Lyn Dowling
| For FLORIDA TODAY
He Who Eats Duck also is he who didn’t feel like cooking for Thanksgiving, and so he headed to Le French, having been told of its special holiday menu. He didn’t have duck, but he loved everything about the restaurant and returned a few days later with food critic in tow.
Yes, Le French is that good.
It is small, its quarters formerly Trend Bistro on A1A, and modishly decorated so as to take advantage of the light, with modern-style fixtures, white linens, a small bar and wine selections on one wall. It is immaculate.
So is the menu, which is relatively, admirably small, some entries being exactly what you would expect from the French couple who operate the place. Escargots ($11) are there, as coq au vin ($30) and profiteroles au chocolat ($12), among other things. Vive la France!
Having raved about the escargots and poisson du jour (monkfish, $38) he had for Thanksgiving, he decided on something lighter: traditional French onion soup ($10) and a brie and walnut salad ($18).
The former was French onion soup, with a terrific, oniony, but not overwhelmingly so, flavor, and the cheese on top was appropriately melted.
The salad, ordered with Romaine instead of the regular salad mix (like a lot of people, he cannot eat arugula), was magnificent in its simplicity: a round of brie, sliced lengthwise, atop a good number of walnuts and a fine mixture that included bright red, as opposed to weak orange, tomatoes. He declared it first-rate with every bite, beautifully balanced and grandly plated.
‘Best’ boeuf Bourguignon
Having brunched at Le French a couple of times, I went with a full dinner, and the boeuf Bourguignon ($34) was easily the best I’d ever had: delivered bubbling hot, with perfectly cooked vegetables, including leek, and large cubes of beef as well as creamy mashed potatoes.
If you order this dish, you kind of expect a winey taste because so many cooks don’t know how to use and reduce it. This had only a shadow of Burgundy, as it should have been, an addition to the fine flavors of the stew. Again, it was superbly balanced: boeuf Bourguignon as it should be.
Apple tarte tatin ($10) was a shared dessert and it too was spot-on, a beautifully presented flaky puff pastry topped with ice cream and caramel syrup as well as clearly fresh, not-too-sweet apples. On a normal day, I wouldn’t have gone with it, but I’m glad we did because it was perfect for the season.
A good Bordeaux? Count me in
Normally I do not order wine when I do these reviews, largely because I must drive afterward, but this time, the urge to order a good Bordeaux was too much to resist and so Clos Pichot it was. In addition to matching the meal, everything about it worked, from the fine aroma to the characteristic texture.
So, what could Le French do to improve, if anything?
First, it could serve bread with meals, no prompting required. It would been especially welcome with that salad and useful to mop up the gravy of that stew, but if preparing bread is too difficult, we know a baker who does some of the best French bread you’ll ever devour.
Second, it would be wonderful to see French dishes for which Americans don’t normally ask, including regional cooking. Galettes would be swell, and for bean-lovers, cassoulet. Ah, one could go on!
Those are quibbles. Le French is a fine restaurant, especially well-suited for holiday dining or stopping in to enjoy wine and dessert.
Bien fait, Le French.
Lyn Dowling is a freelance food and lifestyles writer based in Melbourne.
Le French
Four stars
Address: 1924 Hwy. A1A, Indian Harbour Beach
Hours: 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and 5 to 9 p.m. Sundays; 5 to 9 p.m. Wednesdays and Thursdays; 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and 5 to 9 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays
Call: 321-622-897
Online: https://lefrenchrestaurant.com
Also: Menus change with the seasons; see website for Christmas and New Year’s Eve menus.
About our reviews
Restaurants are rated on a five-star system by FLORIDA TODAY’s reviewer. The reviews are the opinion of the reviewer and take into account quality of the restaurant’s food, ambiance and service. Ratings reflect the quality of what a diner can reasonably expect to find. To receive a rating of less than three stars, a restaurant must be tried twice and prove unimpressive on each visit. Each reviewer visit is unannounced and paid for by FLORIDA TODAY.
Dining and Cooking