Cafe Laurier

3139 Richmond Avenue
713.807.1632

Cafe Laurier is one of those restaurants that gets overlooked by even the most ardent foodies when thoughts of French food in Houston percolate. Located next to the Velvet Melvin, this little outpost of French cooking (they call themselves New American though) dishes out good food in an intimate and sexy environment.

The restaurant provokes feelings of intimacy by its dark and very modern decor. The waiters add to the ambiance by being beautiful and competent. The menu is simple. Rekha had French Onion Soup topped with Gruyere cheese ($8 for a bowl). The soup tasted very clean, if a little light on salt and caramelized onions. She followed that soup with endive salad ($8) filled with crispy white endive topped with a pear/apple relish--perfect.

I ordered the pan-fried duck served over a bed of polenta ($22). Thankfully, the waiter didn't even bother to ask me how I wanted it done. tI simply came out medium-rare--the only way to serve this kind of duck. The taste reminded me of a Guy Savoy restaurant in Paris, where they squish the duck under hot iron pans for a nice crispy exterior and then finish it under a salamander.

When we crave French food, we usually head to Cafe Rabelais for simple and honest cooking. However, this recent visit to Cafe Laurier, will make us pause a bit to consider this excellent alternative--even if they do advertise themselves as New American.

One more thing... Order their fries. If you like the crunchy bits of fries at the bottom of a McDonald's bag of fries, you'll love Cafe Laurier's version of frites.