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La Voile

261 Newbury St.
Boston, MA 02115

Phone: 617-587-4200

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Website: http://www.lavoileboston.net/

A gimmick-free French restaurant serving classics cooked with heart and skill by a French-to-the-marrow chef: If it sounds unlikely, that's probably because the many bistros and brasseries that have opened here lately have been so utterly formulaic. But La Voile isn't a stunt—it's authentic, grownup dining, with just a dash of formality. The area scarcely has a neighborhood vibe, and the restaurant's semibasement space—outfitted with dark wood and nautical motifs, and French poetry stenciled along the top of the walls like a frieze—is a bit gloomy for a place serving sunny flavors. The location has hardly deterred the crowds, though: Even on freezing-cold weeknights a few months after it opened in late October, La Voile was packed, leaving the debonair manager scrambling to keep up with diners angling for a table.
A few of the main courses were worth the delays (and pantomiming), including one boldly called roast chicken L'Ami Louis—an homage to only the most famous, and expensive, roast chicken in Paris. The entrées are stronger than the first courses, some of which have a routine, I-know-how-to-make-this-it-bores-me air (as was the case with a ho-hum endive salad with apples, walnuts, and Roquefort, $11).