I chose Lafayette based on a recommendation from a good friend who also has similar taste in restaurants and because it's from the same owners of Locanda Verde and The Dutch - one that I loved and the other that I thought was just ok. The vibe here is very similar to a classic French restaurant like Balthazar. Since it was the holiday season, it had this very cozy seasonal feel to it which was a nice touch.
While there wasn't anything the jumped out immediately to me on the menu, the food that I was seeing served to the people next to us did look pretty tasty and I was having a hard time deciding between a meat or fish course. Our waitress did try to tell us about their specials for the night and while she was very well intentioned and nice, she was such a low talker that only I could hear anything she was saying (I was closets to her). She said there was a sweetbread dish, which Betsy heard as shrimp and grits and she also tried to explain the short rib ravioli which Cicily could not understand at all. Now this place definitely does get very loud, so they really need to train their waitstaff to be especially loud when talking to their guests. I opted to go with the Bay Scallop appetizer ($18), Brussels Sprouts ($9) for the table, and the Steamed Black Bass ($33), Betsy got the Frisee Salad ($16) and the short rib daube ($34) and Cicily got the housemade garlic sausage appetizer ($16) and the short rib as well. As you can see from the prices, this place is not cheap. I didn't know what to expect with the scallop appetizer but I was pleasantly surprised at the number of scallops on the dish. Since they are bay scallops, they are on the smaller side but there were about 8 of them and they were served almost raw in a smoked sweet potato sauce and sprinkled with pumpkin seeds to add some crunch to the dish. It was nice dish but not sure if it was worth $18. Betsy's frisee salad was huge and had nice chunks of thick cut bacon. It was almost an entree sized dish, so if you plan on ordering it, I would suggest splitting it with someone. I didn't try the sausage but Cicily did mention that she enjoyed it. One other quick note about service again, they were just way too super eager/aggressive about clearing our plates. I get it if your plate is empty but Betsy still had about 3/4 of her dish and they were aggressively trying to clear her plate. That's a big no no in my book. As for the entrees, my black bass came in a fantastic shellfish bouillabaisse broth that I was definitely in love with. The fish was cooked perfectly with the right amount of tenderness - plus it was a fairly decent size cut of fillet that made the entire dish very filling. The broth came with pieces of clams and mussels and small pieces of potato and leeks in it. I wish I had bread with this dish because I would use it to sop up the entire bowl of broth. Meanwhile, Betsy and Cicily commented that while they liked their short rib there wasn't enough of it, there was too much glaze on top of it and they didn't care too much for the polenta cakes that came with it. It also seemed to be missing the fatty element of a typical dish. The side of Brussels Sprouts were good (better than the ones at Charlie Bird last night) - they were nice and chunkier and covered in horseradish and served with thick bacon. How can you go wrong with that combination? Again, while we were eating the waitstaff swooped in to try to clear our dishes before we were all done. It was really starting to get on my nerves. We opted for dessert and chose the ice cream trio ($8) which consisted of chocolate, vanilla and pumpkin spice. The pumpkin spice one was the best by far. It was the right mix of pumpkin and spice without being too overwhelming in either direction.
By the time we left dinner at 8:30, the place was definitely hopping and very loud. Overall, it was nice experience for a girls night out and I personally really loved my bass dish, but price-wise it's definitely on the expensive side. I also knocked it down half a fork for the low talking waitress and the overly aggressive staff who made us feel like they didn't want us in the restaurant by consistently clearly our plates before we were done and by giving us the bill without us asking for it. I do want to shout out to the sommelier who was excellent and gave us a fantastic recommendation in the exact price point we asked for. Total bill: $108/pp with tax, tip and drinks
Photo Credit: Yelp
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