Le Moyne's Chophouse — Restaurant in Mobile

Leyone’s is well worth the splurge. My family celebrated my father’s 80th birthday there this past Saturday and it will be a memory we cherish forever. First, I must say that my family has the “inside scoop” here. My niece, Rose, is a server here…and really, is server the right word? For Rose, providing guests with an exceptional dining experience is a vocation. She truly loves her work and all things fine dining. This was the first visit to LeMoyne’s for most in our party. We were all thoroughly excited to have the LeMoyne experience that Rose has been telling us about for months. But Rose was not the server the other night; she was a very happy granddaughter enjoying a delicious meal. Our server was Rose’s wonderful colleague, JT, a man of great wit, charm, and knowledge of the menu, ingredient sourcing, and food preparation. Thank you to JT who managed the evening at just the right pace. Also, thank you to Manager Weston and to Ashton who also assisted with the serving (we were a party of 9). Y’all, do you want to know what we had? We ate like royalty…it was over the top, but how else should one celebrate 80 years of life? For starters there was birthday champagne for toasting plus a few additional cocktails: vodka martinis (dirty) for the man of the hour and his bride of 30 years, an old fashioned for my nephew that arrived in a beautiful glass box full of aromatic smoke, and several French martinis—light, frothy, and potent (a combination of vodka, Chambord and pineapple. You might think: Ah, a “lady drink.” Indeed, if the lady practices Muay Thai) …and there may have been more drinks, but I was too busy kicking a$$ with my French martini. Thank you to bartender Paul who even served a few drinks to us and checked in with the birthday gentleman about the quality of the dirty martini…it was perfect. So, drinks…but, my goodness, food! For starters, we had a special dish of broiled oysters prepared by Chef Adam—buttery, garlicy, just a hint of heat, and mouth-feel galore, and in addition to that, the caviar service, beef carpaccio, crab cake (it’s big; you can share it), more oysters (this time raw), and then a wonderful handmade/homemade pasta made with ramps (a wild, foraged leek that can only be had in season…just Google “A Chef’s Life” the ramps episode), again with a bit of heat and a few scallops. Chef Adam, you had us at ramps! We were pretty much in a delirious state of gustatory reverie, passing plates and trying everything we could, all the while, pacing ourselves (barely) for the main course. And the main course did not disappoint. The gentleman of the hour had the duck à l’orange, per the recommendation of Rose who told us that Chef Adam really knows this dish—and he does. Around the table, we had a few filet mignons (locally sourced, melt in your mouth), several steak frites (medium-rare, topped with béarnaise sauce full of umami, served with perfectly salted crispy fries), and golden, tender scallops. Lots of sharing of everyone’s dishes…side dishes also made the rounds: buttery mashed potatoes and crispy Brussel sprouts. And with all of this we enjoyed red wine that had been chosen by Rose, who advised on the wine offerings. JT presented with aplomb and poured. Dad of the hour tasted and approved. Dessert? Hell yeah. 80th birthday, of course you need dessert! The birthday guy enjoyed a glass of dessert wine, sweet and rich (as we all should be), others had espresso martinis (come on now, we’re from Mobile, you know we enjoy a cocktail), a fine glass of port, espressos, and cake, of course—there were plates of satsuma dreamsicle, chocolate bar (so rich!), and opera cake (delightfully fancy). Oh yes, we waddled out of there, happy and satisfied. Thank you, thank you again, JT, Paul, Ashton, and Weston. And, Chef Adam, wow, thank you so much for your love, care, and attention to detail—we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and you made my dad a very happy man. My dad’s advice to us all is that if you can enjoy a meal such as this sooner than your 80th...

I am just now getting a chance to write this Google review for LeMoyne's after we dined there on Nov. 1st for our anniversary. We were super excited to try the restaurant since it is new(er) to Mobile. When we first walked in, the restaurant smelled very strong of fish. My nose is super sensitive so I ignored it thinking it was just me. My husband though who never mentions a thing about smells commented on it twice just walking to the table. We could have certainly overlooked that though. When I went to sit down my handbag strap (that I had just received as an anniversary gift) wouldn't fit on the back of the chair due to the shape of the back and the fabric being so slick. Again, not anything too major but just enough to be an inconvenience and something that should have been thought out at a high end restaurant. It was SO dark at our table. They had a little lamp sitting on it but it almost seemed as if that was an after thought. It was just hard to read the menu even with the lamp on. After sitting down, we ordered drinks. I ordered a lemon drop martini which was just ok, nothing to write home about. My husband ordered a Michelob Ultra in a bottle. It was brought to him in a wine glass. Not to mention that there is no way the entire bottle of beer even fit in that glass. He was not happy. When someone orders a drink a specific way, it needs to be brought to the table that way. On to food, I ordered the lobster bisque which was good overall just overly salty. I also ordered the scallops which were a total disappointment. The menu had the description of "crawfish risotto, shellfish reduction, chive oil, garden herbs". I don't find that one single item in that description was true. I am not even 100% convinced that it was actually risotto to begin with as it was dry and almost fluffy which isn't the consistency of risotto. It tasted JUST like the yellow spanish rice you can buy at Publix for $1 which was a massive disappointment and not what I was wanting at all. The scallops were cooked well but I only had about 2 bites of the "risotto". My husband ordered the NY Strip and he said overall it was good. Not great, but good. For sides we ordered the crispy brussels sprouts and the truffle frites. The brussels sprouts were not crispy AT ALL. In fact, they were soggy on the outside with an undercooked center which was so odd. I did mention that to the waitress and she had it removed from our bill which was a nice gesture but she didn't seem to understand that they weren't crispy. Her comment was "oh they weren't crispy enough?", no. You could look at them and see that they were mushy. The truffle frites again were just ok. It was a very small serving (think a medium McDonalds Fry) and for $13 I expected something that would be easy for us to share and it wasn't. A manager never came by to check on us which for a chophouse with very few tables in it there really is no excuse for. Overall, we immediately said after dinner that we wished we would have just gone to Ruth's Chris because we would have spent the same amount of money but we both would have been way happier. I don't see a time where we would come back unless the menu was changed and/or the chef was different. This isn't a fine dining restaurant and they should really think about the marketing they are putting out there because it just leads to disappointment. Such a bummer because we were really hoping to find a new great spot for us...

My husband and I went here last night to celebrate our Anniversary. We were looking for a nice romantic spot and a great meal. We thought this would be a nice place to dine. It was located inside our hotel, The Admiral. The service and food was impeccable. However, the atmosphere was completely ruined by a table of rowdy Caucasian women. They were drunk, loud and obnoxious. My husband and I were unable to carry on a conversation due to the rudeness of this bunch. We were considering leaving before our meal came, but my husband was so excited to try the ribeye steak, so we stayed. The ladies were cackling and howling, as if they were not only drinking a brew, but mixing another. They laughed out loud like the Witches of Eastwick were having a convention, wicked and awry. The screeching stretched across the room. The looks on our faces and those of other patrons showed our dismay. (Witches 1-Other Guests 0). Then, suddenly out of nowhere a white knight arose and approached the table. In a not so nice manner, he demanded they quiet down. He told them they were being loud and disturbing others. He told them they were rude, disrespectful and not being thoughtful of others. In plain words he told them to “just shut up so he can enjoy his expensive meal’”. (Witches 1-Other Guests 1) I felt a little relief. The witches were flabbergasted and clutched their pearls. For a brief moment they were even silent. The gentleman returned to his seat. My husband and I mouthed a silent “thank you” thinking we could now eat in peace……but nope….Within minutes they were at it again. I’m getting upset all over again. My husband had this “damned” look on his face. (Witches 2, other guests 1). Then, the angry man approached our table and apologized for his rant and explained himself. He didn’t have to apologize to us. We were thankful for the few moments of silence. He said he was being asked to leave as if it was his fault. He argued with the maitre’de, vowed never to return, and abruptly left. (Witches 3- Other Guests 1) We sat bewildered, staring at one another and wondering what was next. The witches revved up again. This time they began migrating to other tables and disturbing other patrons. I don’t know what wicked concoction they whipped up on the management, but I did not feel they aptly performed their duties on this night. Was the food good? Yes. Would I go again? Nope. (Witches...