Du Lit — Restaurant in Fortville

Visiting Du Lit is a legitimate reason to travel to the small town of Fortville even if you're commuting from a distance. The tasty dishes and desserts, the attentive staff (specifically Lacie), and the warm and welcoming environment are valid factors to visit again and again. My first time there was on Saturday, October 5, 2024.

The number of gluten-free menu options caught my friend's eye since she has Celiac disease. The owner, Preston, applied attention to taste detail to his menu, because dishes Run for Mexico and Yellowbelly were pleasing to our palates. The meat and sides were complementary to each other and seasoned well. As busy as the restaurant was, our dishes were served hot and timely.

Further bolstering our pleasant experience that we were having, we treated ourselves to a couple of cheesecake choices -- one filled with blueberries and the other with a warm apple topping. Unlike some other restaurants that buy and resell store-bought cheesecake, Du Lit clearly created their own, because the slices didn't taste like they came straight out of the box. I appreciated that the desserts were not too rich, which should appeal to a wider range of palates. (I typically don't order desserts, so I'm glad I did.)

So far, I've recommended Du Lit to about 10 friends and family members and will continue to get the word out. The same friend and I plan to go again here in this month of November. I respect the effective work that Preston and his staff are putting in for a signature...

My husband and I went here for lunch to celebrate my birthday. We wanted to try something new and local, and had an errand to run in Fortville, so looked there on Google maps. Du Lit is in the old Sunrise Bakery building. I was thinking it was French, but it's not. The food is very fresh and tastes delicious. I had the Greek Squad, but can't have corn, so they allowed me to choose another side to substitute for the chips and queso. I chose steamed broccoli. My husband had Smothered A'Mex. We got the Pizza Savoy as an appetizer. The crust was thin, which I typically don't like, but it wasn't cracker-like. It was very delicious. We both enjoyed our food. My husband tried a bite of mine and commented on how fresh the vegetables obviously were. You aren't going to find the typical midwestern tired, canned anything here. It's all made to order and tastes like it's fresh from the garden. Service was attentive without hovering, and our waitress was very cheerful. She was eager to help me work around my food sensitivities, and looked up ingredients for me. We finished our meal with latte caramel cheesecake (desserts change each day). I had to leave the caramel sauce off, but it was delightful even without it. Not too sweet, and super creamy without being dense. We don't eat out often, but we will certainly be returning. This would be an excellent place to take out of town guests. Patio seating...

The food at Du Lit was absolutely amazing, everything we had was delicious, and I will definitely be back for the food alone.

Unfortunately, the service did not match the quality of the meal. Our waitress seemed very inexperienced and unfamiliar with the menu. For example, when asked about the Caprese salad, she explained it was “just like the side salad but with a different dressing,” but then admitted she didn’t know what came on the side salad either, calling it a “regular salad with regular stuff.” She didn’t offer any recommendations and overall seemed unprepared.

At the end of the meal, she simply dropped off the bill (just the receipt) and walked away, leaving me confused about whether I needed to pay at a counter. When I asked, she vaguely pointed toward two different counters, then clarified “the one with the white things” (which turned out to be the computers). We ended up awkwardly standing at a random table while she processed my card, and the restaurant wasn’t even busy.

I think she has potential, maybe this was her first day or even her first job, but she definitely needs more training, guidance, and confidence with the menu.

The food alone will bring me back, but I hope the service improves to match the...