L'albatros Reviews

Cozy atmosphere with delicious food. We stopped in for dinner on my son's birthday. The staff was friendly and very attentive. The cheese sampling was a unique experience and very interesting.

Had a great experience here after a night at soaking in the Cleveland Opera's performance of La Traviata. The food was superb; delicious and rich. If you're on a diet, perhaps not the ideal place or cuisine, but this is classic french to the core. The only "meh" moment I had was the surprise of actual meat in the onion soup. I was expecting a traditional beef broth with caramelized onions and the classic crouton with cheese on top but was surprised there was actual meat as well...could have done without as the broth was wonderfully flavorful and the rest of menu is carnivore heavy.

This was recommended by hotel and exceeded any expectation of amazing!

Had the roasted cod for an entree and mussels for the appetizer, it was great... Ben was the server and he was awesome

Exceptional customer service and cuisine that is artfully prepared and served with elegance by a waitstaff that is kind and proud of their workplace. Everything is scrumptious from the handcrafted cocktails to the award winning cheese plate to the freshly prepared entrees and the finest symphony of deserts. This is a wonderful place to visit for special occasions, intimate family occasions, romantic dinner or an exceptional evening before or after a concert or museum outing.

Great restaurant huge cheese selection excellent cheese me and my wife ordered the skirt steak paired with a salad and it was very good we definitely will be coming back a very clean modern excellent customer service I do feel they could do a little bit better with their wine room kind of just feels like they threw a table and chairs in the Storage room still I give them an A for effort for utilizing the space all in all it s a five star restaurant

Casual and relaxed decor and atmosphere. French oriented dishes that are perfectly executed. Super friendly and helpful staff. Definitely a place to dine in when in Cleveland.

Great atmosphere and food! I recommend the "French Toast" appetizer

Great food, service and atmosphere! Be sure to speak with the sommelier for a wine choice.

Food is excellent, dining experience and atmosphere is even better

The entire visit was amazing!!

The team stayed open late for our group after we completed a phenomenal event at the CMA.

Thank you for beingnso accommodating! !

I was looking to take my wife out for a special birthday dinner, and L Albatros kept appearing on online Top Ten lists, so I decided to take the plunge. Imagine my shock when discovering, a week ahead of time, that the restaurant was booked solid on the day except for one 5:30pm dinner slot (so much for a romantic candlelight meal)! I learned the hard way: certain days, especially Saturdays, should be booked a month in advance in order to beat the Severance Hall concert crowd.

The early hour of the meal was quickly forgotten when we first entered and were greeted by a stunning spectacle: an open kitchen, right in the lobby, bustling with the frantic activity of half a dozen chefs and the source of many delectable aromas. As a server led us to our table in the suspiciously vacant restaurant (yes, it did end up filling to capacity within the hour), I couldn t help but notice the striking decor, which resembles nothing so much as a modern art gallery: clean white walls, sharp angles, uncomfortably edgy chairs, the occasional curious piece of wall art.

We began our meal with the cheese platter, which was without a doubt the highlight of our dining experience (in all fairness, it was the highlight of our entire month). Upon making our intentions known, the server informed us that we would soon be visited by the restaurant s fromagier, which roughly translates as "Cheese God." L Albatros s fromagier is impossible to miss, bustling around the grounds with what must be at least a half-acre sized cutting board whereupon loom sundry sculptures chiseled off of some long-lost Gothic cathedral of dairy. There were no less than 30 cheeses on the board, ranging from mild and firm goudas to smelly and creamy monastery specialties to crumbly and bracingly pungent Irish blues. We were told people usually select 3, 5 (our ultimate choice), or 7 cheeses, though it didn t surprise me in the least when the fromagier remarked that he once had a customer order 15 cheeses, and another who requested the cheese plate for both appetizer and dessert. The only negative thing to be said about what was otherwise a religious experience was that the cheese course did not come with bread, fruit, nuts, charcuterie, crackers, or any other accoutrements (aside from a measly schmear of membrillo); we were at the mercy of the bread girl, who slowly prowled around the dining room, doling out one slice of bread per diner at a time.





Final verdict: classy (if cramped) environment; supremely friendly and helpful staff (except that one stingy bread girl); hit-or-miss food, especially considering the price point.

We are regulars at L'Albatros in Cleveland, our of our favourite places. Very central in University Circle by the Cleveland Museum of Art. The food is excellent, consistently delish, The service is very good, I love eating al fresco on the outdoor patio on summer evenings, Great ambience,

Delicious food, nice atmosphere. Never thought snails could be so tasty!

Yes, yes, yes. The onion soup is a lifestyle decision.

Food was excellent, service was amazing, beautiful atmosphere

Get the French Toast!!! It is not what you think and it will blow your mind. It is reason I come here. You will need reservations and the best seating is in the brick room or outside. You have to be dressed up too. Enjoy!

I love this place. Food, atmosphere, happy hour. Becoming a new favorite.

Big letdown. Father's day lunch there was not the way I remembered this place. Maybe new ownership or chef issues. Uncooked food. Long waits. Expensive for the quality. Pay for parking. What the heck?

Best restaurant in the area! Everything in this restaurant is amazing! The food, the place, the waiters... EVERYTHING! Honestly it was the best place I've been to since I've moved to America! It's definitely worth the money! Daniel, our waiter was just the best and all the other staff members were super friendly and thoughtful! Me and my husband are in love with this place and we'll be coming back soon!

Spent a day visiting the many museums bordering Case Western. Finished off the day with a visit to L Albatros for the first time.

I seek out French Restaurants wherever I go. This has been one of my top experiences. The shaded outdoor patio was perfect for a hot summer afternoon.

Starting off with a cool Watermelon-Beet soup, I was impressed by the unique balance of flavors. The smoke salmon plate had a tasty variety of pickled vegetables. The skate wing was a great entree suggestion, perfectly paired by the waiter with a French blend white wine.

To finish things off, I went with the Apple Cake with Praline Ice Cream. I have found a restaurant can most quickly be judged by its desserts. Each being unique and homemade, I was confident any of the selections would bring a pleasurable close to the even. My only regret is that I could not try them all.

Visit L Albatros.

The cheese board is a must, the staff here really go above and beyond. Our choice restaurant for celebrations and anniversaries!!

The wine selection is great, even by the glass. We got the Onion Soup, which is the best I've ever had. The mussels were delicious, topped with crispy fries and remoulade sauce. The cassoulet was so rich and flavorful, with perfectly cooked duck, sausage, lamb, and pork belly. I would make a special trip to Cleveland from Seattle just to come eat here again!

Great food, nice decor, great bread, fish, and service

Excellent service, very accommodating ( I have Celiacs.) Incredible value for the food quality and portions! I really enjoyed my experience here, I would go back in a heart beat! This is a must if you're in the Cleveland area.

I CANNOT say enough about this restaurant. It s all about the details. Cheese platter (specially prepared and selected). Cappuccino (milk steeped in chai). Managers, bar, staff...DEVINE. Food,drinks, everything perfect.

Service (Claudia) was excellent. Great atmosphere. House chop salad was fantastic!

We come here every year for our anniversary, and it gets better every year! Warm and inviting decor, populated by courteous and charming staff, and delicious, sumptuous food are only some of the reasons we return without fail. The people at the door greeted us with welcoming sincerity and friendly smiles. We were seated immediately for our 9 p.m. reservation at a cozy table near the window. The restaurant was buzzing at full capacity, but we were still able to have private conversation. Jackson approached us quickly but unobtrusively and led us through the menu, helping choose our best options. The service manager/sommelier Julian gave us a guided tour through the small but exquisite wine list and helped us pick a bottle that perfectly complemented our food. We took our time sipping and eating, and when Jackson was done for the night, Ben introduced himself and took over with equally exceptional service. The food was indescribably tasty and elegant, and each delicious course was paced out properly. We felt neither rushed nor neglected. Our glasses were never empty. If you are looking for expert service, unpretentious- yet-classy and DELICIOUS food and drink, and unparalleled atmosphere, do not hesitate to dine here. Thanks for making our anniversary special (yet AGAIN)! We'll be back soon!

Always wonderful. Great atmosphere, exceptional service, strong wine list, and outstanding food.

5 reviews
5.0 star rating 11/3/2017
As a lifelong Clevelander simply the best meal I have ever eaten out in Cleveland!!!

The service was absolutely impeccable. Not too much, not too little. The experience was unimpeachable.

2 Appetizers. 2 Entrees. 3 glasses of wine and sparkling water for $116. Considering the quality it was very reasonable!!

Decadence began with the chicken liver and fois gras. It continued with the cassoulet of braised white beans with lamb, duck confit, pork belly, and sausages. I am never a huge fan of pork belly, but when I put this pork belly in my mouth I closed my eyes and savored each morsel.

Best meal I've had in the cleveland area! The French toast is a great starter.

Lovely patio for outside dining with delicious food.

Place for Foodies.Good for romantic dinner. Full bar and nice wines. Great service. Would like to dine there at least once a week it is so delicious!!! Cozy once inside. Strange entry.

I've eaten here twice. It's pretty good, but I wouldn't say exceptional.

Thank you LJ Shangai, for always being awesome everytime. The service is great. So friendly and the nice owner is always stopping to say hello. The new menus are great with photos to give you an idea of what you will get. Everything is made in-house, and you can watch them through the window making the bao dumplings.

Excellent food. Great service. Garden-like setting, even indoors.

Arguably the best meal in Cleveland! There is no question that this place is worth trying! Whether you get it for dessert or to start off with, you ABSOLUTELY MUST try the cheese cart - it is worth it just to have the cheese expert explain the different types of cheese. You learn so much!

If you haven't had cassoulet, and you are up for a hearty meal, you should absolutely have it. Their cassoulet is very good and absolutely worth trying!

Food is okay, but over the last few visits the service has gotten worse. Used to anticipate and enjoy our visits, much less so now. Today we were told cheese board presentation was only made after 4pm. If we wanted cheese we would have to tell the server what we liked (crystal ball at the ready as they couldn't tell us what was available). Also when you bring out a desert menu and leave us waiting for another 30 minutes you really shouldn't be surprised when we decide to pass on it

Beef steak and chicken breast were average, onion soup -perfect!!! Very nice place for lunch,they cook very fast 15 min, despite of many customers, big portions and good prices

An unpretentious French restaurant with a delightful menu. I started with the fois gois which was complex and excellent with caperberries as a delightful accent. I moved on to the skate wing. It was a delicious dish that was cooked to perfection with delicate notes of lemon in a perfectly bronzed butter sauce. The accompanying casserole had a unique cheesy flavor. I finished with the pistachio cake. This was the only slight disappointment. It was extremely dense but not unique in flavor. However, the crown jewel in their establishment is their service. Tyler knew how much to be available and how much to leave the table to itself. I highly recommend his service; ask for him by name.

No one washes their hands or wears gloves while the cooks prepare your food while they all play on thier cellphones. I'm talking from a horrific employment experience . The owners son runs the place like a three ring circus

High quality French eats at an amazing price. The atmosphere is casual and relaxed. Would recommend for lunch, dinner, or for a few drinks.

Delicious lunch. Server was very nice and helpful with the menu. Will definitely return for dinner one day.

Excellent experience. Great atmosphere, great food, great staff. Well done!

My time spent at L'Albators was a juxtaposition of excellent presentation of rather mediocre food. The pizza I had as an appetizer was covered in an inedible amount of garlic, however it looked great on the plate and fit the aesthetic of the restaurant well. The soup I had was nearly great, however it was slightly undercooked, which was disappointing given that I waited nearly 30 minutes for my meal. The deserts were passable, with great sugary bites. It may be that I do not have a taste for traditional French cuisine, but L'Albatros disappoints with its food more than it impresses with its scenic location.

Excellent atmosphere, food and service. Congratulations!!

A wonderful restaurant, Bistro in University Circle Cleveland

Excellent, classic, French cuisine executed well in an upscale, contemporary setting. Knowledgeable, friendly, staff. And fair pricing.

This place is lovely, dim lighting and spacious tables with a lovely menu , my only issue is the portion size and the price, you get very little and pay as if they served a very hungry king lol I wish I was joking.

Aside from the bad vibes that I got from my waitress, visiting L'Albatros was a nice dining experience. Bad service doesn't even begin to encompass what I just wrote, as our waitress would not look me in the face and was very aloof. However, aside from that, the service from the other employees was great. Our bread was always refilled and water was never left to run out. To start, we decided on a goat cheese tart with olives and sun dried tomatoes, which was delicious! Like I said earlier, had I not experienced bad service, I would have rated this restaurant 5 stars. My dinner of roasted trout with almond crust, tomato confit, haricot verts and truffle butter was extraordinary too, but tasted very heavy. I was honestly not expecting a dish that is otherwise primarily lean protein to taste so saturated and fatty. It was good nonetheless. All in all, this is a really nice restaurant, the prices are moderate/high, interior is beautiful but the waitress/waiter to diner service needs work. I would suggest that staff be taught how to act more personable with guests and stress the importance of eye contact and respecting the woman at the table.

My first time in this French cuisine gem & won t be the last. The service is top notch from the moment you walk in. The Onion Soup is heavenly with brisket in it & topped with cheese. The blend of flavors works perfectly. I got the Lamb Shoulder for my main course. The lamb is served over a couscous risotto with dried tomatoes, olives, and feta cheese. The meat is cooked to perfection & is very tender. I really enjoyed it & would recommend it.

Great food and excellent service. Very beautiful outdoor patio

This is my "special night out" place. The food is so good, it makes me question life. The staff is wonderful and will help you pick the right booze. Cocktails are delicious and very effective, and great wine menu (especially if you have someone who knows a bit). The music is always cool and different. Cool converted century building, like it might have been a carriage house in the past, or something. Plus walking distance from nice hotel and museums. Our favorite.

Food and service were amazing! Pricy, but worth the splurge for a day at the art museum or botanical garden.

Always enjoy this restaurant. Watercress Caesar Salad, Artichoke Heart, and their Pasta of the Day made for a robust meal.

The special was boeuf bourguignon. The meat just melted in my mouth. It was heavenly. I can't wait to return!

One of my favorite restaurants!!!! Love this place. Ambiance, service, and food. The cheese board is amazing. As are their drinks and atmosphere. Can't speak higher of this place.

Loved it,best duck and sour Kraut ,taste exactly like in my country Czech

The best French in Cleveland. Always great food and service.

I would go back simply for the cheese plate. So good

We went for Cleveland Restaurant week, where there is are prefixe 3 coures meals for $33. We ended up being disappointed with the choices for the prefixe so we ordered off the main menu. We did get an appetizer on the prefixe a la carte, the goat cheese croquettes. They were yummy, though a bit pricy since only two were served. I got the Duck Confet, which was surved with sweet potate puree and red cabbage. The meat fell of the bone. The portions were large. it was delcious. My usband go the Braised shoulder of lamp served wit ha risotto. His dish was good, but not great. I was excited when I saw souffle on the menu, but worried since usually you have to order it in advance since it takes a long time to make. I was told it was frozen and there was no wait. It was good, though quite different from what I think of for souflee, and on the small side. The service was good and ambiance nice. The outdoor seating looks nice, but was closed since it is still the end of winter.

Well, who would have thought a 5-star, incredibly fantastic French restaurant would be on the campus of Case Western? With hundreds of restaurant reviews behind me I have to say this dining experience was in the top 3 of my life, hands down.

The short version of this review is...you must go there. And if you're nervous about French cuisine and think it's about frog legs well dont worry its not - there is a wide variety of choices that will appeal to every palette and the food is outstanding. There's nothing like this in a 100 mile radius. You can stop reading here and make a reservation.

The longer version is that the folks at L'Albatros are a genius at flavor profiles, food combinations and ability to cook on point. The charcuterie platter is an amazingly well orchestrated array of meats and cheeses and some items I guarantee you've never had before but will find delightful, including some hand-cured sausage made at the restaurant! Sheer beauty.

The braised shoulder of pork not only was cooked perfectly, but with a sip of red wine made me close my eyes and think I was in Heaven. You might be taken aback by the Croquet Monsieur, which at first glance appears to be a ham and cheese sandwich, but OMG its anything but; the cured ham, fresh bread and (ready for this?) Bechamel sauce will wreck anything you will ever eat again between two slices of bread! BTW these are not the little snobbery meal portions one serves the Queen...I really appreciated the plentiful portions that were served which is rare at higher end establishments.

There is an extensive wine and cocktail list and the service is fantastic. Our server Josh was on top of everything and made the entire experience fantastic. If I can leave you with one thing, it's that the food here has flavor combinations that are amazing and unique, and the overall experience is unsurpassed. Make your reservation right now!

From the time I walked in to the time I walked out I received nothing but the outmost kindness and excellent service. I am never disappointed dining at a Bruell establishment and this was no exception. Do yourself a favor and order the cheeseboard, having their personal cheesemonger come table-side and explain all 25 cheeses they have is such a special experience. This dinner my boyfriend and I opted for a new addition to their wine list, a beautiful Mexican wine called Listan which with Julians knowledge and expertise, I now know is hard to come by. So delicious, well balanced and very easy to drink. After indulging in the cheese we went with the almond crusted trout and the confit duck leg entree dishes. Both outstanding. The pomme frites are also not to go unnoticed, simple but delicious. Thank you so much for a wonderful Sunday evening, I cant wait to come back!

My favorite restaurant. Always excellent food and service.

Fabulous Dinner. Great service. I highly recommend.

Always a wonderful experience. The cheese board is a must. We went on a Saturday and had the beef burgundy(probably not spelling it right) and it was amazing.

French food and service here is excellent. Great spot for an appetite of any size. Certainly worth a return visit. This place has good reviews for a reason.

Great food, wine & terrific cheese board. Beautiful atmosphere

Super good! Cheese tray was a lot of fun. Probably sampled 11 of them. Cassoulet was outstanding, service was perfect. Great eats

As usual, we had a wonderful meal. Delicious French cuisine, interesting wine list, top rate service, reasonable price, cozy, romantic setting (even better in the summer, when the outside paio is open). Only slight drawback is the minor $2.00 charge for parking in the adjacent lot, but you can sometimes park on the street nearby for free. Excellent food and service. Moderately expensive, but not excessive. Bouillabaisse was excellent. Boeuf bourguignon was also excellent.

I love this restaurant!! I truly enjoyed my dining experience and our server was amazing!!

The service at the bar is generally quite good
This place is consistently good. Recently discovered a delicious salad served with warm lardon aka bacon. Generally get the french onion soup and arugula salad. If hungry, try the duck confit..served with excellent sides of sweet potatoes puree and delicious cooked red cabbage.

Good food but the best part was the excellent service

There is nothing I didn't like about L'Albatros. The service was friendly, quick and helpful. The atmosphere was nice, with a good mix of "white table cloth" feel and relaxed. Our meals were prompt and well prepared. I had the roasted trout and my wife had the salmon, both of which we enjoyed. The desserts were also very good and not overly sweet. Portions throughout were appropriate, but not large. However, there was nothing that really "popped" for us. The meals were very subtly seasoned and really focused on the inherent flavor of the entree. We simply prefer more bold and unique flavors. We would visit again if we were going to be in the area (which we were last night), but we wouldn't make a special trip. That being said, I found L'Albatros to be a quality restaurant worth a visit.