Bistro Pastis

[Minko]

I'm going to Bistro Pastis next weekend for a birthday dinner and just wondered if anyone had been there lately and what they would recommend. I've never been but have heard wonderful things about it, as well as the owner.

Thanks for any input!

[jamiemaw]

Minko,

Depending on which weekend night you're going, Bistro Pastis offers several plats du jour at the bargain price of $19.50. Friday it's skate with brown butter sauce and capers; Saturday is cote de porc; Sunday is an excellent boeuf bourgignon.

There are lots of reasonably priced a la carte items as well. Favourites: steak frites with bearnaise ($19.50 and $27.50); braised lamb shank (a steal at $19.50); bouillabaisse (ditto) and grilled sablefish with a black cod brandade ($27.50). There are many other options as well, nice desserts and a budget-friendly wine list. Have a glass of pastis as an appertif.

It's one of the cosiest rooms in town, and yes, you're right, the proprietaire, John Blakeley, is a very gracious guy with a twinkle in his eye.

Be excited--you've made a good choice for your birthday celebration--let us know how it goes.

Bon chance,

Jamie Maw

Food Editor

Vancouver magazine

[Minko]

Thanks Jamie - I respect your opinion so I AM excited about going! I have checked the menu out at their website and everything looks good so I think I will have a difficult time making a decision.

Minko.

["T"]

I like Pastis. I like the room, I like the food, I like the service. Guess what ......I dig it.

Hopefully you will like it as well. Great for a weekend brunch/lunch too. Good folks serving good food........................whats not to like.

Cheers

Sorry for the odd post. Been drinkin'.

[jamiemaw]

T--Don't you think you should share where you found the beer?

["T"]

J Maw:

No beer. Wine.

Fabel Barbou Touraine AC 2002.

Liberty Wines product

Rabbit Ridge Montepiano 1999

Would post notes but having a hard enough time concentrating on spelling.

All the same, dig Pastis. The restaurant and the drink, I wish the BCLCB carried a better selection os pastis. Errrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.

[Minko]

Hey T - thanks for replying even if you were a bit wasted! I don't know why I've never been to Pastis before and I've never tasted pastis so maybe someone could enlighten me on its taste??

["T"]

Pastis has a distinct anis flavour and is best drunk mixed 1 part pastis to 4-5 parts cold but not iced water. Don't be alarmed by it's cloudy appearance once mixed. After a few glasses you will feel the same. Hazzzzzzzzzzzzy.

Cheers

[Mooshmouse]

Unless other eGulleters have visited and not posted a review, it looks like I'm the only one to have enjoyed a fine DOV dinner at Bistro Pastis. A few nights have passed since our meal and the details are somewhat blurred, yet I'm still left with more than enough happy dining memories to record them for posterity.

For pre-emptive measures, our four-top arrived 10 minutes early for our reservation and were seated promptly as our table had just cleared. Let me just say right off the bat that John Blakely and every member of his FOH staff were really workin' it on Wednesday evening! They were moving so fast that Ian could feel the draft each time a server passed by. Every table was filled, and a steady stream of customers was seated until at least 9:30-9:45 p.m. with others dining at the bar. Still, nothing but courteous professionalism from our food runner and our server, who graciously took a few moments out of his hectic pace to discuss the nuances of our possible wine pairings.

Not having had the benefit of adequately tasting alternative menu choices, I can only fairly comment on my own. For a starter, I ordered the Wild Mushroom Soup with Pistou Oil. Earthy, rich, and creamy. Wine pairing was the Tinhorn Creek Pinot Gris... certainly enough roundness and spice to be a nice accompaniment for the soup.

Though the soup was lovely, it certainly didn't hold a candle to my enormous portion of Coq au Vin served with pearl onions, mushroom fricassee and smoked bacon atop fettucine. My mouth is watering now just thinking about fishing for every last lardon at the bottom of the bowl. Wonderfully layered yet not overpowering flavour. Deliciously paired with a Cotes du Rhone Perrin.

Dessert was, all around, the weakest course of the three. The Creme Caramel lacked a fullness of flavour and seemed somewhat gelatinous, for lack of a better word. And the Mousse au Chocolat wasn't light enough. Truth be told, it was more like a pudding than a mousse. Yet I do know that desserts at Bistro Pastis on any non-DOV evening are far better than the two that we sampled that evening; hence, my willingness to overlook this small dissatisfaction in an otherwise great meal.

Grace under fire was certainly the phrase of the evening. We were all impressed with FOH and BOH performance on an extremely busy night, and it speaks volumes about the professionalism of John Blakely and crew. Bravo!

[Chef Fowke]

But did you have John Blakely recommend a Pastis...what an encylopedia of knowledge, I spent an evening with friends learning and learning and learning about absinthe!

[Mooshmouse]

But did you have John Blakely recommend a Pastis...what an encylopedia of knowledge, I spent an evening with friends learning and learning and learning about absinthe! 

←

Much as I'd love to say yes, the flavour of black licorice/anise seed is anathema to me. I get a little gagging feeling just thinking about it.

[ElizR]

This was my, and my friend's, first meal at Bistro Pastis and we had reservations for 7 pm on Friday. I had read a lot of great reviews and was thrilled to be finally going.

We arrived a few minutes late (parking problems) and were seated immediately. The decor and overall size of the restaurant reminded me of Mistral (a good thing, as I do like the latter) and the place was packed.

Service was efficient, professional and friendly without being rushed, and there was no pressure to order any extras or wine (but we did).

Anyway, first the food:

The bread was fabulous - fresh, crusty on the outside and chewy without being heavy on the inside. The butter was cold, and we were given just the right amount to satisfy a butter fiend (me).

Appetizers - My friend ordered the butter lettuce salad and pronounced it a winner: she said that it looked simple but the dressing added a nice touch of complexity.

I had the tomato and basil soup which I also enjoyed. It tasted fresh and clean, just the way I like it.

Mains - we both plumped for the coq au vin and were both impressed. The chicken was boneless, and the skin fell off easily. Sauce was complex but not overpowering, and the flavours went together well. I ordered a side of fries, and was super impressed: fresh, crunchy and hot. The mayonnaise was also great.

Dessert- my friend had the creme brulee and she thought it was a little sweet.

I had the chocolate mousse and felt it was a little over-sugared, but then it is chocolate mousse.

We also ordered half a litre of BC wine: I think it was $28 which wasn't bad. I am not a wine buff and can't even remember what is was, but it tasted fine. Total bill was $89, and I thought the $25 dinner was phenomenal value.

OK- now to the strange occurrence that happened a few minutes after we sat down!

We noticed that our table was a little unstable, and just after our waiter poured two large glasses of water the table up-ended and all the water poured over the table, into my lap, onto my purse and over the leather jacket of the man at the next table.

Apparently, a stabilizer at the had fallen off one of the table legs. I wasn't completely drenched ( but my skirt was pretty wet through) as the napkin caught some of the water, but the shock and embarrrassment factor were huge! We had to move to the next table, which was also a little unstable!!

Overall, though, we enjoyed it immensely.

[makanmakan]

thanks for the review! we're going there on friday and was eyeing pretty much what you had. hopefully they'll have fixed the tables by the time we get there!

[eatrustic]

Elizabeth, please tell me that you were seriously comped by Pastis for the damage to your person and your pride?

[eatvancouver]

Sounds excellent. I'll be going tomorrow night with a group of six, so hopefully we won't be subject to the wobbly tables.

[ElizR]

Elizabeth, please tell me that you were seriously comped by Pastis for the damage to your person and your pride?

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Hi,

Thanks for the concern - but no, I wasn't. Not a thing.

[winegeek]

Elizabeth, please tell me that you were seriously comped by Pastis for the damage to your person and your pride?

←

Hi,

Thanks for the concern - but no, I wasn't. Not a thing.

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Wow, I'm really surprised that they did nothing! Not too professional in my opinion. But I'm happy to heae that you rallied!

[kontemporary]

Elizabeth, please tell me that you were seriously comped by Pastis for the damage to your person and your pride?

←

Hi,

Thanks for the concern - but no, I wasn't. Not a thing.

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.. are you serious ?!

you seem to have taken it extremely positive though; i know that given i was in that circumstance, my review would have not been so glamourous. even though the food was great. did the man with the leather jacket not complain either?

i think that the lack of reconciliation, given accidents like these, show a bad part on the service at Bistro Pastis.

I'm glad however, that you enjoyed your meal. I have been to Bistro Pastis (not during DOV) before, and had no complaints about my last meal. Very simple, hearty french fare.

[ElizR]

Elizabeth, please tell me that you were seriously comped by Pastis for the damage to your person and your pride?

←

Hi,

Thanks for the concern - but no, I wasn't. Not a thing.

←

.. are you serious ?!

you seem to have taken it extremely positive though; i know that given i was in that circumstance, my review would have not been so glamourous. even though the food was great. did the man with the leather jacket not complain either?

i think that the lack of reconciliation, given accidents like these, show a bad part on the service at Bistro Pastis.

I'm glad however, that you enjoyed your meal. I have been to Bistro Pastis (not during DOV) before, and had no complaints about my last meal. Very simple, hearty french fare.

←

Yes, I'm serious.

In this instance I decided that if some kind of redress was freely offered then it would have been worth it to accept. If a FD establishment can't be bothered then it is a poor reflection on them.

[Mooshmouse]

Elizabeth, please tell me that you were seriously comped by Pastis for the damage to your person and your pride?

←

Thanks for the concern - but no, I wasn't. Not a thing.

←

.. are you serious ?!

you seem to have taken it extremely positive though; i know that given i was in that circumstance, my review would have not been so glamourous. even though the food was great. did the man with the leather jacket not complain either?

i think that the lack of reconciliation, given accidents like these, show a bad part on the service at Bistro Pastis.

←

Instead of rehashing this by adding another shovelful to this rather mountainous molehill, here's a link to my reply on the DOV Suggested Dining Protocols thread.

[eatvancouver]

had dinner here with some friends on Monday and the word of the night was medicore. I thought the coq au vin lacked flavor, the soup was too acidic and the shrimp cocktail was boring. I think the restaurant is probably better on non-DOV evenings as the DOV menu, even the desserts, seemed pretty dumbed down. The waiter was nice, though.

[LordBalthazar]

I suppose it really depends on what you order. The crispy sweetbreads with the apple, squash and bacon veloute is an excellent appetizer, as is the pulled lamb cheeks served on a bed of mashed potatoes and vegetables. The panfriend butterlicious Dover Sole (deboned and served at the table) is the best in town. On the other hand, the service can occasionally be...well, "brusque" would be the right word.

[makanmakan]

we had dinner there with another couple on friday night and had a great evening after a 25 minute wait for our table. it was another rainy night and there were about 11 people waiting for 3 tables in their very squishy front entrance.

once we got to our table, everything went pretty well. the service went fairly well other than having to ask for the wine menu a couple of times and longer than usual waits for visits from the server. we ordered a bottle of notta bene, sadly, they were sold out so we went for a bottle of the 2001 osoyoos larose. definitely not a let down.

i had the soup, the flat iron steak and the raspberry parfait. i liked the soup, actually. thought it had a clean, fresh flavour with a hint of smoke. the steak was very tender and had a good beefy flavour. mine was done a tad over med rare while my partner's was perfectly med rare. the desserts were a bit too sweet for me. oh, and the order of frites and oysters disappeared rather quickly before our first courses came! yum!

all in all, it was a nice evening and our server ended up being quite amusing by the end of the night. it had been years since i'd been to pastis and will go back to try the brunch menu.

no wobbly table for us, btw! although, our table setting almost bit the dust as i wiggled into my banquette seat and had the corner of the table cloth under my butt! close, but no cigar

[sheo]

Does anyone have any experience with dining at Bistro Pastis? I'm planning a special dinner....

[*Deborah*]

I used to eat there quite often, until I moved a little further away. I have had many excellent dinners there, but now that I'm living on the East Side, I tend to either stay in my neighbourhood or make a beeline for Main or Haro Street.

Please do let us know about your meal, I don't remember seeing too many reports lately!