Bistro Don Camillo
Bistro Don Camillo, where the food and wine from the French Riviera pair in complete harmony with the flavors of Italy.
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Profile Description: Jean Philippe and Genevieve Guy welcome you to Bistro Don Camillo, where the food and wine from the French Riviera pair in complete harmony with the flavors from Italy. With the well established Bistro Provence in the Memorial area since 1998, we wanted to bring the Provencal Food closer to the loop, but also stretching the borders into the Italian gastronomy. With the help of Chef Christian Rodricks we were able to merge two of the best Mediterranean cuisine into one concept.
MY REVIEW: After reading the reviews, we couldn't wait to try eating at this Bistro. We were not disappointed. The food was great, the ambiance felt just as if we were transported to Paris. The waiter was pleasant but the food took a while to come. We wanted to order individual glasses of wine but the waiter suggested we order a half bottle which was reasonable for three of us. Later he told us that the restaurant was out of that bottle and suggested another half bottle. When it came, we were surprised to see that we each got less than a half of glass. Then the check came, the new bottle of wine was $11 dollars more than the one we originally ordered. We would have liked to have the option to say no. We were pretty upset but decided that we were going to chalk this one up as a good lesson. Next time we'll ask the price or will just not order wine. $38 is too expensive for a very small bottle of wine.
NAME: speak86
SUBMITTED: 7/2/2008 LAST VISIT WAS: 7/08
FREQUENCY: Visited once
MY REVIEW: Had dinner there last week. Started with splitting an excellent appetizer of clams in white wine sauce. Sauce was thick, creamy, not what we were expecting but extremely flavorful all the same. Not as much garlic as in the escargot dish we'd tried last time. Portions were good, with about 15 or so small clams in the sauce, with a few pieces of toasted baguette and cheese for mopping. $9 and worth every penny. Hostess commented that she'd seen people pick up the bowl and slurp the sauce like a soup; we could believe it.
Entrees were the grilled salmon for her ($17) and a pizza with anchovies, ham and olives for me ($11). The salmon was cooked perfectly. I mean perfectly. Melt in your mouth, wonderful. The side noodles were not so great, but the very tasty salmon more than made up for it. My pizza was tasty as well, thin and crunchy with a brick oven feel. The anchovies were no where near as salty as I was dreading and the flavors went surprisingly well with the Chianti ($40) the hostess helped us with. Not the greatest Chianti I've ever had, but complemented both dishes adequately. A warning for those selecting the pizza: they don't pit the olives beforehand. It didn't bug me, but then again I didn't bite down hard on a pit.
They've improved the wine list usability; ditched the pseudo-Gothic font they were using, as well as adding some maps of France and Italy to indicate the locations of the wines. Not great, but better than it was. Still no U.S. wines, but the host or hostess seem able to pick decent wines at a given price point. They do not allow corkage. I'd like to see some more Rhone whites, particularly Viognier, but all in good time. They didn't try to upsell me off my selection, something I appreciated.
To summarize, we both were very pleased with our meal, finding the prices quite affordable and the preparation of the dishes top notch. We will be back. It is a pleasure to find a restaurant like this in Houston.
NAME: Gray Ghost
SUBMITTED: 3/23/2008 LAST VISIT WAS: 3/2008
FREQUENCY: Visited 2-3 times
MY REVIEW: First visit. We live in the neighborhood, so we met neighbors for dinner last night. Neat cozy little Bistro, very warm, but small. We had pizza for a starter, excellent flavor, crisp crust, and perfect start. Our group had entrees ranging from the duck confit to kabobs, everyone was very impressed with each. I had the duck and it was quite tasty, a bit salty but otherwise perfect. The deserts were devine.
The only dissapointment was the wine. Only French labels and priced on the high side; I'd say 2 to 3 times retail. Hearty reds started at $50, the manager came over while we were studying the wine list and offer a couple of bottles off the list at $35 and $45, being a weeknight out we order the $35 bottle and it was very nice.
I suggest they add some US wines which are a much better value for money.
NAME: BillTheCritic
SUBMITTED: 2/27/2008 LAST VISIT WAS: 2/26/08
FREQUENCY: Visited once
MY REVIEW: Bistro Don Camillo is the next best thing to being there, in Europe, that is. The food is superb and the atmosphere quaint and cozy. The service is excellent. The kitchen was out of scallops but the shrimp that were substituted were very good. All in all, my family had a delightful dining experience there.
NAME: Rosemary
SUBMITTED: 2/12/2008 LAST VISIT WAS: February 2008
FREQUENCY: Visited once
MY REVIEW: Went there Sat night, 2/9. Ordered Escargot for appetizer. Seven escargot in dish, cooked perfectly tender, lots of garlic, covered up the flavor of the escargot. Very tasty. Would have ordered fois gras if it actually was a medallion as advertised, rather than a terrine.
Entrees were Dover Sole a la Dieppe Special and Stuffed Mixed vegetables. Dover Sole dish was several strips of sole, cooked wonderfully, with mussels and large prawns. All of it was in elegant, not at all heavy cream sauce. Delicious! Both of us happily mopped up remaining sauce with the tasty bread.
Stuffed Mixed vegetables were four large halved peppers, stuffed with bread crumb/roasted pepper puree mixture. Also delicious.
Wine list exclusively French. Few bargains, most wines at least 2x retail. Covers most regions of France, mainly negotiant selections (Drouhin, Latour, Jadot), but a few smaller properties as well. Intimidating to newbies, but Maitre'd very helpful, if his help needed to make a selection. We chose a very tasty premier cru white burgundy for $60, 1.5X retail. Excellent with our meal.
Dessert was a very tasty, creamy Chocolat Gateau. Portions were very appropriate; not Texas-sized at all. Service was good, if a little too eager to pour wine/encourage consumption of another bottle.
All told, an excellent bistro experience and we both are eagerly looking forward to our next visit. With wine and tip, total bill was $140, very reasonable considering the quality.
NAME: Gray Ghost
SUBMITTED: 2/11/2008 LAST VISIT WAS: February 2008
FREQUENCY: Visited once
MY REVIEW: I couldn't wait for the Bistro to open since it was right around the corner from my home. So, on Jan 29 I was invited out for my birthday and I chose to go here. It was FANTASTIC - the service was excellent, and the food superb. I enjoyed the ambience and thrilled to find a little bit of Paris in my own backyard.
NAME: JJ
SUBMITTED: 1/30/2008 LAST VISIT WAS: 1/29/2008
FREQUENCY: Visited once
MY REVIEW: My wife and I went here on a chilly January evening. I really enjoyed myself. It's nice and cozy, definitely reminds me of a place I went to once in Nice.
We had foie gras and a salad for appetizer. The vinaigrette was quite tasty. My wife really liked the bread they serve. For main course she had a pasta and seafood dish while I tried a Pizza Don Camillo. I liked it quite a bit.
I have forgotten what we ate for a dessert, but I know it was chocolate (petit gateau maybe?) and very tasty. We are not wine drinker but they have a listing that looks pretty good to my untrained eye. I had a couple of Kronenbourg beers that were nice and cold.
Service was attentive, but not rushed. We took our time and stretched out our meal. Overall, I enjoyed our visit to Don Camillo. Prices were very reasonable, with the total for 2 incl tip I think was less than $80. Give it a try, it's a nice place to relax and linger. I will go back and work my way through the menu.
NAME: Santos L Halper
SUBMITTED: 1/29/2008 LAST VISIT WAS: Jan 2008
FREQUENCY: Visited once
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