reservation (the earliest slot available on Opentable that summer Saturday) and were eternally grateful when they could seat us at 9:30pm. To our surprise, the restaurant was far from packed, although outdoor seating was mostly taken.\n\nThe food was really good. We didn't order any entrees; Instead, we got the charcuteries platter (good to share between two people), which included duck rillettes (divine with caramelized onion), foie gras terrine, cured ham, and pork saucisson. Some of the charcuteries were only ok, but some were amazing too... The foie gras rivaled the pate at NYC's Bar Boulud. Additionally, we ordered two corns on the cob (light, simple, delicious with butter and salt/pepper) and a side of fries (very tasty). Our meal ended up being approx $70 with a glass of beer.\n\nAs far as French bistro cuisine goes, Brasserie T definietely succeeded in the charcuterie. However, there are little things about the ambiance and service that threw our experience off.\n\n- First, we were seated at a table with no tabletop candle or overhead light. It was so dim that we couldn't read our menus. We requested a table change and got moved to a window table that had a harsh overhead white light (compared to the soft yellow lighting other tables got). Slightly annoyed but too embarrassed to request another table change, we stayed put. But it elicited grumbles from my boyfriend.\n- Second, it took foreeeeeever to flag our server down for the check. It was as if she forgot about us after our orders were put in.\n\nBased on the hype (from the Toque connection and NYT review) and menu prices, I had certain expectation about the restaurant as an overall experience. Brasserie T tried to meet those expectations, but it fell just short. Certainly not bad but certainly not amazing.