A La Lucie

Ate there back in the fall. Got to enjoy shark for the first time since being away from the coast. Over all its really tasty. Salad wasnt much to right about. Ordered the escargot (snails) 1^st time trying them. Cant judge them against any others and probably never will. The fish and shark we ordered was great… simply great.

Very lovely place with lots of charm and very well prepared food. I truly enjoyed the seafood casserole, cooked perfectly.
My guest had the liver and onions and said it was tremendous.
I have always enjoyed it here but it’s been a while and I’m glad to see its still fantastic.

Enjoyed perhaps the best burger I’ve ever eaten during Lexington Burger Week here. It was absolute perfection. Even though the line that formed waiting for the restaurant to open filled up every table the service was great and food was delivered quickly.
Great job handling an entire restaurant that was seated all at the same time! This burger should be on the menu. Albeit it wouldn’t be $ 5.00 but I would pay $ 15 for it!

Delicious appetizers that exceeded my expectations. On point martinis and special order drinks. Friendly, fun, and efficient staff. The Lexington Burger Week burger was amazing. The desserts were tasty but average. Cute and comfortable atmosphere. Make a reservation if it’s the weekend, it’s worth it!

Just tried two nights ago and I will definitely go back! I ended up getting the French onion soup as my meal, which is to die for!!! We also got the Brie for appetizer — it was nice, but small and something only one or two people should eat (not a group). My friends got the rabbit and steak, which both said were nice. Dessert menu is expansive! This would actually be a lovely place to just grab dessert too, if wanted. The biggest draw back was the service was incredibly slow and impersonal (fitting for a French restaurant, right?) and some items were just overpriced. Overall, though I enjoyed! I will definitely return just for that soup!

My husband made us reservations here for a Mother’s Day brunch and we had never been and often see it on lists of great restaurants in Lexington. We ended up not eating here, but I’m actually giving them the benefit of the doubt with my rating, because IF their food is really good and I’d eaten and enjoyed it, I would have given them 2 stars. We arrived to a mostly empty restaurant (there was one other table when we arrived and one more coming in as we left) which isn’t a great sign for brunch on Mother’s Day when everywhere else is packed. Despite a restaurant full of empty tables, the hostess seemed totally confused on where to seat us, changing her mind 3 – 4 times. Within seconds of walking in, the smell of cigarette smoke was brutal. I thought it may have been from outside, but after several minutes, it was just as strong. So much so that I felt terrible having my 2 year-​old in that building. The décor/​atmosphere is really weird as well. Large paintings of naked women combined with cheap animal print everywhere. We ended up walking out without ordering (which I don’t think EITHER of us has ever done). The menu we did see for this «special brunch» was very basic food at very high prices. We’ll never return and I seriously question any list of great Lexington restaurants that includes A La Lucie.

Bottom line as the first line: I wanted to like this eclectic, provocative boutique restaurant, but it fell short of my expectations. Promising, but lacking in innovation.
Lots of positive reviews from decades ago and a loyal following among long-​time Lexingtonians lead me to believe this place was a trend-​setter before the city really had any (and needed some!). Now that there is a handful of localities with tantalizing menus, a la lucie needs to fluff the proverbial pillows and replace the old carpet to stay au currant.
Then there’s the problem of the food. For the price, it’s mediocre at best. Honestly, I found my fish entrée terribly bland, though the portion was admittedly generous. My husband felt the same about his entrée. I can’t even remember exactly what we had; it was that forgettable, which is unfortunate, since it was my birthday. :/

I came here with my coworkers for a holiday lunch this past Christmas.
It’s a cozy little restaurant. I felt like the eight of us took up half the restaurant. The décor is fun and quirky. I loved that they had the «leg lamps» from A Christmas Story. Too cute!
I opted for the French onion soup instead of a salad. It came out piping hot and it sure looked impressive. It tasted good. I wasn’t blown away and it certainly wasn’t the best French onion soup I’ve had, but it was good. A solid ³⁄₅ stars.
OK. The entrée may have been my fault. The French onion soup filled me up, so I ordered something lighter. The turkey lettuce wraps. I don’t know why I pictured them is way, but in my mind I was thinking a large sturdy piece of lettuce with several slices of turkey, avocado, and dressing tucked inside.
Nope. It was a large piece of wilted lettuce with small strips of turkey scattered on it, along with an overwhelming amount of cucumber slices, two slices of avocado and this awful tangy Parmesan-​esque dressing. It was awful. I couldn’t even stomach more than a couple bites of it.
My coworker got the Monte Cristo (I was having serious food envy!) and she gave me a few bites of it. Now THAT was absolutely decadent and delicious.
Also…our server was super nice. Joked with us, made us laugh. He was very accommodating and I don’t think any of us had an empty glass at any point. That’s saying something for 8 people!
I really want to give this place another chance and maybe go back for a summer time date night. No turkey wraps next time!

Glitzy… That’s how I’d describe the décor. But it’s not about the décor, right? Although, the large portraits of 1800^th century (I’m guessing) nude women were a bit odd. I’m not going to knock it.
With other reviews ranking this place as one of the top three Lexington restaurants, this place was on my radar for a while. Usually when I go out to eat, it’s a last minute decision, so any place that usually requires a reservation isn’t a priority for me to try. This place is tiny, so that’s why reservations are recommended.
On a Friday evening around 7:00, I called and asked if they had seating and the lady said that they did, but it was near the door and then she started speaking to someone else and then came back to the phone and said that another table just came available and it wasn’t near the door. As I was giving my name for the reservation, she hung up… that was strange, the entire reservation call. We showed up 10 minutes later and was «greeted» by the same lady that I spoke to on the phone. She informed us that the only table available was in front of the door. There were several empty tables in view, but those were for people who had reservations, I suppose. I seriously wouldn’t have made my way there, tackled parking to eat a fancy dinner in my winter coat. I’m not a very fancy person mind you, so I wasn’t as dressy as the patrons, so I honestly think that’s why the premium seat wasn’t available once I arrived. Most of the patrons were in dresses and such… All fancy shmancey.
The food:
The bread came out about thirty minutes after we arrived, with no butter. So we asked for butter. It just so happened to be our friend the hostess who was the next one to ask if we needed anything, so I asked for butter. She took the entire basket of bread to the back and then brought it back with the butter… it was bizarre.
I ordered from the chef special menu (I’m not sure of the actual name of the menu) a pasta dish. It came with four sea scallops and vegetables. The pasta was cooked perfectly and everything about the entire dish was excellent. My husband on the other hand, wasn’t fond of his steak. He said that it was tender, just not flavorful.
Would I go back? I really don’t think so. Our bill was $ 72 (no alcohol). There are a handful of better places in that price range or cheaper… I’m still a Malone’s fan.

Used to be one of my favorite places to eat back in the 90s. Moved back a couple of years ago and decided I would go at lunch for my Wife’s birthday. Had a side salad with the lemon vinigrette to start and wife had the French Onion soup. Both were great. For entrée wife had the steamed mussels and I had the boulliabaise. The mussels came out and some of them were almost raw. The broth was a tomato sauce, where you really couldn’t taste the wine or the mussels in the broth. The boullibaise had shrimp that was a bit overcooked along with half a lobster tail that was also overcooked and rubbery. The fish and scallop in the boullibaise was nice, but once again several of the mussels were raw almost not cooked. The boullibaise wasn’t as good as I remembered it long ago in the 90s. The restaurant seemed empty at lunch, my wife and I, and a small group were the only ones in there. Was on the fairly expensive side, $ 48 for two without tip.
I’ve had mussels at The flying fish in Orlando, and one of my favorite places Black Market Bistro in Rockville MD, and those place are much better.

I’m not sure why I do not eat her more! Last time In I had a fish dish that was delish! Great service on a Professional side, aka Fine dinning. Local owned and served.

Wow. This place was great! We had a party of 15 and they had everything ready for us on arrival. The servers were fantastic and my wine or water glass was never empty. They have a great menu with mouth-​watering options and our server suggested wines for each pairing. I went with a chicken carbonara pasta and many around me opted for different versions of seafood and the filet. Our food came out correctly and hot and all-​together! For dessert we ordered the chocolate mousse, peanut butter pie, crème brûlée, and maple donut bread pudding. O. M. G. MAPLE. DONUT. BREAD. PUDDING. Yes yes and yes. The only reason I didn’t give them 5 stars was due to the noise-​level. Its a small space with a lot of tables and very funky décor. It’s worth then noise for the food but if you are looking for a quite, intimate, french dinner then I would choose somewhere else.

Once you get past the décor, which is a little interesting. The food was good. I am a big fan of Steak Tartar and this was pretty good. They allowed you to mix in the capers and other items in the amount you prefer, but I really enjoyed the dishes. I had the fish special which was Branzini with s caper sauce. The wife had the mussels in a wine sauce for an app and the crab cakes for her meal. It was all enjoyable and service was good. Although this place is pricey the experience was memorable and we look forward to our next trip back.

There are few times in your life that you taste something as awesome coming out of a kitchen!!! That is the case with A La Lucie! Not a French resto! Lucie is as authentic as them come folks. And her love and passion comes through from the wedge salad all the way through the filet and perfect scallop as big as the filet! The best I have ever had and I have had a lot of scallops across the country! And the bread pudding with bourbon sauce is to die for!
Wow wow wow! I would give them ten stars if I could. And service was tops Lenny and the hand crafted cocktails were awesome, try the Pomhatten with Kentucky bourbon! Mmmmmmmmmm!

A Lexington staple and a neighborhood gem. Funky decors, festive yet cozy atmosphere. Attentive service. Very tasty food with a creative edge. A well-​deserved long-​term favorite to many long-​term Lexingtonians.
The only drawback (hence, one star deducted) is the high noise level when the restaurant is busy. It can be hard to hear across even a small table.

Went here for a company Christmas dinner. I enjoyed myself very much. Very good food, ambiance, and service. Tried my first import beer.

From the looks of the restaurant, I entered really wanting to like this place. It’s cute, it’s small, and it has a nice set of tables outside. The place had two other tables occupied when my friend and I arrived on a Monday. We waited to be seated and planned to have our meal and drinks outside. It seemed as though only one person was working and it took at least half an hour before we got our drink orders in.
Our waiter had such personality that, once again, I really wanted to like the experience, but he seemed so frantic that he was abrupt with getting our menus and taking our orders that we felt the atmosphere was tense. We both ordered cocktails and they tasted abysmal, which was a shock because they looked great. My friend had to ask for another one because hers tasted like cough syrup. I dealt with mine.
The food was decent, but not enough to impress. Presentation was nice. The only thing memorable about the meal was dessert, and even that didn’t blow me away. It was a struggle to finish anything and usually, food gets me all kinds of enthusiastic.
I’ll wait a while, cross my fingers, and give A La Lucie another try.

I read the reviews for this restaurant so on a recent trip to Lexington to visit family decided to go for lunch on a Tuesday. The place has very cute décor but for 12:00pm on a weekday we were 1 of only 3 active tables.
There were 5 people in our party but our total time spent in the place was around 2 hours for lunch. Being that they were not very busy it was a little frustrating that the service was that slow. The food (when it arrived was definitely worth the wait) and that would be my only reason for revisiting.
I would recommend either going for a dinner service or plan on being there for a while.

This was my second time here, and the food was again spectacular. My pet peeve this visit seems to happen a lot at restaurants. They «opened» at 11 a.m. However, the server didn’t know the specials yet, they didn’t have the music turned on, and it took our server a few minutes to get situated before he came to our table. We figured coming right when they opened would get us through quickly (we were driving through town), but it took until about 11:40 to get our meal.
I will definitely come back, but they could work on the ambiance a bit to make it a better experience.

This was my 2^nd visit to A La Lucie, and again I was not disappointed. This time, I was passing through Lexington around lunchtime on a weekday and decided to stop in for a bite. They open at 11 AM and I was there right when the doors opened, but the service and the food were still impeccable.
I ordered their version of the venerable Kentucky Hot Brown, and as you can see from the picture I uploaded, it’s quite the production. Unlike some hot browns, this one has ham as well as turkey and bacon. The bacon on A La Lucie’s version was extra good and crispy.
I would definitely put their hot brown up against the best.