The Bistro Story, Chennai

“We started our careers together and always wanted to have our own Bistro kind of a place. And since we are now together, working in our Bistro, the place is called The Bistro Story” said Ravi [one of the owners]. That was the clue- The Bistro Story is where we were for dinner last night.

If you know Gopalapuram layout, you will know where National Public School is, there is a lane bang opp the place that is Sadashivam Street. As you drive down the road, you will The Bistro Story on your right nearly at the end of the road. That is where we headed to.  They officially opened their doors a week ago, and it looked like a cozy place. It was around 7pm, and since we were the only ones and so got a tour of the place, including the small bar style seating area outside.

The main hall as you enter has a bright poster of a pop up art on the wall, while the other room on the side has an elaborate Worli painting on the wall [it apparently took the artist 5 whole days to complete it]. After much deliberation, we decided to sit on the stools near the kitchen area. Even though the counter space was tad less, it was still comfortable and we had a good evening.

We were introduced to the Chef, Vijay who spoke about his career and how his forte is French & Italian, but they have included Mediterranean and a few dishes with Indian touch on the menu as well. “He is a hard core veg, but cooks non veg dishes with panache” chimed in Ravi.

To start off the evening, we ordered a drink each- Aam panna [raw mango juice], Rose milk and Jal jeera. All of them were yumm to the dot. While we savoured our drinks, we waited for our Eastern bites platter to arrive- it is similar to the Mezze platter- Falafel, pita bread, Fattayar [mini samosa with spinach and cheese], feta cheese and 3 dips- hummus, tzatsiki and babaganoush. The Falafel was just wow, so was the Fattayar, and so were the others on the platter. They were all hot, fresh and filled with unique flavours. Big thumbs up for this dish!

The little one wanted Fries, but the Chef convinced him to instead try their Nachos and he promptly did. It was a plate of goodness- Nachos with a touch of cheese served with tomato salsa. Yet another good dish.

For the mains, we decided to do with 2 pasta dishes and one paneer. The paneer dish had 2 paneer triangles sitting on a bed of cooked lentils served alongside a cup of rice topped with okra fritters. It was alright, very Indian. The highlight of this dish were the Okra fritters [ I could have eaten a big bowl of just that]

The pastas- one with tomato, basil & burnt garlic sauce, while I went for the Pesto [basil, parmesan cheese, garlic, olive oil and pistachio]. Both were yummy, but I loved mine more [am a sucker for pesto].

While we were busy enjoying our pasta, the little one went ahead and got a bowl of French Fries [he knew what he wanted and wasn’t leaving without it…] Kids~!!

Through the meal, we kept talking to the Chef [hopefully not distracting him much], and got a bit of insight into the kitchen and the things they created in that cozy space. Most of our dishes he cooked on the Induction stove, but there were huge burners which he said kicked into action when the place was packed or large volumes were needed. He also told us about how they relied on locals for their produce and did not import anything. For ex, their Cheese was from Pondicherry.

Phew, we were stuffed but well the lure of the dessert lingered. We chose the Sticky pudding with toffee sauce & vanilla ice cream while the little one chose the triple chocolate mousse [hope I got the name right]. I quite enjoyed my sticky pudding, but felt it was tad sweet and so sprinkled some salt  on the sauce and it made a world of difference, enhancing the taste…

The entire meal costed us Rs2041 [ incl tax and SC]

They are also going to be introducing breakfast shortly!!

Ambiance- V good, pleasing colours and décor

Price- Starters, mains and desserts are priced between Rs 120 to Rs 295 [giving you a rough idea of what the pricing is like]. 

Meal for two will work out to about Rs 800- Rs 1000

Overall experience- v good

Car parking- there is space for 3 cars right in front, and about 4 more along the road. They are looking at other options for parking as well.

Address:

The Bistro Story

24, 7, Sadasivam Street

Gopalapuram, Chennai -86

Phone- 044 4353 2934

Disclaimer:

The reviews posted on this blog are based on my personal experience. Also remember that restaurants and eat outs sometimes change with time, so does their food and service. So, kindly consider these factors while visiting the places. Remember, no two palates are the same. Bon Appétit  :-)