Review: Volnay Bistro Bar (Wayzata)

A lovely Fall Areal of Wayzata

It is no big secret to my friends that my favorite place in the Twin Cities is a little suburb called Wayzata (Y-zet-ta). It is situated right off of Lake Minnetonka and it just has all the charm of a small town without the pick-up trucks.

So in this quaint little suburb is a equally quaint little place I love to visit called Volnay Bistro Bar. In recent months I have been to, what I call, the big three French restaurants in Mpls/St. Paul and this is number Un (that’s one in French, see I’m cultured).

I determined the “big three” by using this simple formula, they must serve typical French food, I need to not be able to pronounce at least 3 menu items, and the ambiance must remind me of Pairs’ cafés. So for your reference my “big three” are, in order, Volnay (Wayzata), Pardon My French (Eagan), and Meritage (St. Paul).

So back to Volnay, I may review the other two another time but I want to tout Volnay right now. Summer is a great time to go there as they have patio seating with live music (usually jazz or something smooth) and partial views of the lake. However I never balk at the ambiance of the main dining room. If I ever get my dream of owning a restaurant I want it to look like Volnay.

The dinner menu is just sublime. There are some very important staples of French cuisine, including duck a l'orange (best I’ve ever had) and Beef Bourgine, along with some more tame items for the less adventurous, French onion soup and an array of safety salads.

Their wine list is quite extensive however they only have a handful of wines by the glass and their cheapest bottle was $45. It would not have been a big deal if we can ever decide on a bottle for the table but my friends and I all have different tastes so I was left with only a coffee.

After ordering they bring out fresh baked bread with European style butter. The main difference between American butter and European is that the latter has a higher butterfat content, which makes it more yummy, to use the technical term. Along with the bread you are also served an amuse-bouche. Which in my experience is usually only enjoyed at the finest of five star establishments but Volnay is out to impress and they do! The presentation of the main course is just perfect, a design that draws all attention to the main focus of the meal. I of course had the duck a l'orange which is served on a mascarpone and walnut risotto. The duck was so tender and perfectly done I didn’t have to use my knife. The skin was nice and crisp and flavorful as well. The duck is orange marinated and drizzled with an orange glaze. The orange is subtle enough that I get all the flavors of the meal coming though. I have had at other establishments a l'orange that was completely over powered by the orange flavor that it was like eating marmalade. Not here though, perfect…just perfect.

After such a rich meal I couldn’t even think of dessert although as you can guess all the selections look as good as you would expect from a French bistro.

Overall I will be returning to Volnay. I need to try some other dishes after all it was hard to choose just one! The ambiance is just wonderful it did remind me of the cafés of Paris and the service is always a delight. Please if you are in the area spend an evening there and I promise you will remember it always!

*UPDATE: As of January 1 2011 Volnay closed their doors. I will truly miss them. Thank you for the good times!*