178 N. Pleasant St., Amherst, MA 01002 Phone: 413.253.3811

Worth visiting in a 30 mile radius.

Chez Albert is located in the small New England college town of Amherst. In a cozy, candle-lit space, it serves classic French food and drinks at the bar. It doesn’t look like anything special from the outside, but the food had me dazzled.

The menu is small and seasonal, so the dishes I am reviewing might not be on the menu if you go there. These dishes will give you a good sense of the restaurant’s overall cuisine and ambience.

For appetizers, we ordered raclette and mussels in a white wine sauce. Raclette is a dish that originated in Switzerland. Traditionally cooking raclette involves heating raclette cheese over a fire and scraping the melted parts off, but at Chez Albert the melted raclette cheese is served in a piping-hot pan with fried onions and apples on top. This dish is not a health food by any means, but the combination was delicious on top of the complimentary bread. The mussels were chewy, bursting with a distinct flavor from the white wine sauce, which was so good I was tempted to drink it on its own. They did just what a perfect appetizer should do: they made me hungry for the entrees.

My beef daube entrée was simple but hearty: a large chunk of braised beef sitting on wonderfully garlicky mashed potatoes (if you haven’t noticed by now, I love garlic), with au jus and an assortment of vegetables on the side. The beef was so tender that it almost fell apart when I cut it.  My father got a similar dish, braised lamb shank with potato puree and au jus. The lamb was very tender, with North African spices for a nice touch. For dessert we got crème brulee, torched to perfection and a great finish to a great meal.

The prices here are on the high end; entrees range from $13 to $25. The portions are generous and the taste wonderful, so if you ever happen to stop by this little town, I recommend Chez Albert.