La Buvette is a lovely, quaint, quintessential French cafe in the heart of Richmond. The hostess was quite friendly and was quick to help with my coat and umbrella. We had an important dinner and asked to be somewhere quiet, and they had us in a perfect table away from the larger room. You may want to know that they also have a great patio for dining.
While they do have some hard liquors, they do not really have what you'd call a "full bar." I ordered a dirty martini or vodka with olives and that was not possible. But the hostess did make me a nice vodka with sweet vermouth. It was served in a collins glass on the rocks. But luckily, while the cocktail situation isn't ideal, the wine menu is fantastic. The hostess let me try a bit of the Fume before so that I could know if the bottle was a good choice.
You might note that I keep saying "hostess." Although there were two waitresses, they both seemed to either ignore my table or not know the answers to my questions. They were friendly enough when I got their attention, but they seemed to be avoiding the table until my guest arrives. So although I had wanted to order a set of appetizers for the table and have the wine ready for when my guests arrived, that wasn't an option because neither of the waitresses would look my way though they walked by my table two dozen times. The hostess, or perhaps manager, looked quite busy, quite knowledgable, and very professional.
My appetizer of leeks was mushy and flavorless. Is that in the French style? I don't know. I had to put a bunch of ground pepper and salt on it and then eat it with bread and butter to give it some flavor. My lasagna didn't come with a tomato based sauce, but instead a white, cheesy, but again mostly flavorless bit of sauce. The pasta and spinach inside was cooked perfectly in terms of texture. But I definitely do not suggest these two items if you are hoping for a rich, or robustly flavored meal.
My guests had the seabream and the steak options. All three of them loved their meals. So while I was generally not pleased with my choices, I do not think the restaurant as a whole should be faulted. Indeed, one of the highlights was the closing option: the cafe gastrimound was a rich cup of espresso with a perfectly proportioned serving of chocolate mousse, creme broule, and a madelaine cookie. The quality of these three little desserts leads me to believe that dessert is NOT to be missed here. If they do these petite versions so well, I can imagine that they have a talented pastry chef here.
If you're looking for a cafe to remind you of Paris and the intimate dining there, La Buvette will give you all the feels. Their approach to the meals seems exactly like what you would expect at bistros and cafes across Paris. My personal experience is that the flavors of the savory courses are more muted than I personally would have preferred. That said, I would give them my business again if I lived here to see how I might order better in the future. read more