Aquitaine Bis

10/07/09

Good, bad and ugly

by natickpal at Citysearch

We have enjoyed many good meals in Chestnut Hill and decided to give the new Dedham location a try. Big mistake! From the time we were brought dried out garlic and bread - which was replaced after we mentioned it to our waitress - with burned garlic - which was replaced again with cold garlic from a jar by the manager. The waitress was new - knew little. The cheese plate was a joke, unappetizing, odd portions, the accompany croutons were poorly prepared over fried, just lousy - that was bad. The beef special was chewy and drew a complaint from one of my guest - that was an ugly dish - I tried it. Thus the question - is the whole Bis chain going to suffer during their expansion - or is Dedham an anomaly that may someday improve?

• Pros: Chestnut Hill was good - but Dedham Bis is ugly dinner
• Cons: Stay away from the Bis in Dedham!

12/31/07

Tre magnifique!

by dandbear at Citysearch

Stylish decor, well balanced menu, excellent cocktails, great wine selection and a helpful and friendly staff make this place sing. The little sister restaurant to the South End eatery you just can not go wrong here. They do not have a salon prive but managed to block off enough of the restaurant so that I was able to host a suprise 70th birthday party for a dear friend with 50 attendees. Au dela de vos reves les plus sauvages !

• Pros: All regions represented on the menu. Service A+

10/15/07

overpriced, overcooked

by louisbclark at Citysearch

they featured a rib-eye steak the night we went (or was it prime rib as the sign near the entrance claimed. what I got was a 1/4 inch thick pancake of a steak overdone to a crisp (who could possibly want it cooked like that? (I ordered "rare"). they did offer to cook another, but that would only have made my dinner everyone else's dessert. for contrast at Morton's when something similar happened (they claimed no one had ever complained about a steak being overdone) Morton's wouldn't let me keep the overcooked meat, they insisted on cooking it correctly (which they did to perfection)

• Pros: I liked our waitress
• Cons: it's in a strip mall

08/16/07

Fantansic

by star_fish at Citysearch

A cozy, classic bistro down to the last detail, and you don't even have to drive all the way into the city or pay for parking. I've been looking for a place like this since I moved here a year ago. The menu has all the French bistro favorites like steak frites, steak au poive, chicken livers, frisee salad with lardons and poached egg, onion soup... and the portions are just right. Prices are definitely fair for the food, the quality, and the neighborhood. I like that the waitstaff is down-to-earth and genuinely nice - not standoffish like in more fine-dining places, nor are they sit-in-your-lap friendly like at your family-friendly chain restaurant. In all, they've created a great atmosphere with a menu and quality to match. Well done!

• Pros: Food, Quality, Waitstaff, FREE Parking, Ambience
• Cons: None

03/09/07

Charming, Great Food!

by soflainboston at Citysearch

I am not an expert on French Cuisine and I must admit, Aquitaine was actually a lot fancier than I was expecting when I walked in. I had an urge to go somewhere more familiar upon walking in, but I am so glad that I stayed.

The menu was daunting, and my friend and I had no clue as to what to order...but Rick, the general manager, came over and made us feel very comfortable and walked us through the menu, answered our questions and recommended a few dishes. After a slight mixup with the type of steaks we ordered, he eased any ill-will immediately by sending over two appetizers which we would have never chosen for ourselves, and they were delicious.

Our steaks were amazing, the appetizers (mushroom tart, beet salad, cheese plate) were fantastic- and we, unfortunately, did not have room for dessert. I was thoroughly impressed with the service and ambiance of the restaurant. It would have been totally possible to go in as amateurs and order the wrong thing (because we had no experience with this type of food) and consequently feel like it was expensive for no reason, BUT that is exactly the opposite of what happened.

I will definitely return. The service was great, the food was very satisfying and well made, worth the price. I highly recommend Aquitaine.

• Pros: parking available, SERVICE, great food, small and intimate
• Cons: a little pricey