Le Parisien (Dine Out Vancouver 2014)

The great thing about Dine Out Vancouver is trying out restaurants that you’ve never been to before.  Last year we tried a great French bistro called Bistro Pastis on West 4th  (see our 2013 Dine Out post here).  This year, we decided to try Le Parisien, a French bistro in the West End owned by the same person as Bistro Pastis.

The interior of Le Parisien is classically decorated with black walls, white marble table tops, and bold red napkins.  We were pleasantly surprised that they had both a $28 and a $38 Dine Out menu avaiable and decided to stick with the $38 version.

The complimentary crusty bread came served warm which helped to melt the cold pat of butter.

For our appetizers, we picked the Smoked Chicken Liver Pate served with a really tasty and sweet onion jam as well as the Albacore Tuna Tartare – both served with thin and crunchy crostinis.

The Roasted Pork Tenderloin entrée was served with caramlized apple slices and apple cider jus (which pairs nicely with the pork).  It was interesting to find hazelnuts mixed in with the housemade spaetzle as it gave it a decidedly crunchy texture to the otherwise soft spaetzle.

Here’s the reason why you should go to Le Parisien… the Beef Bourguignon with bacon, mushrooms, and pearl onions.  The inner kid in me loved how they served it within a ring of smooth and creamy pomme purée.  The beef was super tender and was braised in red wine which gave it a great flavour.

For dessert, we picked the Classic Crème Brûlée which had a thin sugar crust on top of the velvety soft custard.

We also picked the Dark Chocolate Mousse that was served in a glass with caramelized almond pieces and a raspberry purée sauce.

Service here was attentive with smiles all around and we didn’t feel rushed at all.  Given that our visit was during Dine Out (a time when some restaurants get iffy with their service) I think it speaks well of them and wouldn’t hesitate to come back for a revisit.

751 Denman Street
Vancouver, BC

www.leparisien.ca