This is a nice new French bistro and I went here with two others a good while back. The prices are a tad too high for the quality but the food was good. Prior to the meal, we were served three types of goat cheese; those being red pepper, poppy, and dill I believe which is a bit more unique than other places. They served with bread which I wish was warmer but it was still tasty and fresh and there was a good contrast with the different goat cheeses.
Drink. Acrobat: White rum, fresh squeezed lime, a dash of grenadine, fresh mint, a dash of mango purée, and green apple (14$)
All of the flavors blended together well and the rum was just strong enough to be able to be tasted without it overwhelming the fruits. While I am not that big a fan of grenadine, this was a refreshing tasty cocktail and I would recommend it.
Appetizer: Sea scallops, Cauliflower pureé, asparagus, and salmon caviar (16$.) French Onion soup (12$.)
The scallops were cooked quite well though not as sweet as some other places and the pureé paired well along with the asparagus. Perhaps the asparagus should be grilled more for texture and flavor but I'm personally someone who likes asparagus when it is slightly burnt so that's probably just me. The caviar added some light bursts of salt.
The French onion soup on the other hand was just alright. I'm happy it was $12 and not $16 like the scallops as it lacked the depth of flavor you find in other French bistros which can be seen by how light the broth was. I don't think people would mind paying more if the broth was darker and more flavored. In short, it needed a stronger base. The last person as per usual did not get an appetizer.
Mains: Le Boeuf Gourmand: Beef cheeks, truffle flavored cauliflower purée, asparagus, rosemary jus (34$.) One other person got the the Steak Frites and the other person got one of the fish dishes; I believe the Salmon Pave.
My main dish was the beef cheeks and they were very rich as expected. The beef was quite well cooked and the purée as per the appetizer was very tasty (just noticed I had this and the asparagus twice) though the rosemary jus was a bit light. There was also a tuile on top which made some from fried vegetable which added to the presentation. Overall my only complaint was that it was too rich as there wasn't really anything to help with the fat. Perhaps some type of pickled side or a salad or something would would work better than the asparagus. I tried the steak frites which was tasty and the latter person who had the onion soup prior said his dish was fine.
Desserts: San Sebastian Cake: Homemade Basque cheesecake. Chestnut & fig mousse: Coconut milk. All desserts were 9$.
The San Sebastian Cake was less rich than other places (like Grace Street) which I personally did not mind as my main was very rich. It was quite tasty overall. I found the flavor of the mousse (which happens to be vegan) to be a bit light with a unique texture. They also have an option to serve it with ice cream for 3$ extra and I think it would have been better with it as I found it was missing something.
Overall the food was good. Some dishes had a bit too many faults for the price point. I think they are trying to be fancier than what they can currently achieve which leads to some unique tasty combinations (scallops, desserts) and some that lack finesse (beef cheeks, French onion soup.) Low 4. read more