Bistro restaurants in Europe
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A
Dansing Chocola
Things get loose at this old-fashioned café, with staff grooving behind the bar or vaulting Tarzan-like up to the wrought-iron mezzanine railing to take orders from upper-level tables, while busking violinists serenade diners. Dishes - Belgian and a few international options like spicy Thai soup - are simple and incredibly filling (go for the 'small' portions unless you're ravenous), and there are sensational fries (around €3 for a bowlful). The kitchen closes at 22:00.
reviewed
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B
Maxie's Bistro
Maxie's candlelit bistro, with its cushion-lined nooks set amid stone walls and wooden beams is a pleasant enough setting for a cosy dinner, but at summer lunchtimes people queue for the outdoor tables on the terrace overlooking Victoria St. The food is dependable – Maxie's has been in the food business for more than 20 years – ranging from pastas, steaks and stir-fries to seafood platters and daily specials, and there's an excellent selection of wines.
reviewed
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C
Chartier
Chartier started life as a bouillon (soup kitchen) in 1896 and is a real gem because of its justifiably famous, 330-seat belle époque dining room. It’s no longer the deal as it once was, but for a taste of old-fashioned Paris, it’s unbeatable. Reservations are not accepted and some customers have been turned away at the last minute on busy nights – if there’s a long queue, head elsewhere.
reviewed
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D
Café 1
Café 1 is a friendly and appealing little bistro with candlelit tables amid elegant blonde-wood and wrought-iron decor. There is an international menu based on quality Scottish produce, from succulent Aberdeen Angus steaks to crisp sea bass with chilli, lime and soy sauce. Lunch and early-bird menu (two courses for £9.50) is served noon to 6.45pm weekdays, and noon to 3pm Saturday.
reviewed
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E
Au Pied de Fouet
This busy address with Bordeaux facade, tightly packed tables and devout crowd of regulars is an authentic bistro choice. Its classic dishes are astonishingly good value. Finish with a quintessential tarte tatin (upside-down apple pie), wine-soaked prunes or a simple bowl of fromage blanc (a cross between yoghurt, sour cream and cream cheese).
reviewed
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F
Nick's Warehouse
A Cathedral Quarter pioneer (opened in 1989), Nick's is an enormous red-brick and blond-wood wine bar and restaurant, buzzing with happy drinkers and diners. The seasonal menu is strong on local produce, and the wine list is intriguing.
reviewed
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G
Primrose Café
The classic Clifton cafe, as popular for coffee with the Sunday papers as for an evening meal with chums. Pavement tables are dotted around Parisian-style, while the dining room is a cosy grotto of fairy-lights, white linen and church candles. British food with a French accent. A 2-/3-course menu (£15.95/18.95) is available.
reviewed
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H
Alte Mühle
In a historic old mill on the banks of the Trave River, this rustic bistro serves fabulous Flammkuchen (Alsatian pizzas) along with steaks and seasonal specialities. There's a clutch of garden-set tables in summer. Definitely worth the detour.
reviewed
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La Table du Sommelier
Across the 11th-century Pont Vieux is this bright, friendly bistro where the food almost takes a back seat to the wines: the owner's a qualified sommelier, and he's passionately knowledgeable about local vintages.
reviewed
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Le Casier à Vin
The bottle-lined walls, ham-cutting machine, wood-slat blinds and tatty mustard façade promise great things. Indeed, this much-loved bistro is a dining staple in most 15e Parisians’ daily lives. Titillate your tastebuds with a signature assiette de dégustation (tasting platter; €12.50) of fromage (cheese) or charcuterie (cold cuts), or go for a classic like pot au feu de canard (duck stew) or tartare de bœuf (steak tartare). After the main course, sweeten your tastebuds with a bowl of riz au lait à l’ancienne (old-fashioned rice pudding) and leave in love with the place.
reviewed
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Jadis
This upmarket néo-bistro with sober Bordeaux facade and white lace curtains on the corner of a very unassuming street in the 15e is one of Paris’ most raved about (reserve in advance to avoid disappointment). Traditional French dishes pack a modern punch thanks to rising-star chef Guillaume Delage who dares to do things like braise pork cheeks in beer and use black rice instead of white. The lunch menu is extraordinary good value and the chocolate soufflé – order it at the start of your meal – is nothing other than to-die-for heavenly. From the metro station, walk south along rue de la Convention and take the first right onto rue de la Croix Nivert.
reviewed
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K
Au Petit Monsieur
We’re still out to lunch, as it were, on this new avatar of the much missed C’Amelot, but ‘At the Little Guy’ looks like it might win some hearts with starters like risotto aux deux artichaux, caviar de tomates confites (risotto with two types of artichokes with glazed tomato) and mains like millefeuille de rouget et sa ratatouillle (red mullet in flaky pastry with Mediterranean vegetable ‘stew’). The atmosphere is less staid than C’Amelot was too.
reviewed
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L
Ginger
Ginger is one of those places you could walk right past without noticing, but if you do you'll be missing out. It's a cosy and informal little bistro with an unassuming exterior, serving food that is anything but ordinary – the flame-haired owner/chef (hence the name) really knows what he's doing, sourcing top-quality Irish produce and turning out exquisite dishes such as such as scallops with crisp black pudding and chorizo butter. The lunch and pre-theatre (5pm to 6.45pm Monday to Friday) menu offers main courses for £8 to £12.
reviewed
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M
L'Agrume
Lunching at this much vaunted, pocket-sized contemporary bistro on an unknown street on the Latin Quarter’s southern fringe is magnificent value and a real gourmet experience. Watch chefs work with seasonal products in the open kitchen while you dine – at table, bar-stool seating or comptoir (counter). Evening dining is an exquisite, no-choice dégustation (tasting) melody of five courses, different every day. Snagging a table at L’Agrume – meaning ‘Citrus Fruit’ is tough; reserve several days ahead.
reviewed
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Bistroy Les Papilles
This hybrid bistro, wine cellar and épicerie with sunflower-yellow facade is one of those fabulous dining experiences that packs out the place (reserve a few days in advance to guarantee a table). Dining is at simply dressed tables wedged beneath bottle-lined walls, and fare is market-driven: each weekday cooks up a different marmite du marché (€16). But what really sets it apart is its exceptional wine list. Taste over lunch then stock your own cave (wine cellar) at Les Papilles’ cave à vin.
reviewed
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O
Kræz Night & Day
A night-time venue for live music, comedy, karaoke and lectures, this is also one for a summer’s day – outdoor tables merge with those of several other restaurants around pedestrianised Gråbrødre Plads to form a convivial mass of diners. Food is bistro-style – soup, Greek salad, burgers, Mexican platters, baked salmon etc – but served in monster portions and with tasty twists. A decadent weekend brunch includes chocolate brownies. Service can be slow.
reviewed
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Beresford
Style and fun go hand in hand at this upbeat establishment serving afternoon martinis in teapots and luring churchgoing ladies with artisanal chocolates. The food is a creative fusion of influences based on solid local produce, with Ayrshire pork, west coast oysters, and Scottish lamb often featuring. Some dishes hit real heights, and are solidly backed by a wide choice of wines, with 10 available by the glass. It stays open as a bar after the kitchen closes. Top service seals the deal.
reviewed
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Q
Firebird
A combined bar and bistro with a cheery feel, Firebird has zany artwork on its bright walls and, more importantly, quality nosh whisked under the noses of its patrons. Local flavours and Mediterranean highlights (mainly Italian and Spanish) are evident and organic produce is used wherever possible. Taste sensations range from wood-fired pizzas to a Moroccan chicken and chickpea salad.
reviewed
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R
Le Buisson Ardent
Stéphane Mauduit (gastronomy-mad chef) and his childhood, wine-mad mate, Jean-Thomas Lopez, head the team at this pocket-sized bistrot gastronomique w here a local set flocks for lunch. In true bistro fashion, tables are jammed tightly together and the cuisine is traditional with an inventive kick. Think cheese-stuffed courgette, minestrone soup with pan-fried langoustine tails or scallops with a chicory fondue and sweet pepper ‘n’ anchovy coulis.
reviewed
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S
Breizh
This warmly decorated bistro – the place could define the word – is a treat. Dishes are served with real panache, and the salads, featuring all sorts of delicious ingredients, are a feast of colour, texture and subtle flavours. The blackboard meat and fish specials offer great value and a real taste of northwest France: breakfasts, galettes (Breton buckwheat crêpes), tasty wines... If you like quality food served in an unpretentious way, you'll love it here.
reviewed
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L’Aperitif
Purgatory at dinnertime can look uncannily like Stranraer at times, so thank the powers that be for this cheerful local. It’s definitely the town’s best restaurant and is close to being its best pub too. Despite the name, dishes are more Italian than French, with great pastas alongside roasts, saltimbocca, and delicious appetisers featuring things like smoked salmon or greenlip mussels. Early dining (£13.50 for two courses) is lighter on the wallet.
reviewed
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U
Digby Chick
A modern restaurant that dishes up bistro cuisine such as haddock and chips, sesame-glazed pork belly or garlic-roasted mushroom with duck-egg salad at lunchtime, the Digby Chick metamorphoses into a candlelit gourmet restaurant in the evening, serving dishes such as grilled langoustines, seared scallops, roast lamb and steak. You can get a two-course lunch for £10 (11.30am to 2pm), and a three-course dinner for £20 (5.30pm to 6.30pm only).
reviewed
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Dansing Chocola
Things get loose at this old-fashioned café, with staff grooving behind the bar or vaulting Tarzan-like up to the wrought-iron mezzanine railing to take orders, while busking violinists serenade diners. Dishes – Belgian and a few international options like spicy Thai soup – are simple and incredibly filling (go for ‘small’ portions unless you’re ravenous), and there are sensational fries (€3 a bowlful). The kitchen closes at 10pm.
reviewed
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Brutti Ma Buoni
If you like dining in a place that has a sense of fun, Brutti delivers – it's the antithesis of some of the pretentious places around the Merchant City. With dishes such as 'ugly but good' pizza and 'angry or peaceful' prawns, Brutti's menu draws a smile for its quirkiness and its prices. The Italian and Spanish influences give rise to tapas-like servings or full-blown meals, which are imaginative, fresh and frankly delicious.
reviewed
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Plough Inn
This fine old pub, with its maze of dark wood-panelled nooks and crannies, has been offering 'beer and banter' since 1758. It serves gourmet bar lunches – how about tempura of pheasant and wild duck with sesame, ginger and Asian leaves? – and also offers fine dining in the restaurant around the back, where stone walls, low ceilings and a roaring fireplace make a cosy setting for a menu ranging from wood pigeon to rack of lamb.
reviewed
