Lucile’s in Denver – There’s just something missing

In a word: Hospitality.

For a restaurant that features Southern fare, it absolutely lacks Southern charm.

I recently organized a baby shower at Lucile’s in Denver. This was baby #2 for the recipient so it was organized as a Ladies Brunch. The guest of honor had her heart set on trying Lucile’s so I called for a reservation. Hmmmm...problem number one. I was promptly, if not a little rudely, informed that “Lucile’s doesn’t take reservations.” Then I was informed that Sunday brunch is very busy and we could expect to wait for 45 minutes to an hour. I explained the situation – that we had a large party and an even larger mommy-to-be but they would not budge, not even for parties over 8 people. I asked if they had a room for groups hoping for a solution (an 8 ½ month pregnant lady can only stand for so long). “No, our private room is only available for parties of 40 or more,” was the reply. Then I asked if I could arrive early and put my name in for the party. They said yes but that the party would not be seated till everyone was present. Since I knew one of the attendees would be 15 minutes late, I already had a problem.

Okay. Lucile’s was going to be difficult, but I was determined to make it work.

I purposely put together party favors and decorations for the table so that there wouldn’t be any mess or special treatment needed. I kinda figured from the initial phone calls with the restaurant that they weren’t too excited about any fluffy stuff. Because of this, I decided to pick up cupcakes instead of a cake so our party wouldn’t inconvenience anyone.

On the day of the shower, we all arrived and put our name in for a table. Then we waited...and waited...and waited...and waited. Other patrons who had arrived after us were being seated before us. After inquiring about the wait several times, the hostess finally admitted that they only had one table configured for a large group and we would have to wait until they were finished.

Then the hostess spied my cupcake box. She informed me that she had noticed a cake box and that we would be charged for bringing in a cake. I told her that they were cupcakes and I had specifically brought them in so as not to inconvenience anyone. We didn’t need plates or forks or any special treatment. She basically said – too bad – we charge for outside food.

Finally, well over an hour later, we were seated. The packed restaurant was quite dark inside and reminded me of a dark bar with country kitchen accents. The menu looked great and we quickly ordered fresh beignets that were recommended by our server. Although they weren’t bad, they certainly didn’t taste like the beignets I had in France. Square, compact little pieces of fried dough with powdered sugar, they helped to ease the hunger pangs that were now rampant among our party. Lucile’s makes many homemade condiments including marmalade (yum – my fav), strawberry jam, and ketchup. The marmalade saved the day – it was amazing. Unfortunately I didn’t make it to the strawberry jam, but I heard it was good.

One nice option at Lucile’s is the half order. This is not advertised on the menu but one of the girls in our party had been there a few times and knew the drill. After spying the HUGE plates of food emerging from the kitchen, this was the route I took. And I was glad I did – the half order provided more than enough food for one person.

Even though the portion size can satisfy even the hungriest of patrons, a major downside to Lucile’s is the food quality. The menu is peppered with references to New Orleans - Eggs Pontchartrain, Cajun Breakfast, Pain Perdu. Everything sounds great but the chefs at Lucile’s are either too busy to pull off a good tasting meal or just don’t care. I ordered the Eggs Jennifer which was an English muffin topped with spinach, tomato, avocado, a poached egg, and served with potatoes. While the potatoes were well seasoned, the rest of the dish was a disaster. The spinach was originally frozen – and then cooked to death so it was nothing more than a stringy, mushy mess. The English muffin was barely toasted and so suffered the same fate. Unfortunately, the fresh avocado and tomato only added emphasis to the poor texture of the other ingredients. As for the flavor – bland. After waiting for nearly two hours for breakfast – I was severely disappointed.

When the bill came (approximately $20/person), I was not surprised but disappointed to see that they had included a cake fee of $10 for our cupcakes. Then, as we were leaving the restaurant, one of the girls went out of her way to thank the server. To her shock the response was – “uh, huh.” There they go again – pouring on that Southern charm.

Overall, Lucile’s is a mediocre restaurant with bad manners. They clearly think that size matters and dish up their portions appropriately. Unfortunately their big portions don’t guarantee big taste. Will I go back to Lucile’s – absolutely not! I’d rather spend my money, and more importantly my calories, somewhere else.