Contemporary Creole.
French Quarter: 733 Toulouse. 504-528-9206. Map.
Lunch and dinner Thursday-Monday (closed Tuesday-Wednesday). Saturday-Sunday brunch.
Dressy
AE DC DS MC V
Website
WHY IT'S NOTEWORTHY
In a ranking by the ratio of culinary importance to square footage, the Bistro at the Maison de Ville is the number one restaurant in New Orleans. The tiny restaurant, now under the ownership of longtime chef Greg Picolo, is a nice blending of contemporary and classic French and Creole flavors, served to a steady local clientele. It's an under-appreciated dining resource, a good one to remember when the town is full.
WHY IT'S GOOD
Few chefs think through their food as deeply as Greg Picolo does. His classical culinary knowledge is thorough, and on top of that he’s a New Orleans native. So you might hear him describe a dessert by its resemblance to a Hubig’s pie. The Bistro's food is sufficiently complex that you're never quite sure what a dish will taste or look like until it arrives, even when it sounds irresistible. On the other hand, the menu is sprinkled with simple pleasures like fresh-cut French fries and creme brulee.
BACKSTORY
The Bistro (as it's simply called by its regulars) opened in 1986, with Susan Spicer running the minuscule kitchen. She was the first of several chefs who started here and then moved on to running their own brilliant restaurants. Greg Picolo has had the longest run as chef, and made the Bistro a phenomenally pleasurable restaurant. Hurricane Katrina shut botht eh restaurant and the hotel down for a time. The Bistro returned with new owners: Mike Naimone and Chef Greg, who brought it back the way it was. In spring 2009, a fire next door shut the restaurant down for months, but it returned in the fall.
DINING ROOM
The dining room and kitchen are teeny and the tables are small. Large-format bottles of wine fill every available display space. More elbow room can be had on the small courtyard, if the weather’s tolerable for outdoor dining.
ESSENTIAL DISHES
Steamed mussels with alligator sausage and pommes frites.
Frog leg grillades.
Smoked catfish timbale, fried calamari and smoked remoulade.
Sweetbreads fritters with portobello mushrooms.
Seared foie gras with lavender pain perdu.
Pear, onion, and endive salad with Roquefort.
Fried oyster and spinach salad.
Fish specials.
Bouillabaisse.
Seared sea scallops with gnocchi milanese.
Roast chicken with andouille and Lyonnaise potatoes.
Duck cassoulet.
Venison osso buco.
Panneed lamb chops with blueberries.
Filet mignon with blue cheese fries.
Creme brulee.
FOR BEST RESULTS
The tables are too small for people of above average size. The only way to get a good table is to show up with six or eight or more people and have the tables along the banquette shoved together.
OPPORTUNITIES FOR IMPROVEMENT
The service staff lacks the verve it had during the Patrick years.
FACTORS OTHER THAN FOOD
Up to three points, positive or negative, for these characteristics. Absence of points denotes average performance in the matter.
- Dining Environment +1
- Consistency +2
- Service
- Value +1
- Attitude +1
- Wine and Bar +1
- Hipness +2
- Local Color +2
SPECIAL ATTRIBUTES
- Courtyard or deck dining
- Romantic
- Small private room
- Open Sunday lunch and dinner
- Open Monday lunch and dinner
- Historic
- Free valet parking
- Reservations honored promptly
This review was updated with new information on 11/5/2009.
A list of all 275 full, current reviews is here.