Lyon Hall, Clarendon Brasserie From The Owners Of Liberty Tavern - Chef Paul Stearman Comes from Marcel's

[wendydb22]

Has anyone heard what's going in at the old Dan Kain trophy shop location next to the post office on Washington Blvd.?
Construction is underway.

I just love that space.

-Wendy

[cheezepowder]

Here's some info I saw:

From Shop Arlington's Facebook page here

More great eats coming to Clarendon! LYON HALL - opening late '09/early '10 will bring French/American food, 20 taps (mostly European) & artisan cocktails featuring fresh juices to 3100 Washington Blvd. Brought to you by the folks @ The Liberty Tavern, a 2009 RAMMY winner!

and here from Washington Business Journal:

*On the way for Clarendon - Lyon Hall Restaurant at 3100 Washington Blvd. They're currently seeking a live music permit, though details on the spot (reportedly from the Liberty Tavern folk) are limited.

[FunnyJohn]

Haven't discussed this project recently with the Liberty folks, but a while ago I was told that this would be a "French" style wine/beer place at a slightly lower price point than Liberty. Its bar will be larger than that at Liberty. The live music aspect is new to me, but welcome info, as I know at least one act that needs a venue. The wine list will be heavy on the French and I think the beers will feature a lot of Belgians.

[Andelman]

I think I like the "Old Trophy Shop" better than "Lyon Hall" for the name of said restaurant...

I heard it was going to be a dinner only joint (which makes sense for the area).

[dcs]

I think I like the "Old Trophy Shop" better than "Lyon Hall" for the name of said restaurant...

That would be more in line with the designation of the property on the Arlington list of historic districts as the Dan Kain Building. As an aside for those unaware, Dan Kain Trophies did not go out of business, it just relocated.

[FunnyJohn]

That would be more in line with the designation of the property on the Arlington list of historic districts as the Dan Kain Building. As an aside for those unaware, Dan Kain Trophies did not go out of business, it just relocated.

Lyon was the name of one of the early developers of that part of Arlington County and I think the Liberty team (being partly local) wanted to pay a tribute to his legacy-- Hence "Lyon Hall".

[wendydb22]

I'm glad to hear all the above espec. the entertainment license. I like Iota, but I'd also like to see something in Clarendon that is a little more like Jammin' Java.

[FunnyJohn]

Not familiar with Jammin Java, but assume it combines the coffee shop with some form of musical entertainment. If that assumption is correct, I can tell you that the Liberty management is contemplating having some form of live, but low-key musical performances at the Coffee Shop formerly known as Murky Coffee. Don't know if they will apply for a live music permit for that project, or if they need to for something like a small jazz ensemble, but they're thinking about it. We shall see...

[ktmoomau]

I feel bad dissing two Liberty names, because I do love Liberty oh so much, but Lyon Hall reminds me of a place the Lion's Club would meet. That is too cool of a space for a lame name- really that space is soo cool. If it's really French they could call it Lyonnaise, but I think a cooler name could be had.

BTW what is the name of the building that Murky used to be in I saw a plaque on it for some sort of historic thing.

[The Leaver]

I think I like the "Old Trophy Shop" better than "Lyon Hall" for the name of said restaurant...

The "Old Trophy Shop" would be a perfect name if it has a pick-up scene at the bar.

[Dave Pressley]

Saying that a restaurant name is bad is very much like hating on a child's name...you can think it, but don't say it (or post online about it.)

[Andelman]

Saying that a restaurant name is bad is very much like hating on a child's name...you can think it, but don't say it (or post online about it.)

Not sure if you were referring to me, but my post was not meant as a stab at the name Lyon Hall. I was just saying that I thought Old Trophy Shop was a cool name (seeing how I will always remember that space as Dan Kain). I agree with what you said, as coming up with a name for one's business ain't easy (believe me, we havethought about changing our name NUMEROUS times..)

[Dave Pressley]

Not sure if you were referring to me, but my post was not meant as a stab at the name Lyon Hall. I was just saying that I thought Old Trophy Shop was a cool name (seeing how I will always remember that space as Dan Kain). I agree with what you said, as coming up with a name for one's business ain't easy (believe me, we havethought about changing our name NUMEROUS times..)

Yes...and I hate you. Toodles!

[Andelman]

Yes...and I hate you. Toodles!

Right back at you, slim.

[Iceman]

Not sure if you were referring to me, but my post was not meant as a stab at the name Lyon Hall. I was just saying that I thought Old Trophy Shop was a cool name (seeing how I will always remember that space as Dan Kain). I agree with what you said, as coming up with a name for one's business ain't easy (believe me, we havethought about changing our name NUMEROUS times..)

If it's any consolation - I believe the mezzanine level that will be available for private parties is going to be called "the trophy room."

[ScotteeM]

Bumped this thread up because Lyon Hall is mentioned in the "New & Noteworthy" section of the latest Washingtonian. Is it open yet? I don't see it on Open Table, I can't find a website, and there's no announcement on the Facebook page that it has opened. Anyone know?

[cheezepowder]

Bumped this thread up because Lyon Hall is mentioned in the "New & Noteworthy" section of the latest Washingtonian. Is it open yet? I don't see it on Open Table, I can't find a website, and there's no announcement on the Facebook page that it has opened. Anyone know?

It's not open yet.

[Rosie]

The soft opening was last night. The guy working the door was kind enough to offer me a quick tour of the place. It's a beautiful space -- reminded me a bit of a much smaller Brasserie Beck. There's a long bar just behind the host stand. They'll have twenty beers on draft, with an emphasis towards German beers. They also have a room upstairs for hosting private parties.

The menu, which is posted outside, looks interesting. There's definitely a German theme, with an entire section devoted to "sausages".

One of the hostesses told me that they'll be officially open to the public on Tuesday.

[DonRocks]

The soft opening was last night.

This is riveting news.

[FunnyJohn]

This is riveting news.

Indeed. I stopped in last night while making the rounds in the neighborhood. Had a nice plate of oysters -- they have my favorites, Kumamotos, and Wellfleets. A plate of a dozen (mix and match) was $20. For the beer fans out there there is an impressive list of mostly Belgian beers. The wine list is very bistro-ee, but a fair price point on the by-the-glass side. There will be a DJ in the house on the weekends. I had to bitch out the mannager for not knowing what channel the Nats game was on -- oh well they lost anyway. This place is a welcome addition to the neighborhood and will do very well -- says my crystal ball.

[DonRocks]

Indeed.

It's not a good sign when nobody laughs at my jokes but me.

[RWBooneJr]

The sign may say Lyon, but the menu is mostly Alsatian, so there is a very strong German influence here. Aside from this (heavy) accent, the food is very similar to what is offered at Liberty in terms of quality, execution, price, and size. The wine list is mostly French and looks worth exploring (but does not include varietal information, which is is fine for French wine, but a tiny bit annoying for the few German wines offered). The beer selection is also solid, and features one of the better collections of European brews on tap (the Weihenstephan's tap handle says dunkel but it's the regular hefe, which is better anyway). I'm interested to see how this place develops and what kind of a crowd it attracts.

[southdenverhoo]

It's not a good sign when nobody laughs at my jokes but me.

Hey, Rosie's all right.

[KMango]

Tried to get takeout yesterday for an ailing friend, but the hostess said they were not doing takeout. I'm assuming that's just for now (?).

Very friendly door greeting, fwiw.

[sphere777]

It's not a good sign when nobody laughs at my jokes but me.

What a rebolting development.

Rob

[ktmoomau]

Had dinner tonight at Lyon Hall. The atmosphere was nice, but very loud. I don't normally notice such things in even loud places, but here I had to lean in to talk to my brother in law. Can I just note, that both here and Liberty Tavern they have very good iced tea. Not mix iced tea, but good iced tea. I had a carafe of wine, I have never been somewhere you can order a carafe of wine (perhaps I just don't get out enough). We started with duck prosciutto and rabbit rilettes. I liked both, but the portion of duck prosciutto was rather small. Then I had the frisee salad with poached egg and more prosciutto. It was good, but the poached egg just lacked some flavor. I liked the mustard vinaigrette though. Then had the spaetzle with fava beans and mussels. This was good. I liked it a lot. Our waitress was wonderful (cute strawberry blonde) they had a few problems with timing of courses, but it wasn't a big deal at all. We fit it all on the table. I had no room for dessert, but anyone going should really save room because those going to our neighbors looked really good, really really good.

[durwoodx]

I swear it's like I'm cursed lately.

Tried to hit this place for my weekly Wednesday early evening pre-work dinner - work with some occasionally persnickety elderly volunteers, who are the REASON I get a lovely meal with a couple of quality quaffable products before showing up. The space really is quite lovely, as others have noted. I sat at the bar (as I tend to do when alone.) The beer list is fairly expansive and dominated by Belgians followed next by perhaps half as many English and American offerings then a smattering of other stuff (although not too many rare or off the beaten path offerings.)

The menu does show very much an Alsatian/Belgian influence and has a lot of intriguing offerings on it. Perhaps the most notable thing about it, however is that (other than the Jumbo platters of Raw Bar, Cheese, or Charcuterie) there is not a single thing on the menu for over $20.

First up I got a half order of the Herb Spaetzle with Mussels. I then asked the bartender if she could recommend any particular dish that would dazzle me and convince me to come back to the place a second time. She recommended two dishes - the second of which was the Lamb Leg Fleischschnacka. She got as far as saying "it lays on a bed of house-made pasta sheets" when I interrupted, "House-made pasta! Sold! I'll take it!"

The Spaetzel was served in some sort of english pea broth - this worked very, very well. The broth really captured the fresh pea taste and played nicely against the earthy tones of the mussels. It was just a half order, though, and fairly light.

Oh boy, was I still hungry. So I sit. And I sit. I order another beer. I sit a bit more and look at my watch. Getting close, so I say "I'm getting a little pressed for time, can I get the check with the entree, please?" Two minutes later she brings the check. I whip out my usual piece of plastic (go, bonus miles) and stick it in the bill without looking. Wait a bit more and the bill goes off and comes back - still no food. Now I look at the check. No entree.

Now I am wondering "perhaps they comped it because it took so long?" so I go ahead and sign it and add tip. The other bartender asks me if everything is all right. I say I am a bit confused about why my entree is not on the bill. The other bartender says "Oh, you ordered the entree?" I am not sure how that got confused between "Sold! I'll take it!" and "can I get my check with my entree." The manager overhears and offers to bring it out right away but at this point I have 6-8 minutes till I have to be at work with the sometimes crotchety volunteers. He offers a sausage to go perhaps, but alas too late I must away. Off cranky and hungry and facing the evening to come with multiple quaffable products in my near-empty stomach (poor, poor me.)

Mostly a case of miscommunication (although I am still trying to figure out how I was unclear) but the sliver lining is once the manager realized something was wrong he offered to make it right, but I just didn't have enough time left to let him. I will probably go back - the lamb sounded intriguing.

[bmcdonal6674]

Last night our group stuck to appetizers of cheese, charcuterie, and shell fish. The Pate De Campagne marmalade is outstanding and was the highlight of our visit and worth a return trip by itself. The cheese were served at the correct temperature which is a plus. The drafts beers were cold and tasty. Service had some slow moments but I wonder if it was our location as we were upstairs in the trophy room.

[chaofun]

Hmm.

I have to say when I first walked into the place and and looked at the menu I was smitten. I really wanted to love this place. There is a large focus on sausage AND they had duck fat frites. Everything on the menu looked appealing to me. To top it all off they had a wonderful tap of beers, many of them Belgian. I sat at the bar, and ordered the Bratwurst and the duck fat frites. Alas the frites we a huge disappointment; perhaps it is a matter of preference. These frites were giant. 3/4 x 3/4 inch thick. These were more like giant chips. They were also covered in a batter, which, I am not a fan of. The Bratwurst was good, but not great. Stanley Feder's and Jamie Stachowski's brats are def better. Still it was very good. The house made kraut was good, it tasted a lot like what I make at home. The Delirium Tremens I had was tasty.

Towards the end of my meal the cherry on top of it all was at 7:30 the loud d-bag club/house music came on. I remembered why sometimes I hate Clarendon.

[jiveturk21]

I was there last night as well. The music was quite odd, it would start off very loud and then kind of fade into the background. I was there from 6:00 to 8:30 PM and that happened about four or five times. I'm not quite sure if this was some sort of "strategy" playing out (i.e., hey guys, not only are you at a restaurant, but we are a cool place to hang out too!) or if it was some kind of snafu, either way, it was annoying.

Anyway, this is the second time that I have been to Lyon Hall, both times I was in the lounge area off the bar. The service, both times, was pretty great, even with the crowds. The crowds do make it quite loud in there, but I can't complain when the crowd consists of 24-26 year old women. The happy hour deal, which lasts until 7:00 PM, is pretty good. I think that it is 1/2 price beers and glasses of wine, and then one cocktail is $5, plenty to choose from if you get there on the early side.

The food, so far, has been a mixed bag. Last night we got the Bohemian Sausage Platter for 2 and it was WAY too much food for 2 people. Some of the sausages were nice, the others were throw aways. I liked the spaetzle, a lot, and can say the same about the sauerkraut and potato salad, but the mustards that accompanied it were pretty pedestrian. The fries we had, not the duck fat ones, were good if you ate them right away, but once they sat for ten minutes, they were pretty unappetizing. The mussels, which we had a few weeks ago, were kind of tough and flavorless. The desserts, however, were great both visits. I am not sure exactly what we had last night, but it was some sort of blackberry/blueberry shortbread thing with lemon curd and poppy seeds. Whatever it was, it was awesome.

When it comes down to it, after my two visits, I think that Lyon Hall appears to be a bit better than it really is. I like the atmosphere and the service, but the menu reads better than it plays out on your plate.

[FunnyJohn]

A new menu (both in content and in format) has been produced for the patrons of Lyon Hall. First the format -- it still retains the bistro/antique style, but much easier on the eyes in both layout and font. As for content, there is now an emphasis on "la grillade": skirt, strip and rib steaks + Shenandoah lamb rib chops. Less of the seafood, but there is, in addition to mussels frite or piperade, a tartine of snails as hors d'oeuvres, as well as oysters, a shrimp cocktail and crab bouillabaisse. Also featured now under the hors d'oeuvres are several seasonal salads (ingredients locally sourced) featuring a melange of fruits and veggies. For fans the selection of sausages still are offered as well as a good selection of cheese. There is now also a plat du jour ranging from $15-$35 (that's for a roast chicken dinner for two on Sundays). For dessert have a beer ice cream float. Bon appetit.

[catharine]

Had a nice meal here last week. The highlight was the shrimp and lobster sausage. Very different than anything I've ever tasted. I've been craving it ever since.

[Sthitch]

I made my first trip to Lyon Hall last night, and came away with mostly positive feelings. Our order of charcuterie was a mixed bag, the Smoked Trout and Salmon Terrine was a very small serving of harshly smoked trout barded with flavorless salmon. The Beet-Cured Arctic Char was overly fishy, but was helped by the room temperature latke (which would have been much better if it had been warm and freshly made). Thankfully the meats shined, the Alsatian Saucisson Sec was a delicious dried sausage with lovely herb undertones, and the Bison Bresaola was only bresaola in appearance, but deliciously spiced with allspice and clove (the meat was too moist to really be a bresaola).

Overall our entrée selection turned out to be good, but tended towards bland. The Pork Schnitzel was perfectly fried, but a the meat and breading were lacking any discernable flavor and really could have used either a little more sauce on the plate or a squeeze of lemon (actually it could have used both). The Halibut was also nicely prepared, but again the meat was fairly bland and was supported by the grilled peaches and snow peas.

For some reason I always forget to mention the service I receive, at Lyon Hall, I found that the table and bar service were both friendly, polite, and professional.

It seems to me that Lyon Hall is a restaurant in search of an identity, there is quite a bit of Alsatian influence on the menu, but the beer list is slanted towards Belgium. Right now it just seems confused as what it wants to be.

[RWBooneJr]

there is quite a bit of Alsatian influence on the menu, but the beer list is slanted towards Belgium

Which is weird, when you consider all of the delicious French beers out there...

[Sthitch]

Which is weird, when you consider all of the delicious French beers out there...

Granted Alsace is known for wine more than beer, but the food has far more of a German influence, so I would have expected a more German list, also they have two Alsatian wines available, one still pinot gris, and one sparkling, again I would expect more wines to match the food.

[ktmoomau]

Had brunch here on Saturday for the MIL's birthday. Started with french press coffee. Wowzer, I don't drink coffee often so this to me was strong coffee, good but strong, my FIL loved it though. We had a platter of doughnuts which I am not supposed to eat (gluten) but they looked so good I was tempted beyond my ability to control my actions, so I ate a couple slivers of a couple of them. They had a cake doughnut with lemon icing that was really good, the praline chocolate was forgettable- not worth the calories or gluten, but the butterscotch may be the best doughnut I have ever eaten (and as a side note my amish nanny makes homemade glazed doughnuts that put krispy kreme to shame). So worth the inevitable popping of stomach pills and regrets later. It was light light light, crispy and the topping wasn't too thick and icing like, it was more like a thin butterscotch that they dipped it in. Not too sweet, but with great flavor. Really best doughnut ever.

I then had steak frites. I am a little tired as I noted in the gf dining thread of the repetitive gf options including steak frites. At least these were done exceptionally well. The meat was terrific, tender, a nice portion, seasoned well, but the sauce may have made it a little too rich, it was great, just very rich for brunch. Frites were exactly how I like them. Salad was perfectly dressed and I loved the pickled onions.

My Hubby thought the croque monsieur had way too much butter, he wasn't as thrilled with it as I was with my selection. Also as a note the omlette my MIL had is just an omlette so if you want potatoes or etc you have to order them as sides. It was a little strange since the rest of us had huge plates of food come out.

Service was good although our server just looked a little undone. Bedhead, untucked shirt, looked like perhaps she worked the night before too. But she was very nice.

[thetrain]

The $5 'dogs they are serving from 4-7pm have ranged from really good (the Kasekrainer) to completely worth trekking through a wet blizzard for (the short rib Lyonaise). Buns are just as delicious as Lyon Hall/Liberty's bread, and are buttered and toasted.

[DannyNoonan]

Dined with friends at Lyon Hall for the first time on Sat evening and had a fantastic experience. Food, drinks, ambiance all top-notch.

We were in a bit of a hurry so we skipped appetizers, or rather just had drinks for appetizers. I would have liked to try the beet salad but, alas, I had to settle for a Negroni from their cocktail menu. I forget the clever name they gave the drink but, if memory serves, it was a combination of Plymouth gin, Aperol, and Dolin sweet vermouth. I liked the drink, though I think the Aperol made it a bit sweet for my taste, and think I would prefer Campari but overall it was a decent version of the cocktail. My wife had a fantastic chenin blanc from the By the Glass menu. I think it was Chateau Gaudrelle ($10) and it was lovely. It was crisp, not too fruity. Very nice.

For entrees, my wife and I both ordered the scallops - served with sweet potato puree, brussel sprouts, and kale (I think). The kitchen was nice enough to leave out the bacon at our request and I don't think the dish suffered by its absence. The scallops were beautifully cooked - seasoned, seared, and not the least bit overcooked or rubbery. Equally outstanding were the accompaniments. Small, halved brussel sprouts nicely caramelized til they had some texture but weren't mushy. Also, some sauteed greens, kale I think, and sweet potato puree. I tried to include a bit of each in each bite. I loved the combination of briny (scallops), salty (greens), vegetal (sprouts), and sweet (potato puree). We also shared a side of pommes frites and loved them too. Really crispy, salty and addictive.

Portion size was more ample than it appeared as well. I had a couple slices of bread from the bread basket (pumpernickel and sourdough I think - both pleasantly chewy with toothsome crust) and was plenty full after my meal. We both paired the aformentioned chenin blanc with our entrees and thought it was a wonderful pairing.

The noise level was much better than I expected with the restaurant crowded on a Saturday evening. The service was friendly and the pacing was good. A slight hiccup led to a delay in delivery of our pommes frites but ended up no big deal.

This was my first time at Lyon Hall but it seems as if the Liberty Tavern folks have indeed hit the jackpot again. We'll be back.

[ad.mich]

The sabodet at Lyon Hall is, quite simply, stunning. Obscenely rich, earthy, porky, and the damn thing nearly melts before it reaches your mouth. The pork belly it's served with gilds the lily to the highest degree (and that's only when it's cooked properly, which hasn't been a guarantee in my visits) but the pickled shallots on the plate do a nice job cutting the fat. If you're into encased meats, you owe it to yourself to check this dish out. To my knowledge no one else in the area is doing sabodet, and it's being done at LH to a very high degree.

[hillvalley]

Dear Lyon Hall,

I would like to visit your establishment but your website does not give your hours. If it does then they are hard to find. Might want to fix that.

Signed,

Someone who isn't dining with you today because they don't know the hours.

[thetrain]

Dear Lyon Hall,

I would like to visit your establishment but your website does not give your hours. If it does then they are hard to find. Might want to fix that.

Signed,

Someone who isn't dining with you today because they don't know the hours.

For some reason they put a lot of info on their facebook page and not their website. I've noticed other restaurants do this as well -- often I feel like I have to check a restaurant's website, facebook, and twitter...annoying.

[mame11]

Lyon Hall was my top discovery at Taste of the Nation 2011. The pate de campaign was perfect, and the French pastries unbelievably good. The cherry macaroon made me swoon. Because I was stuffed, I threw a a chocolate profiterole in my goody bag to enjoy when my stomach had room. Wow, it was delicious! From a marketing perspective, the restaurant succeeded. I can't wait to visit the restaurant sometime in the next month.

[New Foodie]

Anyone besides Ktmoomau dined at Lyon for brunch? I'm heading there Sunday with some girlfriends and curious what's worth ordering (haven't been yet for dinner, so this will be my introduction). From Kt's review and Yelp reviews it sounds like the doughnuts are a must. Some of the other dishes sound interesting.

[MODWOP]

Anyone besides Ktmoomau dined at Lyon for brunch? I'm heading there Sunday with some girlfriends and curious what's worth ordering (haven't been yet for dinner, so this will be my introduction). From Kt's review and Yelp reviews it sounds like the doughnuts are a must. Some of the other dishes sound interesting.

We were just there last Saturday. I had the Sausage and Eggs, the sausage being their wonderful Hungarian Lamb Sausage. You really can't go wrong with any of the house-made sausages. The +1 wanted a lighter breakfast so he went for the muesli, followed by the smoked salmon, which turned out to be a quite substantial plate - enough to share. One unexpected standout was the bread basket, particularly their darker bread. I can't remember exactly what it was, but I recall it being a pumpernickle-style with coffee. The atmosphere was laid back and the staff incredibly pleasant; we're definitely adding this to our rotation.

[ktmoomau]

I was just looking at the recent menu and a lot of things looked exceptionally good to me, will have to try to get here again soon.

[shortorder]

Very impressed on my first visit. I started with the prune and potato dumplings, with speck, which I found a little bland, and too filling for an appetizer. Then the celeraic saurkraut, which was delicious, even though the celeraic wasn't detectable. Then the black pudding, or black sausage, which was three little mounds of dark sausage meat, and various spices. excellent. Good beers, too.

[New Foodie]

Meh. Brunch yesterday at Lyon Hall was fine, but nothing to go out of the way for. The rough service really didn't help my opinion either.

Despite being less than half full, our waitress was rarely present and took forever just coming to take our order. Then, as we waited (and waited) to get our food, I began noticing other tables around us receiving a bread basket, despite not having one on our table. These tables were being served by another waitress who seemed MUCH more attentive (as I saw her stop by her tables multiple times to check in with them). I finally asked for bread just before our food came, and the dark bread was in fact pretty tasty, but it would've been nice to have when we were all starving earlier.

Two of us had the Squash Poached Eggs (squash, mushrooms, sage/brown butter hollandaise - $10). This was definitely a nice change of pace from traditional eggs benedict, but nothing outstanding. It was basically a slice of bread topped with sauteed spinach, mushrooms and a few pieces of squash (something orange). On top were two poached eggs (one runny, one firm) and a fairly traditional hollandaise (I didn't detect much sage or brown butter). One had the French Toast (maple syrup, seasonal fruit - $8). She really liked the cranberry compote that was served with it, but was surprised at the small addition of seasonal fruit. The fourth had the Omelet fine herbs (cheddar - $9), which was a large round omelet that took up the whole plate (but was not served with any sides...no potatoes, fruit, salad or anything).

We had heard good things about the donuts but ended up skipping them since the flavors weren't so appealing. Two out of 4 of the flavors involved coffee or mocha and two of us don't really like coffee flavor. Maybe if I ever return I'll be luckier with these.

With the average food and lackluster service I won't be rushing back (especially since I live in NE and Clarendon is not the closest area for dining out). That being said, make sure you visit the bathrooms while you're at Lyon Hall

[ktmoomau]

I had a nice lunch here on Wednesday with my dog out on the patio to enjoy the brutally nice weather. Drinks and service were prompt and the server was very very nice. I ordered the Bahn Mi sandwich with fries. This is in no way shape or form a traditional Bahn Mi, think of it more as just an amazing pate sandwich and you will be better off. The crusty baguette and pickled veggie goodness and dressing gave amazing texture and zing to the motherload of housemade incredible pate that is on this sandwich. There was creamy pate and chunky rustic pate and ham and it was all just awesome, really really awesome. I ordered fries with it, and I probably should have gotten a side salad because the sandwich was so huge and rich it really doesn't need fries. BUT I really like the fries here. I love the way they are seasoned really, and they aren't too thin, they aren't too thick, really they are done well.

It is well worth it, just don't order it expecting a traditional Bahn Mi, expect a delightful pate sandwich.

[ktmoomau]

Me again?

Had an excellent happy hour with a friend at Lyon Hall. This is a great place to sit, drink and share competing war stories on a cold afternoon. I had a very nice half priced glass of Chenin Blanc to start. I ordered the happy hour pretzel sticks. These are like the love child of soft pretzels and breadsticks in an addictively good way. They had three mustards that came with them, the stout was by far the best and had a little zing to it.

The pate campagne served here may be my favorite pate. It is quite terribly rustic and good in a eat the whole thing kind of way. Except for the fact that I also had the pot of chicken liver mousse and together it was an out of control spiral of richness. And while each is excellent, I don't know that I would ever do that again. I also received some duck salami in error which they let me keep. Not to look a gift horse in the mouth, but it wasn't my favorite. I normally really like duck, but well maybe it is because the mousse and pate are just too good for their own good.

It was incredibly hard to pass up the happy hour frankfurters, which from a previous visit I can assure you, are very good. If Anthony Bourdain was looking for the best hot dog in the area right now I think it would be the place.

Our bartender was super friendly and it is just such a good place to spend an afternoon drinking. The wine by the glass selection is very good, even the happy hour selections, and a good deal at happy hour.

[DannyNoonan]

Lovely dinner at Lyon Hall on Saturday evening with my wife and daughter. We were in the neighborhood and decided to pop in for an early dinner. A quick call ahead and we were graciously accomodated. I think the word is out among parents who like to take their kids to eat at restaurants with real food on the kids' menu because we were among several tables with little kids in tow seated at that hour.

Speaking of the kids menu, my daughter's meal was fantastic. It's such a nice thing when the restaurant puts thought and care into kids' food. Her burger and fries were, first of all, big enough seemingly to satisfy an adult appetite, but were also clearly not nuked and slopped on a plate. It's real food and you can taste the difference that their effort makes. I will always give preference to a place that makes this effort.

Our meals were very nice as well. My wife planned to order the cocktail shrimp appetizer as part of her meal but was quickly informed by our very apologetic server that they were out of shrimp. No big deal, so she ordered the beet salad and scallop entree. I ordered the market salad and cornmeal crusted flounder entree. I think they felt bad about not having the shrimp because our salads were huge. I glanced around and it appeared that our plates were larger than some around us that ordered the same dishes. Seriously, my wife's salad must have had four beets in it. They weren't just big, they included top notch ingredients and were quite tasty too.

Entrees were very good as well. My flounder was beautifully cooked with a crunchy cornmeal coating. It might have been the teeniest bit underseasoned (lacking salt) but that quibble was resolved by swiping each bite in the vibrant orange saffron emulsion. My wife's scallops sported a perfectly seared exterior, as usual.

Another thing I like about Lyon Hall is their capable bar staff. I ordered a rhubarb negroni from their cocktail list and found it pleasant but wanted to compare it to a standard negroni so for my second drink I ordered a negroni with Plymouth gin. There were no quizzical looks, no "I am not sure we can make that" responses...they just brought me my drink. I love being able to order a cocktail with confidence that what I will get is properly made by someone who knows what they are doing. This criterion is becoming more important to me in choosing a restaurant.