French fare still home in Acton after 37 years

Le Lyonnais, a French restaurant, occupies the first floor Acton home of Gerard and Joan Labrosse. (John Bohn/Globe Staff)

Le Lyonnais

416 Great Road (Route 2A), Acton

Dinner, Tuesday to Thursday 5:30 to 9:30 p.m., Friday and Saturday 5:30 to 10 p.m.; Lunch, Friday noon to 2 p.m. and some Sundays. Call ahead.

Major credit cards accepted

978-263-9068; lelyonnaisacton.com

In 1971, Americans were discovering Hamburger Helper and the Crock Pot and a new sandwich by McDonald's called the Quarter Pounder. Although French food had begun to show up on dinner tables, thanks to Julia Child, you had to drive to Boston to eat at a French restaurant.

But that fall in Acton, Gerard and Joan Labrosse turned the first floor of their white clapboard house into a French country restaurant called Le Lyonnais. Thirty-seven years later, the restaurant is still serving French food. The food is less formal - pasta is on the menu, and the Labrosses have added a less expensive bistro menu to appeal to more budget-conscious diners.

But how does Le Lyonnais hold up after nearly four decades?

On a recent Saturday night, we found Le Lyonnais somewhere in the middle. Some dishes were excellent; other suffered from lingering too long between kitchen and dining room. The service varied between tables. Even the bread was uneven. Our first rolls seemed a bit tired, so crusty that they left flakes on our plates. But the second basket was fresh.

The restaurant was busy, but not packed, with a motley assortment of diners: a teenage boy, looking desperate to escape the company of his parents; a Keith Richards ringer, bandana wrapped around his head, with a blonde in a low-cut top; a middle-age woman trying to explain to her friend the role of superdelegates in the presidential election.

We didn't mind dallying over appetizers and wine. One of our fondest memories during a trip to France was a four-hour meal that didn't end until nearly midnight. But at Le Lyonnais, the service just seemed pokey; there were long interludes when our water glasses were empty and our server wasn't in sight.

When he finally delivered our dinners, he said, with a wry grin, "We like to wait until just past the point when people are hungry, and then we bring the food."

The vegetarian concoction - a melange of vegetables, officially listed as Gerard's Vegetable Creation du Jour ($15) - was lukewarm when it arrived. The seafood crepes ($23.35) were warmer, and would have been excellent, but they were a bit soggy - perhaps from the lingering side dish of asparagus, which was barely warm.

The Coquille St. Jacques ($22), though, was perfect - scallops, tender, and mushrooms, firm, in a lemon fish veloute that was light enough to dress, not drown. And there was nothing not to love about our dessert, Le Délice Antoinette ($8), a rum-soaked cake with fresh strawberries.

Le Lyonnais sprawls through the first floor of the Labrosses' house. Three of the four dining rooms feel Colonial, with fireplaces and intimate corners. The owners call the fourth room, where we sat, an "indoor porch."

One quibble: The restaurant has a separate crepe menu but you must ask to see it. A copy sits on a shelf in the entryway, but if you breeze by - as I did, only to glimpse the menu on the way out - the waiter will not mention it. One more missed opportunity.

KATHLEEN BURGE