Leon's Inside Info, Reviews and Menu
Decatur Metro | February 17, 2009This morning’s Daily Candy features Leon’s and gives a little inside scoop (with weird punctuation)…
In addition to a master beer selection (duh), there’s a whistle-wetting, seasonal cocktail menu. Yeah, we’ve heard about the appley Whiskey Pie and Belgian Champale. But what’s not on the menu is Carl’s Screwball – inspired by the owners’ fave back-in-the-day Carl’s candy and made with biscotti liqueur – and K. Chocolat’s by-request-only chocolate flights.
Thanks to my wife, Carl and Brooke for forwarding!
Over on CL, Cliff Bostock gives a preview of his upcoming full review of the gastropub. (Haven’t heard much from DM readers yet…what’s been your impression of Leon’s thus far?)
And probably most importantly for those who have yet to make it over to the corner of Church and Ponce…both the food and drink menus are now online!
Latest from Decaturish
My husband went twice last week, I just got to go once. We loved it.
Pub Frites – amazing. Goat cheese fondue and cucumber were my favorite dipping sauces. Horseradish mayo could use some more horseradish.
I had the beef bistro steak, gruyere, charred red pepper, baby arugula, horseradish mayo. It was great.
HUsband had slow roasted beef brisket, smokey peppercorn gravy, fried onions, served open faced – said it was amazing. Later that week he had niman ranch pork osso bucco, roasted butternut squash, braising greens, gordon DIPA jus. Pork was very tender.
Atmosphere was nice – love that the whole place opens up. Will be a great spot to go to this spring/summer. Service was excellent.
We are looking forward to going back soon and trying some of the other menu/dessert options.
yes-
i went to leon’s thursday evening around 7:45…and glad i just went with 1 other person. the 2 top wait was only about 20 minutes. it was packed, and i was a bit surprised, upon initial entry, that the bar space seemed smaller than i expected. the atmosphere overall is fantastic… details are smart, a nice blend of retro and clean with natural and organic lines and colors.
but to the most important part…. the beer and food met my expectations. i really love the menu, and have much more to explore, but here is what i ate…
1. radishes- eh, don’t waste your time. bland.
2. fried rabbit tenders with mustard and pickled relish- excellent.
3. arugula salad with shaved cheese, seasoned peanuts- YUMMY. i really thought that i made the best arugula salad ever, but i have been beat. leon’s killed it. LOVED the arugula salad.
4. bratwurst appetizer with curry ketchup and homemade “chips”- nice. not too heavy.
5.steak with casserole (?)- steak was cooked well, not the best steak (cut) ever, but very good. cooked medium- pink and juicy inside.
6. goat cheese stuffed sweet peppers appetizer- PHENOMENAL. LOVED IT. will get it every time.
7. apple/berry dessert. yummy, but too small to share. nice warm tempature, good flavor.
8. waffle with shaved chocolate- ooohhh so warm, so yummy… i think i favored this over the apple dessert… but next time (sorry guys) i think cakes and ale has got it in the bag, i’ll just stumble to the other end of ponce…
i also drank the “wintercoat” double hop IPA, which has to be the BEST IPA i’ve ever had in my life. Not too hoppy, very smooth, lovely and refreshing.
so that’s it. and the best part… all of that + 3 beers, not included above ran about 63$. not bad.
OMG… these dishes sound wonderful…as does the Wintercoat IPA….guess I will need to drop by soon and have dinner while awaiting traffic to abate…another great gastronomic addition to Decatur!
I’ve been there twice and I love it. They have bacon in a glass served with peanut butter on the side as an appetizer. Need I say more?
NO! My two favorite foods…bacon and peanut butter…and with BEER….
GET OUTTA MY WAY….
I stopped by on the 2nd day it was open, around 7pm I think. Had a table for 3 within, oh, 10 seconds. Super-friendly staff with great service. I love the new building with all that air and space and light coming in. It’s a nice contast to the cozy Brick Store.
Pub frites are awesome, especially with the gruyere and the curry sauces. The calamari was good, but not too special. I thought my burger was quite good. And I loved loved the Duck Rabbit stout they had on draft.
Went in Saturday. My husband thought his chicken and grits divine, but I thought the sandwiches were good but not spectacular. The “frites” are just very ordinary french fries, IMHO. The place is good though and I wish them luck.
(I meant to say Duck Rabbit porter…)
Went on Saturday. Plan on Yelping about it but haven’t gotten to it yet.
All our expectations were met. Great beer ( as you would expect!); interesting wine selection. Loved the fondue with the Frites, the the gyro, the spinach side. Not a fan for the bacon and peanut butter, but hubby loved it. Waffle was a bit over-toasted.
Atmosphere was great, service was amazing– not just competent, but genuinely friendly, especially for their 1st week.
Can’t wait to go back and we’re really looking forward to warm nights with the garage doors open– and maybe– a patio?
Went to the sneek peek two Saturdays ago and went last Saturday. Everything was great. I , however, did love the radishes. Try the Currywurst! Amazing. As a former resident of Germany and Belgium this place brought back some authentic cuilinary memories. Everyone should also try the Three Hour Tour Cocktail. Divine intervention.
We went on Monday at 6:15 with no wait. The fries are a superfun way to start the meal. We liked the garlic aoli and goat cheese dips. We LOVED the chickpea, gouda and cherry side. It is amazing. We’ll get that every time! We also really liked the carrot hummus (carrot-based, not chickpea-based) and shrimp gyro, but were less enthusiastic about the rabbit strips. They felt a little like chicken strips to us, but maybe we didn’t have a great batch. Anyhow, we’ll be back…soon!