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| - A charming room, great atmosphere
I have noticed the small bistro on Osborne for many years though never found the opportunity to dine there. For a recent birthday dinner I was searching for French cuisine and narrowed my search to Sophie's and another well know eatery. Yelp reviews for both where about equal, the deciding factor for me was the preference for a smaller quiet room, that would be more similar to the small bistros one finds in Europe. I called for reservations and I was also notified that wine was half off (with 2 entries) on Wednesday.
Upon arrival the gentleman sitting at the bar came around to ask 'table for two?', no hello or welcome did you have a reservation, no problem but didn't feel terribly welcome.
Our server stopped to say hello and check on us. We did start with a bottle of wine, and then asked for two appetizers, the moules and escargot. We where then advised that the restaurant was out of moules, and the waitress suggested the pâté. The pate was about bland for our tastes, though the Dijon mustard on the side added a nice flavor, and enjoyed the crisp gherkins. Escargot where fine.
When ready to order entrees we asked our server which she recommended, the pork or beef Bourgogne, she quickly responded that she recommended the pork, and then also shared that she had never tried the beef.
The pork was well prepared, presented and very tasty, our second entree the house special Duck Cassoulet was perhaps not quite as well prepared. The duck was cooked nicely, crispy skin, didn't taste as though there was much seasoning, the beans and sausage where nicely done (not overlooked as reported by another reviewer).
We choose not to try a sweet, though I was somewhat surprised that knowing that we were celebrating a birthday, that a small something didn't appear.
Not surprising that when the check was delivered the wine was not half off as mentioned. The waitress was quite pleasant about the error, but she did need help and had to find someone that could adjust the bill.
We enjoyed our evening, though will not be in any hurry to return.
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