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Review: Newly opened French restaurant La Ville Lumière could use some spice | Cleveland

La Ville Lumière opened in the former Clifton Martini & Wine Bar – photo courtesy

Courtesy of the photo

La Ville Lumière opened in the former Clifton Martini & Wine Bar

Despite their ups and downs, French bistros and brasseries never seem to go out of style. Guests have always loved the elegant but relaxed atmosphere, the sophisticated but accessible classics and the professional but relaxed service. In the best places, it looks effortless and creates a celebratory atmosphere that extends far beyond the plate.

On paper, La Ville Lumière has many of the characteristics of this category. All the classic – albeit clichéd – brasserie dishes are available here: half oysters, tartare, snails, croque madame, duck confit, steak frites… In practice, however, the experience falls short. Many dishes are delicious, others miss the mark. Contrasting the white tablecloths and crystal stemware is a level of service that could use some polishing.

Our meal for four started with a bang. We started with glasses of champagne ($10), strong martinis ($15) and a warm, crusty baguette ($16) served with soft folds of ham, aged, stinky cheese and plenty of softened butter. We attempted to gild the lily with an order of gougères but were informed that the menu item was permanently 86’d.

Since we were in no hurry to move on to the grazing phase, we ordered a “butcher board” ($28), which set a precedent for the rest of the meal. On a heavy stone slab that made it difficult to pass was an array of treats, including sliced ​​salami, earthy pistachio terrine and golden brown, crispy croquettes. In contrast to the supple ham before, the hard salami was cut too thick, making it tough as a rawhide.

A lackluster sauce doomed an order of snails ($18). Instead of the typical sinful garlic butter with parsley – the only reason we eat snails! – was a cloudy and thin broth with a few slivers of garlic. When we felt like ordering a dozen oysters ($39), our server was unable to name the selection without making a quick trip to the kitchen.

Had my wife’s French onion soup ($14) come with a ladle and additional bowls, I would have called it a terrine. Served in a hat-sized copper pot with two handles, the portion could have literally filled our entire table—if the soup had been something that separate people would have shared. Although it was one of the best French onion soups ever, most of it went uneaten.

The portion size of the soup and pretty much every course that followed was a topic of conversation at the table. Words like “inelegant,” “excessive,” and “excessive” were on everyone’s lips. When it comes to indulgent, high-fat foods, “big” isn’t usually better. (The reason the French don’t drop like flies is because they eat like birds!)

Hunter’s Chicken ($24), presented in a hubcap-sized skillet, consists of a juicy airline chicken breast perched high on a mound of mashed potatoes. The chicken, potatoes, and roasted vegetables are bathed in a silky, enriched sauce. All the lovely “Cherry Glace de Canard” in France couldn’t save a completely overcooked and dry duck breast ($36). Instead, we aimed our forks at the creamy risotto beneath, laden with golden oyster mushrooms.

In the No Complaints category, there’s a Cacio e Pepe-style vegetarian linguini ($21) and a hearty Steak Frites ($32). Ours was an expertly grilled and sliced ​​8-ounce strip steak flanked by a pile of standard crispy fries and your choice of sauce. Bearnaise, of course. Other cuts of beef, including tenderloin and long-bone ribeye, are also available.

In addition to daily lunch and Saturday brunch, La Ville Lumière serves the full menu to any guest seated before midnight, a feature worthy of praise and attention. We didn’t take our seats until 8:30am and, aside from drinks and snacks, we didn’t even bother to look at the menu for almost an hour. And yet we felt rushed by our waiter, who came by with the steady frequency of a metronome to take our food order. When the meal was over, our server neglected to alert us to a 4 percent credit card fee (not that anyone walks around with enough cash to do anything about it) while simultaneously charging us for an additional martini.

Until the founding of Clifton Martini & Wine Bar in 2010, 10427 Clifton Boulevard was best described as a restaurant killer, killing off six separate concepts in about 15 years. Earlier this year, chef Kevin O’Connell, who some may know from Cleveland Sandwich Co., set out to transform the space into a Midwestern version of a French bistro. At the moment, this bistro could use some refinement.

La Ville Lumière
10427 Clifton Blvd., Cleveland
216-331-5113
lvlcle.com

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