La Ville Lumiere

I have been to this place three times since they opened and I have not been disappointed yet. This french bistro is located in what use to be the Clifton Wine Bar. The owner wanted to bring a place to neighborhood where you could get an elevated dining experience after 8pm. I really appreciate it because since COVID you cannot get a real meal in the late evening.On this visit I was attending a build your own Manhattan night. Adam of LVL and Sarah (@spiritmethods) of Diageo Hospitality were our hosts. At each place setting there was a tasting card with 5 spirits, 5 vermouths and 5 bitters to try. They also had a complimentary reverse Manhattan to drink before the tasting got started. (1oz spirit, 2 oz vermouth) They also had some hors d'oeuvres. See the specifics of the tasting below.I noticed that they sell a onion soup and I love a good onion soup. It comes hot and bubbly in a pot. The flavor is great without being salty at all. It is pretty large so I took half of it home. I also go truffle fries that taste good but were a tad bit salty.Tip: Happy Hour Monday- Friday4PM-6PM10PM-12AMMega Tip The mussels on happy hour are wonderful.Spirits -We tried George Dickel rye whiskey, an 8 year aged George Dickel bourbon, blade and bow bourbon, johnnie walker black scotch and don julio reposado.Tasting wise I enjoyed the blade and bow the most but for my final cocktail I chose the George Dickel bourbon because it was a bit more robust and I thought it would add depth to my cocktail.Vermouths-Noilly Prat - very dry like chardonnayCarapano Antika- copious amount of vanillaDolin Rouge-mild sweetnessPunt e mes vermouth amaro- more sweet than bitterblack vermouth Averna- after dinner liquor, Sicilian amoraI enjoyed the noilly pratt the most but for the purpose of creating my final cocktail I chose to add 1 oz of Dolin Rouge and .5 oz of Punt e mes, again this where chosen because I thought they would enhance the flavor profile.Bitters- angostura bitters- salt and pepper of bittersregan's orange bitterFee brothers black walnut bittersangostura cocoa bitterspeychaud's bittersAll the bitters were very strong but I chose 2 dashes of orange bitters and 2 dashes of black walnut bitters.I garnished with orange peel and brandied cherry. I rate my drink a 10/10.The event was extremely informative and made for a great night out with friends.

Had dinner with my mother here before heading downtown to Playhouse Square. Great ambiance, though, as others have mentioned, it can be loud.Food was DELICIOUS! We had the bread service with Brie and whipped butter, French onion soup, duck (for me) and the veal chop (for my mom). The bread was warm and the accompaniments were tasty. The soup - a HUGE copper pot of delicious broth, onions, croutons and Gruyère. The cheese stretch was crazy, and the soup had a lovely depth of flavor. I happen to love duck, but hardly ever have the opportunity to indulge - the confit and seared breast were perfect, with crispy Brussels sprouts, mushrooms and a dark cherry reduction. YUM! My Mom's veal chop was impressive in size, cooked well - she said it was great! Came with asparagus and mashed potatoes. Both entrees were so large we could not finish them, but they were nicely boxed up. Our server was attentive, understanding our time constraints to get to the theater. She was also personable and knowledgeable about the menu!Highly recommend!

TL,DR: Get: The onion soup, the bread and brie, the French dip sandwich, a French 75, and a bottle of winePark: Free street parking right in front on Clifton and all surrounding side streetsWear: Business attire or better, but jeans work fine too - Very "All are welcome" atmosphereReserve: Reserve a seat in advance via Resy or Google, there's also a first-come first-serve bar with plenty of seatingWow, I am seriously impressed with La Vielle Lumiere. The cozy French restaurant is tucked away in plain sight, a hidden gem right on busy Clifton Boulevard. Stepping into the restaurant feels like a trip to New York, with dim lighting, understated decor, and intimate seating. It's a perfect atmosphere for a romantic date night, but is also welcoming enough for work dinners, wine nights, and everything in between. The service is excellent; the waitstaff seem like they really want to be there -- or they're just acting like it, which is a testament to itself. Everyone was friendly, excited, and helpful throughout the whole meal, eager to make our night a great one, and super polite in doing so. It's also nice to see waitstaff dressed in classic fine dining apparel -- it's a really small detail that goes a long way in making the experience feel authentic. I really hope the staff loves their jobs as much as they seem like they do!Of course, the food is also a huge reason why we loved La Vielle Lumiere so much. I didn't have any expectations. French food is difficult to get right and often feels disingenuous. We have L'Albatros and The Judith who do it well already, so I had some reservations about another French restaurant joining the scene. LVL is definitely putting itself on the map and you can tell that whomever is behind the menu has a passion for the cuisine. We ordered the linguini and clams, which was rich and massively flavorful. We also ordered the French dip, which was likely the best I've had -- the beef melts in your mouth and the bread pairs perfectly with the rich au jus. The French fries are classic, thin pommes frites, they work perfectly with the more casual dishes. Even the bread and butter-brie served before the meal was fantastic, a detail we really appreciated that went far beyond typical bread-and-butter combinations. The only drawbacks about LVL: The marketing is a little lacking - their Instagram photos don't really do the space/food justice. The website also doesn't have a direct link to the menu, and the one I found on Google doesn't seem to have all of the options of the menu in person. It's a little hard to know what you're going to get and how beautiful the restaurant really is - a drawback in today's Instagram-heavy landscape.The other drawback is that the front door is very close to the front of the dining area: We were very cold with the door opening often! We went for a somewhat casual dinner on a Tuesday night, but are excited to go back for a more fancy occasion and try some of the seafood dishes; and also to try their late night happy hour. We LOVE that this is offered -- we work late hours and often eat after 10pm! I'll admit I don't crave duck breast late at night, but knowing their French dip, croque monsieur, and hamburger is an option is a huge draw for us going back -- that, and the delicious French 75!

It's lovely to see a restaurant open in this space! They are unmatched with late night happy hours and a uniquely French menu. The food leans traditional with mid/upper scale pricing for the area. The appetizers were great. The Chicken Milanese was good while the steak in the steak frites was more fat that I expected. The dessert was lovely, outside of the burnt sugar layer.The service was good though slow at times; I'm not one to sit with an empty glass for a while or to try to get the waiter's attention to order but I had to do both on this Tuesday visit. I'd recommend a reservation and to join in for a celebratory meal when you have ample time and aren't afraid of very warm temperatures in the establishment.

After my French Onion soup arrived and I took the first bite, my reaction was "Cleveland - finally! - has its Balthazar"And the rest of the meal followed suit. My Poulet Chasseur - a rustic southern French dish of slow cooked chicken breast over a bed of potatoes and root vegetables - was exactly what the doctor ordered on a cold late November afternoon. And my wife's salade Lyonnaise was perfect! Cocktails were on point, the Pegu Club (one of my faves from the late 00s when I was in NY a few times a month) brought a nice dose of nostalgia. Excellent Bordeaux by the glass to accompany the chicken. Portions were hearty - could have easily split an entree.Service was a tad spotty but they were busy and in the process of training people - they were extremely friendly and took care of things right away when brought to their attention. The redesign of the space is beautiful - true French bistro just love it. Note Cleveland has great French spots - Chez is a landmark; L'Albatros too (and especially its patio in the summer)... but there is no *Bistro* format restaurant. La Ville Lumière isn't trying to reinvent anything - it's simply doing classic, centuries old recipes and - at least on this visit - nailing them... exquisitely...As someone who spent a lot of their twenties living in Nice - I spent a lot of time during that time in my local neighborhood brasserie, le restaurant Magnon - it's *wonderful* to have the old school Keith McNally-inspired French bistro format active in the Land!!

We heard about the opening of his new French restaurant in Lakewood, so we had to try it out. We were very impressed with our experience. The interior is nicely decorated and it's not too loud. The main restaurant and bar area is quite open and you can get a glimpse of what's going on in the kitchen. The service was on par and the menu had quite a variety. We decided to skip main entrées and go for a sampling of the hors d'oeuvrrs list. We tried the French onion soup, escargot, crabcake, mac & cheese, and gougeres. This was quite a bit of food so we left extremely full.There is a small offering of French restaurants in Cleveland and this one would be towards the top. If you're looking for authentic French cuisine, then definitely try this place out.

The French European Bistro opened recently and I'm so excited to have tried it!!!It's a great place for an intimate but casual enough restaurant. One recommendation I would give is that the menus are a bit large compared to the quaint table sizes and I would've liked a booklet menu instead.Our server William was attentive and very kind. We felt very welcomed coming in.They had a special for an entire lobster which I had to try because that's so hard to find in cleveland. It does come with harcot verts and potatoes which is nice. The lamb rack is a must!!!! It's a huge portion and cooked to perfection. The escargot is a French classic and there were so many in there! I do wish we got a little bit more bread with it.I'm so happy that La Ville Lumiere opened for people to try new food experiences that aren't readily available in cleveland.

The ambiance is amazing for a date night or intimate dinner! The food is decent. We have been twice but it's been inconsistent with many menu changes. They got rid of the meal I adored so that was a bummer. Worth trying!

This place is amazing. The food is French, the atmosphere with white table cloths is awesome and a great bar. The owners go over board to make sure everything is perfect! A great plus for the near Westside of Cleveland.

Had a reservation on a Saturday night, and were seated right away. The service was as expected - and the restaurant was very busy. The entree portions were more than fair, though I'd say the portion of cassoulet was too large. The dish was good, but one dimensional. the scallops were delicious, and I'd order again. We had a Caesar salad as an appetizer and at $15 it was way overpriced for a small plate of chopped romaine with a few croutons. Don't bother. Our biggest issue was how unbearably loud this place is - we had to raise our voices to try to hold a conversation. Not a relaxing experience. Will I go back? Not anytime soon. I can easily think of several restaurants where the experience is far superior in consideration of ambience, food and price.