Anyone tried newly opened Bisou in the Castro?

[OneMoreCindy]

I don't see any reviews on Yelp or on this board, but I think Bisou opened two weeks ago. It's from the same folks who run ChouChou. Tell me what you think if you've been there. Thx!

[OneMoreCindy]

Sorry I spelled it wrong - it is Bisou. Still no comments from Chowhounds that I can find.

[vulber]

Yes, I went last Saturday for brunch. Haven't beent to Chouchou so I can't compare, but everything was delicious, high-quality and affordable, desserts too. Love the interior and vibe, and they were very attentive at refilling the bottomless mimosas.

Seems like they're targeting people who can't get into Lime/don't want the clubby vibe of Lime.

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Chouchou
400 Dewey Boulevard, San Francisco, CA 94116

[rworange]

You can email the mods to change the title.
[e-mail]

Bizou was one of my favorite SF restaurants owned by Loretta Keller, so I was a little misled by the title hoping the old Bizou was reincarnated. I know there is Coco500 ... it just isn't the same.

Chouchou makes some interesting holiday meals and pastries, however the location near Laguna Honda hospital is a personal turnoff for me. So good to know there might be a source of similar dishes in the Castro.

[vulber]

I haven't been to coco500 nor the old bizou, but why do you say it just isn't the same?

[rworange]

Service and atmosphere were an important part of Bizou to me.While I haven't been as often in the new format, the former staff made more of an effort to remember customers and make recommendations based on taste. Tho I was a regular, I watched that happen with people who were newcomers.

Also origin is pretty important to me as I shop at farmers markets a lot, so if, for example, a simple salad was on the menu by a vendor I knew well, it wasn't worth my money to order the same thing at the restaurant.

I see roasted chicken on the current menu. Well, if it was by a vendor I never tried, I'd be more interested in trying it than a vendor I was familiar with.

Also I prefer dinner plates than doing a pick and choose. With Coco500 it is too much of a crap shoot ... sometimes a vegetable dish will serve 4 easily, sometime it is single serving. Also, I usually dine alone, so it annoys me when the veggie I want is some mega dish. Yeah, I could ask if they will do single serving size, but I just want to go in and order not jump through hoops to get what I want

It is just too much effort on continue to ask the waitstaff about origin, serving size, etc, etc. Just let me read that stuff on the menu without having me work to find it out

Now they have joined the Twitter madness. I'm sorry I don't want to be checking a zillion places and having to wade through crap chat just to learn what is on the menu.. Have Twitter if you must, but also update your website.

Seriously, I spend way too much a part of my tie on food. I wonder if some people have lives at all following all the blogs, facebook pages, and similar stuff about food. Even my favorite blogs I only check in occasionally. To ask me to start looking at Twitter on top of it all ... way too much time for me to waste on food.

That being said, I'm glad the restaurant is there in any format as many of the old dishes remain on the menu .

[OneMoreCindy]

Sent a msg to the moderators to correct the spelling - sorry to have caused confusion! There are reviews on Yelp for Bisou, and they are very positive, especially with respect to service.

[Melanie Wong]

I met some friends at Bisou last night, after 10pm. They'd had dinner at the counter, and the friendly bartenders had been giving them samples of the overrun of the cocktails, so they were very happy. Besides the alcohol, they were impressed by the traditional bistro fare and especially the desserts.

I hadn't eaten, so ordered the escargot appetizer. The prep here cooks them in red wine and shallots and serves over a Acme pan levain toast. The pile of bread crumbs propping up the one display snail in the shell would have benefited from some butter instead of being dry. But I was satisfied for the $10 price.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/melaniew...

My friends were laughing that they planned to bring their parents here . . . NOT. The vibe is urban club, the music's not quite as loud, but close. But that made it fun on a friday night. And, as vulber mentioned, the staff are great. All French speaking, which adds to the atmosphere.

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Bisou
2367 Market St, San Francisco, CA 94114

[lmnopm]

I had a delicious dinner there last week. The "famous" egg dish appetizer was fantastic, but so rich - it wasn't a large portion, but it still should be shared. The steak frites were very good. No dessert - too full from the egg. I'd go back without any hesitation. Service was very good.

[Melanie Wong]

I almost ordered the Oeuf Cocotte en Conserve app, now I'm glad I didn't at that hour. But I'll be sure to get it another time.

[Cynsa]

I am wondering if the $26 prix fixe portions are smaller; we had the escargot app on the 3-course prix fixe and it was a mere whisper of the same dish in your flickr pix. Overall, we were delighted with the food and the service and we would return to explore the menu.
Our friend ordered the salade frisee, the duck confit and the L'after Height for dessert on the menu - all proclaimed excellent.
For the prix fixe choices: escargot, salad... pork fillet medallions, salmon with sorrel sauce... creme brulee, chocolate fondant with ice cream
My salmon was an ample serving perfectly cooked and plated with a sorrel sauce that was lick-your-plate-clean delicious -
(next time: 3-cheese souffle!)
the chocolate fondant/ice cream dessert is generous and the ubiquitous flourless chocolate cake oozing liquid bliss is perfection with the ice cream
Our server, Peter, is charming and professional - we were delighted.

[Melanie Wong]

So just a snail trail?

That chocolate dessert is one of the sweets my friends were ga-ga over. A cliche', but when done well, it earns it.

[ceekskat]

Had dinner here on the 4th with DH & DD. We were game to drive up to the City; however, not many restaurants were open. Recs here & 4 1/2 stars on yelp helped seal the deal. Cool vibe with modern decor and a very friendly staff. Started with the steak tartare (prepared with quail egg) accompanied with thin & crispy waffle cut chips, tasty. For mains, we had beef bourguignon, pork filet mignon with mustard sauce, & salmon with sorrel sauce. Never knew pork could be so tender! And what flavorful, rich sauces; required a little extra effort at the gym the next day : ) Really, not one miss here. DD ordered le macaron, which had pistachio cream & raspberries sandwiched in between, for dessert. This was an architectural endeavor (with chocolate curls, meringue sticks) and while dd thoroughly enjoyed it, I would have preferred something a tad less sweet. Dinner including 2 glasses of a French red (dh said it was bordeaux; $8 ea, wow), one cocktail & one shirley temple came out to $109 excl. tax & tip. Great coup for a last minute plan!