Dining Out Review: Belle Vie

Excellent service, a contemporary yet lush ambience and an elegant menu inspired by the cuisines of France and Belgium? Sounds like living the good life to me. Good thing Belle Vie, "beautiful life" in French, fills the bill.

That is, if you don't go there starving and you're not too worried about the tab.

Don't get me wrong. I enjoyed my recent visit to Belle Vie, in the former home of Midlothian's Bookbinder's Grill, but what could have been a perfect meal was marred by small portions with price tags that hovered in the mid-$20s.

But let's move past that temporarily and talk about the good stuff.

As soon as we walked in the door, I felt as if we'd been transported far away from the shopping center parking lot we'd just traversed.

Belle Vie's open dining room is alive with gauzy fabrics draped from shim-mering light fixtures, deep burgundy and sage accents offset by fresh sunflowers and richly stained wood touches. A commanding bar is quietly separated from the dining area by swashes of tapestry.

With no reservations, I was surprised that we were quickly shown to a crescent-shaped booth with a direct view of Belle Vie's wine cellar, a collection of racks moodily lighted behind glass at the back of the room.

Belle Vie's wine list ($28-$141) is heavily French, but it also includes California heavy hitters, such as Frog's Leap, Chalk Hill and Caymus. We chose a 2007 Gerard Boulay Sancerre ($45), a lovely wildflower-scented wine with a vivid minerality perfect for a warm summer evening.

Within moments, our server confidently presented the bottle. His easygoing demeanor and his ability to describe and recommend menu items were paramount. I can't say enough about his excellent service, which made our slight disappointment with the subsequent portions seem palatable.

Belle Vie's appetizers include Belgian starters, such as baby gray shrimp croquettes ($11.95), and French standards, such as escargots ($8.95). At our server's enthusiastic recommendation, we tried scallops in beurre blanc ($10.95) along with salmon tartare ($9.95).

The scallops were divine. Three perfectly seared Diver scallops were lovingly coated in a traditional white wine-shallot butter sauce that was so meticulously crafted it sang with decadence yet still felt light. Our server noted this appetizer plate usually comes back empty, and he was right.

Unfortunately, the tartare paled in comparison. Diced and formed into a cake shape, the salmon was mixed with dill, apples and shallots and accompanied by a creamy dill sauce. Without the sauce, it was surprisingly bland, missing the salty bite of capers I expect to make salmon tartare wow.

Entrées were beautifully presented, but I was surprised by the small portions. Sides were served à la carte. Thank goodness we ordered two: creamed spinach ($2.95), a classic execution jazzed up by the salty bite of bacon, and "nut potatoes" ($2.95), creamy mashed potatoes as fluffy as clouds encased in marble-shaped golden crusts.

Sole Belle Vie ($21.95), actually a sizable flaky filet of flounder, was perfectly accented by a light lemon-butter emulsion and just a touch of seasoning. It was the quintessence of simplicity, each bite skillfully striking the delicate balance between accenting and overpowering.

The traditional Belgian mustard sauce, deliciously pooled around medallions of pork tenderloin ($18.95), was extraordinary, more sweet than pungent yet so rich. If only the pork, especially the end pieces, had been cooked just a few moments less, it would have been a home run.

We ended with the apple tart ($5.95), described as "a French-style apple pie served warm with vanilla ice cream." Though it was not what we expected, the thin, crepelike "crust" was oh-so-buttery, and the fan of thinly sliced apples on top was a delightfully light ending.

From décor to service to thoughtful culinary accents, Belle Vie's attention to detail is something to be celebrated. However, with portions and prices what they are, Belle Vie strays into "special-occasion-only" territory. Here's to finding a middle ground, so I can experience "the good life" more regularly.

Freelance writer and graphic designer Dana Craig considers dessert the most important food group. The Times-Dispatch pays for the meals on her unannounced visits to restaurants. Contact her at .