Location: 2153 W 4th Ave, Vancouver, BC
Phone: (604) 731-5020 | Hours: http://www.bistropastis.com/
Website: http://www.bistropastis.com/
Yes, I know dine-out has passed close to a month now. But I just had time last night to upload those pictures I’ve taken a month ago. Besides the point, my girlfriend and I try to participate in this Dine Out event every year in Vancouver near the end of January. It’s really saying eating never stops, just after the Christmas and New Year parties, it’s time to eat again!
My girlfriend and I didn’t have time to go through each and every restaurant. As spots were filling up for Dine Out Vancouver, we were still vacationing in Taipei. More or less, we randomly picked one with little research to be done. Part of the research goes to my girlfriend’s sister who recommended the restaurant to us, as her and her boyfriend visits more French bistro’s than we do. And it just so turns out that it won this year’s Best $28 Menu, Bistro Pastis.
Bistro Pastis
We arrived on a Saturday evening at around 7. The restaurant was already packed!
Our table
We were almost seated immediately.
Bistro Pastis
The restaurant wasn’t that big. I could see the entire restaurant just looking down the hall. And it was pretty loud since the restaurant is in the shape of a rectangle (long and narrow). So, sound really echos when everyone starts yapping away.
Bread & Butter
The bread was not too bad, a little on the hard side. And it could have been warmer. I like my bread warm and toasty.
Squash Soup
Pate
Those were the two appetizers, not dazzling but it was alright.
Stuffed Chicken Breast
My girlfriend had the stuffed chicken breast with a reduction sauce, which I couldn’t remember on top of my head. The portions was a bit small compared to my main but the flavours was all there. We couldn’t figure out what the left cube thing beside the chicken was, it’s soft on the inside but looks deep fried on the outside.
Steak
I had the steak. I didn’t know it was going to come in strips, but it was perfect. I loved the au jus that came with it. And I absolutely loved the potato thing that accompanied the dish. Again, due to memory lost, I can’t recall what it’s called. But, they must have made it with some sort of machine to grind the potato in such thing slices. And it tasted great!
Crepe with Vanilla Ice-cream
For dessert, I had the crepe with ice-cream. The syrup that covered the crepe was a bit too sour for my tasting, but was a great combo for the sweet ice-cream and crepe. The feeling of warm crepe and cold ice-cream just blended right in.
Chocolate mousse
My girlfriend had the chocolate mousse, which was quite rich and thick. A little too rich and a little too thick. We only finished half of it.
By the time we finished our meal, there were still people waiting in line to get in. My impression of Bistro Pastis wasn’t bad, the service was prompt. They tried to get their food as fast as they could, but I still thought the food was a bit slow. The food itself was great, it was just a matter of self-preference. The ambiance was interesting, I’m not sure if I wanted the next table that close to me. I’m not sure if it’s a French thing or not, but literally the tables were like a few centimeters apart from each other. Was it worth $28? I’d think so. This is more like a fine-dining type of restaurant. So, yes.
Congrats again to Bistro Pastis for winning this year’s best $28 Menu at Dine Out Vancouver 2012.
