Two of three recent visits were enjoyed here, where one can watch the staff inspect bottles of wine and squeeze fresh lemons for cocktails. The by-the-glass list highlights European vintages and changes as frequently as Robert’s of-the-moment spread.
Listen closely for the specials, but don’t overlook the listed options, featuring a range of French favorites. Baked Alaskan cod supplemented by Tarvin shrimp. French onion soup. Steamed mussels and veal scallopini. Harissa-spiced lamb sausage, grilled and paired with couscous.
The restaurant’s staff leaves a strong impression, each eager to give a detailed rundown of the options and converse with diners.
They’re likely to recommend the oven-baked escargot ($14 half-dozen, $28 dozen), which arrives in a bubbling hot tray, the meat freed from its shell. We pluck each morsel out of its hole with a miniature fork to find dark snails showered in chopped parsley and bits of garlic.
The aroma lures us in, even if an immediate bite might burn our mouths. We savor each sweet, garlicky piece, letting the drippings fall on slices of baguette.
The appetizer might cozy up next to Robert’s shrimp Provençal ($20), a wonderful representation of the Southern French dish. Softened, oval tomatoes balance brininess from snappy green olives and sweet local shrimp, forming a saucy compilation that, like the escargot, is best with a warm slice of bread.
Escargot out of the shell made with persillade served with bread at Ville Sainte Bistro, Thursday, March 13, 2025, in Mount Pleasant.
Andrew Whitaker/Staff
Forget the filler
Disappointments do exist at Ville Sainte Bistro. Those who just enjoyed the snails might boldly add the frog legs ($18). They glisten with possibility, the bent legs doused in a sharply seasoned golden parsley-flecked sauce. Sautéed not fried, the pale meat escapes the juicy spark the gorgeous plate portrays.
With its small kitchen and cook-to-order philosophy, a full dining room can create lags in the delivery of food. Where the escargot is lit with bold, bracing flavor, the seared duck ($44) was missing the robust richness one expects from its dark medium-rare meat during one visit. That likely had more to do with its temperature, which had cooled by the time it reached our table, than the methods used in its preparation.