P'tite Ardoise Bistro

J'aime un bon restaurant français, I love a good French restaurant. The cosiness and simplicity of P'tite Ardoise and the friendliness of the very Frenchy staff takes me back to my time in Paris, (except perhaps the staff at P'tite Ardoise was nicer and much friendlier).

“P’tite Ardoise” means “little blackboard” or “little slate” in French, and the blackboard motif is used throughout the restaurant with a lot of their food being served on black slates - which I think oozes sophistication, elegance and simplicity. The decor is minimalistic, sleek and is very French. The waiters and waitresses are authentically French, one of whom was from just outside of Lyon and was here to study English. So you really were transported there!

The menu at P'tite Ardoise consists of a selection of regular menu items and a selection of seasonal items. It's intimate and yet quite a fine selection of food to choose from. 

Bf and I opted for a three course of French flare and the menu offered so many lip-smacking good dishes it was hard to choose. Whilst we were pondering what to get, the waitresses were rather helpful and were very knowledgeable about the dishes. The one thing lacking on their menu though was a wine list - when we visited last month the place was still waiting for their alcohol license and it was still BYO. I really hope they get it, because we forgot to bring a bottle and the meal would have been fantastic if we had it accompanied with some red. We instead opted for lemon lime and bitters - which really isn't the same.

Before the entree, we were asked if we would like bread (which I thought was free - but it turns out it's $3.50 for bread - so if you are a bread eating and planning to eat more than just one then get it otherwise forget it). Having said that though, the butter, olive oil and olive dip was rather delicious.The ambiance of the place was also remarkable - very much like we were in France - I was very much nostalgic and wished I was back in romantic Paris.

For entree bf opted for the scallops with pumpkin and pesto (i believe - i can't remember what the dish was called) . I remember it being very well cooked - the scallops were perfect - not rubbery and it had beautiful balance of flavours.

I on the other hand, opted for escargot cooked chefs way. It came in ceramic dishes with this lightly toasted bread on top and what was underneath was a bit of a surprise. There was a creamy, delicious broth (although slightly on the salty side for me) filled with escargot. With the bread soaked in the broth and with spoonfuls of the escargot, both and bread it was fantastic!

For the mains, bf ordered the steak while I opted for their signature twice cooked duck. The steak was tender with a great cut and fantastic sauce (which was served separately in a gravy boat), while the duck literally fell off the bone it was perfection, although I wished they gave more of the sauce. Although the duck did come with a side of vegetables. Despite that it was truly an amazing dish and bf thoroughly enjoyed his meal too!

Then the best part of the night - the dessert. There was such a lovely selection to chose from. I really wanted to try the chef's tasting platter but decided that I can get that next time I came back to P'tite Ardoise, so instead tried their seasonal dessert which was this "flowery" patisserie - the smell was so fragrant and the taste was sweet. The patisserie was unbelievable good and mixed with the melted chocolate sauce the dessert was sensational - granted it was huge!

Bf on the other hand got this chocolate delight - however it had peanut on the top so had to be sent back and they carefully scrapped it and gave it fairy floss hair! And the ice cream that came with it had intense flavours.

All in all, P'tite Ardoise was a culinary delight, and one with attentive, obliging, friendly service and smiles. The only downfall is that it is hard to get a booking -in fact they might have changed their rules since we were there and no longer excepts bookings. Apart from that, once their alcohol licensed is approved it would be the perfect place for a date.

ps. Sorry the photos were taking on my iphone without flash so they turned out a bit yellow from the lighting in the restaurant.