Bon Vivant

We were very sad to see that Bön Vivant has closed its doors for good. Wish there was a way to report restaurant closings to Unilocal

Had a nice brunch on a Sunday at this cute little house-​turned restaurant on Larchmere. I had the Eggs Benedict with hash brown potato cubes and mimosas as a part of a pre fix menu. The mimosa was great and the meal was just ok. My hollandaise sauce lacked flavor, but it was still a great dining experience and I would return.

Dropped by after enjoying some happy hour cocktails down the street at Felice. I had no idea what to expect because Bön Vivant doesn’t have a menu posted online (!!!) and I hadn’t been in the space since it was Vine and Beans years and years ago.
The restaurant is set in the first floor of a big old house so there are lots of nooks and crannies. There was a small bar area where we sat and a bunch of tables set up in multiple rooms.
Since it was derby weekend, I tried to order a mint julep off of the picture drink menu. But, alas, they were out of mint. I got a margarita instead and it was ok. I’ve become a bit of a fresh fruit in my margarita snob, so excuse me for turning my nose up at a margarita mix.
We were only planning on staying for a drink but I looked over the menu and saw multiple vegan options! Multiple! I attempted to order a tofu appetizer… but they were out of that, too. I ordered a white bean crostini appetizer instead. It wasn’t the best appetizer I’ve ever had, but it wasn’t the worst, either. If we’d had more time, I definitely would have stayed and tried one of the other vegan options on the menu.
I only deducted a couple stars because there’s no online menu and they were out of a couple things I wanted. I’d definitely like to go back and try more of the drinks and food.

Great space and the owners are very friendly and fun! I can’t wait to try dinner there!

This review is for the brunch!
Bön Vivant is a very cute place on Larchmere, but it’s very poorly labeled (actually, the building next to it is labeled with «Bön Vivant») and it looks like a house like many places on Larchmere do, so we nearly couldn’t find it.
For the prix-​fixe price of $ 15 on weekends, bon vivant offers brunch. Includes entrée, fruit cup (+ whipped cream) and drink. The entrees include things like an omelette (which we found not particularly special), eggs benedicts (I had the salmon eggs benedict — that was delicious!) and couple other dishes. The drinks include mimosas, and things like orange juice, soda, milk, coffee, etc. Since the menu has a prix-​fixe price, certain things (benedict+mimosa) are very good deals, and certain other things (eggs+milk) are terrible deals. All-​in-​all, pretty tasty though. We’ll probably be back.

I love the vibe of this place, and there are plenty of good reasons to visit – unfortunately the food isn’t one.
So the good – very cute and elegant place. Nice drinks. Friendly staff. Great music. Cozy fireplace. Friends liked the cream of mushroom soup and the curried lentil soup
And the bad – the menu «du jour» says July 2013. So you can see there’s no thought or care behind the food. This played out.
The salmon I ordered was old! Definitely heading toward the rank side. The «melted leeks» that accompanied with it were just sautéed leeks, so a really poor menu description.
A friend ordered the steak frites. The fries were good, but the steak, ordered medium, came out medium well to well. The chicken that two other friends ordered was dried out. The crème brûlée was so bad, that two of us had to send it back. Note, I didn’t send the old salmon back, so that should tell you how bad the crème brûlée was!
My girlfriend had the beet salad. Nothing inspired about it, but nothing wrong either. So, come here for some drinks, a salad, and good music. Leave a nice tip for the nice servers, but just eat your main meal before you get here. With that on my playbook, I will return.

We had such a wonderful time here last night! Usually I’m one to check out the whole menu online and pick out my meal before even getting to the restaurant, but was unable to find Bön Vivant’s menu anywhere. It worked out just fine.
We made an 8 PM reservation and it was a beautiful night, so we sat outside. There was live music inside that began shortly after we arrived, and flowed out on the porch through the open windows and door.
The wine menu was about 3 times longer than the food menu, which I loved. There were a couple soups, a salad, and maybe 4 entrees and thats really all you needed. We ordered a french onion soup (which was delicious), and the pear, walnut, and goat cheese arugula salad (good, standard) to start. For entrees we went with the chicken paillard and a mushroom ravioli. The chicken was perfectly cooked, very moist and flavorful. It came with a side of brussel sprouts that I believe were steamed and tossed with vinegar– not my favorite preparation of one of my favorite vegetables. The mushroom ravioli were the special for the evening and were delicious– so flavorful and melted in your mouth. All entrees were under $ 20, but for those expecting huge portions, be warned this is not that kind of place. For dessert we ordered the cinnamon and vanilla crème brûlée. It was good but not great, it felt as though it weren’t freshly made, and the top was a bit underscorched.
We took our time and the waitress was not pushy as we relaxed, enjoyed the weather and the music and our bottle of wine. When it started downpouring as we finished our dessert, they helped us quickly move to a covered porch spot where we watched the rain fall around us. We later went inside to watch the band (a guitarist and drummer) as we finished our last glasses of wine, and the vibe inside was so nice too. I really felt like we were transported to Paris for the night.
The ambiance at Bön Vivant can’t be beat. The food is simple, and very good. We will definitely be back!

Saturday brunch did not disappoint.
Beautiful décor inside but we ate on the front porch. Great people watching from there. Pretty quiet neighborhood.
They have a fixed price menu, so for $ 15 you get your choice of dish plus a drink. Free refills on coffee and juice but not on bloody mary’s or mimosas. I had eggs Benedict, which also came with breakfast potatoes. Both were excellent. And our waitress was very nice and efficient.
In conclusion, a little pricey for the quantity of food you get but a fair deal for the taste and for the ambience.

Fantastic! The brunch is amazing. The eggs Benedict is perfection and has ruined me from ordering it anywhere else.

I went to Bön Vivant a couple of days ago. The food was wonderful and the menu has been completely revamped. Rather than the large more confused menu this menu is smaller but much more French. We had a charcuterie plate as an appetizer which was nice.
I got Steak Frites which was wonderful. The steak was cooked perfectly medium rare and the fired were nice too. My girlfriend got raviolis stuffed with goat cheese and mushrooms topped with a slightly spicy jam, all on a bed of pea purée. Although not very French it was crazy creative and uniquely delicious.
I think there is a new chef running the kitchen and he is pumping out some great dishes.
Like everyone else said the décor and setting was great. We sat on the back patio. As we were leaving we ended up chit chatting with the owner of the building who told us that they are going to renovate the garage in the back and turn it into a bar.
I can’t wait to get back to Bön Vivant.

This place is very quaint with a cozy and intimate feel. Though I can’t speak to the tastiness of the food, they have several interesting cocktail choices that the bartender will ‘perform’ for you. While the drinks are good, I felt it was a little over-​priced for the quality.

A quaint repurposed house that has a warm and inviting interior with rich wood and a cozy fireplace. A very respectable French menu with very traditional offerings and a lovely and talented bartender make this one worth a visit.
Chris

I haven’t gone here for food yet, so I’ll update this one I do.
Went here to grab drinks from some friends and we loved this place! I remember when it used to be Vine and Bean, immediately when I walked in I said «Whoa.» It looks really different and makes such a great date spot! The owner greeted us when we got there, and the staff was super friendly as well. They had a nice fire going on this cold night and it definitely had a more intimate, romantic feel to it. All the drinks were really good too – tasty and just strong enough =) and they have a full bar. Definitely planning to come back here again soon!

This is a very, very cute French restaurant. Ambiance is wonderful with great fun French music and décor, but unfortunately that’s sorta where the good stuff ends.
Across the board food was pretty average. Nothing was really special and most dishes were not prepared well. For example, the sauce in my husband’s beef dish tasted like raw, uncooked alcohol and my steak was overdone. Our server was nice, but new so I can excuse her for not knowing what was in dishes and for forgetting to bring out our bread.
As a whole this is a really cute place, but the food needs to get better. I’d come back for drinks, but not to eat.

went for brunch, right when they opened. no wait yet.
very cute place. live pianist! playing really pretty cute things! the songs sounded french. one of them was the pink panther theme, but i don’t think that’s french.
anyway, lunch is prix fixe menu. $ 15 for an entrée and a drink. drink choices include bloody mary and mimosa. the best thing about the meal was the mimosa that i got. i also ordered the tofu scramble. it was super bland. i salt and peppered it, and i never put salt on anything usually! i also put ketchup and tabasco. it was edible.
maybe their other items were better. i’ll give this place one more shot at dinner or something but not brunch. for the price, i expected the food to be a lot better. the décor and ambiance made up for it. almost.
also, our waitress was nice enough, but super awkward, got our order mixed up, and overall just wasn’t quite sure what to do with herself. it was weird. i think she spilled all our drinks before she came out, because we heard a crash of glassware as she was about to come out. mimosa was good though. good coffee too.

Well, isn’t this just the cutest little place!
Formerly Vine & Bean…
Happened upon Bön Vivant while strolling along Larchmere with my gal, Stef C. Needed some lunch… this looks cute… let’s go… wow!!!
Extremely intimate, the two dining areas are only as big as two rooms in your average house… because well, it IS a house. They converted the first floor of an old house into the cutest french restaurant. They could do with some better signage… we weren’t sure WHERE it was. The only indication is the side of the building next to it, where it says the name.
I had the Frisee Salad with poached egg and bacon lardons. Perfect! Oh how I love this salad and they nailed it. Light vinaigrette, smoky crispy bacon… mmm
I also had a sandwich with ham… can’t remember the name. It was really tasty with grainy mustard and swiss.
This place would make a PERFECT date night. So romantic, cozy and reasonably priced for French.

When I arrived, I entered and a woman standing by the door said «hi». I said «hi» back and waited for the hostess. I waited… then that same woman mumbled something I didn’t understand so I smiled and nodded. I waited some more… then the woman came toward me. I asked her «Do you Work here?» She said yes, I’m the hostess???
First of all, I ordered the porterhouse chop and it was raw inside, not pink. It was red, cold, bloody raw. Aside from it being raw, the «apple chutney» was gross, bland and the horseradish mashed potatoes were bland as well. The plating was flat and everything was the same color except for the green beans which were nice.
Second, I ordered what I thought was a small meat & cheese board. However it was just a small meat board, no cheese. The meat was nothing to rave about.
Thirdly, the hostess keep reaching over our table and messing with the dimmer switch, asking «Is this better, Is this better, Is this better, …»
The interior was designed with a lot of care and thoughtfulness however, it’s strange and very very small.
The owners are extremely nice and I’d love to see them succeed but they need to get back to basics.
One star for the waitress and one star for the cleanliness.

Okay, you have to go to Bön Vivant. No, really. Go!
I stopped in on a Saturday afternoon mostly by accident with my girlfran Habby. Oh Em Gee, this place is super ADORBS. (look at the photos!) It’s located in an old, renovated house that was once Vine and Bean. Super charming.
The menu is French and everything we tasted was delicious. We both ordered a frisee salad and panini sandwiches. That salad was superb and I’d absolutely order it again. It’s worth noting that there are more than a few options on the menu for vegetarians.
Service was very friendly. Even better, I asked for a mimosa and they weren’t able to make it for me at that exact moment due to not having champagne at the time. They were able to make it a bit later and gave it to me on the house. Very nice!
The interior is rather small so it’s not appropriate for larger groups. This is a perfect little spot for a date though!
I’d love to come back in the summer to sit on their patio for dinner.

Adore this little gem. It’s been very «under the radar» since opening, and I’d be quite happy for it to stay that way. We’ve eaten both inside and on the lovely patio. Love everything we’ve tasted — mushroom strudel, hanger stake, super mussels. A nice selection of French wines by the glass.

Attentive service. Great wine list. Vegan friendly, great selection seafood, meat and more. Highly recommended!