Yet Another Must-try Gastronomic Destination on Vienna’s Church Street
Le Bistro is yet another excellent culinary find on Church Street in Vienna owned by Nancy Sabbagh with her husband, renowned Executive Chef Roberto Donna of Roberto’s Ristorante Italiano just across the street and down a few blocks. Le Bistro’s Chef Steve Scott has been working with Roberto since 1989 at Galileo, Laboratorio di Galileo I Matti, Bebo, Al Dente, and Radicchio. He attended culinary school in Bologna and also cooked in fine establishments outside of Torino.
Upon arriving at Le Bistro, you will encounter a clean white building which welcomes you in to a warm, cozy interior. Just inside, you will be greeted by a wall of art deco framed posters to set the mood of the bustling, lively scene before you. The space manages to combine a feeling of intimacy with camaraderie. Those that run the restaurant, including the affable and charming maître d’ Fulop Kosz, make you feel right at home among the stylish decor.
Once comfortably seated, start off with an exquisitely smooth Paté de Campagne, with pork, duck confit, and chicken liver, served with cornichons, frisée salad, nicely complemented by a sharp Dijon as well as a rustic whole grain mustard accompanied with sliced French baguette. Next up, go for the chef’s seasonal velvety Butternut squash Granny Smith apple celeriac purée soup with a black truffle crème fraîche topped with fried spinach on top. Before the main course, it’s always nice to have a fresh salad, in this case, Salade Lyonnaise with frisée, poached egg, lusciously flavorful smoked bacon lardons, croutons, and house vinaigrette, just as one would expect at an authentic French bistro.
With the usual suspect selections such as Onion Soup Gratin with dry sherry, French baguette, gruyère cheese, and fresh lemon thyme sauce; Filet of Trout Almandine with white wine lemon thyme sauce, almonds, capers, currents, and pomme purée; and Bouillabaisse of Cod with shrimp, mussels, pomme purée, and rouille croutons, you soon start to wonder which arrondissement you’re in.
From the sea, the tender halibut in a delicate champagne citrus beurre blanc over sautéed spinach is a light and flavorful selection. And the savory traditional boeuf bourguignon, a red wine and garlic beef stew, with sautéed vegetables, fingerling potatoes, mushrooms, and lardons is tender and succulent. No knife necessary.
The sparkling water served here is San Benedetto. There is a variety of interesting choices for cocktails, and the restaurant offers an impressive wine list, including varietals from France, California, Oregon, New Zealand, Australia, Argentina, and Spain.
Desserts to look out for are the crème brûlée, cleverly crafted with just the perfect ratio of an impossibly crispy, crunchy circumference of a top layer over a shallow several-centimeter creamy base – placing it as the best I’ve ever had – and the artistically presented French country-style Tarte de Pommes à la Mode with thinly sliced layered apples and a real French crust, twisted at the edges.
After such a sublime and sumptuous repast, when it’s finally time to bid adieu to Le Bistro and your convivial evening in France – to where you have unwittingly been magically transported – though you might expect to step out onto centuries-old French cobblestones, it’s always nice to take an after-dinner stroll down the picturesque and quaint Church Street with its own lovely brick sidewalks. The spell might be temporarily broken, but Vienna’s own Church Street, which is quickly becoming a gastronomic destination to go out of your way for, lucky for us, is not far away. So just blink, and you’re back in Paris.
Photos credit: Allison Chase Sutherland
Le Bistro
111 Church Street NW, Suite 101
Vienna, VA 22180
www.lebistrova.com
Tuesday-Saturday: 5:00-9:00 p.m.
Sunday: 5:00-8:30 p.m.
Brunch: Sunday 11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m.
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