Bistro des Amis

Bistro des Amis, a French restaurant, lies in the outskirts of Rice Village in a converted house. The outside structure gives visitors a feeling of home, and the small interior offers a cozy warmth like that of a living room or home dining room. Without parking space, visitors must choose $4 valet or park somewhere else off-site. The service strikes the perfect balance between attentive and respectful, as the waiters guide patrons through the menu and refill water and the bread basket when empty. Furthermore, they ask about the quality of each dish to ensure customer satisfaction. The menu, although not large, offers a nice assortment of French cuisine, ranging from Rabbit of the Day to Lamb Chops. Adding further variety, the chef's specials nearly match the number of entries on the main menu. The time of food preparation gives visitors just enough time to sample the wine menu and enjoy the intimate atmosphere. Most dishes are priced between $16 and $19 while the appetizers are priced around $7. Compared to American standards, the appetizers are extremely small and provide about two bites worth of food.

The inside, looking towards the dessert display

Ragout de Champignons

As previously mentioned, the appetizers are hilariously small. However, they compensate for their size with their taste which was nothing short of delicious.  Furthermore, the leftover sauce provided a nice dip for the bread.

House Salad

With nuts, grapes, light dressing, and fresh tomatoes, this simple starter is nothing more than a standard house salad - good, but not great.

Seafood Pasta
Unlike most seafood pasta dishes, the sauce did not dominate the flavor, allowing the shrimp and scallops to add their own tastes. Again, this dish is somewhat smaller than most pasta dishes.

Beef Mignonette

This dish included perfectly cooked Angus beef medallions in a wonderful peppercorn sauce and a juicy crumble-topped half tomato. Unfortunately, the plain potato cubes could not match the excellence of the other two items. The sauce really added life to this entree and provided the link that connected all the various flavors.

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Service (20%): Attentive, respectful, no issues                             70

Atmosphere (20%): Quaint, cozy, no parking                             75

Value (20%): $6 for 2-bite appetizers                             45

Food (40%): Nicely cooked, great sauces                             83

Overall: Definitely worth visiting                             71