L’ancestral Restaurant

This is where food and service are brought to you from the French region of Bleh («blah» in English). To make for the original Bleh restaurant experience, you will be presented with a menu that has a pretentious, yet difficult to read font. You will then have to wait long periods of time for your food, even if the restaurant is not all that busy. Then you will get authentic Bleh food. By this, I mean food that the chef prepares and uses a special culinary device (the de-​tastinator) to remove any vestige of taste from the dishes.

Hubs and I have enjoyed L’ancestral for a decade for all the things it is not:
*Never adulterated cuisine, no over-​reliance on the cheap ingredients — fat, sugar and salt — for flavor
*No TVs, loud pop music piped through the speakers or modern décor
*No paying-​their-​way-​through-​college waiters singing a rap version of Happy Birthday or trying to upsell you at every turn
*No bratty kids screaming and running around the restaurant
This is consistently superb food prepared confidently and rather quietly night after night, year after year. The waiters are professionals — veterans of the Mansion and other 5 star restaurants in town — and they know their stuff and will serve you deftly if you allow them (but don’t expect effusiveness). My personal favorites: french onion soup, ouef gourmet, snails, trout, pâté (homemade on the premises), peppered steak and the clafoutis for dessert. And, while I enjoy a good portion of their menu, they would earn another star if they occasionally offered a seasonal special or two or maybe a few new items from time to time. Wine selection is delicious, especially if you enjoy French wines (which I prefer), and, if you are unsure which to select, your competent waiter will gladly help.

My wife and I have been eating at L’ancestral for years. It is what we call an «old lady restaurant.» We love «old lady restaurants» for the fact they are not trendy and the food is always good. I consider the food here to be excellent. The pommes frites are wonderful, even better than McDonalds. They are fried twice, as is proper, and have a wonderful taste and texture, particularly in sauce such as that which comes with the Steak au Poivre. As many of the reviewers here have said, this is not a trendy restaurant, and I thank God for that. At age 57, I am usually one of the youngest people in the room. The pâté is good, as are most of the appetizers. As in any restaurant, you can order poorly, but, when I order properly, I am always satisfied. I like the relaxed atmosphere. I have traveled Europe and this place reminds me of many of the restaurants in France. I have been mostly pleased with the waiters. There is one man who can be charming or not, depending on his mood. Otherwise, I have no complaints with the service.

L’ancestral was interesting to try, but I will definitely not be coming back. I didn’t ask for a side of condescension from the waiter Pierre, but it’s surely what I was served *all night*.
I had dinner on a Thursday evening with a party of eight. We were served a limited menu and I chose the lamb. My side choices were plain white rice and french fries. For $ 28.00, lamb and french fries. Actually, the lamb was okay and the french onion soup was SUPER good — worth the $ 2.00 more than the soup du jour. But no matter how decent the food (although not decent enough for the entrée price, in my opinion), the pretentious attitude from the staff left such a bad taste in my mouth that I won’t return. I heard someone at my table say, «Oh he’s probably just trying to be French. Isn’t that typical of them?» If being talked down to makes you feel extra fancy, then be my guest. It’s just not for me.

I seem to be griping a lot recently about places that piss me off, but L’ancestral is deserving of 2 stars, maybe even less.
We went here on Valentine’s Day. I know it was busy, hectic, whatever… that does not justify treating your customers like garbage. Our waiter was the rudest, most condescending he could possibly be. He acted like we had never been in a French restaurant before (his answer to most of my questions was some snarky version of «We’re in a French restaurant, aren’t we?»). He had the nerve to say that his name was Pierre, and did not speak a lick of French. I do not believe for a second that his name was Pierre, and if it was, his mother should be ashamed of him. No matter how rude Americans seem to think French people are (outside of Paris, they usually aren’t), I have never had such horrible service in any restaurant in France as I had last night.
The food was decent, but like the other reviewers have said, uninspired and clearly unchanged for decades. If you are going to make a bold statement like that, the food better be flawless. It wasn’t. We got the steak au poivre, which was cooked absolutely perfectly, but the gratin of potatoes that came with it was COMPLETELY raw. There’s nothing like crunching into a raw potato to make you feel unhappy about a meal. We also got the Coquilles Saint Jacques (scallops)…it was fine. The scallops were cooked well.
Our waiter was so unpleasant that we decided to leave without dessert – which to me, is unheard of on Valentine’s Day – and on the way out, we told the manager that we had thoroughly enjoyed the food but that the service was atrocious. The only thing he did was apologize half-​heartedly and say he hoped we’d try them again. Having spent $ 120 (including 3 drinks, one appetizer, and two entrees), I can certainly say that we will not.

A friend took me to lunch here, she is a regular. Restaurant was clean and staff friendly, probably because they knew her. I ordered the mushroom soup which was very tasty, not too creamy, which is even healthier. Then I ordered the trout with veggies, which was a bit greasy but also very tasty. Overall, it was good, not the best, but not the worst. The ambiance was a bit boring, the crowd is not a young crowd, which is okay but the energy level was very low. Don’t know if I’d go back but if you decide to try it, it’s okay.

Had lunch here last week. We arrived just as the kitchen closed for lunch service, but the maitre d hotel was very accomodating and seated us anyway. I came with a regular customer, so that might have accounted for the excellent service, but they couldn’t have been nicer. My curry tuna salad was excellent. Accompanied by some delicious, crusty, french bread. The lunch prices are very reasonable. Will come back for dinner soon.

I came here on accident (looking for the neighboring and poorly labeled Greek restaurant) and decided to stay due the friendly staff and comfortable atmosphere. The food was absolutely delicious (try the artichoke & olive oil appetizer and pork medallion entrée). The menu is limited and I wouldn’t suggest this French restaurant as a date night but rather as a business or friends dinner location. I was definitely the youngest patron this particular evening by 30 years (I’m 32) and half the patrons knew each other and the waiters so it’s a bit dated as far as clientele.
Parking is all street and very limited due to the neighboring restaurants hoarding the available spots for valet.
If you come with an open mind and don’t care about the slower-​style of service that let’s you enjoy your meal, then you’ll have a great time.

I grew up eating at L’ancestral. We moved to Dallas from Houston when I was a year old in the summer of ’84. So I have been frequenting this restaurant for almost 27 years.
As a family, we have celebrated birthdays, engagements, family get togethers over the years at L’ancestral. We have gotten to know our waiter and love being served by him. We will continue to frequent L’ancestral.

I’ve eaten here once every year or so for many years. This restaurant is rather unique in Dallas. It is an old style French restaurant that has not changed with the times, and is quite comfortable with it’s choice not to change. The décor and the food are traditional. The service is a bit stiff by modern standards and the crowd tends to be a bit older. Some might call the restaurant «stuffy.» I’d say «genteel.»
But the food is quite good, albet it very traditional. The French classics like Steak frites, steak au proive, and a simple sauted fish in a beurre blanc are quite good. The vegetable mélange, while overcooked by some modern standards, is very flavorful. The wine list is traditional and French, and the producers are mainstream and frankly, not cutting edge or inspired. But there is a certain air of comfort about the restaurant that draws me back time and time again, Not frequently. But regularly.
This is a restaurant that cries out for three and a half stars — not three, but not four. But if you go without a preconceived notion of what to expect and have an open mind, you can have a lovely dinner here.

What a disappointment. I have no idea why this restaurant has good reviews on Unilocal and
.
First, the atmosphere is horrible. This is place looks dated (peeling wallpaper), is dirty (there was visible dust accumulated on the ceiling light fixtures), and it smells moldy.
Second, the food is well below average. The onion soup was bland and of quality that I would expect at a Denny’s. The main course was bland as well. Based on our experience, my wife and I decided not to try any of the desserts. There is only so much abuse you can take/​eat.
Third, the service was arrogant and inept.
My wife and I ended up paying $ 70 for 2 appetizers and 2 main courses.
I wouldn’t come here again if the food was free.

quiet, neat, little place tucked away on Travis St. Please be sure to get the snails. They were cooked inside a puffed pastry. some of the best snails i ever had.
wife go tthe scallops which were really tasty. I got the pepper filet with a mushroom sauce. it was excellent and cooked great.
app, split salad, two entrees and a bottle of wine for a 100. good place and great french

I’ve been going to L’ancestral for several years and my wife and I are in love with the place. The food is outstanding. Our personal favorites are the pâté, pepper steak with fries, followed by the floating island dessert. Everything is high quality and every visit is totally consistent. Service is a bit quirky at times but it isn’t bad — just realize they assume you’re there to take your time over a fine dinner. The place is popular but don’t expect a hip crowd. We’re often the youngest folk in the place.

Delicious French restaurant with a simple but wonderful menu. Try the curried tuna salad, chicken or steak frites, poached salmon or omelettes and you will not be disappointed. Everyone in our group thought that the food and service were both great. The bread needs a little help and butter was so frozen it was difficult to spread, but everything else was superb. We went during lunch and the menu changes for dinner, but would recommend for a quiet lunch alone or business lunch.