L'Absinthe Bistro is an excellent French restaurant and I am familiar with excellent French and Swiss restaurants having visited France a number of times. I'm surprised this Commercial Drive restaurant is not on the 10 Best list. It is a small restaurant so reservations are advised. The chef has been trained in Lyon, France and it shows.
My third time here and I loved my experience as much as my first. Friendly staff. Intimate atmosphere (limited capacity indoors and outdoors so be sure to make a reservation). Very clean. Most importantly: a rotating menu. Their high-quality ingredients are apparent in every bite. On this visit, we received complimentary French fries, which were DELICIOUS!!! I did not expect them to be SO tasty otherwise I would’ve taken a photo of them as well! Can’t wait to see what the items on their next menu will be!
If you’re looking for a French eatery and enjoy a rotating fixed price menu, try Absinthe Bistro.Like all restaurants on commercial, the foods pretty good. I would recommend the fixed price option over a la carte because it’s more worth it and a better experience.I’d say the 2 course fixed meal for $58 is enough food as they give the table bread and butter to start, while their portions are a decent size.We ordered? Pate en Croute? Lamb Wellington? Seafood Bouillabaisse? Creme brûléeI’m a huge seafood fan so I really enjoyed the bouillabaisse. The flavour was good, generous on the seafood and got some bread to balance it off. The pate en croute was okay, I would’ve preferred it to taste creamier, found there was a bit too much pork. Creme brûlée was great, as expected.We also tried the absinthe and that was a great experience, so you need to of course try that at the absinthe bistro!Overall, it was a good dining experience, especially on the patio. However, I’m not sure if the food was fully worth the price. If you really like French food it’s worth it, but that’s my take on it.
So delicious! The steak was incredible as was the gazpacho. The desserts are outstanding. Prepare to spend a bit of time enjoying your meal as the portions are large and there is quite bit of time between each service as you meant to relax and enjoy your food. Great service as well. Very good value for the price as well.
Returning to restaurants after Covid, I have largely been underwhelmed, but not so at Absinthe. It is even better than it used to be. Everything cooked with love and imagination and exquisite attention to detail. This is certainly one of my two or three favourite restaurants in Vancouver and probably my favourite because of the great service.
We had a group of 6 to celebrate a trip to Paris. The evening was fantastic. The service and the food was outstanding. What a delight to be treated like you were the only customers they cared about. Between the 6 of us we tried everything on the menu and it was all delicious. We will be back.
I took my mom there for her birthday. We had a wonderful evening; one 3 course meal, one 2 course. The foi gras was delish, as were the steak and duck confit. The scallops were juicy; the only false note was the lava cake, which could have done with another 60 seconds in the over, IMHO. The French cocktail was a true hit, and our server was wonderful.
Very very good food, including side dishes like bread (from Quebec) and butter! We ordered scallop crudo as starter, steak and halibut as main courses for each person and chocolate lava cake as dessert, absolutely amazing! Scallop was super fresh, nicely seasoned. Steak has this charcoal flavor to it, nice dressing and tasty salad. Halibut was moist and flaky, nice match with purée! Wine and beer were also good. Nice interior design too, interesting chair and lamp at the entrance. We are so happy we tried this place in our short visit to Vancouver!
It started with the bread and butter, I'd like a vat of the butter! The rib eye was cooked perfectly and very tasty. And the chocolate lava cake was to die for. We'll definitely go back.
I organized a dinner celebration with my family and friends at Absinthe and it’s a very enjoyable experience. The food is delicious and consistent. Great wine and ambience. Definitely will come back again. Thank you chef and team for the great service and dining experience.