Forsythia

Forsythia connects Christopher Kearse’s personal history with a contemporary French bistro in Old City. Its name recalls the Levittown street where the chef grew up, and the dining room carries that reference through yellow accents and floral details. An open kitchen makes the cooking visible within a modern setting. Since opening in 2019, the restaurant has developed a menu of small plates and larger courses that uses French technique as a starting point for seasonal ingredients and combinations with a wider vocabulary.

That approach appears in dishes such as corn beignets with smoked mozzarella and a pistachio-honey dip, or a mushroom vol-au-vent with herb purée and garlic nage. Familiar forms give the diner something to recognize; the accompanying ingredients provide the departure. The larger plates retain a clear classical structure through sauces such as bordelaise and Chartreuse beurre blanc. A dry-aged duck for two brings another kind of meal into focus, with its breast and lacquered wings forming the center of a shared dinner. The restaurant offers advance arrangements for the duck, which makes it a more deliberate choice than simply choosing two unrelated entrées.

Forsythia also offers a chef’s tasting selection that requires participation by the whole table. That format suits diners who want the kitchen to organize the sequence; à la carte dining leaves the table more control over ingredients and the size of the meal. Wine and cocktails have their own presence, including a martini built with tomato, fennel and other vegetables. The restaurant’s interest lies in this meeting of bistro familiarity and contemporary construction. For an evening in Old City, it offers a French identity expressed through a chef’s choices rather than a fixed catalogue of standard preparations.

Sources: Forsythia: Christopher Kearse, history and dining room · Forsythia: dinner menu, duck for two and bar · MICHELIN Guide: Forsythia, cooking and location · Forsythia: Google Maps listing