Le Bar Américain - Winchester, VA
Summary
Le Bar Américain is a fine dining French restaurant in Winchester, Virginia’s historic walking mall. If you are looking for French food, it has some good offerings that are delicious and very good services. However, it comes with a big price tag.
Food Overall
Service
Atmosphere
Location
Value for Money
Overall
What I Ordered
Foie Gras Mousse
$18
The foie gras mousse appetizer was good but quite interesting. It had a very silky mouse texture and was served in a small jar cold with a layer of berry compote and chives on top along with some grilled bread. You spoon and spread the moose dip on the bread with a spoon and eat it. The mousse was a very interesting flavor almost reminiscent of tuna salad to me with a mixture of creamy, salty, and savory flavors.
Mushroom Strudel
$20
The mushroom strudel was absolutely delicious. I would definitely recommend it. The strudel is a vegetarian dish that is akin to a pot pie. It is filled with a wonderful local mushrooms, spinach, and goat cheese in a red wine reduction. The savory flavor combination is fantastic and the crisp buttery pastry enhances add a great additional texture and flavor element.
Beet Salad
$13
The beet salad was okay, but I was not a big fan of it. It is grilled beets with arugula, whipped cheese, honey and nuts. The presentation was nice. However, it is VERY earthy. The salad basically tasted like dirt to me. Maybe a big beet fan would love it, but I was not really impressed by the flavors or textures.
Apple Galette
$12
The apple galette is essentially a roasted apple tart with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. The pastry was very good. I thought the flavor was nice but this dish was a bit dry. The dessert could have used some sauce to make it more enjoyable. If you let the ice cream melt on it that might help.
Glass Red Wine – Cote Du Rhone
$16
This was a nice medium red wine. However, I think you would do just as well ordering a glass of house red wine.
Overall Food
Overall, the food at Le Bar Américain was okay. You are given a basket of bread for free to start the meal. The bread and butter is quite good. I would not recommend the beet salad. However, the mushroom strudel was delicious! They have a good selection of interesting French cuisine such as foie gras and escargot that is hard to come by in the area. It would be a good place to try out these dishes. Additionally, they offer steaks and a large wine selection. Everyone appeared happy with their entrees
Service
The service at Le Bar Américain is excellent. The waitresses were very friendly and polite. They were happy to make suggestions, offer wine pairings, and bring tastings. The staff were very knowledgeable of the menu items and were very professional and tidy. Additionally, when the wrong fries were with one of the dishes, they offered many apologies and brought out an extra-large plate of the truffle fries in addition for free. I was very pleased with the service.
Atmosphere
Size
Le Bar Américain is a relatively small French restaurant in Winchester. It has a couple tables outside, a full bar, and about twenty tables inside.
Who Goes Here?
It looked like most of the customers were couples on dates.
Overall Atmosphere
The atmosphere of Le Bar Américain is classy. The décor is a mix of literature and French wine. There is a piano in the front of the dining room, so I would guess there is a pianist on occasion. Though there was not a pianist during my visit. I though the tables were too close together, considering it is a very nice restaurant. There were some pesky flies during our visit. Additionally, there was way more natural light from the windows than nice restaurants normally have. It was not moody romantic lighting it was very bright. This is probably better in the late evening after the sun goes down.
The staff were very nicely dressed and the tables were nicely set. This is one of the swankiest restaurants available in Winchester, VA. It is a good place to dress up and go for nice dinner. However, I think they could use a bit more polish to their dining room considering the price range.
Location
Le Bar Américain is a French restaurant in Winchester, VA. The restaurant is in the walking mall of downtown Winchester. It is a very nice historic location with a lot of other shops and dining nearby. There are several inexpensive parking garages at the walking mall.
Looking for a restaurant in Winchester, VA? Check out these ideas!
Value for money
Le Bar Américain is quite expensive. It is strange they don’t have a website at available at all. Also, I think they are going for a very high-end dining experience, but the atmosphere does not meet the level of polish and sophistication they are going for. Though the service was fantastic, the food and atmosphere in my opinion did not live up to the price tag. I do think the mushroom strudel is worth the price. I would recommend going and getting the mushroom strudel and a glass of house wine or a beer. That would be very good value.
Overall
Le Bar Américain is a little French restaurant in downtown Winchester, VA. It is a fairy pricy fine dining experience. The service is quite good. It would be a decent place to try some unusual French cuisine or to go on a fancy date. However, I think some of the menu is not really worth the price tag. I would recommend the mushroom strudel or another entree. To get the best value I would personally recommend the house drink options and avoiding the appetizers/desserts unless you really want to try something like escargot for your bucket list. After all, you get free bread to start with that is quite tasty. I think if you watch what you order Le Bar Américain could be a nice date night option.
