l'albatros

service. had to pour our own wine after the initial pour!:(....service not what we expected!

perfect. stopped in for a late dinner after an event in university circle. i loved the food and original cocktails. i'm a sausage lover and their grilled sausage platter was fantastic. it had three types of sausage, two were made in-house and very well made at that. i'd tell you what the drink i had was, but it is no longer on the menu - the cool thing is that when i called the next day, the bartender gave me the recipe and i make them at home now. can't wait to go back and try something else.

service, food, wine, cheese so far best i've had in cleveland

delightful and charming. i was in to visit family from out of town. i enjoyed this location and meal very much! the location is in the midst of college housing and hidden behind a parking lot. once you enter you are immediately greeted by the kitchen staff, the kitchen is open as you walk in or are waiting you can observe the activity in the kitchen.

the bar was set up nicely with a very selective list of wines and drinks. i was very impressed with the bartender's knowledge (she was from down south). she was great to hold a conversation with and knew her drinks and wines perfectly!! i would say she was more knowledgeable and friendly than our waiter.

once our party all arrived we were seated promptly. the table was extremely uneven and it took several minutes of 2 staff adjusting it before we could sit. it was frustrating as this should have been done pre shift, and we should have been directed to a new table.

once seated the waiter had to be asked about specials, wine lists, drink lists, and for waters. he was not very informative but was prompt when you did get his attention to order your items.

the meal was amazing!! i would not suggest the charcuterie platter as it is mostly made of mousse style items and not delightful. make sure you do get the pork two ways as it is perfectly cooked, perfectly seasoned, and is a hearty dish.

the braised leg of lamb was cooked well but the risotto was very disappointing. it was chewy and lacked the flavor i expected from the lamb. the dish was overall great, just the risotto should be re thought on this dish.

make sure to leave room for dessert as the warm chocolate brownie is a perfect way to end this delightful experience!!

i would say drinks and atmosphere 4 out of 5! food 3.5 out of 5.

good, but not great. fish dishes are very well prepared, though not as flavorful as i expected. escargots were a disappointment. the fennel seasoning didn't work imho.

this is not the most traditional french restaurant, so don't be surprised when they get creative, but the flavours and textures of their food have never let me down. i adore french cuisine and l'albatros is by far my favourite restaurant in cleveland. i've been here more times than i can count. it's very nice, but neither pretentious nor very expensive, and is great for both a weekday and a special night out.

i've eaten the entire menu at least twice (and the charcuterie platter and the cassoulet much more than twice each) and i've never found fault with anything. the only similar place i've ever found (really expertly mixing traditional and modern without pretentiousness) was in a corner of an alley in toulouse.

l'albatros- had lunch, very formal, made my guest uncomfortable. i liked it i like formal atmosphere and food was well prepared. some more things i would try on the menu. next time.

a truly fine experience, nearly perfect. food was wonderful, service attentive, nice quiet ambience. a really pleasant discovery while visiting cleveland.

affordable french. pretty good menu and quality food. our waiter was fine, but tried too hard pronouncing french words with no skill for the accent and tried to sound cultured speaking in 3rd person. anyway, it wasn't too expensive, though not cheap either. fun people watching with the university circle crowd - hip, artsy, collegiate, orchestral, liberal, elitist types. nice patio and lower prices for lunch and happy hour.

excellent food and outstanding service. the outdoor patio provides a wonderful ambiance.

what a delight! our server was exceptional. we began with the cheese selections. she brought a large tray of cheeses and explained every cheese to what a delight! our server was exceptional. we began with the cheese selections. she brought a large tray of cheeses and explained every cheese to perfection. the cheese sections was wide ranging and wonderful.
next was the french onion soup. absolutely spectacular, using left over bouef bourguignon as the base for the soup.
my entrée was the monday special, coq a vin. wonderful flavors for this classic french peasant dish. it's just too bad we were too full for dessert. a wonderful dessert menu ...... but no crepes??? after all, it is a french restaurant!
you won't be disappointed. a great choice and won't break your budget!! perfection. barbara kaminsky

after reading several reviews and now after eating dinner here, the thought that comes to mind is; the emperor's new clothes...
many over dressed, snooty people eating at a restaurant crammed with cheap tables and chairs pretending to enjoy horrible service and lukewarm food all because someone who has obviously never been to france gave this place a good review.
my complaint mostly comes because of the really poor service we received. our table was right between two other tables that were less than 18" away. when they brought a cheese tray for our neighbor table they had to put part of it on our table and proceeded to talk cheese selections. we had to suspend our conversation and husband had to move out of the way.
we waited 10 minutes to be acknowledged by waiter. waited another 10 minutes for sparkling water. asked three times for limes, when they finally brought them they delivered them to our cheese neighbors who promptly cleansed their fingers with them.
we did order a soup, escargot, and foie gras and we enjoyed them. although, we asked repeatedly for bread to accompany and it never came.
our order of glazed chicken was tiny and potatoes were cold and tasted like paste.
we sent it back and gave up.
to owners: your staff was sweet, but i am guessing they are all case western students with lots of brains and little common sense. staff running around everywhere with nothing getting done. no communication.

i have to admit i was somewhat disappointed in l'albatros. my son and i sat at the bar last thursday evening because we did not have a reservation and the restaurant was quite busy. we both started with soups which were excellent. i had a cream of celery soup that was a very nice introduction to a meal. my son had the french onion soup which was also excellent . there is however meat in the soup which was very good but we only only learned this before ordering from a fellow diner. the menu does not mention it. my entree, the veal short rib was quite disappointing. somewhere in the brazing process the veal got lost and the risotto turned to mush. the only apparent flavor was the wild mushroom sauce. the veal was boneless and the silver skin was not removed. i had difficulty pulling the meat away from the skin. i would suggest that the short rib be served on the bone which would make it easier for the diner to pull the meat away. i would suggest too that the meat not be cooked in the liquid for quite so long. also the risotto should be properly prepared so as to maintain its character. it should be distinguishable from the rest of the dish.
my son had the chicken confit. the menu does not mention that the paprika is smoked paprika. the flavor was quite strong and toanyone who does not like a smoked flavor this dish would be less than appealing. i am glad that i did not order it. our service was excellent and the restaurant did accommodate us even though they were quite busy. for that i give them an excellent rating. sitting at the bar was quite pleasant.

there was a fantastic mustard grain sauce at the table. it’s always exciting to have new versions of condiments, because i’m sure we’re all tired of the same old. we heard great things about the cheese plate, which apparently involves a whole cart of cheeses being brought out for you to pick from, but didn’t try it this time. we started off the meal with this chicken liver mousseline with little pieces of toast. our waitress warned us that this was served chilled. the sauce to toast ratio was a little off, but our waitress kindly brought us more pieces of toast. the pickled vegetables that came with this were fantastic. for our entree, we split the duck confit, which came with sweet potato puree and braised cabbage.  

food was great. mushroom soup of the day was delicious.