Bouchon - YOUNTVILLE

We celebrated our anniversary by driving down Yountville and having lunch at Bouchon Bistro. We made a reservation and were seated right away. The place was full and crowded when we arrived. My only negative about this place is that the tables are very close to one another. You can hear the conversations next to your table and we can't have a private conversation without being heard. We ordered the steak frites, soupe I'Oignon, Endive Salad, and Moules Au Safran. Just a note to everybody, their fresh sparking water is not free and comes with a price. The soupe was highly recommended and were glad we had it. It was very delicious. The Endive salad was fresh and the dressing was light and not overpowering. The Moules Au Safran had a big bowl of mussels and cooked with wine. The bowl was generous in portion and delicious. The steak frites were very tender and juicy. It came with fries also. The size is just right for lunch. We enjoyed our lunch and had a memorable anniversary celebration. The place also has a bakery shop next to the restaurant. There were several patrons lined up however the line was very fast. We just grab a cup of coffee and a few pastries before heading home. This is a nice place in Yountville and we'll be coming back here again if we decide to visit.

Stopped in for lunch just as Bouchon was opening. I felt fortunate to score myself a seat at the bar counter. I began with a delicious Butternut squash soup of the day. I followed that with what I was told was a recent addition to the menu, a rich, boeuf bourguignon, so tender, no knife required. I finished with Profiteroles, 3 balls of vanilla ice cream nestled in a choux pastry/ shell covered by chocolate sauce. A great meal. Professional, attentive service. You would be excused if you thought you just had lunch in a Paris bistrot.

I think one time at Bouchon is enough. There wasn't anything special to keep us coming back. First off, by seating my husband and I between two other couples and our tables were only several inches apart from each other. It was tight quarters that our table had to be moved out for me to sit inside and pushed up against my belly. It was weird, awkward, loud and I couldn't hear anyone except the conversations of the two couples next to me. I think everyone felt it was weird. As the host was leading us into the restaurant, I saw many empty tables but NOOOPE, she squished us with other people. Secondly, FLIES GALORE! Flies was landing on my forehead, my shirt, my eyelashes. I had to keep them away from our food. It was annoying and distracting. However, we had a good server. She was very nice, checked on us, refilled our water and even though she had many tables to manage, I thought she paid us enough attention. The menu was very thin printed on a paper bag material. We ordered the apple salad to share, butternut squash soup and the steak frites. It was our first time eating steak frites outside of Paris so we were excited to try it. The steak was very juicy, covered in onions, very different than the thinly sliced, dry steak we had in Paris. It was OK. The winner was the butternut squash soup which happened to be the special of the day. Very creamy, perfect for an autumn day. It was a one and done type of lunch date, glad we tried it, next!

Some of the best macarons I've ever had! They were ginormous not too sweet. Love pistachio so glad they had that as an innovative option. Chocolate croissants were good too as I expected. The line is long for good reason!

Best sauce I've had that goes with the steak fries is here. Haven't had better French onion soup since Paris. Everything is good here. Worth the trip. Service is good, and love the Napa/Paris ambiance here. One of my favorite places to eat Napa.