Many years ago, I worked at a restaurant in the Foshay Tower in Minneapolis called Café Un Deux Trois. (could that ↓ server be me?!) It was a classic French bistro, where I learned to love Vouvray wine, real Espresso drinks & Creme Brûlée. At the time I worked there, the Chef was Andrew Zimmern. When he left, Chef Francoual took over the helm. When I heard he was opening a French restaurant in Minneapolis, I was excited to check it out.
Chef Francoual calls Chloe by Vincent a, “casual French restaurant that serves the food French families relish.” There were many classic dishes on his menu, so deciding what to have was harder than normal.
As always, I previewed the menu in advance (because I am such a picky bitch, I didn’t want it to take forever to decide when we got there!) and thought I had figured out what we were going to order. Ha!
We would start with the Duck Paté…or maybe the Escargot if we were feeling adventurous. Then we would share a bowl of the French Onion soup. (Side note: here is a link to the original recipe served at Café Un Deux Trois that Chef Zimmern shared recently. And another one I don’t remember being on the menu but will have to try to make at home!)
Then we’d split the Cassoulet for our entree course. Although the Beef Bourguignon would have been just as delicious! Truthfully, there are so many other options that sounded great, it was a tough choice! Dessert would be decided then, depending on how full we were at that point. Espresso/Cappuccinos were a must.
As you see, we did choose to order the Duck Paté, because we both love that. It was good, a little difficult to spread on the bread they brought, but we made it work. The whole grain mustard and apricot relish served with it was an excellent complement to the hearty pate.
The cocktail list was inviting…I just love how creative cocktails have gotten these past few years. I literally cannot go out to dinner without trying at least one! I struggled with my choice, looking around at other tables to see what might catch my eye. I am a sucker for anything Gin, so I settled on the Chloe 75 (a riff on a French 75) and Mark ordered The Old Frenchman (which was a delicious Old Fashioned) and both were a great start to the night!
The weather outside that night was gross…alternating between rain and sleet, with some thunder and lighting thrown in for fun. By the time we headed home, it was full on dumping heavy wet snow and our one hour drive, ended up twice as long.
So we thought we would take our time, being sure to ask the server if we had to be done by a certain time, to which she said no and then gave us time between our courses to relax and enjoy. And sharing a bottle of wine with dinner was a no-brainer and as usual, consulted with our wine expert, C.J., who we shared the wine list with and what our dinner choices were. At first he was leaning towards a white, but when we asked about which red on the menu we should try, (again, because it was a red-wine-weather sort of night!) his response was “if you want something quirky, try the Malbec“. It did not disappoint!
As you can see, we went off script with our entree choices…Mark choosing the Veal Liver and I got the Scallops with Orange sauce (and is sadly not on their current posted menu). I like to order things that we don’t make for ourselves at home, and Scallops is always one of those things. As you can see, the Scallops had a nice sear on the one side, and were placed on a bed of fingerling potatoes and leeks. Mark’s Veal Liver was a big serving and he thoroughly enjoyed it. (I will admit, I am not a fan of liver of any kind and secretly wanted him to finish it quickly because I wasn’t real excited about the smell!)
Here is proof he liked it a lot! 😍
By the time we finished all that, we really weren’t sure we could handle dessert but then we decided to order an espresso and cappuccino and then they had this adorable dessert trio that had créme caramel, chocolate pot de créme and créme brûlée. All mini sizes and the perfect finish to our evening!
They were all delicious, I am sucker for créme brûlée and enjoy making that at home once in awhile, but the chocolate pot de créme was my favorite!
Although I didn’t get the classic French Bistro vibes at Chloe that I was yearning for (ie: white tablecloths, french music playing in the background, servers in bowties with pressed white aprons…all the memories!) we did have an enjoyable evening, feeling relaxed and enjoying some excellent food!
Getting to the restaurant is super easy, the area feels safe and parking is directly across the street in a ramp that has discounted evening parking rates. The restaurant is connected to the Canopy by Hilton Minneapolis Mill District Hotel and PRO-TIP, the restaurants bathrooms are in the back of the lobby in the hotel, past their bar, so don’t hold it! 😂
Learn more HERE!
If you go, let me know! Sorry for the lateness of this post…
Enjoy and cheers until next time!
❤️ Shawn
*Please note that I am not a professional restaurant reviewer. While I am knowledgeable about food and dining, my opinions are based on personal experiences and preferences, and may not reflect the opinions of others or professional food critics. My reviews are provided for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon as a substitute for professional advice or judgment. I encourage you to conduct your own research and make your own informed decisions before choosing a restaurant or dining experience. Thank you for following along!
