more "meh", less "wow" .... i regret to say, in spite of the rather promising reviews that drew us in, i was underwhelmed by the place. the clothed tables we saw on their website? that section was closed off for saturday lunch. we were seated in the "lounge" area, at tables near the bar, more in common with a diner than a chic belgian bistro. the loud music bounced around all the hard surfaces and dulled our conversation. the ambiance disappointed.
we shared an appetizing fondue made with champagne, gouda and gruyere cheeses, served with sliced green apples, grapes and chunks of french bread. the bread had dried out too much by the time it was served to us, but i'll still rate the fondue as very good.
i followed with a medium rare burger topped with a foie gras sauce including truffled mushrooms. the burger came out almost bleeding rare, which i used to like in the days when ground beef was safer. i kept it, hoping/trusting they ground their own beef. the large patty was moist and tasty, but the rich sauce could easily have been poured from a can of campbell's cream of mushroom soup and the sweetish bun was at odds with the rest of the flavours. the fries compare with those from burger king. at $21 for the burger you'd expect they'd get the "doneness" right, the sauce somewhat special, the fries better than fast-food quality -- leaving you with a sense of wanting an encore.
my wife and her friend had the chicken salad -- neither complimented the food.
we shared a large bottle of still water. i had a draft house pilsener which was excellent. with a fair gratuity the bill topped $105. not inexpensive for lunch, but all too expensive for a mostly unremarkable meal. except for the fondue and the beer we could not have done a whole lot worse at the rooseveld field mall'sfoodcourt at a quarter of the price.
as we left we noticed that most tables were enjoying pots of mussels, so i think this is probably the thing this bistro does best. i'll be sure to try that next -- if we come here again.
service is prompt and attentive. there's more parking in the lot out back of the restaurant, just drive around the block.