L’Albatros

This is one of my favorite places, the food is excellent!

Gigi’s is absolutely delightful. My husband went for dinner, and I’ve enjoyed lunch there three times, each with a different friend who had not yet tried Gigi’s. Each of us thoroughly enjoyed the experience, and I’m ready to return with another first-​timer.
The décor is lovely, and the ambiance reminds me of our years living in France. The food is creatively prepared and delicious. The wait staff is friendly and attentive. My faves are the wedge salad (dressing is amazing) and one of the daily soups. Both the lobster bisque and black bean & ham soup were incredible. In fact, my friend and I both thought Gigi’s black bean soup was the best we’d ever eaten!
I LOVE their cappuccino and enjoyed meeting a friend there in the afternoon for beverage and chat. Much more civilized than a franchise coffee house:)

One of our favorite places. Summertime eat outside. Cheese board alone is worth going here. Service is attentive — food is fresh and has great
Alsatian influences. Trout has been my favorite.

Had a great meal during Zach Bruell’s restaurant week. Got to L’Albatross early so we were able to visit before the crowd came in. Zach has a line of olive oil. Very good with great crusty bread. Also his own coffee, which is a different blend at each of his restaurants, was bold and smooth – very nice. Service was attentive. A convenient parking lot is in front of the old house restaurant. We paid $ 3 to park.

Just had another great experience at L’Albatros. Have been here a few times and have always had great service. We went during the afternoon and they let me order from the evening prix fixe menu which was appreciated!
I had red rice with seasonal vegetables (turnips, squash, broccoli). Our appetizers were amazing — you must try to the potage! Creamy, just the right amount of salt and perfect on a chilly day. I also the gnudi — very similar to gnocci. Also perfection — melts in your mouth with tangy roasted red pepper sauce. My husband got the pork belly with risotto special. He wanted to order one to go so needless to say, it was enjoyed!
My only complaint is the dessert. I got the brownie, which was good, but not properly advertised. The brownie had nuts and dried cherries in it, which was not to my liking. I had a bite of my husband’s apple cake dessert which was delicious! And it includes a scoop of Mitchell’s ice cream.
Can’t wait to go back!

While the food was great and most of the evening was lovely, service at the end of the meal put a bad taste in our groups mouth. While we had ordered dessert we were given the check before it arrived. Thinking she might have forgotten that we ordered we asked our waitress and she got very snippy and stated it would be coming out. Our party was taken aback by her reaction and behavior… never have I been given a check at a restaurant (especially one as upscale at this) before the meal is concluded. Very disappointed.

This place is wow. The choucroute garnie was a real standout — super meatful but so worth it. The escargot was probably the best I’ve ever had. I liked my trout and potato soup and artichoke with lemon aioli — everything we ordered had a subtly complex and delicious flavor. Go you, Cleveland.

REALY REALly good! The duck confit is AMAZING!!! Definitely recommend this place awesome date spot

A few years ago, wife and I decided to take our three teenage boys on a road trip to Cleveland (from Pittsburgh) to visit the various museums near Case Western. An unexpected highlight of the trip was the delicious food at L’Albatros. In fact, we enjoyed our lunch so much on the first day of our trip that we immediately made a reservation for lunch the next day. We have gone back to visit the museums each year, and a major draw for all of us is eating at L’Albatros. I especially enjoy the Grilled Tiger Shimp pasta (in a Pernod cream sauce), and two of our boys always get the Bianco pizza (which is also very tasty). The desserts are also quite memorable. The ambience in the restaurant is very pleasant: we especially like to sit near the fireplace.

Excellent service. Great wine list with lots of options. Fresh oysters that were well worth the money. Good frisée salad, but the egg is a fail. That is not a poached egg. Overcooked. Choucroute garni and baked cod we’re outstanding. Crème caramel was perfect. Finished off the meal with Calvados. Low prices. Great restaurant, not excellent.

I don’t think I can say much that hasn’t already been said in all the other rave reviews for this restaurant… Though I can say this… «Everything wonderful mentioned is absolutely TRUE!» From the ambience, staff, food, overall experience, L’Albatros is a true gem nestled in the heart of University Circle!
Our group of 6 came here for new year eve’s dinner. The restaurant was beautifully decorated with chić black & gold balloons as well as banners. Thankfully they did not have an exorbitantly priced pre-​fix menu like a lot of the other restaurants.
We started off with a few hors’doeuvres & sides for the table. Honestly, I’m hard pressed to pick a favorite! We got the salmon plate, French toast, roasted cauliflower & the French fries. The flavors were spot on! The fries were Crisp & piping hot with an amazing cheesy taste to it. The French toast was a high point. It was savory, unique, something I have never had before at another restaurant. An absolute must try!
The entrees for me was a let down especially after the delicious appetizers. The food was cooked perfectly however lacked the impeccable flavors the appetizers had. We had the roasted cod, the cassoulet, the veg cassoulet & the veg pasta of the day. I personally could have skipped the entrees in favor to try more of the appetizers.
For desserts we tried the chocolate brownie, crème fraîche cheesecake & chocolate Napoleon. Verdict: the cheesecake is hands down the winner of the dessert round! Not too sweet, not too dense… Just perfect!
Overall: L’Albatros is a great upscale restaurant & definitely a Cleveland must try!

The food was fine. Authentic I suppose. I am perhaps spoiled having spent a large amount of time in France. I do understand the «bistro» style of this location.
I will say that to be quite honest with you, very few if any of the cheeses were French. The fromagier had little idea about the cheeses and could not answer as to why they were not authentically French. This aside, I do understand that some cheeses may be difficult to get due to season, availability etc. However, the restaurant should not proclaim itself to be serving authentic French cuisine of the blue cheese comes from Italy and there is Gouda on the menu.

Wah wah weee woo. An EASY 5 star rating. Heck, I would give it 10 if I could! Delicious, divine, exquisite, phenomenal, decadent – literally all of the above. I felt like I was dining in NYC. We went for my birthday and it was all of our first time there. My Mother has already decided this is where we will go for her birthday, too and she doesn’t even live in Cleveland.
I had the best salad (I think it had arugula) and french onion soup of my life. We also ordered escargot that is a must try. I really don’t think you could go wrong with anything on the menu and we had a really hard time narrowing it down to just one entrée each but somehow managed and loved it all. Even the dessert was to die for (we ordered 2 and shared between the 3 of us.)
They offer some out of this world cheese selections that looked like a meal in itself. I was tempted to order even though I am lactose intolerant– that is how incredible it looked! The service was on its A game. They kept the yummy bread and water coming nonstop. We were finishing up our meal around 9:30−10p.m. and people were STILL filing in and it was just as busy as it was when we had arrived– prime indicator of how great it is. I just cannot say enough things and am very anxious for the next L’Albatros experience.
The only negative is that they charge $ 3 for parking…

Delicious food just don’t go if you only have an hour for lunch. So slow and it wasn’t busy. Luckily I went with my boss so I wasn’t judged for being gone for an hour and a half then came back to my desk to eat my food. It took 45 minutes to get my starter, and super tasty, cup of carrot and ginger soup. I got my yummy Croque Monsieur with a side of Brussels sprouts 30 minutes after I finished my soup. I had to ask for it to be boxed up so I could eat it at my desk while working. If they don’t want to be a work lunch place I wish it would be mentioned somewhere that they are not a quick service lunch type of place.

Nice atmosphere, great location, and fine environment for conversation. We ordered some seafood dishes, and we were happy with how they taste — seafood was perfectly cooked with rich and balanced flavors.
Our major complaint was the service. We got plenty of water and bread while we patiently waited for our server, but he just seemed to prefer other tables over ours. We waited a long time to be served, at least an hour after we were seated. Unfortunately, this was consistently an issue for both times we went. For the same price range and quality of food, I’d choose other restaurants in Cleveland area.

Went again for the third time, first time this year. .and was so disappointed. The meat was not flavored as well. I ended up leaving behind half of my main course… apparently they have some new people in the kitchen: (
Dessert was on the house and that was beautiful, the way I remembered things being previously but it did not quite make up for the main course

5 Stars! This little French gem in Cleveland is a must go for all foodies!
Here’s why:
1) Fresh warm bread served immediately
2) Attentive servers
3) The Food!
4) Location
Highly Recommend: Duck Confit, Seared Sea Scallops, Goat Cheese Tart, Arugula Salad and Oysters!
Only con is very small tables which is hard to have a conversation with your date but who needs talk when you’re having your own relationship with your food ;)

Great dining experience! As soon as I tasted the savory French toast appetizer (with balsamic drizzle and mushrooms) I knew I was in for a treat.
My dining partners absolutely raved about the french onion soup which made its mark by adding hearty beef to the mix of onion and cheese goodness.
I got the cod on the waiters recommendation and because I was intrigued by its Alsace/​German preparation with spätzle. It was so good that I returned the following week for seconds. Those I was with got the trout and thoroughly enjoyed it. I feel confident saying generally that they do their fish really well.
There is just so much yum packed into this bustling but cozy and dimly lit French restaurant. They also have a lot for parking FYI.

L’Albatros offers a quality and relatively reasonably-​priced lunch selection in the heart of Cleveland’s University Circle. Given its proximity to museums, Severance Hall, and other cultural attractions, it makes for a lovely place to hit before or after the show. The atmosphere in the smaller room with the fireplace was cosy, not pretentious. The only goofy blip was discovering someone hotboxing the women’s restroom when I went to wash my hands. There were only 2 stalls, and there was definite pot in the air. Heaven help you getting the munchies in a place that serves such amazing fries and bernaise sauce!
I was impressed with the huge diversity of menu options, and also the generous portion sizes. A bowl of soup will run you between $ 6 – 8, and this alone, with the complimentary bread, could make for a satisfying midday nosh. My salmon entrée with bernaise and lentils came out crispy hot and savory. I could have easily halved it for a second meal at home. For dessert, the praline ice cream had the sweet and salty balance worked out to perfection.
Staff were attentive, and my water glass nor my bread plate were never empty. If you have gluten issues, they can also provide grilled gluten free bread, a nice accommodation. Definitely worth a return visit.

We came here for restaurant week 2015. I probably would not have made it out here without a special occasion unless there was a special, eg. restaurant week. For $ 33 we got three courses. But, we also added on a cheese board. I was SO IMPRESSED with the cheese board. I loved that I got to choose the cheeses and they were patient with me as I asked about each type of cheese. I ended up getting 7 selections and they were all high quality/​awesome. For the restaurant week menu, I started with the mushroom soup. Ahh-​may-​zing. The flavors were well developed and the texture was so smooth. Please never tell me how much cream is in there. :) yum. My entrée was the swordfish belly served on a bed of roasted root vegetables. Eeh. It was OK. Now dessert though, that was also really good. I tried the apple cake, the custard, and the chocolate cake. All were fantastic.
Overall, I will definitely be back to check out the test of the menu!

Cozy little restaurant with decent food and good service. Food items are definitely hit or miss. My trout was excellent but the pizzas were not very good. The mussels came covered in some kind of heavy sauce but the French fries were good. Seems like a very local place which was nice with lots of regulars. Skip the brownie dessert, it was dry and burnt with cherries inside, the crème caramel was much better.

Amazing French cuisine. Excellent wine from Gigondas. Had the Terrine du chef which was superb. Main course was the Cassoulet. All of it was fantastic.
Cassoulet was a little heavy on the salt but it was so tasty it’s forgiven. For a French restaurant the portions are HUGE so beware when ordering appetizers. No complaints as I came with large appetite.
Disappointing dessert menu. Nothing really stood out or was traditional. Skipped and went for an after dinner Beaumes du Venice Muscat.
I would definitely come back.

The wife and I celebrated our 13^th wedding anniversary at L’Albatros recently. We had never been to L’Albatros and I’ve been wanting to try a French restaurant, since I’ve never been to one in Cleveland. We made a reservation and off we went.
Upon arrival, we were seated indoors in the back of the restaurant in a dark area with candle light. It was romantic! My wife started off with a glass of champagne and I had a glass of red wine, although I do not remember which brand. I believe it was a Shiraz wine. Soon, bread arrived that was crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. It took us a while to pour over the menu as French cuisine is new to us. We had a couple questions for the waiter about what things were. My wife ordered the mussels with pomme fritze dinner as an appetizer for us. They turned out to be the best dish of the night! Five stars for sure. They were really delicious and unlike any other fries I’ve eaten. The sauce in the bottom of the bowl was so good that I actually ate a lone spoonful of it.
My wife also ordered the french onion soup, which I tried. It had beef in it and a lot of cheese. It was pretty tasty, but nothing like french onion soup I’ve had elsewhere.
For dinner, my wife ordered the lamb shoulder and I let the waiter pick a dish for me. He asked if I liked fatty meat or lean meat. Upon telling him lean, I was later served the pork two ways dish.
Her lamb was very tasty, but the risotto was very large and lacked a lot of flavor. The pork two ways was good and it had some battered and deep fried cauliflower. The brazed pork was excellent! Did I mention this dish had cauliflower? I had approximately seven large pieces of deep fried cauliflower. So if I was inclined to do so, I would rename this dish to, «deep fried cauliflower with a side of two kinds of pork.» It was mostly cauliflower, which was good, but WAY too much was served. I still gave the overall flavor and presentation of my dish four out of five stars. I could not finish all the cauliflower. Was I supposed to?
We ordered a chocolate mousse with fresh raspberries dessert, which we shared. It was good, but not amazing, as I had hoped.
I am looking forward to visiting again to try some other menu items like seafood. The price was very reasonable. We had three entrees, four drinks, and dessert, and our bill was still under $ 150 with tip included.
The service was excellent!
Recommend!

CLEVELAND, OH: Super excited to get squeezed in at the end of a shift to dine at the famous Cleveland French destination L’Albatros. Located basically on campus at Case Western, it is surrounded by old architecture and new museums, as well as a river.
They serve French cuisine, and the restaurant resembles a small château house. Very approachable.
I tried two menu items, by recommendation:
French Toast Appetizer: (5 Stars) Served savory with a thick brioche toast, cheese and mushrooms with balsamic glaze. Yum!
Cassoulet: (5 stars) How can you go wrong with a traditional French preparation of pork belly, duck, lamb, sausage and vegetables? Answer: You can’t. Their most popular dish packs a significant flavor-​filled punch.
Shout out to Kim Paradise for giving me excellent recommendations and getting me in for dinner after closing time.

Oh mon dieu! Non! Bön, ma campagne était satisfaite avec son poulet, mais les saveurs n’était pas trop complexes pour moi, escargot en entrée et coquilles Saint-​Jacques comme plat, et en tout cas je né pourrais goûter que du sel, du sel, même après avoir averti la cuisine plusieurs fois. Même ma campagne qui est américaine et qui sale ces frîtes Macdo a trouvé sa soupe trop salée aussi que tout mes plats. Les coquilles Saint-​Jacques était parfaitement cuite, en revanche. Mais, je trouve 3 coquilles Saint-​Jacques pour un plat principale à 24 dollars à Cleveland un peu poussé. Les nouilles était sans goût et fades. Des légers notes de fenouil dans les escargots aurait était intéressant à goûter si je pouvais. Les escargots aussi était très bien cuite et du bon qualité. Dommage — mauvais nuit dans la cuisine? Bön, je né conte pas tester l’hypothèse. Le fin– un espresso froid dans une tasse fissuré, c’est un peu la définition de mon expérience à l’Albatros.

As a French native I would say that every time I miss French food I can go to this restaurant and get good French food especially the Croque Monsieur to die for and cheeses are amazing too. The wine list is great and Brandon, the manager and fromager/​sommelier gives good advices to pick the right wine for your food. Like it!