We have event to go to this Saturday and were thinking of new and different places to have dinner before. I did a search and couldn’t find any postings of anyone who had been to Bar Lyon yet. It sounds like a great concept.
So - anyone been?
Edit: just adding links to the restaurant site and to a story for reference
Cannot think of the last time I saw quenelle de brochet on a menu. A classic to be sure. Hope you go and report back!
Me too. I want to go to there.
I’ve been and enjoyed it. Definitely had its own character, rustic sensibilities with refined technique, with warm and balanced flavors across the board. Great atmosphere too. Small wonder it was extremely busy!
Pics (lotte, duck confit, escargot, oysters, quenelle, chocolate mousse): https://www.instagram.com/p/Bn_5V9NgWjD/
Great pix, thanks for sharing!
Yes thanks for sharing, looks great. They don’t take reservations so we may have to play it by ear but we are going to try to make it there before our event - will depend on a few factors - but definitely on the list of places to get to now.
Made it to Bar Lyon. We loved it (though we didn’t eat a lot - what we had we enjoyed very much).
The space has a french feel with a curtain in the window, a long banquet along one wall with tables along it, a bar on the other side, and an open kitchen at the end of the space. The bar wasn’t piled high with liquor bottles, which while subtle was clearly influenced by what bar spaces look like in France (or at least our experience of them). We sat at the bar since we were only going to have a drink and few bites and then off to our even (which was serving food as well we found out).
We had the Little Prince cocktail which is a “french” twist on a sidecar - cognac, lemon, champagne, and an absinthe bitters. It was great. We each had two (made by different bar tenders) one was a little heavier on the bitters, which we preferred. The first tasted more like a traditional sidecar and we couldn’t notice the absinthe note.
We just ordered two items to share - gougeres and the quenelle of pike. The quenelle was light and very well done with a very rich lobster sauce . . . we’d order that again in a heartbeat. (Of course it is Boston, so the portion was small and the relative price high - 3 years here and still adjusting).
We also loved the gougeres but they weren’t what we were expecting. They included pieces of what I would guess was saucisson sec which was nice. But they were fried, which we weren’t expecting (we’ve always had them baked). The frying gave them a very crispy thin exterior (they weren’t heavy or greasy at all) which we really liked. Just a surprise.
The other plates going by looked great, though of course we didn’t try them. I’d recommend checking it out if you’re in the mood!
Thinking of trying Bar Lyon soon, but we’d be a party of 4. I see that they do not take reservations. Has anyone been on the weekend? What was the wait like? Do they take your cell phone so you can go somewhere for drinks?
We made it to Bar Lyon recently and enjoyed it quite a bit. They do take reservations now. The atmosphere is lively but not too loud to hear when we were. Service was professional. As expected with this restaurant group, the ingredients were the highest quality and all of the food well prepared. Portion sizes are reasonable, enough to be filling but not ridiculously large.
The beets and goat cheese were tasty. There is nothing more disappointing than getting tasteless beets in a dish, but this was not the case as the petite spring beets were delicious. One complaint would be that the beet to goat cheese ratio was off (could have used more beets). The market greens salad was very nice as well and not overdressed.
The chicken liver mousse was decadently quite rich and a good dish to share. I am generally not a huge of escargots, however we had to order it after smelling the intoxicating garlic bread from the next table away. This is one of the better plates of snails I have eaten.
The trout was a generous portion and quite fresh. I felt the fish could have stood on its own without the brown butter sauce, however it was a great dish. They had a special chicken stew on the menu. The flavors were evocative of coq au vin, which is one of my favorites. The sauce just seemed a bit more reduced, thicker and richer. The steak frites is the best in town IMO. Overall the food was delicious. It is quite savory and maybe suited as more if a cool weather place for me.
I tended bar in a past life and can generally navigate my way around craft cocktail offerings with relative ease. I have to be honest, their cocktail menu was quite esoteric to me. Almost every offering would have required extensive translation. I stuck with wines by the glass of which I had several excellent offerings. For the price points, the pours could have been just a touch heavier. DCs enjoyed all their cocktails, so I will revisit and sit at the bar to work through some of the offerings first hand.
I think Bar Lyon is the class of french options downtown.
Hugely helpful review, thank you. Also it made me hungry even though I am still full from lunch. 
Thanks for the review, we have reservations for this Friday. A birthday dinner with friends. We are looking forward to it and will report back.
We had a wonderful dinner last night at Bar Lyon. Husband’s birthday and we met up with friends. 6:30 reservations and we were seated immediately.
We ordered cocktails while we looked over the menu.
Started with the chicken liver pate, not something I would eat but those that did really enjoyed it. Served with warm bread and onion relish and I think cornichons.
We also ordered 2 of the gougeres. And probably could of had more, a perfect balance of cheese and bacon fried puffs.
Dinners were steak, trout, chicken and quenelles.
I had the chicken and brought half of it home. Mainly because I want to dissect the sauce it came with. It was seriously good.
My husband had the quenelles which I had not had before. Very rich but very nice. The steak was cooked to order and came with either salad or fries. The salad was substantial and shared.
I did not try the trout but the review was pretty positive.
We ordered both deserts on the menu, a custard and a chocolate salted mousse as well as the macarons and shared it all. I liked the custard the best. The mousse needed a little creme or something. Very chocolatey.
A nice list of wines, and many are available by the glass.
Service was really good, helpful but not intrusive. We did not feel rushed even though there were people waiting for tables.
We plan to head back for a couple of seats at the bar.
https://www.barlyon.com
That made me smile. This is something a dorky scientist (like I) would do. 
