AVON LAKE — Just two hours into its grand opening, about 100 people gathered in the lobby of Bar Symon.
It was a two-hour wait for a table, but with celebrity chef and Cleveland’s resident foodie, Michael Symon, cooking in the kitchen, no one seemed to mind.

“We’ve been to all his restaurants, so we don’t mind waiting,” said a couple in their 20s from Cleveland’s west side. “We’ll travel for great food.”

Great is exactly how people described the offerings at Bar Symon, located in what was formerly Swingos Grand Tavern off Walker Road, inside Avon Lake Towne Center.

Elyria mother and daughter Sandi and Allison Mould called the food “amazing” and spent two hours, from the time the restaurant opened at 4 p.m. drinking beer and wine and enjoying two appetizers of chips with blue cheese fondue and spicy pork crackling, as well as entrees of macaroni and cheese with rosemary, goat cheese and chicken and grilled meat loaf.

“All that for only $50,” said Allison Mould, 30. “A place like this was much needed.”

The restaurant, covered in a dark wood interior and accented with white brick in places, plays on the sophisticated bar food concept referred to as a brasserie.

Symon’s wife, Liz Symon, who greeted customers as they waited at the bar, said the restaurant turned out exactly as they hoped.

“We pretty much gutted the place but kept some of the wood around the bar and in places,” she said. “We’re really happy with it.”

She said the number of people was more than an average opening at one of her husband’s restaurants, which include Lola in downtown Cleveland, Lolita in Cleveland’s Tremont neighborhood and Roast in Detroit.

Mike Oliver, who drove from Parma Heights with a friend to experience Bar Symon’s grand opening, said the food was delicious, but deciding what to get was next to impossible.

“You just have to hit the ground running and order something,” the 25-year-old said.

He and friend Jeff Draeger, 26, ordered double-cooked chicken wings, roasted bone marrow and bar steak, as well as the chips and meat loaf. They also sampled “quite a few” of the 40 beers the restaurant has on tap.

“It was delicious,” Draeger said. “There’s no doubt about that.”

The restaurant’s menu can be found at www.barsymon.com.

Contact Adam Wright at 329-7129 or awright@chroniclet.com.

---

Print this story
Report an inappropriate comment

---

In order to comment, you must agree to our user agreement and discussion guidelines.

Need help? Email Us.

---