Le Bistrot - French Restaurant — Restaurant in City of Edinburgh

Just a stone throw away from the Royal Mile. Café-bistro is located in a grand building which houses the Institut Français Écosse. My husband and I decided to dine here for an early dinner. Upon arrival we were the first customers, and it slowly began to fill up.

We picked the caramari and scallops for starters. The caramari was coated in a light batter so the fresh caramari flavour was able to shine thru. The scallops (2) was served in a rich creamy sauce. Scallops tasted fresh.

For main we had the mussels in the cherry tomatoes and caper sauce,served with a slice of bread and fries. The mussels were very fresh and juicy, generous portion. The sauce was beautiful so much so you could lap it up like soup. Dipping your bread in was a must.

The steak was cook perfectly to my taste med rare. It was well seasoned, cooked with a slight char and still moist inside. The 'Diane' sauce was runny for my taste as i prefer it a bit thicker so I can coat my pieces of meat. It was thin and couldn't taste much apart from the hints of mushrooms. Only the seasoning of the steak saved this dish. It was also served with baby potatoes and a side of salad. Also a very generous portion, so much so we could nt manage dessert. I settled for a cappuccino. The cappuccino was strong, just how I liked it.

The service was friendly and felt no rush. I would visit here again, however.....

Menu states a discret 10% service charge for tables of 6. But we found it on our bill for 2 ppl. We were happily willing to pay this as we enjoyed our meal here. But we could have easily missed this and given more. Also staff failed to tell us the soup of the day and the specials...

I usually don’t write reviews but I came here just yesterday for a dinner by myself to celebrate. The staff, the food, and the ambience was truly so wonderful! My waitress was so kind and was more than happy to check in on me, take pictures of me for my mother, and to take time to talk to me. She was genuine and wanted nothing more than me to have a great evening.

Additionally the food was great. I loved savoring every little bit of it! I ordered the beef tartare, the filet de boeuf, the side of seasonal veggies (these were absolutely delicious) for my dinner. The meat was nice and tender and had wonderful flavor. For dessert, I was feeling incredibly indecisive and rather gluttonous…I ordered the chef’s choice special of the day a chocolate mousse, another dessert special which was an apple tarte tatin (I ordered another one after I ate the first one too…)AND their chocolate cake. I was expecting to have to take some home in a to-go box as I just wanted to try them…no, I ate them all. I have no regrets. They were such amazing desserts my stomach was larger because I wanted MORE. They were absolutely delicious!

Anyways, I had an excellent experience at Le Bistrot and I will be coming back anytime I am feeling like a homey, well...

Nice place and the staff are friendly but that's where the good points end. The food was very basic and flavourless. We had the lamb shank, which was overcooked and came with the most basic accompaniments. The mash was dull, not creamy and had no hint of mustard as on the menu. The french beans were standard with the jus adding nothing to the flavour. I'd struggle to identify anything in the jus...it'd have been no different without it. The food was served extremely quickly...on our table within 5 minutes of ordering. Quite clearly restaurants need to prep food before service but this was extreme. The lamb was dry and could not have been quality as it was so flavourless. We opted to go without dessert (something I never do) because the food and service was so poor. We asked for the bill 3 times before we got it and debated asking for the service charge to be removed...it wasn't at all deserved. Overall we spent little more than 30 minutes in the restaurant. We paid anyway just to get out and get on with our night. I would not return and wouldn't recommend as even a quick stop off if you couldn't find...