Le Bistro Winebeast (Closed)

Item: Le Bistro Winebeast
Rating: 4
Author: clarasy

123 Reviews

Taste

Decor

Service

Hygiene

Value

11778

Wan Chai

$201-400

French Wine Fine Dining Steak House

clarasy

Level4

118

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Le Bistro just changed their Head Chef about a month ago and I went there for dinner for the first time. Previously I have been there for lunch once, about a year ago, and wasn't too impressed. This time was however a totally different experience, and I was quite impressed with most of their dishes. In addition to their regular printed menu, there were also some daily specials on the blackboard. First off, it should be mentioned that their sourdough with butter was really good. It had just the right acidity, softness and moisture on the inside, and the crust was slightly crunchy and not overly chewy. For starter we had Hokkaido scallops carpaccio with granny smith apple and shallot cream, which was quite nice and refreshing. Moving on to the next dish, we had the slow-cooked egg with truffle and girolle mushrooms, which was just SO fragrant. I especially liked the emulsion and the whole dish just felt so creamy yet not heavily at all. For middle course we had the daily fish with yellow wine sauce and butternut puree. The daily fish was sole, and honestly I had never had sole fish that had this much flavour (my previous experience with sole, even at fine-dining restaurants, was always that it was very bland), so I was naturally quite surprised. But the best part of the dish was the yellow wine sauce, which tasted great in itself and complemented the fish very well. The highly anticipated main course was pigeon and foie gras pithivier, which was one of their signatures since before Chef Léa, and one which I had always had interest in. The pastry was very nicely done, flaky and buttery, and neither too thick nor too thin. The pigeon was also cooked to a perfect medium and tasted great. The foie gras was, however, overcooked especially on the upper portion near the pastry crust. Overall the dish was a very good one, and just needs some fine-tuning. Finally, for desserts we had chocolate fondant and pear & almond tart. I wouldn't say these were very remarkable, but I did enjoy them and happily ended the meal on a sweet note.

Le Bistro is an excellent restaurant of its kind and offers much more than average bistro fare. One can feel that a lot of thought, effort and passion is put into the design and execution of each dish. Would love to come back and highly recommend to anyone who is looking for some nice French food in a laid-back setting.