Bistro Aix

Reviews 3

ST

Stewart Pierson

Why did I have to set such high expectations!? I should know better by now. I made the mistake of getting myself overly excited about Bistro Aix (and yes, I partially blame all of you) and once again, expectation didnt even come close to matching reality. I visited Bistro Aix during a business dinner and was given a limited menu to order from. Although the selections werent what I personally would have ordered, they certainly fell in the realm of what I figured I would enjoy from a place like this. But before I get into my disappointment, let me talk about the layout and dining experience. Lots of people have commented on the sexiness of the restaurant. Im going to be a dissenting voice here because nothing about it really felt all that different from any other restaurant. It didnt feel extremely upscale, nor did the ambiance scream romance (which I would have expected from a nicer French restaurant). It was nice and clean, however, and I doubt youd leave feeling like you walked out of a dive. Our meeting took place in one of the back conference rooms, which although appropriate, was somewhat disappointing. The decor was a bit odd and the layout wasnt really conducive to a business presentation. I would have rather just been sandwiched in with the rest of the crowd inside the main dining hall. On arriving in the meeting hall, there were a selection of pizzas (Margharita and Mushroom Fontina pizzas, I believe) as well as the Blue Cheese chips to munch on. All of the above were soggy and limp even when they were brought "fresh" from the kitchen. I love the idea of the Blue Cheese chips and admittedly the Margharita pizza had a nice taste but they ended up sitting flaccid on my plate because of the mushiness. For my meal I started off with a French Onion Soup which was beautifully cheesy and very flavorful. It was the lone item I tried that was worth raving about. It was done exactly how a French Onion soup should be, from the presentation down to the glorious stretchiness of the cheese. But it all gets worse from here. Next came my entree, an Oxtail Risotto with Wild Mushrooms and Watermelon. Sounded divine. It wasnt. It was one of the most bland and texturally distasteful things Ive had in a long time. I dont even know how to describe my experience with the dish without cringing a bit. I pulled out the mushrooms and munched on those after a bit because they were the only thing I found palatable. I would have sent it back for something else but the dinner was moving very very slowly and our servers were slightly unfriendly so I figured it wasnt worth my time. To end it all I requested a Creme Brulee to-go for dessert. Creme Brulee is a dish which in inexcusable for a French restaurant to not absolutely nail and this was also a huge dud for me. The berries didnt taste fresh and the flavor tasted a bit off. Even though it was a small portion, I didnt finish it. People have commented to me that it is unfair to review a restaurant based on a limited menu which I may not have ordered on my own. I totally disagree. This is obviously part of their business and their limited menu should be stacked with things they known they can nail, especially since business customers can bring in a lot of money for them. I feel they failed big time on this one. Now, for those interested, if I were to order exactly what I wanted, this is what I would have done (although now with this bad experience under my belt, Im not sure Ill ever get the chance): I probably would have started off with some Fromage including the 5-year gouda, the Asher Blue, and Fromager DAffinios, followed by Escargot (one of my favorite foods on the planet). My entree would likely have been the Gnocchi. I would have stuck with the creme brulee (which I obviously already know is a no-go). I guess its on to find another French restaurant that can fulfill my desires.

A

A Private User

I wrote this under my wifes name. I chose this place because I wanted to take my wife to a good restaurant for our 4 year wedding anniversary. I called ahead and requested that we be seated in a quiet and semi private area which it claims on there website can be done. When we arrived we were placed in there main dining room. We requested a booth which turned out to not be bolted to the floor. Any time somebody would get up or move we would be pushed from behind. It was also extremely noisy and we pretty much had to yell to be able to hear each other. We requested to be moved to a quieter place and we were put in there "take out" area which they told us was basically an overflow space. We were placed right in front of an air conditioning vent so it was freezing. Our waiter brought our drinks and after waiting 25 minutes we still had not been able to even order an appetizer because he never came back. We decided to leave but they insisted we stay and they found us a table in a quieter and warmer room. We were able to finally order our appetizer and it was out to our table in decent time. We ordered their cheese pizza and escargot for an appetizer. The pizza was decent and really was only about as good as a cheap pizza place. The escargot was horrible. It had a horrible flavor and it was not cleaned very well. It was chewy and had grains of sand in them and the sauce they were put in was pretty much oil with just a hint of something nasty tasting. We hoped our main food would be better. I ordered lamb and my wife ordered "free-form" lasagna. My lamb smelled horrible. It was in a nasty, runny green sauce that had a hint of mint taste to it and other than that tasted nasty. The "free-form" lasagna was basically 3 cheap lasagna noodles layed on the plate and it look like someone had puked on them. It didnt really have much flavor as it didnt really have much sauce mixed in. It also had a pretty bad granular texture. My wife requested some sauce to put on it and that only helped it out a little bit. My wife complained about it and they tried to talk her into getting something new. She said that she probably wouldnt like anything else. After that the waiters became rude. We will never go back to this place again and I would suggest that you choose a completely different place if you want good food at a better price.

MA

Max Joseph

Bistro Aix is a great example of the food revolution that has gripped cities like Washington DC, San Francisco, and is making its way to Jacksonville, Florida? Not quite, while Bistro Aix is a shinning example of how good food can be, Jacksonville has yet to fully embrace the standards set by bistro. Youll find Bistro Aix located in the historic San Marco part of town, this quaint neighborhood lends itself well to Aix. The theme is that of Aix-en-Provence France and youll find reminders of it peppered all over the location. There are several options for eating, the bar, the main dining room, outside in their courtyard, or in Onyx the new extension for dining/bar. The menu is full of fantastic treats that youll no doubt spend hours poring over. A robust wine list will leave you very happy when you find a bottle for as little as 40$ or as pricy as $4,000. Make sure to try a few menu items. Their smoked tomato soup with Crème fraîche; Warm Lamb sandwich with jus dip, house made potato chips with warm blue cheese dressing, and great wood fired pizzas. Aix has a bar where you can sit and look into their open kitchen, youll see your food go from fins and scales to hot roasted in their ovens. Aix also sports a pastry shop where rich sweets await. If you are looking around youll find Onyx, an all white bar in stark contrast to the rest of Aix. My issue with Onyx is that while it has the same service and food, because its so modern there is no sound dampening on the walls and that leaves this room very loud if you are used to the rest of Aix. Chef Gray was nominated for the James Beard award and is very deserving of it. He continues to push the food movement in the Jacksonville area and people come in herds to eat here. Make sure avoid this place during the normal lunch/dinner hours when corporate America comes to feed. Aix gets 5 stars from me because I know each time I eat here I am in for a treat and will be taken care of table side. If you are looking for a fine dinning experience where ingredients are treated with respect, and techniques are true to form then this is Jacksonvilles premier address.