Le Colonial

Reserve

Le Colonial Review

This is high-style Vietnamese food served up in a French-colonial time machine: stamped-tin ceiling, period photographs, slow-moving fans, and tropical plants. Local society types who can't be bothered with dining in Little Saigon come for the sea bass steamed in banana leaves, green papaya salad, and lamb chops with grilled eggplant salad. They also like to pick from among the big selection of fried or fresh appetizer rolls, filled with everything from shredded duck to Dungeness crab. Downstairs are two large and rather formal dining rooms. Anything goes upstairs in the lively lounge: you can eat appetizers, you can dance (Wednesday through Saturday nights), or you can just sip a cocktail at the bar and take in the scene. Plenty of locals find the dining room stuffy—and expensive—but are quick to defend the lounge. It's full of atmosphere during weekend brunch.