Experience: Fleur at the Omni Providence Hotel

Hotel restaurants are funny things these days. In some cities they are splashy destinations in themselves, increasingly helmed by notable chefs whose names alone promise sublime experiences – rubbery omelettes and pasty pancakes need not apply. And then there are hotel restaurants like Fleur, at the Omni Providence Hotel. While Fleur doesn’t have a TV chef’s name attached, it performs as if it does, providing a colorful, sensory-rich experience and breakfast, brunch, lunch and dinner menus replete with upscale Parisian and Mediterranean dishes as beautiful as they are tasty.

Fleur, in fact, is following a new trend, identified by Top Chef contestant and James Beard Award-winning Chef Stephanie Izard. “Hotel owners have seen the value in having restaurants that aren’t just a desirable amenity for their guests, but as a top-contender culinary destination for locals, or even travelers staying elsewhere,” she says.

The restaurant’s bright-white interior (floors, tabletops) is punctuated with vibrant floral displays, giant windows overlooking the busy streets below, a Michaelangelo-inspired mural on the ceiling over the bar, and a glass-doored wine enoteca that occupies an entire dining room wall, displaying some 175-plus $30 to $900 bottles. The restaurant hums with Friday night dinnertime activity – two-tops of well-heeled couples enjoying platters of oysters, a couple of girls’-night-out cliques, a family celebrating an elder’s birthday.

My editor and I settle in; she orders a classic French 75, a vintage cocktail that originated post-World War II at Harry’s Bar in Paris. The concoction of gin, lemon, honey, and Champagne arrives garnished with an edible flower. My French l’orange martini – vodka, Chambord and pineapple – hits all the notes of a well-balanced cocktail. We peruse the menu while diving head-first into a bread basket of Cape Cod’s famed Pain d’Avignon bread (many regional restaurants serve it, for delicious reason) – thick slices of focaccia, a classic French baguette, and a cranberry-pecan loaf – served alongside rosemary-infused olive oil and garlic-herb butter. We follow up with crab cakes – a well-executed, hockey puck-sized lump crab meat mixture and an addictive lobster tartare sauce.

There’s a lot to choose from on the dinner menu: escargot, moules frites, salmon, swordfish, chicken, and local nods such as chowder, lobster rolls, and calamari. It’s been a while since I’ve had filet mignon, so I order it, hesitantly. Anthony Bourdain said a restaurant’s ability to cook a steak perfectly was the only thing that mattered, because it reflected the kitchen’s respect for technique, the food, and the customer. Having worked for a well-known chef applauded for his Himalayan-salt dry-aged beef, I’m spoiled. So don’t tell Chef David Burke, but this filet, a healthy-sized 10-ounce served with béarnaise and pomme purée (at a very reasonable $55, especially considering the size), is one of the best I’ve ever had. No, really. It’s simply but perfectly seasoned with salt and pepper and, cooked to medium-rare, is superbly tender and juicy. My editor is loving her grilled swordfish, tender and juicy, punctuated with a lemon beurre blanc, and a melon, cantaloupe, pineapple, and corn relish. There’s more than enough to share, so enthusiastically, we do.

Our server, Makayla Gallagher, was attentive and well-versed in the menu, personally recommending cocktails that would pair well with desserts. We agree on espresso martinis alongside crème brûlée and panna cotta made by the pastry chef, James Maloney. Fleur is all about the flourishes as well as the flavor profiles; our plates come embellished with the Fleur logo written in chocolate sauce… it succumbed to our spoons immediately. The crème brûlée was simple perfection. The panna cotta, with lemon curd, pound cake, and brown butter cinnamon streusel sent us over the moon.

On a subsequent visit, a friend and I indulged in brunch: a hearty and indulgent croque monsieur – grilled on sourdough with Jambon de Paris and gruyere with Dijon and bechamel. The avocado toast with lemon zest, feta, tomatoes, olive oil, and microgreens seems, at $18, overpriced, until it arrives eight-inches tall and weighing in at the equivalent of a teacup Yorkie.

Honestly, I didn’t expect to like Fleur as much as I did. While splashy chefs’ names may encourage diners to believe they’re in for a singular experience – and that is often true – Fleur proves that doesn’t always track. Its enlivening interior, refined techniques, and inspired and well-executed menu make Fleur worth a visit, hotel guest or not.

Fleur at the Omni Providence Hotel

1 West Exchange Street

445-2526 • FleurProvidence.com