After a recent visit for breakfast to the newly opened Ma Belle bistro, I was more than happy to try it for dinner. My first impression was good, so that was already a good sign. Since the weather was cool, we got a table inside. The bistro has spaced the tables far enough apart to give one the feeling of security.
inside the bistro @Ma Belle Bistro
We started with a vegan dish of sweet potatoes and artichokes. Although nice enough, it was also a bit bland unfortunately. I needed quite a bit of salt to improve the taste. It came with vegan ‘Skyr‘, that’s the Icelandic yogurt. I really dislike when you call something by it’s none vegan name when in reality you get some soy based stuff. The ‘Skyr’ lacked the necessary acidity which would have rounded out the taste.
sweet potatoes and artichokes @Ma Belle Bistro
The Bouillabaisse on the other hand fared way better. The soup was perfect according to the diners. As you can see there was lots of fish and seafood in the savory broth. I missed the rouille (the tasty mayonnaise) but you can’t have it all.
bouillabaisse before the broth @Ma Belle Bistro
bouillabaisse with broth @Ma Belle Bistro
The main dishes didn’t fare as great. The plate du jour (daily dish) was a vegetable casserole which tasted mostly of eggs. Too much like an omelette and not enough veggies.
vegetable casserole @Ma Belle Bistro
The quiche du jour came with mangold and mushrooms. It was tasty but very small, so extra baguette was ordered.
mangold and mushroom quiche @Ma Belle Bistro & Bar
The salad with warm goat cheese was a winner and came with toasted baguette. Three nicely grilled slices of cheese topped a bowl of dressed salad. You can’t go wrong with that in summer.
grilled goat cheese with salad @Ma Belle Bistro
Unfortunately I forgot to take a picture of the coq au vin. This chicken didn’t resemble the internet pictures at all but rather consisted of small morsels of chicken in sauce bedded on mashed potatoes. It was tasty, I give you that, but it looked as if I got the last scrapings from the pan. I missed the pearl onions completely and can’t remember seeing a mushroom.
All in all Ma Belle Bistro is a still a mix of hits and misses. The place was full though and seemed immensely popular. So I think II will wait a bit until the kitchen got everything under control and then give it another chance. Next time I will have the bouillabaisse fore sure. Yours, Pollybert
