Bouchon Bistro — Restaurant in Yountville

YMMV...Made reservations for my mother's 82 birthday. Arrived half an hour early and was told to wait another thirty minutes. The place wasn't full. Was not offered to sit at the bar? Got our table at 3pm, and then sat and waited. Menu is printed "small print on brown paper so no contrast" hard to read? bread was brought to the table and butter. Water, and the server asked if we wanted to see the wine menu, we don't drink wine and when if offered wine by the glass and we declined he was visuably dissapointed. He then walked away. When he came back my mother said she would like a single malt scotch. The server never asked about drinks. He went off to somewhere and ten minutes later he reappeared and mom had to remind him of the scotch. I ordered the deviled eggs, charcuterie board and the steak frites and mom ordered the gnocchi. The deviled eggs were nothing special, and the charcuterie board was ok. But there was no crostinis with it. Just more baguette? The pate was the best but the pickled vegetables were watery, bland and mostly carrots. The other sliced meats were nothing special. The table was too crowded for the more bread and the board. For $32 there should have been a different bread like they did in the past. Finally the table was cleared and we waited, and we waited and waited. The moment I mentioned that it was taking quite a while they dropped our entres. My steak was cooked rare-medium rare but rested too long, and that cut of steak needs medium to be its best. When asked what temperature I wanted I said the kitchen could cook it the way it should be cooked. The truffle fries tasted like old truffle pieces had been ground up to make the truffle oil. Moms gnocchi was bland and pre cooked. We ate half and then had the rest to take home. The food litterally had the feeling that it was made twenty minutes before and sat. We then both ordered the cream brulle and it did not dissapoint the overall experience as the custard was runny and undercooked and lacked salt.

$203 I tipped $40. So $243 total. Kinda feel grifted by the experience.

Very under whelmed, not to mention my chair was kicked five times by staff as they walked by. I think a younger clientele with less experience would accept this mediocre as good but I don't. Service was slow, rude and middling. Food was pre cooked pre set and not great. Venue was cramped loud and the staff "I counted fifteen people at once" were tipped $40 and the server touched the table five times? And never was attentive. But surely let us feel the dissapointment that we were not going to buy wine.

So YMMV, be aware...

We dined here on Saturday 08/24/2024. We were originally seated in the dining room. The seating is tight and I was fully prepared for the close quarters (food review and summary is after the weird experience).

What I was NOT prepared for was the BEYOND rude patron at this adjacent table. His bag was in our seat and the host kindly offered to store the bag. The guest almost refused but then relented. A second later the guest's body odor hit my nose and his smacking whilst eating drove myself and my friend batty. I asked to be seated elsewhere. As we got up the patron BAKRED at the host, "I can have my bag back now". Oh dear. The host was lovely and he sat us in the bar area. Not our first choice but our server made up for the change in scenery. Sir, if you are reading this, YOU SUCK. Take a shower, chew with your mouth closed, and learn to be kind to people. Host, you are amazing for how composed you were. The whole thing made me very uncomfortable but I suppose that is from my own service industry trauma (::sigh::).

The bar area was brighter and as it turned out, offered a bit more personal space. We were seated by the patio door at a two top table set over to the side. There was more activity due it being the access point out to the patio for staff but that did not bother us in the least (no BO or smacking were a plus! Yay!).

I ordered the steak frites. The butter and shallots atop the steak were tasty! My steak however had a large string of fat throughout. It happens with steak and they offered to remake the dish. There was no need as I ate around the fat and I would not have been able to eat a new steak. My friend offered me some of her steak. The truffle fries were crispy and hot. The server was accommodating, kind, and was the best part of the experience.

The food was above average but I was not blown away. I am a bit spoiled with some wonderful restaurants where I reside. Bouchon is worth the trip for the Thomas Keller experience (which we felt through the staff). Overall, 3.5 stars from me due to the food. The staff gets 5 stars from me. Our server, the host, the other staff...

Given the 4 Stars… I guess I’ll start with the negatives. There were a few subtle marks given to this restaurant but I would like to say overall I loved it and had a good experience. For starters, I’m not sure if it’s a thing or not but they had the bread come out and just sat it on the table. Makes me wonder if this is a thing of the establishment, why would they come later and give plates for it. The second mark was given do to cleanliness and presentation. The server did not come by to sweep and maintain the tables cleanliness in regards to crumbs and other food debris. Upon request he was ready to and did I might add. The third mark goes to the taste of certain items. For my wife’s birthday dinner, she ordered the Idaho Trout, spinach and muscles. Her review was that it was bland and she expected more of a brined lemony flavor accompanying the “caper sauce” (There’s no capers in it).

Now as for me and my dishes, I thought they were great! I ordered the Bouchon Ribeye and I have positive memories of it. It had a really nice flavorful sear for introduction. Once you were passed that, the meat itself was cooked to perfection. I ordered Medium and that seemed to be the perfect temperature because it was really good. As you will notice in the picture, a very nice addition to the steak would be the caviar. The steak topped with the Caviar and sauce was unmatched. I thought her order of fish was good as well, it was a beautiful cut fillet and looked appetizing. The taste was light and exuded flavors of freshness and herb. The spinach was buttering and had a nice crunch to it. I love that! The deviled eggs were superb. A lot of restaurants get caught up in decadence, and it ends up being the downfall of the dish because it lacks the “wow” taste. Not bouchon, theirs delivers. Overall, I would definitely go back. This was for me a good introduction to Chef Thomas Keller‘s establishments. I can’t wait to try the French laundry. It’s on my bucket list to dine...