Bistro de Paris 7

Starting about 5:30, I had tried to call for 20 minutes to make a reservation. Before I finally connected, I got a busy signal when dialing every few minutes. I was able to make a reservation for that evening. I arrived shortly before 6. While seated, I observed one of the waiters walking through the restaurant with his white shirt tail hanging outside his slacks, as I might in my own bathroom, and he was tying his necktie — I repeat, while he was walking through the restaurant! Not a great impression. The service was very good, as was the cuisine. The venison entree was $42, a bit high for mid-Indiana, I think. Other entrees were a little pricey, as well. (I am used to dining out in many large cities in many parts of the country). There were white table cloths, which I appreciate. The bread was good. The iced tea was brewed, not bottled (that’s a plus). I was disappointed to see garlic mashed potatoes on the menu (for a new restaurant), as those are very tired offering, in my opinion. Overall, a positive experience, and I would go again.

I have had two opportunities to dine at Bistro de Paris recently. My first was for a solo lunch, where I tried the Fruits de Mer crepes over fried yam strings. They were perfect in every way … sweet, fresh chunks of seafood drizzled with a buttery champagne sauce, wrapped in silky crepes.

I returned a few weeks later for dinner with a group. We sampled appetizers including the crab cakes (superb flavor, but lacking a little crunch that I like), and diver sea scallops (a little over-cooked but flavorful, served with nice garlicky string beans). I ordered the poulet wellington, a boneless chicken breast with a mushroom sauce in puff pastry, served over a bed of summer vegetables. The pastry was cooked perfectly, the mushroom sauce was delicious, and the chicken had good flavor but was just a little dry. Friends enjoyed risotto, tilapia and salmon.

I look forward to future trips to Bistro de Paris, but was sad to see that crepes were not available on the dinner menu.

By the way, The Glass Chimney is now back in business, so we still have some options for French dining in Carmel!

I hope that the last comments about Bistro de Paris are not indicative of everyone. I have been looking forward to dining at the Bistro for some time. We need more restaurants which are quiet, upscale, and which offer French type fare.

My girlfriend and I visited Bistro de Paris this Friday evening, thinking it would be on the same lines as Oakley’s Bistro or the Glass Chimney (both are PHENOMENAL but Glass Chimney no longer exists). Unfortunately the experience was far below our expectations.

For starters, when we arrived around 6:00 pm, we were the only two guests in the restaurant, while they had several staff members. We figured that would only get us the best service – but that was a false assumption. My server only had two specials to announce, but couldn’t remember either of them – but they were both described as “very good.” The bread was not brought out until we were already receiving soup and salad. My girlfriend’s Seafood Bisque was subpar (lacked seafood), and my Caesar was boring (and had two Ritz crackers strangely included). No pepper was offered with the salad – sounds small, but VERY important to me when at an expensive restaurant. As for entrees, she had the Steak Filet Medallions, which were pretty good in my book. However, I believe the english translation for the Poulet Saute I ordered was “Dry, plain chicken breasts.”

They have a lot of work to do both in service and quality of product. While this experience would have been expected at Denny’s, I expect a lot more when paying $100.00 for dinner for two with no drinks.

My wife and I dined at Bistro de Paris last Friday and we found the service wonderful and the food, absolutely delicious. Both of the owners roamed the restaurant, warmly offering their assurance that they were there to please their customers. I ordered the filet and after dining at every steak house in Indy and many others across the country, I have never had a better steak. Our waitress, Kathy, was old-school friendly and very professional. Our first time will not be our last. If you are sad to see the Glass Chimney go, try the Bistro.

I found the food to be excellent, and I will definitely return in the future. Keep up the good work Kathy Jones.

Carmel’s Arts & Design District continues to expand its cosmopolitan offerings, this time in a culinary-arts format with Bistro de Paris, a cozy Main Street …

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