SEAReview
Le Messe
This spot is Permanently Closed.
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Everybody loves getting special treatment. Like when your barista has your coffee ready at the counter before you even order, or when you become the ruler of France because your uncle is Napoleon. You’ll experience this kind of special treatment if you sit at the chef’s counter at Le Messe, a fresh pasta spot in Eastlake.
Along with the opportunity to watch chefs swirling pasta as you swirl your glass of wine, a counter seat at Le Messe gets you dishes you wouldn’t be able to eat in the rest of the restaurant. The counter menu has both a la carte and prix fixe options that rotate nightly, and we’ve eaten specials here ranging from seared hamachi belly to a New York steak to cacio e pepe. The experience is like sitting at your friend’s kitchen island while they cook you dinner, except you won’t have to stir the pot while they walk the dog. At some point, the person who just sauteed and served your agnolotti will ask how it tastes (it’s excellent), and in this moment you will feel like part of the Royal Order Of Pasta.
Even though it’s tempting to order solely from the counter specials, you shouldn’t ignore the regular menu. The crudo, smoked fish crostini, and roasted beets with ricotta are particularly tasty. But the pasta section is where you want to live. There’s an incredible rigatoni with braised pork shank, and a simply seasoned squid ink spaghetti we can’t stop thinking about. You can skip the tagliatelle with lemon, celery, and crab that tastes like a re-imagination of a New England seafood roll we never asked for. But that’s forgivable once you eat the bolognese, which is as comforting as lighting a bergamot candle and watching the episode of Frasier when Niles and Daphne finally get together.
As great as all of the food is here, the experience isn’t quite as special if you don’t sit at the counter. The rest of the interior is a dark, minimalist space that feels a little void of personality and warmth. That means you probably shouldn’t come here with your entire social circle for a birthday, but it’s the perfect spot when you want the kind of restorative experience that doesn’t involve putting cucumbers on your face. We’d much rather be hand-delivered bucatini hot off the stove by a chef who just slid the plate in our direction. But maybe that’s just us.