10/07/09

Good, bad and ugly

by natickpal

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

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

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

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

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

02/03/07

Fantastic little place serving great bistro food- despite the location, better than its South End sister

by bostonblue07

Recently relocated to outer Brookline, B. and I decided to give the Chestnut Hill sister of one of our South End standbys a try. Not expecting much we were pleasantly surprised and now have made this one of our regular "date night" favorites. Despite being in an unappealing strip mall bookended by cellphone stores and CVS, the interior is beautiful- serene, prettily lit, and the vibe low key and less glittery then then the Tremont Street restaurant. The meal and wine was fantastic from the glasses of vintage Champagne to the well structured Bordeaux our waiter recommended. I cannot be presuaded away from the steak frites that are consistently fantastic but B., rarely more adventurous than I, has had a wider range of mains and is yet to be unhappy. The wait staff are attentive without intrusive, the proportions of the food just right... and so what if people eat a little earlier here- at 10pm on a Thursday night the place still has enough quiet buzz to feel the glow of other contented, happy couples. Highly recommended.

• Pros: Consistently excellent food, good wine list, beautiful interior, easy parking!
• Cons: None so far

12/12/06

Stylish sibling of the South End's stalwart Aquitaine makes its own mark serving excellent French cuisine to suburban families.

by Eric Grossman

The Scene
Aquitaine Bis greets diners with a fairly accurate re-creation of the original restaurant's trendy French-bistro interior: There's a rich, warm color scheme, leather banquettes, and plats du jour scrawled on giant chalkboards. But whereas stylish South-End types fill the original, Bis attracts plenty of older couples and families. Attentive, smartly-dressed servers dart to and from the attractive bar to retrieve selections from an impressive, mostly French, wine list.

The Food
Aquitaine Bis capably serves modern interpretations of classic French bistro fare with the same consistency, quality and prices found at its older sibling. Entrees include aromatic Escargots Bourguinonne served swimming in garlic butter, and hearty Filet au Poivre with cognac cream. Wise diners keep an eye out for daily specials including flavorful roast venison, served with sweet heirloom-squash puree. Sublime orange-crème caramel provides a pleasing twist among the desserts.

03/28/06

Good Food, Close to Home

by jillinboston

Good food, attentive service at this neighborhood bistro. Steak frites was tasty and large, black cod was quite good, if not as large. Chocolate pudding cake was a warm souffle, nicely done. Very expensive but a nice experience. A 2nd trip resulted in DELICIOUS gnocchi, and a fabulous warm beet salad. The onion soup was so-so, but that chocolate souffle is worth every calorie!

• Pros: locale, ambiance, service
• Cons: prices

05/14/05

Pricey but good

by bostonian71

Went here for an early dinner before a movie, and were treated extremely well. Since we were sharing everything, we expected to have to divvy things up, but the servers split the entree (excellent leg of lamb) and dessert (profiteroles with Varona chocolate sauce, yum) into separate dishes for us. TOur one complaint was that the cheese plate, which cost $12, gave us only three fairly small slivers to sample, and two out of the three were too strong for our taste. Though the prices are high, you do get your money's worth in ambience and service.

• Pros: attentive service, atmosphere
• Cons: high prices

03/03/05

Good service, passable food

by theduke37

Expect great service and decent food at the Chesnut Hill location. It is not nearly as good as the one in the South End, especially for brunch. Food here is okay, but doesn't stand out and certainly is not a great value.