Fleur

(In the voice of the Caterpillar from Alice in Wonderland:)

Whoooooo RRRRR UUUU?

Who are you, Fleur? What are you?

If this place isn't gaining any traction in Columbus, it could be because of either (or both) of the following reasons:

- Consistently inconsistent. I've been to Fleur about 4 - 5 times and every single time they are undergoing some kind of revision. Oh, it's a champagne/dessert bar with local desserts. No, wait, it's a late-night club space with cotton candy for everyone! Oh, nevermind, we do crepes and brunch. WTF? No one will ever think of Fleur for anything in particular because it can't make up its mind for what it is. Several of the times I've gone there, something has been compromised, whether it's the availability of the waitstaff, the menu offerings, or the credit card machine. It's been open for more than a year now, but without any benefits of having been open for a year. The lack of usable website or any information isn't enough to inform potential patrons or get anyone excited.

- Weird location. I guess a downtown locale can't ever be "weird" but it's usually weird for whatever Fleur is trying to be that week. The demographic that seems to make the most sense is the after-work happy hour crowd, but it doesn't seem to me that they've done much to harness this. It's close enough to the Third/Gay Street businesses to be part of that-- but, who is really going to come over here latenight (not enough else going on), or on a weekend?

Additionally, the crowd is always kinda strange. It's usually sparse. I've seen a lot of botched plastic surgery. Everyone looks normal from a distance but a bit off when you get up close.

That's a lot of Fleur bashing. Possibly lazy management and marketing aside, Fleur does have some things going for it. First, I kinda like the space. The white and orange and the mural... it verges on cheesy lounge circa 2002, but I kinda like it. From a decorative standpoint, it's unlike anything going on in Columbus right now. Would be a pretty backdrop for ladies' night silly pictures.

I like the champagne menu-- everyone's doing vintage cocktails but I like the crisp option for some bubbly.

My suggestion to other patrons is to give Fleur a try. Perhaps pair your visit with another downtown activity... it'd be a decent stop for a downtown bar crawl, or for pre (or post) drinks with Due Amici for dinner. If you try for breakfast, maybe pair with a stroll through the Topiary Garden by the old School for the Deaf (but you'll probably have to drive between spots).

My suggestion to Fleur is to solve your identity crisis, then consistently deliver your vision. Make information available to patrons. Host some events. Get involved. People are confused by you, and therefore won't put you into their rotation of places to visit or suggest to others.

My rating of 3 seems a little bit high. I guess it's more of a 2.5 for me, but I'll round up and give Fleur the benefit of the doubt.

I really enjoyed going here solo.  It was a nice pop in after work during the week.  Now they are only open fri and sat.

What really burns my bottom is that my colleague and I had booked the venue for an event, had 30+ rsvps and we walk in and they basically tell us (on arrival) that that can't host us.  The ice machine was broken.  

Unless something is drastic, and in the event of a pre-booked private event, you send someone to go buy several bags of ice.  Or at least entertain the question of - "can you serve beer and wine only - we have around 35 people attending this evening?"

Something was not on the up and up.  The manager was out of town apparently in California and actually called my colleague to notify her AS SHE WAS WALKING to the door.  

The away-manager then promised that we could reschedule and that they would help out with the pricing.  

Five follow up phone calls later to our contact AND the venue, no one has returned a call.

Our group of 30+ (including catering) relocated over to Tip Top who graciously accommodated us (and also made some really good sales in the deal.)
Fleur did not offer to keep someone at the door to tell our guests about the relocation, did not do anything.  

But when I walked back to post some sort of sign (they had one, they just only wrote "XYZ is at Tip Top" with no directions, no number of the venue or address... nothing), there were two people sitting and watching TV.

Total BS.

Apparently, as I share the story, this has happened to others.

I really want to give Fleur a better star rating than 3, but for all of the beautiful white leather furniture and trendy atmosphere it projects, the past 3 or 4 times I've been there the crowd has been pretty thin. In addition to the crowd being fairly small, I'm not convinced their drinks are worth the price. I guess I estimated that with all the champagne purchases in bulk, the prices might be a little more reasonable -- or the atmosphere a little more inviting.

My hope is that the summer will bring some foot traffic to the place. I'm sure that could help and they could invest in some better signage that can be easily seen from the street. I'm wiling to give it another try, but only if I know there is some event going on and the crowd will likely be a little bigger.