Gautreau's is only open for dinner and it's small. I don't know how it survives, quite honestly. There are only so many tables you can turn between opening and closing. I think there's a dining room upstairs. I saw a few people head up there, but I don't know if there was a private party or just a few folks eating up there. It was hard to tell. There couldn't have been more than about 10-12 tables downstairs. Some were 2 tops, some 4 and some 6. It was packed and the meals are not served in short order, so this is not a place at which tables are turned quickly. Our reservation was at 8 and I'm not sure we saw more than 2 tables change while we were there. Dinner took about 2 hours, but we never felt we were waiting too long, for some reason, except for drinks on occasion. We did a bit of people watching and the company was good.

Apps ran from $12-$17. Lobster bisque was $9. Entrees were $22 -$35.

Diner 1 had seared sea scallops with carrot risotto and fennel beurre noisette. Very good. Diner 2 had the lobster bisque, which was very tasty. Diner 3 had a baby romaine salad with green goddess dressing. I had foie gras torchon with blood orange confiture, sesame seeds and brioche, which was just outstanding. The foie gras melted in my mouth. There were two different textures of the blood orange accoutrements. One was more jelly like than the other. Both were delicious. I wish I knew where to buy some of that. This was a great app.

Entrees: Diner 1 had a special of pan sauteed speckled trout with fern fronds. She wasn't thrilled with hers. The fern fronds were so interesting. Not much flavor, but literally, they were the fern ends all curled up before they open. This chef makes use of some interesting things. I had pan sauteed halibut with chanterelles, which were almost crispy and truly tasty,fingerling potatoes, which were sliced and pan fried and a buerre blanc. There were sunflower greens used as a garnish. Those were so good and crunchy. I really had no intention of eating this garnish, but got a bite of them by accident. My fish was delicious, mainly because it was fresh. It was pan sauteed with no flour or covering of any kind. It was a bit crispy on the outside. Very simply prepared. I really enjoyed it. Diner 1 just found hers a little plain.

Diner 2 had roasted chicken with garlic mashed potatoes, wild mushrooms and hericots verts. It looked delicious for roasted chicken and the serving was generous. Diner 3 had the black angus filet mignon with balsamic demi glace rapini, roasted potatoes and cipolini onions. He said it was all excellent.

For dessert, we shared a caramelized banana split. The slices of bananas had a caramelized sugar coating on one side. Excellent but huge. Diner 1 had some coffee ice cream and we also shared the homemade sorbets which were pineapple, blood orange and mojito. The pineapple and blood orange were excellent.

I would return to Gautreau's, but I think you need to make reservations early to get in and, certainly, to get a time you want. The chairs are small and, toward the end of the meal, a few of us were a bit uncomfortable. The service was overall good, but there were a few times we had to flag down the waiter for drinks. Not a big deal, but it did happen.