New Lexington French restaurant ‘a perfect fit’ for upscale, romantic dining
Lexington’s newest upscale restaurant is open and filling a niche on the east end of Main Street.
La Folie, owned by Thoroughbred horseman and restaurateur Carlo Vaccarezza, opened in mid-July, in time for Bastille Day celebrations on July 14, in the former Graze location in the Woodlands condominiums building. Graze closed in 2021.
Vaccarezza, who also own Frank & Dino’s Italian restaurant on West Short Street, said at La Folie he intentionally kept the bookings low at first to give the French-trained chef and the staff time to adjust.
He said that when he first came to Kentucky, he saw an opportunity to bring his Italian fine-dining concept from Florida to Lexington and then saw a chance to expand.
He saw La Folie as “a perfect fit ... a cozy, romantic and upscale French restaurant.”
What’s on La Folie’s menu?
The restaurant serves a menu of classic French cuisine, including mussels, beef bourguignon, filet mignon au poivre, veal, rack of lamb and duck a l’orange. The setting is upscale and so are the prices: The most expensive thing on the menu is the tournedos foie gras, a 12-ounce filet mignon topped with foie gras, shallots, port wine and truffle sauce, for $68.
Popular dishes include a beet salad with goat cheese, he said. “The homemade lobster bisque is extremely popular,” he said. Other highlights include the escargot and a branzino, a Mediterranean version of sea bass that’s very popular, he said, “And of course the two or three filet mignons that we have.”
The brunch menu includes nods to Vaccarezza’s horse industry connections, such as the “Keeneland” classic egg Benedict ($17) and the “Fasig Tipton” French toast ($16.)
There’s also a small bar menu if customers want to get snacks to go with cocktails during happy hour.
So far the reception has been very strong, he said. Reservations are recommended.
What makes La Folie special?
“We pride to buy the best ingredients, make the best food we can make. I think this place caters to a little bit older clientele,” he said. “It’s a place to come for a business dinner, we have a lot of families, a lot of couples. ... We get so many repeat customers, they come here because they like the atmosphere, they like the service and they like the food.”
The restaurant is open for dinner six nights a week and for brunch on Sunday, with a covered elevated patio for dining outside and a private room for large parties.
Eventually, Vaccarezza has said, he plans to expand the hours.
He hopes the restaurant will appeal to cosmopolitan Lexington diners and to those in town for Keeneland’s sales and horse races.
La Folie
Where: 111 Woodland Ave. in The Woodlands
Hours: 4 to 10 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday
Online: lafolielex.com
Call: 859-309-0305
This story was originally published September 7, 2022 at 6:00 AM.
