The wait for Wayzata's buzzed-about new eatery is almost over.
Bellecour, the latest project from Spoon and Stable chef Gavin Kaysen, is opening on Wednesday after extending a sneak peek at the pristine space and French-inspired menu to a few dozen this weekend.
The restaurant, at 739 Lake St. E. in Wayzata (a space formerly occupied by Blue Point), boasts a bakery stocked with coffee and sweets, front-and-center when guests walk in. With windows that will open out to the street, wafts of pastry chef Diane Yang's lineup of cakes, croissants, brioches and other confections are sure to eventually taunt the neighborhood.
Beyond the bakery, a bar and lounge area will play home to a cocktail program created by bar manager Robb Jones. Libations include the Chouette 75, an herbs de Provence-infused nod to the former Chouette, which occupied the space in the late 1970s and early 80s and the Sour Grapes, an egg white and bourbon drink topped with some bitters art in the shape of a rooster.
In the summer, there will be a back patio that can be viewed from the garden room, a dining area distinguished by a large floral mural, which will be adjacent to the main dining area.
On the menu? Look for plenty of seafood along with a host of French bistro classics: terrines, escargot, frisee salads with bacon and poached eggs, croquet-madames, steak frites, moules frites and duck a l'orange. A raw bar will present oysters on the half shell, chilled shrimp and icy towers that include lobsters, crabs, clams and mussels as well. And the partially open kitchen's rotisserie will be on display as well, churning out half chickens with pureed potatoes and buttered leeks as well as roasted lamb loin and cauliflower roti.
