Lola's Bistro in Chagrin Falls Review

After dining at Rick Doody restaurants for many years – starting at the very first Bravo in Columbus and continuing through the next three decades – I know exactly what to expect in terms of hospitality. And after dining at more French bistros than I can accurately recall over the same span of years, I know exactly what to expect with respect to the menu.

But that doesn’t mean there isn’t room to be pleasantly surprised by a new French bistro from Doody, as we were during our first visit to Lola’s Bistro in Chagrin Falls.

The first thing that strikes a person after crossing the threshold is a sense of disorientation. Despite having dined at both Rick’s Café and Bell & Flower, the dining room that we entered looked and felt like neither. What had been – for 40-odd years – a rustic, well-worn, one-room saloon received a modest refresh in 2018, when the Forward Hospitality group opened Bell & Flower. But what exists now shares little DNA with its predecessor.

Lola’s Bistro drips with drama. From the distressed brick walls and penny-tile floors to the tin ceiling and dangling globe lights, the room feels ripped from the Left Bank – or at least an idealized version of the Rive Gauche. If there is a complaint to be had about the room, it’s that it is too perfect, approaching a chimerical version of a French bistro. But Doody, in everything he does, strives for perfection.

A stunning wooden bar and backbar runs nearly the length of the main room and is flanked by posh banquettes and cozy nooks. What had, since the birth of the Village, been an open-air alleyway is now interior space that connects seamlessly with the main dining room. That second dining room is capped by massive skylights and filled with lush greenery.

Tables are topped with crisp white linens and the requisite white-paper overlay. For $6, tables are further dressed with a silver basket containing warm, crusty baguettes and soft cultured butter. We started with a trio of tiny ‘tinis ($8), poured tableside from an icy glass bottle. The two-ounce cocktails are served “up, dirty and bruised,” providing a right-sized spark for a night on the town.

Lola’s Bistro not only does the classics properly; it boosts those starring items with a cast of supporting players that serve to elevate them. In the case of the perfectly seasoned and textured steak tartare ($22), which comes garnished with the golden yolk of a quail’s egg, it’s the golden brown, wafer-cut chips. Compared to the customary bland, stale crostini, those shatteringly crisp potato gaufrettes are a revelation. The pitch-perfect moules frites ($19), presented in a tidy enameled crock, are sided by a stack of crispy fries and a ramakin of creamy aioli. And because one baguette is never enough, the Burgundy snails ($21) in parsley, garlic and shallot butter arrive with their own ration of warm French bread.

Great service means allowing guests to dine at their own pace – the antithesis to the current trend of kitchens “sending out food as it sees fit.” We chased our wee ‘tinis with a bottle of Domaine De La Perriere Sancerre ($75) while deciding what to eat next. We peppered our unflappable server with every question under the sun and were astonished by her depth of knowledge, down to the components of each individual dish and sauce.

Plats du jour give diners a new reason to visit every day of the week, gliding from duck confit to beef bourguignon to cassoulet and others. The fish special of the day was trout amandine ($27), delicately cooked fish in a pool of silky beurre blanc. The filet was garnished with a landslide of crispy, golden almond slivers and paired with crisp-tender, pea-green haricots verts. Our braised short rib ($34) was neither too fatty nor too lean, served in a rich, dark sauce with carrots, pearl onions and buttery pomme puree.

Despite its French pedigree, Lola’s is a neighborhood-friendly bar and restaurant, where spontaneous walk-ins are welcomed and rewarded. A stool at the handsome bar is the ideal spot to enjoy an indulgent double smash cheeseburger ($21) with special sauce and a mountain of beef-tallow fries.

For fans of Doody’s Next Cool Restaurants group, Lola’s Bistro introduces the first French concept to the portfolio. That collection of well-run spots also includes JoJo’s Bar, 17 River Grille, Cedar Creek Grille, Bar Italia and the Lakehouse. If I were a betting man, I’d say that Lola’s Bistro is a concept poised for success, longevity and expansion.

Lola’s Bistro: 86 N. Main t., Chagrin Falls; 440-318-1428; lolachagrin.com

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