Le Mu Eats — Restaurant in Bethel

The menu is small, but the plan is for it to change every week. And even though it is small, the chef has managed to accommodate a multiple of dietary needs, including dairy free, and vegetarian. We went with a small group of friends, and between the five of us, we ordered everything on the menu. And every dish was absolutely delicious.

The night we went, there were two appetizers on the menu: waffle breaded chicken tenders with a maple-sriracha glaze & green mango slaw, and green mango, beet & radish carpaccio with watercress & a lime & Thai basil vinaigrette. Everyone else ordered the chicken tenders, but since I knew I was going to get dessert, I wanted to make at least one healthy choice, and I'm so glad I did. I LOVED the carpaccio. It was absolutely delicious. It tasted light & fresh, and was the perfect start to my meal.

Everyone else was incredibly pleased with the chicken tenders. I had a bite of my husband's, and they were so good. The chicken was moist, the amount of breading was perfect, and the flavor was awesome. They were sweet, with a slow building heat. A bite of the chicken, with a little bit of the slaw, was absolutely perfect.

For our entrees, most of us went with the grits (green curry grits, caramelized galanga braised pork belly & watercress). Holy crap, this was amazing! I typically stick to goat cheese grits, so the curry was a nice surprise. The star of this was the pork belly. The pork belly had amazing flavor, and was so incredibly tender. I was starting to get full before I had finished this (and I still planned on getting dessert), so I left some of the grits behind, but the pork belly disappeared quickly.

My husband went with the vegetarian option: the vegetarian bahn mi, which was grilled Portobello, sweet potato pâté, and pickled mango, radish & carrots. It was served with house made beet & sweet potato chips, and it was so, so good. This version was hearty, filling and delicious. The grilled mushrooms gave it a wonderful smoky flavor, and all of the flavors just worked really well together. As good as the pork belly grits were, my husband actually said he liked this sandwich better. And don't even get me started on how good the chips were.

There were two options for dessert: a salted charred corn crème brulee (made with coconut milk, so it was dairy free) and & peanut butter masaman curry glazed doughnuts with coconut crème. These doughnuts were so, so, so good. The doughnuts themselves were deep-fried balls of deliciousness, but the curry took it to a whole new level. The curry was a really strong flavor, the coconut crème was much more mellow, and when you got a bite of doughnut with both, it just knocked your socks off.

If you're in the Hampton Roads area, you HAVE to check them out. The food is top notch, the service was excellent, the portion sizes are generous and the prices are great (we had two sodas, two appetizers, two entrees, and a dessert for about $50). The amazing food is all the reason you need, but if you need additional encouragement, it's so important to get out & support...

Much respect to the owner and staff for offering stellar food and service.

Back in my golden years, when I was self employed in the Virgin Islands, I had a similar size kitchen.

It, like being self employed, is both a blessing and a curse.

There is a certain culinary intimacy that you attain with each composed item when in this setting. There is a drive to excell and exceed all expectations to dispel the myth that amazing food requires a quarter million dollar kitchen.

Great food only requires a will, and a way.

Here, they have found all 3!

Walking toward the ordering window, I could tell the food was going to be good from the smells wafting from the kitchen door. Sweet, salty, and fragrant winds drifted by the bright Air Jordans by the door.

The thai iced tea was flavorful, just a bit sweeter than I prefer.

The fusion of curry and buttermilk permeated the deliciously tender chicken. The curry gives the marinade an extra dimension to complement the traditional buttermilk. The pickles and red onions were a refreshing counterpoint.

We enjoyed both the pork and chicken rice bowls, which were similar in composition. They were served over moist rice with a sunny side egg, chili aioli, pickled red onions, black sesame seeds and thinly sliced scallions. The dish is very well balanced, incorporating highlights of salty, citrusy, sweetness, and a hint of fish sauce. Don't be afraid of the fish sauce. The chili aioli wasn't noticeably spicy and added a creamy element to the entree.

Both dishes were very generous in portion, with lots of healthy protein and rice. This was great fuel for my drive to the Maine coast!

This has become my new pitstop, almost perfectly halfway to my secret spot near Stonington, Maine.

The Banh Mi with chicken was good, but a bit too crispy.

The Angry Rooster chicken sandwhich, however, was outstandingly amazing. It lights up your palette with every bite. Spicy, chicken, sweet slaw, and tart pickles with a rich aioli on a brioche bun make this a menu highlight! (Get extra napkins)

I look forward to their impending success and expansion to offer more original culinary treats...

In a wasteland of monolithic pubs and breweries, Le Mu offers a bastion of creativity and culinary color for the discerning diner. Upon entering, the customer is ushered with a smile into a cozy dining space permeated with lighthearted laughter. If fortunate enough to secure one out of the small batch of tables, peer into the open kitchen and bask in its inviting warmth.

As self-proclaimed foodies, our hopes were high as we settled into our log-hewn bench. Once the waitress was able to tear herself away from juggling the incessant stream of takeout orders and bussing food, we ordered a freshly-brewed, ceylon-rich Thai tea accommodated with oat milk and an intense tabletop Vietnamese drip coffee. These paired well with the cured pork belly appetizer perched on a bed of pureed root vegetables, which we found delightfully piquant but with a portion size not fit for a famished man après ski.

Chef Sav utilizes his classical French training to marry comforting South East Asian flavors with influences evident of his Southern upbringing. The menu boasts dishes ranging from miso-glazed shrimp and grits to a tom yum-reminiscent duck noodle soup. The latter was presented to us with a ramen-esque plating and comforted our taste buds with a hot, tart broth laden with toppings and a large centerpiece of duck thigh a hair drier than would be expected. Following the lead of many other patrons, we too chose to indulge in Chef Sav’s “Hot Noodz”. The dish, topped with julienned green onions and a heaping portion of minced pork, showcased a full-bodied flavor with a hint of spice. However, the already dripping noodz gave us pause as we hesitated to squeeze the lime slices in fear of drowning them.

The owners’ personalities are emblazoned in the space, manga-dressed walls and mushroom mood lighting clearly marking it as their own. We closed the curtain with a light, chocolate bread pudding sprinkled with cinnamon and topped with a sour chèvre.

Sav’s creativity and the staff’s dedication to customer satisfaction have cemented Le Mu in our minds as a lighthouse to floundering ships in stormy, hoppy...