Bistro CÔ ÚT - Montréal — Restaurant in Montreal

The word "Bistro", allegedly, has come in to French language from Russian cossaks who came to Paris as a result of Napoleon's fiasco. And that word means "rapidly" or "fast". This - you cannot apply to Bistro CO UT. And this is my only beef with this place - we waited for almost an hour until our main course arrived. Now, all the rest about this place is, IMHO, very good to excellent, considering the price tag. The place is small - probably will sit 30 ppl at most, clean, comfy chairs, steady tables, spotless bathrooms, feng shui ambiance. Loved the ceiling lights enclosed in bird cages. Loved the picture on the wall I was facing while eating. They have a bar with a wide assortment of beverages. The food, to my taste, was excellent in every aspect - delicious, fresh and healthy - this combination is hard to come by. I had roasted pork with rice vermicelli and vegetables - delightful. I also had a chance to try one of their vegetable rolls - lightest, crunchiest, chewy, mouthwatering snack that came with a cup of sauce that I can only qualify as hot and spicy delight. As a result of this experience, I fell in love with Vietnamese cuisine. Service - outside of somewhat long waiting period - was impeccable. And waiting period, as I was explained by my Vietnamese friends, could be due to the fact that we've been there Tuesday night, when things are generally slow - kitchen is not fully staffed, so one cook does the whole line-up. And that cook sure knows his business well. Highly...

To start, the restaurant is nicely decorated. I love the trees, the front view and the ambiance (music) inside the restaurant. The server was nice. The menu wasn't big but that's not at all a problem with me and I spotted a few dishes that seemed intriguing.

Despite being excited to try it and wanting to love it, sadly, the food was underwhelming for me. We ordered phở bò and bò lúc lắc.

The noodles didn't seem fresh but more like they had been cooked, then refrigerated and heated up by pouring the hot soup over just before serving. Because of that, the noodles were not chewy but brittle and they broke into short pieces. The broth was meh, but the meat in the phở was great (perfect rare and had thin marbles of fat and tendon).

The bò lúc lắc was a disappointment. It was underseasoned so not much flavour (especially when paired with white rice) and a bit overcooked that the beef became chewy. I love that they served it on a sizzling plate like some places in Vietnam.

Given that the foods were more expensive than an average Vietnamese restaurant, I should expect more but I got less than the average. I hope that this was an one time off and since the restaurant could be new, they will figure out their best practices for their business 🙏 I always want to support my fellow Vietnamese and look forward to trying really good Vietnamese...

We were excited to have some lobster in the season, so we had one of their seasonal dishes of lobster. it was a poke bowl decorated with deep-fried lobster. as far as remember, it had vermicelli, lettuce, cucumber, bean sprout, etc. Taste-wise nothing particular. No special sauce or so, or the amount of sauce so little did not make any difference. The lobster pieces e deep-fried. Paid almost 50 CAD for that poor poke bowl and a soft drink. The worst thing was we were still hungry afterward so we end up getting some other snacks on mont royal street. I have not tried their other dishes. But based on what we had, rip off and possibly fake reviews. All those reviews that average at 4.9 stars simply can not be genuine. I gave 2 stars instead of 1 because the service itself was nice. apart from that tasteless & cheap dish, rip-off price. Not...