Bistrot du Coin

[The Hersch]

I'm so glad to see Bistrot du Coin getting trashed after seeing far too much praise for it in various places, like from Tom S. I totally hated this place the first time I went, which was not very long after it opened. The food was so-so, the service was terrible, and they seemed to have gone out of their way to make the place as noisy as possible, adding LOUD canned music (which is utterly un-French) to the already unbearable acoustics. So my friends and I gave them a year, and went back. Nothing had improved, and nothing would induce me to waste another bit of my money or my life in that wretched hole.

I hated Al Tiramisu for many of the same reasons, and will never go there again either.

[sweetfreak]

God, I wasn't that excited to go tonite, and now I am even less so.

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Well, there's the easy answer to eating light. Why do something on your own time and dime that you don't wanna do?!

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Cause I am going with a group of friends, one of whom loves the mussles at BDC and is dying to go. Company much more important than any other factors.

[fero style]

the people behind us were drinking wine , not using those tiny tequila shots(wine glasses are a little undersized) ,but using really wide and big wine glasses. So I asked the waiter to use the same large glasses at least to swirl the wine and he responded back`` you know what? that bottle they are drinking is $700. you spend that money we give you big glasses`` . this is just a part of rudeness.

my question is do they even carry $700 wine ?

[morela]

the people behind us were drinking wine , not using those tiny tequila shots(wine glasses are a little undersized) ,but using really wide and big wine glasses. So I asked the waiter to use the same large glasses at least to swirl the wine and he responded back`` you know what? that bottle they are drinking is $700. you spend that money we give you big glasses`` . this is just a part of rudeness.

my question is do they even carry $700 wine ?

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Did one of guys with the big glasses have a Southern acccent?

[DCMark]

John, I know you are big buddies with Michel so your defense is expected. I have seen him be nice as well. But there are just so many people that hate his guts. Its not simply a few anon. posts in the Washington Post review section.

There are two ways to deal with their attitude. Get defensive and use it as yet another excuse to trash the French. Or realize the BdC is simply a more open example of a simple truth: those in the 'in crowd' often have a different experience in restaurants than those coming in off the street. This is not unique to the restaurant industry anyway. It just at BdC the 'bad' treatment can get pretty bad.

Cheesecake factory is packed too....

No offense, but Mark and John, you two are restaurant VIPs and would never see this at your table.  For that matter, I get treated very well there.  But I have seen some horrible stuff there.

Its backed because it has decent food, great hours and its trendy to be doin' it Parisian-style with the kids these days.

If all of the above is true, please explain why the place is packed all the time.

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I've seen some horrible stuff in a lot of places. I just don't go back.

I've also seen Michel pull off the most gracious things I've ever seen anywhere to people he didn't know.

One man's poison is another man's Le Bureau.

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[Busboy]

I stumble into BdC pretty regularly as my office is on the same block and it has become, among other things the default lunch and happy hour spot.

Dinners, I have never found the bar staff or hostess to be anything other than pleasant, and occasionally charming. The wait staff has never been rude; but they've often been a bit brusque. They do have a service style that I have encountered in France, that is they will rarely acknowledge you existence until they are "ready." Once they are ready -- once they got the other table's orders and drinks down or ring out the deuce next to you or whatever -- they seem to run a fairly tight ship. If you're looking for touchy-feely, "je m'appelle Jean-Claude and I'll be your waiter tonight," or the generally refined service you might get at a more formal spot, you're going to have a bad time. If you relax, get a first drink at the bar, and take the place on its own terms, you can have a good night out. Think of it as a beer hall with frites.

The food is admittedly mediocre -- but I'll take mediocre bistro food almost any night. And the music can be damn loud if you're early or late. But I like the energy and excitement of the place, and I'm sure I'll be back again before Christmas.

Michel? My wife and I once launched a two-person boycotte of Les Halles because he was such a prick to us one night. But the few times I've bumped into him at BdC, he's been the very model of the affable patron.

In balance, sweetfreak, I'd say you have a better than even chance of having a pretty good time. Relax.

[sweetfreak]

I don't know what about my posts made me sound like my feathers are ruffled over going to BDC tonite. I was just looking for some lighter food recs initially, but I guess this place has its friends and foes. Like I said earlier, I am looking forward to the company, some wine and the atmosphere. I am nothing but relaxed .

[chuck]

More details about the bad times. Specifics, please. I love to hear that stuff.

[Nadya]

Like every place on the face of the universe, BdC has its good sides and its bad sides. The main reason I love it and keep coming back (apart from it being two blocks away from Chez Nadya = ability to stumble home in the most unseemly condition) is an utter lack of pretense.

Are there places with better food, better service, better ambience in the same zipcode? Absolutely.

But you know, BdC does not pretend to be a culinary mecca, nor a temple of Michelin-correct service, and even less so a showcase of Adamstein & Demetriu's best practices. When I walk into BdC by myself or with my peeps (and this was the case even before I knew who Michel was), I know exactly what I am going to get. I don't expect anything other than a bistro experience, bistro food or a bistro ambience. And that works just fine for me in Washington, where pretense and artifice is often the name of the game.

But then again, I enjoy a round of healthy, rowdy banter with the waitstaff. People who don't may have a lesser time.

[benjy]

I just moved back to DC in August and have been to BdC twice, both times on the weekend for a late lunch. Things that stick in my mind:

1. too slow about offering a second glass of wine, in fact, once I was never offered a second glass even though my teeny, weeny, empty glass sat on the table for the last 35 minutes of lunch. Distressing.

2. Went once at night to see about dinner there; it was so insanely noisy I turned around and left.

3. Service is neither "French" nor "haughty" nor even "brusque." More than anything it reminds me of service in Eastern Europe back in the late 80s and 90s when I was living there: erratic, never particularly good, and not for any discernable reason.

4. Nice mussels the two times I had them, which for me is enough to make me tolerate the rest of it for lunch with friends, not for dinner or any special occassion certainly.

benjy

[fero style]

you are lucky they offered you second glass of wine .

After I ordered a bottle of wine , I had to remind to waiter after 15 minutes . maybe 5 minutes later food arrived and there is still no wine. I was looking for the waiter to ask but he was not around , when he returned on the floor , he asked me which wine I ordered. in the half way of the food , wine arrived .

Im well aware I wont find a 5 star service in the middle of the night. and Im sure that waiter is the problem and no matter what he sucked big time. when I get the check (over $100) I left 1 dollar tip for the waiter , but I tipped the busser instead. because he was the one taking my coffee and dessert order and giving me refills on the coffee. I even told him to tell the waiter sucks , I really wish to tell this his face but he wasnt even around. on my way out I talked to a lady I guess she was the hostess , about my experince and only thing she was able to tell me that she was sorry.

Is it too hard for a waiter to care about the people in the restaurant ? No , it is not. I`ll also say this is not a French style service.

[hjshorter]

While I love the food there, the service is pretty crappy. But don't encourage it; bring a handful of pennies and tip accordingly 

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I've had bad food and bad service, each time I have been. Over cooked steak, soggy frites, off-tasting mussels, no drinks offered, plates uncleared, etc. I don't bother anymore.

[morela]

I'm not gonna lie. I think being a drunken skinny boy from Thailand benefits me a lot in this situation.

[oliveDC]

If you relax, get a first drink at the bar, and take the place on its own terms, you can have a good night out. Think of it as a beer hall with frites.

What a wonderfully rousing debate for this dull, dreary afternoon.

I agree with Busboy's assessment completely. I, as a mere streetperson and not in the "in-crowd", have experienced mostly efficient and at times even pleasant service at BDC. I wouldn't choose it for every type of outing, but when I'm in the mood for a raucous evening full of good, hearty food and wine, I can't think of many places I'd rather be.

[Seand04]

Good God, Everyone is very riled up about BDC.

It is not fine dining, authentic dining, but it is fun and filling dining in my opinion. I lived about a block from BDC for three years and I went there many times and never once was someone rude to me. That said, the drinks are cheap, and the food I get is always good and very, very filling. My fav's would have to be:

-Sweetbreads, they serve them mixed with chicken, mushrooms and a cream sauce in a puff pastry, really good.

-Foie Gras-some type of apple glaze, always nice.

-the obvious, French Onion Soup, so good, its always excellent there.

-RABBIT STEW, my god, that is great there, I can not understand how no one touched on that yet.

-the steak frites classic or the steak tartare, always good there!

I think Al Dente mentioned the good beer on tap as well.

So, would I travel for it, no. Is it a great neigboorhood spot to drink and have some tasty offal and cheap steak, yep!

Edited December 9, 2004 by Seand04 (log)

[raisab]

I can't believe I finally agree with the majority here. BDC sucks. The food and the service are mediocre at their best! Completely bland and forgettable food.

[John W.]

Who's up for BdC tonight?

[Mark Sommelier]

I can't believe I finally agree with the majority here. BDC sucks. The food and the service are mediocre at their best! Completely bland and forgettable food.

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Dear raisab,

You are agreeing with 4 or 5 posters here. Not the majority of posters to eGullet who have not answered this latest attack. Don't confuse that , please. I go there often. I always have a good time. Not because, as DCMark said, I'm a VIP, but because I know how to talk to people. Some people go to a restaurant to have fun. Others go to make a test. Which do you do?

[pastramionrye]

i go there for the company. and they pass the test.

[hjshorter]

Some people go to a restaurant to have fun. Others go to make a test. Which do you do?

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Some go to have a decent meal with competent service.

[DCMark]

Mark, please tell me where I said you go there becuase you are a VIP? I did not say that and do not appreciate your characterization.

This is not an attack on anyone. I said before and will again that I like the place and frequent it often. However, there is a tremendous amount of evidence (anecdotal of course) that people have been treated beyond rude there, to downright nasty.

What I did mean is that people who are in the restaurant business often receive treatment from their colleagues that others do not. So reviews from this sector need to read with that in mind.

Mark

I can't believe I finally agree with the majority here. BDC sucks. The food and the service are mediocre at their best! Completely bland and forgettable food.

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Dear raisab,

You are agreeing with 4 or 5 posters here. Not the majority of posters to eGullet who have not answered this latest attack. Don't confuse that , please. I go there often. I always have a good time. Not because, as DCMark said, I'm a VIP, but because I know how to talk to people. Some people go to a restaurant to have fun. Others go to make a test. Which do you do?

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[bbq4meanytime]

Been there 3x in the last 6 months and our experiences have been fine. Yes its loud and crowded, but hot chicks there too each time. Maybe we just got the better servers. Twice we brought our own wine so we did not have to worry about wine service. Food was fine each time.

[WoodleyGrrl]

Some people go to a restaurant to have fun. Others go to make a test. Which do you do?

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I go to be served a good meal where the waitstaff actually wants to, you know, WAIT ON ME. Not to have to fight to get a glass of wine or to have someone take my order in the first place.

Again, I love this site so so much, but I am always amazed by the defense of places that have crappy customer service by the restaurant insiders on this board. Would you all tolerate this type of service at the places that you work at?

Edit to add: I guess the problem is just me: I just "don't know how to talk to people".

[pastramionrye]

what people are saying, jennifer, is that some people go to BDC for the atmosphere...the food and service are secondary. and because of the atmosphere, they might not judge the restaurant in the same way that they would judge a place like Rays the Steaks or Citizen or even like a Guajillo. They just go to hang out and talk and whatever it is they do there....

and what Mark (slater) was commenting on is a valid point. Some people go to a place like BDC and rather than seeing it for what it is (a loud, ok food, hangout) they try to compare it to other places it just isnt.

no one is defending poor service. but when its 1 am on a saturday and you want steak frites and a nice place to sit and relax with some wine and friends it fits the bill.

[DonRocks]

Bistrot du Coin is what it is, and it isn't for everyone.

If you're looking for a quiet place to sit down and get fawned over, then stay away.

If you're looking for a convivial atmosphere where you can sit around and laugh and drink with your friends without feeling hurried or rushed, then go and enjoy yourselves.

The food is inconsistent: sometimes it's quite good (Argentine ribeye, moules sauce Poulette), often it's pretty bad, and it's almost always heavy and unhealthy.

The first time I went was a couple of years ago: there was no special treatment, no "friends with restaurant VIPs," no nothing. I went to the bar and had a couple glasses of wine and a snack, and eventually began chatting with the person next to me. Ten minutes or so into the conversation, it dawned on me that he was the owner: it was Michel Verdon. He was completely cordial and utterly without pretense (as anyone who has seen him on his microphone at 2 AM will attest to), and he even comped me my second glass of wine, simply because he was being hospitable.

I've been back many times since, both with and without people in the industry. Yes, there is lavish attention bestowed upon the late-night restaurant crowd, but this is their playground, they're regulars, and they come in here and spend real money and leave good tips - why shouldn't they be treated well? I'm sorry, but not all diners are equal in all restaurants. As an anonymous diner, I've been for lunch and dinner numerous times, and have received service ranging from annoyingly indifferent (in which case I simply pipe up and ask for my order - please refer to the possible etymology of the word "bistro"), to friendly and cordial, but never hostile or insulting.

Bistrot du Coin, for me, is a late-night watering hole. There is nothing wrong with this, and Washington DC is a better place for it existing despite it not being all things to all people.

Cheers,

Rocks.