Check Out the Menu for Le Colonial, Now Open in Buckhead

The French-Vietnamese classic Le Colonial opens Wednesday, August 14, at the Shops Buckhead luxury retail complex on the corner of Bolling Way and Buckhead Avenue. Le Colonial first opened in New York City over 25 years ago and now has locations in San Francisco, Chicago, and Houston.

At 8,100 square feet, Le Colonial-Atlanta includes a bar and lounge, a terrace dining room with seating for 36 people, a main dining room with a veranda, and a 14-seat private dining room with a chef’s table.

Like its other restaurant locations, Le Colonial-Atlanta channels the “tropical beauty and French colonial” design of the wealthy, high society homes and hotels of 1920s Saigon (now Ho Chi Minh City), then considered the jewel of French occupied Vietnam. Several restaurants based around a similar theme of colonialism have faced controversy across the country and the world.

Under the direction of renowned chef and Vietnamese cookbook author Nicole Routhier and executive chef Hassan Obaye, the menu at Le Colonial features appetizers like pan-seared chicken dumplings, duck noodle soup, and cha gio or pork and shrimp rolls, alongside entrees such as a crispy red snapper with a spicy garlic glaze and bo luc lac or shaking beef.

Le Colonial has two Atlanta ties: original restaurant founder Rick Wahlstedt (Le Bilboquet) and Ronald “Ron” Hsu (Lazy Betty). Hsu worked as the executive chef at Le Colonial in New York City before returning home to Atlanta to open his Candler Park restaurant earlier this year.

Take a look at the menu:

Open Sunday - Wednesday, 5 p.m. to 10 p.m.; Thursday - Saturday, 5 p.m. to 11 p.m. The lounge is open nightly until 12 a.m. Lunch begins by the end of August.

Correction, August 7, 10:15 a.m.: In a previous version of this story, Rick Wahlstedt was listed as one of the partners at Umi and Himitsu in Buckhead. Wahlstedt is only a partner in Le Bilboquet, located at Shops Buckhead.

3035 Peachtree Road, Atlanta. lecolonialatlanta.com.

• The French-Vietnamese Classic Le Colonial Is Opening in Buckhead [EATL]
• Step Inside Le Colonial, River Oaks’ Hot New French-Vietnamese Stunner [EHOU]
• Controversial Colonial-Themed Restaurant Sparks Multiple Protests [EPDX]