I hope I caught them on a bad night
Visited 11/29/03 for first time. The room, which is cozy, had too many patrons stuffed into it. Our table for four was six inches away from the neighboring party of two. The noise level started high and became a roar as the evening progressed, and cigarette smoke from the adjoining bar area intruded too easily into the non-smoking area. While the menu offered many appealling choices and the food was excellent, the kitchen was slow and the service ranged from inattentive to outright neglectful. Most serious was that there was a 10% error in our bar bill, not in our favor. The staff corrected the error, but nobody attempted to explain the error or apologized. We left with the impression that we had been an inconvenience to the staff rather than their guests for the preceding two hours. There is one runner in the place who looks a little like Mick Belker from Hill Street Blues, who really hustled and did a great job. The rest of the wait staff would do well to adopt his approach to his work. As provincial as Lexington may be, there are still several places in town where you can spend $250 on dinner for four and have as good a meal without being shoehorned into your seats, having to shout in order to converse across the (petite) table, getting stiffed on the bar bill, and leaving after dining in the non-smoking area with your clothing smelling of cigarette smoke.    [30 Nov 2003 08:24:55]

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Recommended Dishes: They all look good

     ­Anonymous   

Cafe Ptomaine
Went there once last summer, and once was more than enough. My guest and I had the same appetizer and were both sick for two days after. In addition, the fish entree I ordered was soggy! Even I can't cook fish that badly.    [25 Jan 2004 23:01:28]

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     ­Auntie Lexington   

WOW
For all diverse loving people, I highly recommend Le Deauville. It is as close as you can be in Paris, or New York without being there. Food is excellent, and Christophe and his wife Elizabeth are very kind and sociable.    [07 Jul 2004 15:43:26]

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Recommended Dishes: salmon

     ­SSS   

not again
I went there recently for a special anniversary dinner and was VERY dissappointed. The service was terrible and the food was worse. We spent $80 for two entrees, two glasses of house wine and one appetizer. For that much I expect to enjoy my evening and eat some good food. It was truly awful.    [13 Jul 2004 17:15:09]

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     ­Anonymous   

Tres bien
French bistro is one of my favorite places to dine. It reminds me of my visit to Paris, and the side walk sitting is tres chic. Customers are beautiful and fashionable, what else can you ask for?? Food is manific, and ambiance is fabulous.    [02 Aug 2004 19:38:09]

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Recommended Dishes: Dock

     ­French lover, LEXINGTON   

Best Place to Eat in Lexington
We've eaten in many of the "best" restaurants in Lexington...and frankly, this one truly surpasses them all. The food is created with enthusiasm and sensitivity - we even had the chef come out from the kitchen to show us the electric blue color of the Thai shrimp before they are cooked! The vibrancy of the space, the intimacy and sophistication of the experience helps support an otherwise lackluster restaurant scene. My companion and I have lived all over the world and eaten in restaurant from Oslo to Rio -- Le Deauville does not disappoint...and the proprietor is simply charming. I was shocked to see the food critic from the Chevy Chaser disparagingly call this restaurant "aggressively french." Perhaps because the vegetables weren't deep-fried? Baffling, really. It *IS* a French restaurant, after all...    [10 Feb 2005 15:50:00]

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     ­Anonymous   

A Wonderful Gift!
This review is based on my daughter's description of her and hubby's dinner at Le Deauville. I gave them a gift certificate to Le Deauville as a Christmas gift.

Both enjoyed the boistrous bistro setting!! While waiting for their table, they were given complimentary glasses of champagne and were treated royally. The food was superb! Nothing but nice things to say about this place.    [05 Mar 2005 15:38:47]

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Recommended Dishes: Steak au poivre, red snapper

     ­JaneEthel    janeethel at yahoo dot com

Mine must have been the second bad day.
Had lunch in the early fall. Liked the ambiance and the idea of the food. It was merely mediocre and they had to send out to get some of it. The server was terribly inexperienced and got little help from the owner who did not seem to care a lot. There was not a crowd, so the only explanation for the painfully slow service was that they were not expecting anyone for lunch. They knew more than we did.    [08 Nov 2005 16:06:41]

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     ­Anonymous   

Perfect
We had our anniversary dinner at Le Deauville, and it was absolutely perfect. Our waiter was solicitous and helpful, and we enjoyed the elegant yet casual atmosphere. The food was exquisite. The endive salad is wonderful, and both meat and vegetarian choices were cooked and seasoned to perfection. What a pleasant surprise - I hadn't had French cuisine in years, and one of my most memorable meals was had here in Lexington! We were still talking about the food the next day.

We were lucky to have our anniversary fall on a rainy autumn weeknight, as it was very quiet and cozy in the restaurant. During nicer weather, the space is really crowded.    [03 Nov 2006 00:17:32]

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Recommended Dishes: endive salad, dessert

     ­Happy Traveller