My spouse and I and our guide dined at Bistro des Artistes
on a Saturday afternoon in early September 2017. Our guide telephoned to
reserve one of the two windows tables in the restaurant. Reservations at one of
its few tables are highly recommended if you do not wish to wait.
The restaurant is located in a tall historic block of
houses. Our guide provide a unique feature: most have two different owners: one
for the lower floors of the building with an entrance and windows that face the
harbor, and another owner for the upper floors of the building that you access
from Place Pierre Berthelot (street) near the famous wooden church. The
rear-entry dwellings/businesses offer window views of the harbor, whereas the
harbor-entry dwellings offer terrace seating adjacent to the water. Because
Bistro des Artistes occupies the upper floors of the building, its street level
(which is actually the third floor when looking from the harbor) offers just
two window tables in its cozy dining room.
Owner Anne-Marie does not speak English, but we felt her
warmth and hospitality from the huge smile on her face. She takes great care
and pride in her tiny restaurant, where she facilitates activity in both the
dining room and the kitchen. The snug room offers seating at green-topped
tables, some of which share a wooden banquette along one wall. A light tile
floor, some light painted walls, and some exposed brick highlight the
interesting wall décor/art. On the front sidewalk at one of the two small
tables for two people, you can enjoy a coffee or pastry that you purchased at
the small coffee/pastry bar in the front of the restaurant. To complete the
homey feel, a resident dog slept curled up in her basket near the bar. (We
think her name was “Gaufre” with might mean “waffle”!) The kitchen and a teeny
restroom (the smallest we have ever seen!) are located on the floor above the
dining room.
Bistro des Artistes serves French cuisine listed on two wall
chalkboards. We shared the delicious homemade pork pate as a starter, served
with homemade bread and homemade butter. (Do you see a pattern here? Everything
is house-made!) As our main dishes, we ordered the cod (served with mashed
potatoes and topped with a colorful vegetable medley; certainly the most
attractive and nearly the tastiest dish of our entire trip), and two orders of
the duck breast (served with mashed potatoes and a side salad). Including two
rounds of drinks, our bill totaled about 100 Euros for three people. As we paid
our bill by credit card, the owner delivered complimentary truffles. (I’m not
usually a fan of chocolate truffles, but these homemade nuggets of goodness
made me a convert!)
We enjoyed a fantastic lunch at Bistro des Artistes – the
owner is genuine, the food is excellent, and the window-view tables ideal.
