Bistro Francais

[mr food]

Always one of my favorite, reliable venues, I was disturbed by a conversation I had with a foodie friend who related a poor dining experience. Overcooked roasted chicken and soggy pomme frites. Is this a oneoff or a trend? It's a been at least a year since I've dined there but as out of town guests are arriving soon, I need any recent reports to determine whether I should take them there. I've always appreciated the $10 corkage so I hate to cross it off the list.

[eunny jang]

Bah. I really like Bistro Francais, but more because they're friendly and it's open till 3am than anything else. I've NEVER been bowled over by the food - servicable, but nothing I'd seek out at normal dinner hours. I think of it as the kind of place I'd take finicky parents.

[fero style]

I was there last week after work which was around 2 am , lamb sausage is still good but I wouldnt order any seafood there you should go for steaks. soups are not that good but they have terrific french fries.

depending on the server you can either get a good service or you can be ignored for a while . everytime I go there once a week its late midnight , maybe the servers are tired of waiting tables , thats my guess , never been there for a lunch or a dinner

[Nadya]

The last time I went (four months ago) with two girlfriends, we ended up walking out because it took them thirty minutes and ten requests to get us the menus, and they also served the wrong wine.

[morela]

I was there about a month ago on a Monday night (instead of the Redskins/Cowboys game), and was pleased with my meal. Nothing amazing (far from it), but I had a really clean, simple (not show-offy, with drizzle/essence bullshit) cold cucumber soup, and some grilled portobello dish that was as good as I hoped it would be. I also really liked the lamb sausage with eggplant salad (another first course). More importantly, tough, the steak tartare that my friends had was outstanding (much better than BDC's or the recent bite I had at Les Halles). It was just comfortable the and the service was caring-good, not career-good. I mean, I could tell she wanted to make us feel welocme and good, but she was obviously trying to make a living in city/country that clearly isn't her own...

And the pomme frites that came with the tartare weren't the soggy/pasty ones that we all seem to despise. They were a little on the crisp side.

[eunny jang]

the steak tartare that my friends had was outstanding (much better than BDC's or the recent bite I had at Les Halles)....

And the pomme frites that came with the tartare weren't the soggy/pasty ones that we all seem to despise.  They were a little on the crisp side.

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Sometimes, I dig their steak tartare. But, does it have to be so wet? Sometimes I think it's more egg than beef.

Edited October 13, 2004 by eunny jang (log)

[DonRocks]

Sometimes, I dig their steak tartare.  But, does it have to be so wet?  Sometimes I think it's more egg than beef.

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Any entity handling meat in the wee hours of the morning has got to have multiple STDs

(Steak Tartare Dudes).

[LittleWing]

I loooove their salad du marche au chevre chaud - it's a very simple salad with goat cheese toasts. But I get it carryout after work all of the time, and haven't acutally eaten there in a while, so I wouldn't know about the service. However, the bartender always recognizes me and gives me extra dressing for my salad because he knows I've asked for it in the past.

Like eunny jang, I go because it's open late, and its one of the lesser evils of the late-night options .

Last year, I did go for Sunday brunch with about ten other people for a friend's birthday and the service was atrocious. Come to think of it, the food (I had Oeufs Norwegian) kinda sucked, too.

I recommend the salad du marche au chevre chaud and the chocolate mousse only.

By the way, in searching online about Eggs Norwegian, i found this site: www.brunch.org

Um, strange, and funny, and curious. Very curious.

[The Hersch]

I have been having brunch at Bistro Français every couple of months for a couple of years. I haven't been there for dinner in eons. The service is certainly uneven. I usually have the Eggs Benedict, and it's always been very close to perfect. About six weeks ago, my last visit, I had the Norwegian version, and that, too, was excellent, with a very generous portion of quite respectable smoked salmon. The pommes frites are almost always superb, and they were on that occasion--about as good as they get in this life, very much like what you get in Paris. The escarole salad that is the only starter with the prix-fixe brunch is nice in its way. And you can't beat the price ($18.95) if you take advantage of the bottomless glass of French sparkling wine. I recommend sitting in the room to the right as you enter; it's much quieter and more relaxing than the other room.