The restaurant: 846 Albion St., Denver
About: Le French, which first opened in the Denver Tech Center’s Belleview Station in 2019, is a gourmet, casual-chic French bistro specializing in modern Parisian cuisine with global influences. The new location under the AMC Theater within the 9+Co development will be joining restaurants like Culinary Dropout and Postino WineCafe.
Co-owner Aminata Dia said she was approached by 9+Co and jumped on the opportunity since a lot of her customers already drive down from that part of Denver. The space includes a full wine wall, clean white tiles and wood and metallic gold accents.
Who’s cooking: Dia was born in Senegal and grew up outside of Paris, where she fell in love with food. She moved to Denver in 2002. After starting her own catering business, AmiCuisine, Dia opened the original Le French location in 2019 with her sister Rougui, who had been the first black female executive chef at a Michelin-starred restaurant, Petrossian, in Paris. Rougui has since moved back to France, but still collaborates with Dia for menu ideas.
What’s on the menu: Le French’s second location will have a similar menu with a touch of new items, like some Senegalese cuisine to pay homage to the sisters’ birthplace, plus a bit of Creole flavors. The restaurant will have a robust brunch menu on the weekend, but this location will not have a bakery like the Belleview Station one.
French classics on the menu include Beef Bourguignon, escargot, beef tartare, niçoise salad and steak frites. Senegalese cuisine includes Les Pastels (fried pastries with tuna, chili, parsley and a caramelized tomato-onion sauce), Poulet Yassa (chicken braised in a lemony-caramelized onion sauce, served with pickled vegetables, rice and sweet peas) and Le Mafé (beef stewed in a tomato-peanut sauce, bell pepper and okra, served over steamed rice).
Opening: Sept. 21, 2023; Open Monday through Thursday from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Friday from 10 a.m. to 12 a.m.; Saturday from 8 a.m. to 12 a.m.; and Sunday from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m.