Every foodie in Cleveland needs to try Edwins -- not because it's on the cutting edge of the Food Scene, delivering never-before-seen dishes, but rather the opposite.
Edwins is an Old School French restaurant delivering the classics that you just can't find in Cleveland anymore, or pretty much anywhere else. Coming here is the equivalent to going to a movie theater showing a flick from the 1940s and 1950s -- you are going to have an experience that you thought was extinct.
After sipping on a perfectly blended Old-Fashioned ($12), I started with the Langoustine Francaise ($16) which was meat of the Langoustine tucked inside a bird's nest pastry and it came with a Sauce Langouste that was creamy with a seafood taste similar to a lobster bisque (Aside: a French restaurant has to have great sauces and Edwins delivers. Another Aside: How many people have even ever heard of a Sauce Langouste?).
Jeannene tried the omelet appetizer ($12) and she thoroughly enjoyed it, saying it was perfectly blended and cooked and was just the right amount.
I moved on to the Paupiettes de Merou ($29) -- Grouper wrapped in potatoes with a beurre rouge. The server said it was the most popular dish on the menu and, again, I quite enjoyed the sauce which was a little creamier than I was expecting from a wine sauce. The fish was a little dry but I was amid a party of 14 people so I would expect the kitchen to be a little overtaxed.
Jeannene had the horseradish-crusted salmon ($28) with a cucumber cream sauce. She was pleased that the horseradish was subtle and the salmon was cooked beautifully.
The staff was very attentive, always making sure our bread plate was full (the other imperative for a French restaurant) as were our water glasses. The table of 14 did lead to some confusion from the new waiters over who had which dishes but, again that's too be expected.
We are already planning on returning to try many other dishes that we've heard about but never actually seen on a menu. One warning -- Yelp lists this as a $$$ restaurant but it does seem like you can expect to add an extra dollar sign.
I won't get into the great story behind the chefs and the staff they employ because the food and the service are able to stand on their own merits just like any other excellent restaurant around here.