Bistro de Margot is named for Chef Hervé Mahé’s grandmother.  He fondly remembers the aromas and flavors of her cooking, she being a foodie before it was fashionable.  Chef had over 30 years of experience before he opened this, his own place in 2015.  The 2 room place is decorated with black and white photos taken by a Burlington long time resident and physician while he was stationed overseas during the 1950s.  Windows to the street allow a bit more light in, music is in the background and white clothes cover the generously sized tables.  Bench seating is along 2 of the walls and the tables are well spaced.  The pandemic forced them to change the menu slightly and now they offer a fixed price menu of $73 for 3 courses.  The items are priced individually if you want to order just one or two courses.  Chef Hervé Mahé did visit the dining room after diners were served, to visit with his guests.  It’s not Paris but a really fun and real French meal in a little place like Burlington.

Set-up

 

Food

Bread and butter were slices of bread from a larger loaf served with a softened butter.  The bread had a good texture with large air pockets and a crisp crust.  It was easy to eat too much of this.

 

The amuse bouche was cannellini beans that had been smoked, chilled and mixed with basil oil and tomatoes.  They had a wonderful texture and a great amount of flavor.

 

Tartare de Thon Rouge, Sauce Safran, Chips de Légumes, Herbettes du Jardin means Ahi tuna tartar, saffron sauce, vegetable chips and micro greens.  It was a good sized portion of raw tuna under some micro greens and sitting in a tasty saffron sauce.  The vegetable chips scattered around the plate added fun texture as did those greens on top.  It looked darker in the room’s lighting than I would have expected but with a quick inspection by that dreaded flashlight you could see the color was nicely pink.  Darker lighting is nice for ambiance but hell on food coloring.  Thank goodness for improved darkness photography but that doesn’t always work.  At any rate it was a good dish.

 

Filet de Loup de Mer Poêlé, La Ratte ad Poireaux au Beurre, Sauce Légere au Persil, Truffe Noire d’Alba translates to Pan seared “Bronzino” filet, buttered La Ratte potatoes and leek, light parsley cream sauce, and Alba black truffle shavings.  The fish was kept perfectly moist in the cooking process and wonderful with the foamy parsley sauce.  The truffles added more color and effect than flavor.  La Ratte potatoes refers to a type of potato rather than preparation.  They are a small potato with nutty, buttery flavor that are grown in France.  They were perfectly cooked and creamy.   The leeks were a star on the plate – really excellent.  Another fine dish that was very well executed.

 

Paris-Brest Revisité is Revisited classic French pastry, that was created in 1910 in honor of the Paris-Brest bicycle race, with Chou pastry and pistachio cream.  This was a large portion and very tasty.  Not overly sweet but it was incredibly creamy and had a richness of flavor.  Chunks of pistachio gave more texture and added to the wonderful taste of pistachio.  A fine ending for a good meal.

 

Last treats were a plate of small meringues.  They were sweet, light, airy and crisp.  I detected a hint of orange which added to the fun flavor.  Very good.