le voltaire

with two medium size rooms and drop ceilings in the corner of a strip mall in western omaha, le voltaire does not exactly ooze sophistication. what it lacks in charm is compensated for by the friendly service, quality food, and fair prices. our server never told us her name, but she was very nice and attentive considering it was a friday night and the place was fully-booked, always a good sign.

it took our server 10-15 minutes to tell me she could not find our first choice of wine, afrenchsyrah, so i had to make another choice. with bottles of wine starting at $26, i found an excellent value in the château sainte eulalie, plaisir d'eulalie, minervois 2014 at just $27. it was a deep, medium-bodied red (40% carignan, 35% syrah, 25% grenache) with hints of dark berries and spices that complimented my beef main course very nicely.

for our appetizers we had the brie josette ($8.95), baked brie served on toast with an apricot-cranberry chutney, and the gratin aux fruits de mer (seafood gratin - $10.95), bay scallops, shrimp and mussels in a béchamel sauce covered with cheese and broiled. the baked brie and chutney came on six small slices of their toasted baguette and while not the greatest appetizer i have ever had, it was an interesting and tasty balance between sweet and savory. my seafood gratin was a tad on the small side, but creamy and delicious with small chunks of seafood that balanced well with the more savory baked cheese topping.

our main courses consisted of moules frites façon jacques brel ($17.95), 20 ounces of fresh mussels in a lucky bucket beer and bacon broth served withfrenchfries, and boeuf bourguignon ($18.95), a beef stew simmered in red (burgundy, hence the name) wine, with carrots, mushrooms and onions accompanied by whipped potatoes. the mussels were plentiful and yummy, balanced well by the big chunks of bacon in a beer broth. my beef stew was a bit light on beef, but what was there was tender and delicious. the burgundy-based sauce was very well done and the whipped potatoes creamy just like they should be.

the only things that detracted from the experience (and my rating) were small details, but important ones. first, in a restaurant where you drop $100+ for a meal for two, there should be tablecloths. there were none. second, when i made our reservation (for my wife's birthday) through opentable, i specifically requested a "special dessert", but her special day was never even acknowledged. we left without a formal celebration or a sweet ending to our meal.

the atmosphere adequate, the service friendly and efficient, the food tasty, and the prices fair, le voltaire is an excellent choice if you are cravingfrenchcuisine and an exceptional value and a pleasant surprise in the midwest where quality, gourmet cuisine is a rarity.

combatcritic gives le voltaire 7 out of 10 bombs ... more bombs are better!

excellent value. many people shy away fromfrenchrestaurants because they are unfamiliar with all of the various sauces and ingredients. others stay away because they fearfrenchcuisine has to be super expensive.
le voltaire blows both of those fears out of the water. the menu, though true to itsfrenchroots, offers many dishes that represent classic european "comfort food" that most midwesterners will find not dissimilar from the american versions of the term. poultry, beef, pork and vegetables make up the bulk of the menu, though fish and seafood items are also offered, both on the menu and as daily specials. each main course comes with a starter salad as well as side accompaniments to the main dish (plus some very goodfrenchbread). this lack of an a la carte pricing policy translates to making le voltaire price competitive with hundreds of other area restaurants. in fact, you will likely pay less to dine hear than at many of the big chain places. plus you will be dining at a home town original, and not at some cookie cutter competitor.
the atmosphere is pleasant, but surprisingly unpretentious. most diners dress up a bit, but that may be as much a function of their age than anything else. the customer base here skews noticeably older than at many other popular restaurants in town.
and a word about the service. our waitress was one of the nicest, most down to earth examples of her trade that i have experienced in a long time. if you think allfrenchwait staff are equal parts surly and stuffy, you haven't dined inside these doors. the staff are a joy to interact with.
it all adds up to a "why don't we eat here more often?" dining experience. great food, service and pricing will make you want to return soon.
food: a
service: a
atmosphere: b+
menu sophistication: b+
value: a-

fantastic classicfrenchcuisine. great atmosphere, great service, great food. top 5 list in omaha.

excellentfrenchfood. we gave this restaurant a try a few weeks ago and were impressed. the staff is knowledgeable of what is on the menu and how it is cooked. we started with the plateau de formage and a nice bottle of 2005 bordeaux. we ate slowly and savored every bite of the cheeses. the waitress described each cheese which was a nice touch. for the main course we ordered the boeuf bourguignon (bb) and bouillabaisse de marselle (bdm). both were outstanding. the bb beef was tender and the sauce so savory. the broth in the bdm was very close to what i remember in paris. the fish was perfectly cooked. i enjoyed every bite. however, the toast that came with the bdm had an awful mustard spread on it. i would have preferred just toasted/butteredfrenchbread. i didn't want anything competing with that wonderfully delicious and savory bdm.

drawbacks...tables are tiny and they are skimpy on the bread (tiny basket of a tiny loaf of very delicious and crustyfrenchbread). the waiter will ask if you want more when he/she sees it is empty...which was halfway through our appetizer for us. bb and bdm both call for a good amount of bread to sop up all that delicious broth.

we'll be back!

exquisite!. i had always passed this little place when getting groceries and never really tried it until i decided to take myfrenchboyfriend out for a meal more his style, and i am so glad i did! such amazing food. the bread, the salad and my main course of beef stew was just out of this world...i guess you could say out of this country ;) the amazing food, kind waiter and romantic ambiance created a perfect night. i would eat here every single day! lovely.

blandfrenchfood- save your money!. not sure what the previous comments were referring to.
perhaps, they let copius amounts of wine convince them this was actually a good meal. not hard to do with really only one otherfrenchrestaurant in town (clear on the otherside i might add). i found the food to be bland actually...and i don't even smoke! i've been to france a few times...this was not what i expected!

unassumingly authentic. as we bit into the perfectfrenchbread, we were taken back to our journeys to france. from the good-sized wine list we chose a bottle of pinor noir by region of france, though domestic wines were available, too. our plats principals were preceded by a house salad drizzled with an exceptional house dressing. i ordered a special and she ordered from the menu, steak covered with foie gras and goat cheese-stuffed veal loin, respectively. both were phenomenal. my steak was cooked as exactly as i like and incredibly tender. the veal loin, delicious as well. the few wait staff working on the mid-week evening offered a warm welcome with knowledge of the menu and wines and great service. finishing our meal, we were both overly satisfied and sure we'd found a gem. while there, a former chef now a salesman was dining--a frenchman no less--who was sure to point out how great and authentic his meal was, too. he had bouillabaisse. he went on that while traveling on business he visits a lot of restaurants,frenchor otherwise, and commented that for what he got and what we had, that the price is very affordable noting that in the city he lives in, the meal easily be 50 percent higher and not nearly as good. implying that it's some of the best and most authenticfrenchcuisine in the region. with that, the quality of our meals and the peaceful atmosphere, we're sure to be back.

greatfrenchfood. i tried their duck cassoulet last year and that was really delicious. the one thing i like about them is that they don't try to gourge you with huge portions like a lot of other american restaurants do. it's a small restaurant with a party room off to oneside. very romantic and service was friendly and steady.

just because you'refrenchdoesn't mean you can cook.. if you love overcooked sweetbreads and incredibly inconsistent sauces you will love le voltaire. the service is pretentious but punctual, the menu is interesting and the atmosphere is fine. just don't expect the food to taste very good.

nice change. if you likefrenchfood you'll enjoy this place. nice atmosphere, quiet and upscale.