Bistro du Midi

Last weekend, we enjoyed a night in Boston as an early birthday celebration. For dinner, we went to Bistro du Midi, which came highly recommended.

Our reservation was on the early side, but when we saw the menu and decided to go with the seven course tasting menu, we were glad. We always try to go with the tasting menu when we’re out celebrating. Its fun to have the chef pick our courses for us, and in this case, there were some unique ingredients in the kitchen that night that we were lucky enough to enjoy.

The first thing I noticed was the room itself. Warm and comfortable, I remarked that I want my future living room to look like it.

We also asked for wine pairings with our courses and split a glass for each one. Kate, the Sommelier, was spot on with all of her choices.

The chef sent out a trio of amuse-bouches to start. From left to right, a lightly fried artichoke in spicy aioli, a piece of poached lobster in an apple foam, and a watermelon gazpacho.

I wouldn’t normally think to put an apple foam with lobster, but it was quite refreshing.

Unfortunately we ate the next course too fast for a picture. We were served some very fresh bluefin tuna toro with radish. This was my first time having toro, and while it was a small amount, it was perfect. The taste was fresh (and a little fishy) and it literally melted in my mouth.

Next up was the ceviche course and as a pleasant surprise, we were served different dishes that we were able to share. We later learned that the chef’s specialty is seafood, and it showed.

Look at those colors! Top photo is fluke, hot peppers, crunchy squid pasta, and figs. Bottom photo is scallop, crispy corn, watermelon, heirloom melon, and purple cauliflower. Scallops are one of my favorite things to eat, so I was thrilled to have that dish put in front of me. It was delicious and the corn added a great crunch to each bite. The fluke dish was a great mix of flavors, and while the fish was fresh and the squid pasta was fun, the hot peppers rounded it out.

The next dish was way outside my comfort zone.

Lamb tartar, crostini, spicy mustard and a quail egg. I don’t normally enjoy lamb, but I tried this and I have to say, it was delicious. E was in heaven and finished his and the rest of mine. Everything on the plate went together very well, and the wine that was paired with this, a chardonnay, was unexpected, but a great choice.

Next up was the foie gras course.

Oh my. I’m usually not a fan of my foie gras being warm, but this was so good. It was set on a couple of plums, topped with radish, and swimming in a duck au jus. I ate this course slowly to draw it out as long as possible.

And then we were back to fish!

Black bass, baby spinach, peas, mussels, chorizo and a pea/spinach emulsion. The skin on this fish was so crispy and I loved the chorizo with it.

And then came the pasta course…

Pasta with a duck and pork bolognese, apples and feta. This dish had a kick! But the apples and feta mellowed it out, and we had a big red wine to go with it. We were surprised to see a pasta with bolognese in a French restaurant, but my Italian husband loved it. I would go back just for this!

At this point, we were feeling a bit full, until they brought out the last savory course.

The duck was seared and sat on baby spinach, potato gnocchi and a lavender au jus and topped with almonds. This was hands down my favorite dish of the night. Not only was the duck cooked perfectly, the gnocchi had such a smooth and light texture, and went well with the duck and spinach. I haven’t stopped thinking about it.

Bistro du midi has a chocolate and Grand Marnier souffle which takes 25 minutes or so to cook, so you have to order it in advance. All night I could smell the chocolate souffles coming out and past us to other tables and while I knew from the dishes we had already had that dessert would be great, I was a little jealous about those souffles. Until our dessert course came…

Our own mini chocolate souffles! The souffle came with a vanilla cream sauce and tasted just like it smelled… decadent. It was the perfect size after that meal. And we got a slice of the iced orange and almond cake with almond lace and a basil puree on the plate. The iced cake was a great palate cleanser, delicious, and a great combo with the basil puree.

The food, the wine, the room… this is one of my new favorite restaurants. We left full, but not uncomfortably full and with a meal we will definitely remember. I’m already looking forward to when we go back.

Bistro du Midi is located at 272 Boylston Street, Boston.