Bouchon Bistro Francais    

I went there for lunch. Set lunch - HKD 118 for 2 courses. (excluding service charge)

Environment
Cosy restaurant with bar table. Not so noisy. Perfect for a relaxing lunch.

Service
Waiters wont serve u water unless u ask for it. They volunteer to help us to take photos =]

Food

1. Starters

Always want to try that onion soup after reading open rice. However the soup of day is ROOT. I dunno what will that be so I opted for capital salad. Portion of the capital salad is big. It had diced potatoes, artichoke(雅枝竹), half-boiled egg and ham. The egg was slightly overcooked. First time to try artichoke and it tasted like mushroom.

They also offered other starters but I didn't try.2. Main course

I ordered lamb shoulder with peas and mashed potatoes. The lamb is so tender that u don't need a knife to cut it. I tried the skinny fries and steak of my friend. The steak is medium rare as requested. TASTY. The fries is dry and salty but it tastes good with sauce.

Came here for X'mas Eve dinner and forgotten it was only on set menus, so my girlfriend and I ordered same main course and dessert.

For the starters we chosed the Oysters & Foie Gras, Main course Grilled Salmon Steak and dessert was X'Mas Log Cake

1) Oysters & Foie Gras: Oysters were juicy and very fresh. Tasted just like it came from the catch with a squeeze of lemon juice to enhance to seafood flavour. Tasty tasty and I won't complain about the size of the oysters, because as for 2 people, we won't be able to finish everything on the plate during the whole dinner.

As for the Foie Gras (photo not included), it was approximately 70% done and slightly raw which makes the Foie Gras more juicy I don't recall much experience of having Foie Gras so couldn't provide detailed comment.

2) Grilled Salmon steak x 2 (photo probably too dark to show): The grilled salmon was perfectly done. Crispy skin with a sprinkle of roasted shredded almonds on top, juicy and tender. The fish isn't overcooked which gives this pleasant taste as it melts once you eat it. Asparagas was on the side in order to accompany the fish which was lightly done and tossed with a bit of butter and seasoning. Grilled Salmon is HIGHLY Recommended

3) X'mas log cake x 2: Finally when it came to the dessert, my girlfriend and I were 90% full and our stomach just couldn't resist the tempation to try it out. The log cake is is a log cake. Very filling and it's no other cake, light in weight. I'm actually surprised that the cake doesn't taste too sweet as it opened up our appetite a bit more even tho we both were quite full. There's a small layer of cream, rolled in from the cake which makes the cake isn't too dry and accompany with some X'mas dressing on top that makes the presentation more colourful

Not a bad place for a romantic dining, and wouldn't mind at all to recommened and or try this place again in near future and not in special occasion in terms of X'mas and New Years Eve (set menu only)

This place was great. We went there for the charcuterie plate and enjoyed every last bit of it. The goat cheese salad is amazing. The goat cheese is warmed and sits atop little crostini. There must have been some sort of honey & salt glaze that was extra delicious. The greens were fresh and the dressing was light and perfect. The half Bouchon charcuterie plate was perfect for the 3 of us girls to share. The service was great! The woman - perhaps the manager - was very accommodating in finding us a table. We sat in the back which is open air - so people can smoke if they want to. The seating bar back there overlooks the Spice restaurant next to it - kind of cool how they're connected like that.

We requested a seat closer to the front and she was able to move us within 10 minute or so. She was gracious and friendly and the service was prompt.

I highly recommend this place. I'm a picky and discerning eater and i thought it was great!

Had the onion soup and pasta for lunch today. The bread is warm and soft. Waitress service is efficient.
Onion soup - the grilled cheese on top is excellent. This is the best onion soup i have ever had.
Pasta (with herbs and shrimps) - delightful. The portion is just enough for one person.
Will try all lunch sets in the future.

Tried to make a reservation by phone - nobody ever answered it.

In any case, went for lunch with a friend.
We both had the lunch set (108, add 48 for steak tartare, add 45 for dessert)

The waitress was friendly but needs some training in how to wait on tables.
Maybe she was a trainee? Seemed a bit unsure, nervous.
Also she didn't know some of the basic things on the menu.
One of the starters was "Aumoniere tomatoes with goat's cheese".
I asked her what that was, and she said "tomato with cheese."
But what does 'aumoniere' mean? How is it prepared?
Waitress: "tomato"
I was pretty sure it didn't mean tomato, but she was not prepared to say anything more or willing to find out.
Asked about 2 other items but she was really hesitant to offer any answers and we could see we weren't getting anywhere so we gave up and just ordered.

Onion soup starter x 2
Filet of sole with veg
Steak tartare with fries (house specialty)

The onion soup was really really good.
The best part of the meal actually.
Nicely grilled cheese on the top, soup was perfect temperature when it arrived - hot but not scalding so you could dig in immediately.
Flavour was perfect.

The steak tartare was a bit of a letdown.
Texture and presentation were good but the meat had zero flavour.

Sole was ok, nothing special but nothing to complain about either.

We decided against dessert as we were both already full, but the chef came out and offered it to us anyway, which was very kind:
Strawberries and cream on a sable biscuit dusted with icing sugar and a sprig of mint
Dark chocolate mousse with pistachio sauce, garnished with crushed pistachio a single fresh raspberry and a sprig of mint

The biscuit was a bit too sweet
The choco mousse was good but a bit mild flavoured

Presentation of all dishes was good.
Service friendly but needs a bit of polish, especially learning what's on the menu!
Nice space.

Not bad for the money but not outstanding either.

We were early and although we had reserved, we could still choose our table for two. On bar stools, but still comfortable. It was the third time I visited this place and it did not disappoint again. The menue is quite limited, but what they do, they do well.

For starters, I chose the onion soup (HKD 72) again, which must be one of the best you will taste in HK. Generous cheese and thick sweet onion taste. The salad Lyonnaise (HKD 98) was presented in a large wooden bowl with some pieces of sausage and crouton. Tasty and not too heavy for the main dish of lamb shank (HKD 258), which was a very generous portion, with very little fat and served on long beans (on our request) and some gravy, rather than the lentils on the menu. Very juicy and recommendable. I had again one of the chef's recommendations: 150gr steak tartare with hot and crispy fries (HKD 168). The raw beef in the steak tartare and the raw egg yoke is not everyone's favourite, but it did not disappoint again. Delicious and juicy with nice herbs. There is also a slightly larger portion.
Dessert: we rounded our meal off with a very tasty and generous portion of creme brulee (HKD 58) and the most mouth watering and authentic tarte tatin I have had since a long time..., surely outside France! Served with slightly sweetened whipped creme fraiche on the side, it was as a tarte tatin should be, with large chunks of soft stewed pieces of apple, stacked high with very thin pastry and all not too sweet. It could only have been served a little tad warmer, but both dishes were a wonderful end to a great meal.

Total bill with some glasses of wine came to HKD 950. As with all restaurants in Soho, Bouchon is also small, so it tends to get quite noisy, especially with some very loud neighbours at a few tables around us, but this is Hong Kong... The service by all staff was friendly, not overly so, but surely not curt or bad, which you see too often. I would heartily recommend this restaurant for a reasonable and very tasty French meal.

I came here once before when I passed by it with my bf. The hostess was a very friendly blonde French girl and my first visit was a quiet setting and I loved my sea bass and my bf really enjoyed the steak tartar. So for this visit I decided to venture again and I arrived at 12pm walk in and got a table. My bf was running late so I ordered a bottle of sparkling water and a glass of white wine to wait. At 12:15 the NEW brunette french hostess walked over to tell me to call and rush my companion?!? She said I need to make mines and his choice now for lunch since they will be busy soon?! She just stood there while I made the call. The food arrived at 12:20 and was cold by the time my bf arrived at 12:30. All in all the second time the beef tartar was more brown than pink- a sign the beef isn't fresh. Food is ok but with this kind of service there's better French places- I'd recommend La Marmite by Staunton or Saint Germain in Happy Valley!

Tonight is the fifth time I dined at Bouchon since its opening, not knowing chef Jerome has left the restaurant.

The first 4 times were excellent, and the premises was always packed with customers.

When I arrived Bouchon tonight shortly before 8pm, it was practically empty?????

We ordered 3 Lychee Martini, and they were good. Bread and butter were good as usual.

However, we left after finishing out appetisers (Escargots, foie gras salad and frog legs) because they were just terrible.

Moreover, condensation kept on dripping from the ceiling ventilation . . . OMG !!

NEVER AGAIN !!

Received a fraud management notice from Citibank today with regard to my credit card being used for online shopping on the other side of the Pacific. The last time I used my card is here. I am not sure it is related but am highly suspicious.

We ordered foie gras, Bouillabaisse, snails, duck confits and beef cheeks stew and a few other things. Foods are acceptable except for the Angus beef cheeks stew. The beef cheeks are over cooked and what are left are strands of chewy muscle fibers. Some of the dishes are either too salty or simply flat, while the seafood items are not particularly fresh. My score? 5 out of 10.

Husband and I arrived before 12noon. 15 min later, no more walk-ins!
Began with a basket of warm baguette and smooth butter. Cola for me. Sparkling wine/Rhone red for husband.
My lunch set: Goatcheese salad (fresh veggie), mushroom tagliatelle (fantastic creamy garlic sauce), cappucino (milky foam on top of good coffee, $ added).
Husband's set: Countrystyle pate with toasts, roasted beef with fries sides (dry and chewy beef but great fries), chocolate bouchon cakes (in fact it is 3 small choco fondants on top of caramel sauce, excellent sauce!)
Decor was so "PARIS"! Chef Jerome was always busy in the kitchen. I could just say "bonjour" to him when I passed thru his workdesk to washroom, haha~~

Lovely place!

Potential Patrons be warned

While there has been some positive comments in relation to the somewhat "new" French restaurant on Elgin St, Soho named Bouchon, and having experienced the restaurant at first hand this evening, all i can say is that it did not live up to expectations. From a scale of 1 to 10, I would give it a rating of 2, and if you prefer hats to be the measure of rating, all i would award this restaurant is a "witches hat".

The following is a short summary of our experience:

1. the service was poor, with disgruntled staff giving attitude to patrons when performing their services (with the exception of one staff which was very nice when we complained about the food);

2. the food was poor, the foie gras being less than ordinary, the frogs legs leaving such a bitter taste in your mouth (the bitter taste returning again later when you pay the bill) and the duck confit being extremely dry and extremely salty. If i wanted dry salty duck, this would have been perfect, as that is all you will get. They should change the name of the meal to Dry Salty Duck being a better suited description. There are no sides with their mains, as you will be asked to pay extra for these "treats"; and

3. expensive for what you get, which was poor service and even worse food.

The meal was $850 for two mains two entrees, and two drinks. Happy meal at the Golden Arches would have been more appetizing and satisfying.

Be warned.