La Belle Vie

Great service. Food is severed promptly. The flavors are out of this world. Tried the Soft Shelled Crab, the Sea Scallops, and toped it off with the warm Honey Cake. Can't wait to come back. more

My wife is from Minneapolis so we spent this past weekend there visiting her parents. We got in town on Friday and came here for a late dinner. Since we got in somewhat late we sat in the lounge area. The atmosphere and decor were classy and the service was very friendly. We decided to order a variety of dishes so we could try a little bit of everything. We ordered the grilled flatbread, prawns, selection of imported cheeses, assortment of grilled meats, grilled bread with orange marmalade, lamb burgers, butternut squash ravioli, poached lobster, the duck entrée and the truffled crepe. EVERYTHING was delicious. My personal favorite was the butternut squash ravioli. I also really enjoyed the prawns, the duck entrée and the poached lobster. The crepe was my least favorite, it was way too salty, almost like they had dumped salt all over it; but the service and the other dishes made up for it. They also have a great wine and drink list with fun names on the drink list like..'Night of the Hunter,' 'Taking it to the House,' and my personal favorite 'Handsome Devil.' Overall this was an outstanding restaurant and we will be coming back next time we're in town. Next time I would really like to sit in the dining room and try the tasting menu. more

We are one of those couples who are not afraid to spend money on a wonderful dining experience once in a while or a special occasion. So for our anniversary we chose La belle vie. I would never come here again. For the amount of the money we spent one so little food, it is just not worth it. We had the chef's tasting menu with the wine. Service was good, food tasted good. But the portions should have been double for what it cost. There are so many other places we've been to that we kept wishing we were at last nite instead. Pros: taste of food, service Cons: very small portions, extremely over priced more

The waiter was not knowledgable, pretentious and condescending. There were two of us there for dinner and each of us did a five course meal trying different items. With the reviews we have read we expected something wonderful and what we ate was VERY sub-par. These supposed ""world renowned"" chefs of Minneapolis should travel outside of this state to find out what good food is supposed to taste like. The waiter recommended the scallops to me telling me they were ""the best scallops the chef has seen in 18 months"". They were extremely gritty, I have had better scallops from Rainbow Foods. The entire experience was extremely disappointing. If you are serious about wanting a real fine dining experience, where the chef and the staff actually know what they are doing, I suggest making the drive to Chicago before wasting your time in La Belle Vie. Pros: I had a good martini Cons: Poor quality food, poor service more

I am a self-avowed foodie and have eaten at some of the finest restaurants in the U.S. I have come to equate good food with good service. I had a horrible experience at this restaurant: I was in town for a friend's graduation and made a reservation for a party of 12 at La Belle Vie. I informed the manager there would be 3 children in the group. He promised to accommodate the group and alluded that our table would be in the main dining room. \r \r Arriving at the restaurant, we found our table had been setup directly adjacent to a very crowded, noisy bar in the lounge. Literally, people at the bar were spilling over onto the table. I asked the manager if the table could be moved. He referred me to William Summerville, one of the proprietors of the restaurant. I explained the problem to him and asked for his help. He was brash and not helpful at all. His attitude was either take the table or leave He stated he was okay with the children eating at the loud bar. There was no apology. There was no acknowledgement of a problem. We took the table and ate as hurriedly as we could. None of the managers ever came to our table to apologize or see how we were doing. \r \r To me, the food was mediocre. The foie gras appetizer was cold. The Artic Char was okay, but I've had better. The group elected to skip dessert due to the poor service. I would have expected much better service at this restaurant. Pros: Average food Cons: Poor management and customer service more

I do not know how to start review for La Belle Vie to be useful for other, but I will just write down what I saw and how I feel about. We went there in our second anniversary, When arrive the building really looks old (like the one I spent my childhood in) but clean, I would borrow a statement from another posting that it feels like you're eating in your Aunt Betsy's living room, dining area is surprisingly quite small, I did not feel that I?m in expensive place,. I was expecting relaxing expensive chairs/tables, new carpet, music in background, high end decoration The attendances do their best to look like proficient but I do not think they are, they said he will make us comfortable but they failed. Now we come to the food, I know that fine dine is all about the taste & presentation not to feel full, so I was expecting large plate with small portion in the middle, We go with the five course menu as many suggest to, there were two dishes caught or attention Sweet Pea Panna Cotta with King Crab and brown Butter Vinaigrette, Grilled Beef Tenderloin with Morel Mushrooms, Jerusalem Artichokes and Forme D?Ambert. The other are still good and have a unique taste but not that special. So now how much I give that, I honestly do not know, we are frozen food eater-machine, no one spend more than 15min cooking in kitchen, so how to tell they are really good cookers, or we are the lazy cooker. I would say my grandmother with very simple kitchen would have cook better. The other thing should cooking justify the $65/person you pay for dinner only (no wine). End the night with $185 with no-wine make me said, do not blame them, blame yourself who make the junkies your daily food so you need to pay little fortune to eat as it supposed to be!! I wouldn?t back again, but for you think how you feel about what I wrote. more

We saved experiencing the much celebrated Le Belle Vie experience for a special occasion. We celebrated our 3rd anniversary there this week by ordering the ""tasting menu"" in the lounge. This was touted in the local press as an affordable way to experience Le Belle Vie's award winning cuisine at a ""spectacular value"". The four course $40 Tasting Menu was accompanied by a $25 wine flight. We found the wine to be a solid, but unremarkable collection that was a solid value for the money. The food was quite another matter. Our four course ""tasting menu"" was literally that....a taste of each course and nothing more. Each course was literally one or two bites and I would estimate that we each received maybe six ounces of food in total. Now we are reasonably experienced and savvy diners and have enjoyed a number of excellent tasting menus in the Twin Cities (Solera's Valentine's and North Coast's Tasting Menus were both far superior) and found Le Belle Vie's serving sizes to be a small fraction of their competitions and the quality of food (with the exception of the beef tenderloin which was excellent) to be throughly unexceptional. In fact, immediately after finishing our $175 snack at Le Belle Vie's, we decided to go slumming and went to the Town Talk Diner to get some real food in a much more enjoyable setting at a small fraction of the cost. So either my lady and I lack the requisite sophistication (and miniscule appetites) to enjoy such haute cuisine...or the emperor has no clothes at Le Belle Vie. Pros: Good service, delicious beef tenderloin Cons: Grossly over priced, microscopic portions, unexceptional food (with the exception of the tenderloin) more

This place is amazing. The service was some of the best i've received, the foods amazing, and the drinks and wine list are great. Try the tasting menu, its well worth the money. The only weird kinda part is that it feels like its in a apartment building. Pros: Service, food. more

The service was lovely, and the people were gracious. The food used the highest quality ingredients and was exquisitely prepared with high attention to detail... The problem? I left hungry. And no, I'm not one of those people who expect a slab of beef and giant plate o'pasta, but I was hoping for a little more than a single bite or two of food at a single course. \r \r Pros: elegant environment Cons: still hungry... more

I have eaten in some incredible restaurants in this country and was really excited to finally have the opportunity to try a homegrown ""fine dining"" experience. Everything was good. The wine was nice, the service was fine. The food was good. $400 for two of us is just way too much to leave feeling like you have enjoyed an average night out. I do not know if it was all the butter used, or? both myself and my date were up all night. Pros: Glad to see that a Minnesota restaurant receives national attention Cons: Really very average nationally speaking and very expensive for the experience more

I went last summer with a group of six for a special occasion, after seeing so much press for the restaurant, the food, the service, etc. I have never felt the need to write a review before this, but I don't think I have ever been so disappointed in a dining experience! The food was mediocre, the service was condescending, especially to our guests, and the restaurant was incredibly loud. We were seated at a round table and could barely hear each other. Coming from a dessert background, I was especially looking forward to the desserts, and I ordered the white peach sampler. The flavors were bland and the textures were off, and I ended up not even finishing the dessert. The only highlight of the meal was the day boat halibut, but was not worth the $600 dollars we spent. If you are looking for a great restaurant with friendly, helpful service, and innovative food, try Cafe Lurcat or Restaurant Alma. more

What can I say? La Belle Vie has just gotten better over the years. The restaurant started in that charming Stillwater location with its unique identity in both food and service. Now with the move to Minneapolis, it has definitely grown and matured into an exquisite dining experience. My husband and I just went there for our 25th anniversary and were pleasantly, though not surprisingly, pleased with the food, service, and ambiance. After years of travel and dining at a lot of wonderful eateries, we will always come back to La Belle Vie. more

My husband and I went to La Belle Vie for my 30th birthday. At Christmas we went to Vincent and were tempted to return (it was excellent) but we had heard good things about La Belle Vie.\r \r What a disappointment. The first thing that struck us was the lack of atmosphere - the dining room had the feel of a business hotel conference room, no ambience at all. There was a problem with the heating and the space was absolutely freezing. I kept my coat on and was uncomfortable all evening.\r \r We had the taster menu - the food was good but nothing special (particularly when compared to Vincent's). This was one of the very few times that I have left a restaurant and still been a little hungry. The taster portion sizes were barely a mouthful each. \r \r On a positive note, the service was exceptional and the wines paired with the food were exquisite (and generously poured). But we shall not return, and will go back to Vincent the next time we want to treat ourselves. Pros: Service, wine Cons: Average food, miniscule portions more

To celebrate our anniversary my husband and I wanted to do something special and La Belle Vie lived up to what we wanted. The lady that was our waiteress was very professional and treated with the utmost respect. We had the five course preset menu accompanied by the wine. Each course was delicious. When I mentioned that I was not a pig pork fan the waitress was quick to find me an alternative. Pros: Wait Staff more

My husband and I were there recently. The food was amazing and the wait staff impeccable. We enjoyed it very much. more

I've had a lot of good food in my time, both home-cooked and in restaurants across parts of the globe. La Belle Vie is the best meal experience I've ever had.\r \r Every moment of it was exquisite. The service was impeccable, the wine list diverse, the food absolute perfection. We did the 5 course tasting menu, to which they added on two special ""extras,"" and each course built perfectly on the last to create a night of food ecstasy.\r \r Usually when I eat out, I can identify the ingredients and spices used. At La Belle Vie, they're so far beyond my knowledge that I couldn't possibly do so. Each morsel is a mingling of so many flavors, but despite that the overall effect is one of unity with all the flavors perfectly complementing each other.\r \r Yes, it's an expensive night out for those of us who don't live the posh life. But if you can save up for it, do so. I'm planning on trying to get there at least once a year so that I can enjoy the experience on at least an annual basis.\r \r The only con I can mention is that the space itself is a bit strange. It feels a bit like you're in someone's living room and there isn't much privacy. They could also use more small tables. When we went, there was only one group of 4 and many groups of 2. If I remember right, there wasn't a single two-person table, and the 4-person tables are quite large. So they could work on the ""intimacy"" of the space.\r \r But for dining and service, there could be no improvements. It's a real gem and we're fortunate to have such a wonderful place in our midst. Pros: Amazing food, impeccable service, wine list Cons: Ambience, lack of "couple" seating more

In Stillwater it was small and cozy and service was so prompt that if you dropped your fork, they were at your table with a new one before it even hit the ground. In Mpls most of the same staff is there, but it's much bigger and lost most of it's charm and romance. Gone are the days of prompt service and quiet personal dining. Now it is an average restaraunt filled with snoody wine snobs trying to impress business clients. The food is still out of this world. We went to Stillwater 4 times and loved each experience. We went to the new location once and probably will not return. Pros: World's best chef, Great staff, Vallet parking Cons: No atmosphere, Not romantic more

My husband and I had the 8 course tasting menu and wine paring. It was a dreamlike experience. Our servers were informative, charismatic and pleasant. I had heard so many rave reviews for so many years and was delighted to finally have the opportunity to experience it myself. Words cannot explain our evening there. Please experience this for yourself. Pros: romantic, well-portioned, informative Cons: $$$$, need reservations, raises the bar more

The Day-Boat Halibut (caught and brought in the same day fresh) was exquisite. The combination of flavor on this first course was mind blowing. My mouth is watering just thinking about it. We went withe the tasting menu and paired wines. I recommend going this way. The price is better than buying a bottle and your wines will be perfectly paired with your courses. Fois Gras you ask??? The fois is a nothing short of asexual experience. Try the lamb rib eye. You'll never have a cleaner fresher tasting piece of lamb in your life. This place is not for budget-minded people. It is expensive but if you want a very special night or you have too much money in your bank account, this is your place. Incredible. Pros: Awesome Service more

Perfect. Lovely. Amazing. Sublime. Mere words are wholly inadequate for La Belle Vie; outstanding service, gracious surroundings, and what can only be imagined as the food of the gods. I once fretted that the move from Stillwater would dampen my enthusiasm for this place... quite to the contrary, it has suffered nothing and gained much more. Pros: Delightful service, Amazing food, Incredible atmosphere Cons: absolutely nothing more