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Le Bistro
Categories: Restaurants Belgian Restaurants French Belgian, French [Edit]
224 Esplanade WNorth Vancouver, BC V7M 3H8
Neighbourhood: Lower Lonsdale
(604) 924-4913
- Hours:
Tue 4 pm - 10 pm
Wed-Thu 11:30 am - 10 pm
Fri-Sat 11:30 am - 11 pm
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Garage, Street, Private Lot
- Attire:
- Dressy
- Price Range:
-
$$$
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Delivery:
- No
- Take Away:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- Yes
- Wi-Fi:
- Free
- Good For:
- Dinner
- Alcohol:
- Full Bar
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
- Dogs Allowed:
- No
8 reviews for Le Bistro
8 reviews in English
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Review from Chris D.
North Vancouver, BC
11/13/2009
The Bistro Chez Michel offers a broad menu of authentic French fare at reasonable prices, both at lunch and dinner. It's a great place to entertain clients at lunch, and is often full of business men and women at that time. In summer, it's one of the best patios around, with a view through the park over the harbour. In the evening, it's a nice mix of family dinners and romantic dining: the lighting and layout creates sufficient intimacy for each situation.
On December weekends this is a Christmas Party favourite, so can have a fairly noisy crowd. Most othertimes it's perfect for a quiet evening, the exception being "live music nights" like Bastille Day etc, so you may like to call ahead to see what's happening.
In terms of food, without doubt the Bouillabaisse is the draw for me! There's a wide variety of other options (you'll find steak, Duck, Salmon, Paella, Chicken and Pasta), but when the Bouillabaisse is this good why order anything else unless you're going to eat here on a regular basis? There are both daily specials (Quiche, Omelettes, and so on) and seasonal specials (Cassoulet!) to complement the menu as well.
I would disagree with those who have described the food as "Belgian", whatever that may be, although at certain times of year they do a Belgian Beer Festival and most of the year they have Moules Frites. The Bistro has a good selection of both whisky and beer, but the wine list favours the new world and has only a small selection of French wine, presumably catering to the local tastes. I normally would dock them a star for that, but the service is usually exceptional, and that makes up for it to me.
For dessert, although it's rarely on the menu, they'll generally make up a cheese plate if you ask. -
Review from M B.
11/1/2011
This restaurant is very reasonably priced for such high grade french food! My husband and I had escargots and steak tartare for appetizers and filet de porc and paella for entrees. Steak tartare was actually an entree menu, but our server talked to the chef to make it for an appetizer, which turned out to be my favorite dish for the night. Service was great - very attentive and flowy, and atmosphere was nice. I don't understand why this place doesn't get awarded with more stars by yelpers.
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Review from Grant T.
North Vancouver, BC
Updated - 6/2/2009 ROTD 9/3/2009
Aaand they're back ... on my list that is. Wanted a late afternoon dinner on a patio with a view and so decided to give Le Bistro a go. I hadn't been here in a while (see previous review) and was a little hesitant.
I am hesitant no more! Service is once again top notch - attentive but not intrusive with the extras that separate the five stars from the rest. The food has returned to its previous excellence. My duck confit was perfectly done as was my friend's meal.
The only downside is that now I have two outstanding french restaurants within a five minute drive ... decisions, decisions.Listed in: Top Restaurants
1 Previous Review: Show all »
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4/24/2009
A few years back, this was my favorite place in North Vancouver. However, the off nights got more… Read more »
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Review from Christine R.
New Westminster, BC
11/6/2008
I have only been to this restaurant for parties and such, but it's one of those restaurants I keep meaning to get back to again to try the regular menu. The Bistro is long-established on the North Shore, and it has a beautiful view of Burrard Inlet, Stanley Park, and the city through banks of second-floor windows.
I came here last year for the company Christmas party, and I was really impressed with it's capacity to host such a large group for drinks, dinner and dancing, as well as the general yum factor of the buffet.
This would be a great place for a leisurely lunch or romantic dinner.Listed in: North Shore Eats
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Review from nick b.
Vancouver, BC
5/7/2009
Went here for a family dinner of 8 on the night of a Canucks playoff game last weekend. While I'm a big 'nucks fan, we weren't here to watch the game. The back half of the restaurant was quite noisy as they were watching the game on a large projector facing the rear of the room. We were told the game wouldn't interfere with our meal, but it definitely did. It didn't bother me so much, but the others at dinner weren't so appreciative. In any case, the Canucks lost... doh.
The food was so-so... very hit-or-miss. My dad and cousin both ordered mussels, which should typically be pretty easy to cook (as I understand it -- I don't eat seafood.) My cousin had most of his mussels, although they were overcooked, but my dad's were mostly empty shells with a couple sitting at the bottom of his bowl. He wasn't exactly happy about it but the kitchen didn't offer to give him a replacement meal, just a minor discount from our bill. He also ordered a latte that ended up having barely any coffee in it to speak of.
My meal, however, was pretty decent, if unspectacular. Passable fare, but definitely not worth their relatively high prices for entrées. Seemed to me like their simpler meal offerings were done a lot better than anything complex or seafood-y.
I'd stick with pasta or something else relatively easy to get away with overcooking if you're planning on visiting Chez Michel anytime soon. I wasn't overly impressed.
The only redeeming factor in my eyes was that they had pretty reasonably priced ($7.50) bottles of Gulden Draak on their beer list. Good Belgian beer made up for pretty mediocre food, to a certain extent.
A big "meh" overall. Don't think we'll be going back here. -
Review from Gagan D.
Vancouver, BC
5/7/2009
For the sake of transparency, I am the cousin in Nick B.'s review.
Yup, the mussels were over-cooked and that should be a super easy dish to make. And very over-priced especially as they were in season at the time of the meal.
All in all, the restaurant has not been to capitalize on their location (great views of the downtown Vancouver sky-line, but dated interior design) and leaves much to be desired in their culinary prowess. -
Review from Tony D.
Chilliwack, BC
6/20/2010
Was there with a large group - good food, just the service was a bit slow - on a slow night too.. but handling large groups can be tough... I'd like to try it again in a smaller group.
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Review from Janice M.
Vancouver, BC
5/3/2011
This restaurant isn't really sure what it wants to be - fine dining or a place to watch the game, and the ambiance shows this.
Service was not great; they didn't really appear to know much about the food; ie what seafood was local etc. Also, they were just plain cold and unfriendly.
I daringly started with escargots, which were passable, but not as flavourful as some I've had. They had a nice selection of vegetarian dishes, which made my dining companions happy. I should have gone that route, but instead picked the chicken penne, which was served cold and seemed like something you would get out of a microwave dinner. The sauce had even semi-congealed on top. Not impressive, to say the least. Drinks were decent, with a good selection of wine.
While two stars might seem harsh, the combination of several dishes that were quite bad, poor service and high prices made for a very unsatisfactory evening. Not recommended.
