04/09/09

not worth the money!!

by wakkocat

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

01/22/09

Very disappointing

by tjhubers

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

12/08/08

Terrible Experience. Poor Management

by docsid007

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.

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.

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