Mistral — Restaurant in Princeton

In a review I gave 2 years ago, I rated Mistral 5 stars, because of the interesting cuisine on offer and the general feeling of an attempt at something new in Princeton extending beyond the Terra Momo syndicate. Princeton had been for YEARS a restaurant backwater--the only bright light being Nassau Seafood. Agricola was new, too, at that time, and Mistral seemed strides ahead in terms of sophisticated flavors at a less precious price-point than Elements. Even then, however, the concept was spotty--I expected the restaurant's identity just needed some time to unfold. I think that the bigger picture has either never been an objective for Mistral, or else it has been lost. Sadly, I update my earlier glowing review:

Update 6/30/18: Since my first review we've been to Mistral numerous times, and it's generally been good, though sometimes hit-and-miss. Tonight was 90% miss. (I should add before I discuss the restaurant that the bar is consistently great--attentive thoughtful staff while remaining laid-back. If I could give the bar alone a review, it would be 5 stars).

Mistral restaurant has a problem with its serving staff, and I think it stems from confusion about what the managers intend a dining experience to be here--which is, if our experience tonight is anything to go by, hurried and unmemorable. The first unappealing indication that Mistral had changed since our last visit (some months ago, we've been abroad) was a message on the bottom of the menu telling diners to be mindful of the next reservation (something along those lines). Basically it reads to customers as "hurry up--we've got others coming along to fill your seats." This obnoxious sentiment predictably infects the entire experience. The dishes here, in my experience, have varied on a spectrum of ho-hum to sublime--the problem is, the servers are so quick to bring new plates and take away what they consider "finished," you have no time to linger over an especially pleasing dish. They ask you if you're finished as their hand is already on the plate; if there's just a tiny bit left of something delicious it feels silly to keep it when they're holding one or two or three other plates they want to put in front of you. It's annoying, and I honestly don't get the idea. They're not serving tapas, but they behave as if they are--the difference is, tapas don't generally cost $16 per 2-person serving. There seems to be no cognizance at Mistral that people come to dine to relax, to chat, to savor the dishes put before them. The speed with which they are presented and whisked away diminishes the quality of whatever has been prepared, bordering on the disrespectful. I hope the management sits down and decides what it's hoping to do with this restaurant. If it's all about quick turnover, why not focus less on quality food and make it a fast food joint? The burrata was gorgeous, the beetroot salad was bland. The chicken wontons were delicious, the duck ramen okay. Vodka greyhounds tasted like watery punch, and all the plates were cleared away before we had finished our glasses of wine. As inventive as Mistral can sometimes be with food, which makes it an attraction, the experience they provide (or more accurately, don't) was enough to cross it off our list. If they decide to put more thought into what a dining experience should be, we...

Sometimes first impressions are deceiving. The name of Mistral evokes a French flavored Southern European cuisine but the menu is anything but, much to its detriment. The menu sets high expectations by dropping James Beard recognition, and an overarching philosophy and first impressions were promising. The house champagne was surprisingly creamy, fresh and had the best side of grape must in its nose.

Dishes were listed as "made to share" so we ordered a few small plates and a couple larger ones. We started with Smoked Fish Gougeres, the Fried Beggars Purse and the Argentinian Prawns.

The Beggars Purse was really lovely, with a nice medium strength Taleggio cheese inside providing a lovely cheesy flavor, and the Gougeres were very tasty although a bit awkwardly filled making eating the puffs a little on the messy side.

The Prawns were where things fell apart. They were on the wrong side of fresh and kinda fell apart. The playing was not attractive and the shrimp did not taste good at all. There were only three or four prawn in the dish and we did not finish them. Also if you're going to serve the prawn in pieces rather than whole, shell the shrimp.

Things did not get better with the main dishes. The Bavette steak had good flavor but the vegetables look so overcooked it was hard to tell which were the parsnips and which were the mushrooms that were not listed as being in the dish. The Potato Pavee probably had good flavor before it completely dried out and felt as if it sat under a heat lamp and solidified into a somewhat firm brick of everything I don't like about an overcooked baked potato. The steak was great but the gremalata on top overpowered the meat and didn't add anything to the dish.

The scallop was also a disappointment. The accompanying squid ink risotto was unattractive and had less texture and structure than a bowl of oatmeal. The flavor was ok, but the mouth feel made the dish unappetizing. The accompanying leeks were flavorless and resembled onion skins rather than something you'd actually eat.

The flavors are there. The standard of the ingredients and execution wasn't. Service was alright and our waitstaff was nice enough. I'd like to think that for an $80pp dinner, the food would be better cooked and plated. I haven't been to Mistral in several years, and it will likely be several more before...

Love, love, love! Had an amazing time from the moment we walked in until the moment we left! We had the Deviled Eggs, Szechuan Wings, and Housemade Kimchi for our first course. The wings were crispy and packed with so much flavor and the kimchi had a nice kick to it while not too overbearing. I thought the eggs were good and I can appreciate the flavor profile to them but for my personal preference they weren't my favorite but my boyfriend loved them! For a second course we ordered the Himachi and Beef Tartare and then the Kitchen sent us the Mussel Escabeche! I think my favorite of the 3 were the Mussels so I was very pleasantly surprised when tried them! Everything on this course was phenomenal! A special shout out to the Kitchen Staff for sending us the extra plate! Thank you so much! Our Entree Course we had to get 3... I couldn't decide on the Pan Mee Ramen or Scallops sooo I got them both and then we also ordered to Bavette Steak. The Ramen came out first, the Broth was delicious and the sausage wasn't dry and the vegetables were crisp, then the Scallops came out... that was my favorite... they were cooked perfectly and the dish was seasoned to perfection. The flavors and textures with the scallop combination was perfect. My boyfriend had 1 scallop and then the rest was mine! Haha when the Steak came out it was cooked perfectly. We ordered Med/Rare but it was more Rare which is my kind of Steak! I'm not a big steak eater but this was I didn't want to stop eating. Tender and Juicy and packed with Flavor with the Sauce and the Seared mushroom. For desert I just asked for the Raspberry Sorbet. We ate so much but I needed a little sweetness after everything. Raspberry is my favorite flavor and this sorbet didn't disappoint! All of the waitstaff were very attentive and friendly and kept up with all my napkin requests lol the kitchen did an amazing job and made sure we had a nice pace. All in all I give 5 stars and I will always recommend eating here. The atmosphere is warm and inviting and I love the open kitchen, all the staff are polite and pleasant and are always there if you need them and the food and drinks do not disappoint! I'm already looking forward to our next time dining here! We love to eat clearly so we'll be back on the next full menu change! Thank you all again so so much for a...