Pastis Bistro Francais: Why did we bother?

Shop Info:

Pastis Bistro Francais

G/F, 65 Wyndham Street, Central

4 August 2012, Lunch

$360 per head

A year or so ago, Locust Tunghok and I first tried this place for lunch.  Back then, we were here for the pint of Kronenbourg and discovered its exquisite Boeuf Bourguignonne and its most delicious bangers and mash.  No, that's not its French name but that's what I like to call it.  Back then the sausage was house made and juicy, the caramelised onion soft and sweet and the mash silky smooth.  We also decided that we will return to try its steak tartare, among other items.

So when I saw advertisement on HKEJ saying this shops is "for let" yesterday, we panicked and decided to come here for lunch immediately.

THE ENVIRONMENT

Located at the turn of Wyndham street, Pastis is small.  The high tables seat approximately 20 excluding the bar and two of the table faces the busy Wyndham Street directly - perfect for the Parisian pastime of people watching and being watched with a pint in your hand, but not so perfect if you intend to have a quiet meal, or if you are concerned with the possibility of getting pneumoconiosis.  Wyndham Street is busy.

That aside, the environment is actually quite cozy and is perfect for spending an afternoon sipping beer / coffee and relaxing.

THE SERVICE

It's easy to be intimidated by the manager / owner and the staff at Pastis, especially if you're Chinese and not used to the French arrogance.  No, perhaps arrogance is not a good description.  The manager and the staff are actually very friendly once you start chatting with them, but they do have this typically French coldness that one might feel difficult to break through.  Worry not.  Talk to them, ask them about the dishes, even ask them to teach you how to read those French names.  Once they start talking they're very friendly and welcoming!

THE FOOD

Unfortunately, the food we had this time was nowhere near as good as those we had a year or so ago.  The manager suggested an off-menu frog legs in place of the escargots we originally wanted, and with that we also had a small sized steak tartare, "bangers and mash" i.e. pork sausages with mashed potato and French lentils, and confit de canard.  Before those, however, I found it disappointing that they only have Stella draught now… no more Kronenbourg… 

Off menu frog legs ($108)

The Frog legs were only mediocre.  As I was busy consuming the steak tartare I only briefly sampled these.  As Locust Tunghok may agree, they were really quite oily.  There was a small swimming pool of oil at the bottom of the plate when we were half way through the dish and the greens on the side ended up being used to mop up the oil.

Steak Tartare coupé au Couteau

Traditional Steak Tartare Served w/ Frites or Green Salad ($108 / $188)

The "or" in the name of the dish was probably misplaced - as we were given both Frites AND greens.  Some may find the seasoning of the steak tartare to be too light, but I found it just right and more subtle than the one at e.g. Bouchon.  Slightly heavy on the salt though…

Saucisses de Toulouse

Pork Sausages served w/ Mashed Potato & French Lentils ($145)

This bangers and mash (yes I like calling them such) was a big disappointment for me, partly because the one I had last time was just so good.  This time, the sausages were quite dry, the skin rather chewy, the onions tasted "sweetened", the mash was dry and bland and probably need triple the butter, double the work put into mashing and a hell lot more salt.  The lentils was a mystery for me.  Why put some rather dry lentils next to some rather dry mash (i.e. more starch) and some rather dry sausages?  Frankly, this dish felt like a patch work - the three elements as they were really didn't work well together.

Confit de Canard

Confit Duck Leg with Carrot Mash & Creamy Mustard Sauce ($198)

The duck confit was not very good.  Meat was dry, skin not sufficiently crispy and had quite a bit of fat underneath.  Nowhere near as bad as the catastrophic one we had at Chez Patrick Deli in Wan Chai though, fortunately!  The carrot mash was quite nice though, especially when eaten with the onion - nice and refreshing!  My biggest problem with this dish was the price.  At $198 (~EUR 20!!) it is not cheap and did not have a quality to match.  Not worth ordering really.

CONCLUSION

We talked with the manager afterwards about the advertisement that concerned us in the first place and he clarified that they do not have any plans of moving soon.  Glad to hear, but frankly it doesn't matter to us as much anymore - the food just isn't as good as it was.  Perhaps the head chef was on leave.  Perhaps they have changed their chef.  That I wouldn't know.  All I know is that for $360 per head this meal was not even satisfactory.  For this kind of price one could easily get lunch at e.g. Madam Sixty Ate where the setting, the food and even the service was far superior.

It pains me to say this, but we won't be coming back.

Summary (rated 1-5):

FOOD:  (2/5)  Poor execution of dishes in general.

SERVICE:  (3/5)  Friendly staff.

ENVIRONMENT:  (3/5)  Can be hot and some might find high tables uncomfortable.

BIG LOCUST'S RECOMMENDATION:  (2/5)  Don’t bother.  Price / quality mismatch.


Further reading:  Crying in the party @ Pastis - by Locust Tunghok