Bistro Saisons

I have to say I was extremely disappointed by this place after reading all of the positive reviews. Came here for our three year anniversary which may be why it’s receiving a star more than it deserves. The food was pretty decent I really don’t have the many complaints when it came to that aspect of the meal, the service however was horrific. I found our server to be very inattentive, which was annoying in a place that is supposed to be a little bit classier. Other than that I don’t have much to say, our meal was expensive and it would have ben worth it if our night was perfect, but I don’t think it was so I don’t think I’ll be back.

I’ve eaten here twice now (for dinner) and we had a great experience both times. Same waitress both times, who was very knowledgeable about wines and the food, and attentive as well. They were even able to accommodate our reservation for a friend who decided to come with us at the last minute, even though the restaurant was pretty full at 8pm on a Friday evening!
Food is pretty good, focused on French-​ish cuisine using local ingredients. We were there about 4 weeks apart and the menu had changed somewhat already — not sure if this is a regular occurrence or if it was just the season changing over. In any case, it made me happy to have new options to try. The menu is a good size — enough choices but not overwhelming.
The appetizers have been hit and miss — crispy duck fritters where I thought the frying overwhelmed the duck taste (but my husband loved), frogs legs with spaetzle and a tomato-​based sauce just seemed like an odd combination (though the legs were cooked perfectly otherwise), but the cheese plate we had more recently was a nice assortment (but I found on the small side for the price).
All the mains we’ve had have been excellent though — duck confit perfectly crispy, a thick juicy pork chop (both served with seasonal vegetables), and a tender (but not stringy) braised lamb shank with delicious smashed potatoes.
I would say that it’s on the expensive side but not as expensive as Normand’s. A nice treat — make sure you make reservations!

Bistro Saisons itself is beautiful. Small without being cramped, the restaurant has a cosy, modern atmosphere that combines the deep blue of the walls and bar with oodles of natural sunlight. Each table has a real flower in a vase located in the centre: a good sign that the restaurant owners truly do prefer things au naturel. The menu is short but sweet, offering a number of delicious options, such as Spring Creek Ranch Flatiron Steak, Alberta-​bred Bison, and a Greenstein Farms Lamb dish that changes depending on the chef’s choice of preparation. Bistro Saisons also offers daily specials depending on what’s in season and what kinds of meat are fresh and readily available.
After browsing the menu for 30 seconds (we were starving), Funmi ordered the Bistro Burger with fries and homemade ketchup, and I selected the daily special (and one of my all-​time favourite dishes), Beef Bourguignon.
I’m usually very particular about my beef bourguignon, and personally use a modified Jamie Oliver recipe that’s heavy-​handed on the red wine, garlic, and rosemary. Bistro Saisons’ version, while different, was absolutely excellent. The beef was tender and flavourful, the pearl onions were a delightful touch, and the broth was hearty and rich without being too overpowering.
The burger, likewise, was everything a bistro burger should be: juicy, flavourful, and satisfying, served on a freshly toasted bun with a side of tasty homemade fries. The homemade ketchup is a nice touch; while it’s not what most of us would be used to, it goes really well with the fries.
The restaurant also offers a great selection of local beverages, from wine to craft beer, and their prices for both food and drink are completely reasonable.
I’d go back to Bistro Saisons in an instant, especially knowing that the menu might be different during my next visit. It’s exciting to not know what’s in store for the Bistro’s next line-​up of dishes and, knowing their dedication to local produce, I can’t wait to see what delicious concoctions Chef Scott comes up with next!

We came here because of one of those coupon deals, but we’re so glad we did. The food was very good and so was the service. The room has very high ceilings which I think will be noisy when they are busy. The entrée prices were all under $ 30 and wine was $ 7 for a nice red. I had a double pork chop that was perfectly cooked and well seasoned and the sauce was delicious. And this place knows how to do vegetables. I find most restaurants seem to skip the veg or cook it to death, but there was a nice selection of veg and a delicious gratin potato and a red cabbage that I liked a lot more than I expected to. Hubby had a tasty lamb shank preceded by the cheese plate appetizer which was very nice and a lovely presentation. My appetizer was the crispy duck fritters which were good, but I felt they needed more cherry in the sauce for flavour. We didn’t have time or room for dessert but I really want to see what they can do with dessert. We had trouble finding them by the address because they are on the north side of 104ave tucked in next to one ATB Financial and facing another ATB Financial.

The worst part about my dinner at Bistro Saisons is that I now have ANOTHER place on the list of restaurants to go back to!
We went for dinner on a fairly busy night (I’m glad we had a reservation!) and managed to snag the last table not in the center of the room. The restaurant is small and cozy, and I love the big windows, especially on a summer evening so we weren’t missing the daylight.
There was a mix up with ordering our appetizer, but the server handled it well and comped it on our bill. My bison short ribs were perfect; very tender and a big portion.
If you’re a lemon fan, the honey-​lemon crème brûlée is excellent, and a good size too.

Bistro Saisons can be summed up in a few words: cute, quaint and homey. I never heard/​even knew this restaurant existed until my parents introduced me to it. We went on an early Thursday evening for dinner and I was pleasantly surprised. It has a very nice cozy atmosphere and I really like the layout/​design of the place. Very bistro-​ish if that’s a word.
We were sat in one of the comfy booths (there’s only two at the front with a window view) and would definitely recommend you reserve a spot there. Er… I mean don’t reserve that spot. It’s not good. Go away. Haha.
Anyways, while the menu is small, everything is reasonably priced and the food is spot on delicious. We decided to have:
— Frites ($ 5) — really good amount of fries that comes with a smoked tomato aioli. THe dipping sauce is awesome, definitely ask for more (than the one it comes with, you will need it)
— Salmon a la francais ($ 25) — I know, super original name. Salmon was cooked perfectly and had that nice slightly crunch to it on the bottom. Came with turnip, lentils, three small scallops, bit of thinly cut pear slices and some other veggies. This was one of the specials of the day.
— Lamb chops ($ 24) — they have a different type of lamb dish each night and tonight’s was a lamp chop (three pieces). Very very reasonable price especially for lamb!
— Bison short rib ($ 26) — braised in St. Ambroise oatmeal stout (Montréal beer!) with mashed potatoes, onion, parsnip and tomato ragout. The bison was super tender and you get a very good sized portion.
All in all, a very good experience. Beautiful presentation, tasty dishes and great quality for the price you pay. Definitely my type of a restaurant. A gem in this area so if you live nearby, go give it a shot. It’s only been open for a few months (since February) but it is well on it’s way to being a mainstay.

This is a cute and cozy place with good food and great service. They have a cigar and dinner night which I plan on checking out.

I was pretty surprised to read some of the negative reviews about Bistro Saisons, as I had an overwhelmingly positive first experience here. Granted, there are always kinks in the system when a new place opens, and hopefully those iron themselves out over time.
I visited Bistro Saisons for «Swine & Dine,» which was a special, family-​style, pork-​centric meal. The interior was done up nicely with communal tables and crisp linens. The soundtrack was some mishmash of Adele, Michael Buble, and others, but it was too loud. Music with lyrics can be dangerous territory as background tunes; instrumental, as a rule, blends in better.
The salad course presented a large bowl of local greens with hard-​cooked duck eggs, tomatoes, olives, and lardons. The tomatoes were a bit underripe and it was hard to tell what the dressing was. The greens, olives and lardons, however, worked beautifully together. I cannot comment on the duck eggs, as I’ve never cared for hard-​cooked eggs. It’s just how it is.
A cassoulet of white beans and pork belly was ridiculously addicting. The seasoned crumb topping was at once classy, but not so pretentious that it didn’t evoke memories of crumb-​topped mac and cheese casseroles. It was simply divine.
Pork roast with apricot-​cognac glaze was tender and boozy-​fruity. Sides of black lentils and roasted veg were fragrant and fit nicely with their protein-​heavy counterpart.
Dessert was a hefty slice of chocolate cake with choco-​bacon crumble. It was difficult to actually taste the bacon, but it provided excellent textural contrast.
Service was scattered at times, especially when drink orders were taken, but their entire staff was affable and knowledgeable.
I wish Bistro Saisons lots of success and will certainly return for another meal.

I would give it a 3.5 if I could, but alas, we deal with whole numbers in the Unilocalasphere :-)
We went this past Friday night (3÷15÷13) and we were informed by the very nice and enthusiastic waitress that it was their 3^rd week :-) The place, as Alouise D. points out is the «4^th and Vine» space in Oliver Square. So, space wise, it hasn’t changed too much, with the exception of a new coat of paint and new décor. One thing the new owners need to do is get new windows or get them caulked because the cold air coming through is very apparent. In fact, I really believe it is why they had the shades down for those tables (including ours) at the windows (it was a bit dark and the waitress could tell I couldn’t see much so she pulled up a shade that was behind our table so I could see vs. ours).
I ordered the Pâté’ de Champagne, which was suprisingly good and a bit peppery. It is served with 3 nice sized pieces of home made bread that has been toasted and lightly buttered. My companion has the «Frites» which was a substantial plate with aioi. He enjoyed them and I did my pâté’. The only other two places that have good pâté’ or actually make Foie Gras are Normand’s and Ginny’s and not even all the time, for obvious reasons.
From the appetizers, we both ordered the specials on the board. My companion ordered the Snapper (broiled) with quinoa and I had the Hare with root vegetables. My only «complaint» here is that the chef could have chosen to add a bit of a green vegetable for both our entreés as they both seemed a little on the «lean» side. However, the flavour for both was quite good and were both enjoyed.
Dessert was also quite nice as I ordered the homemade Lemon Tarte with Saskatoon Berry Compote and my companion the Chocolate Espresso Cake. Both were very good and actually tasted like they were homemade :-)
The only thing I didn’t enjoy was the Quail’s Gate Reisling actually, but that is something they can’t control since we ordered the bottle and took the chance (never having had it before).
Based on the two previous critiques of the place, perhaps they are getting their «service» legs, Matt A. since our waitress was quite attentive and since they didn’t have enough room at the table for the wine chiller, she made sure to come by often enough to make sure we were topped off with our wine…
In all, I do hope they make a go of it and yes, we’ll go back in a few months again to see how things are going and to try the summer/​fall menu too :-)

I came here for lunch today. Bistro Saisons is a newly opened French restaurant in Oliver Square where 4^th and Vine used to be. Actually the 4^th and Vine sign is still up outside so unless you drove up to the building and saw the «open for lunch signs» you’d likely have no idea this restaurant exists. Obviously the restaurant will need to put up a new sign to let people know there’s a restaurant here. As it is right now Bistro Saisons feels hidden in plain sight — like a secret little gem.
I walked over from Grant MacEwan, with plans actually to go to another restaurant, but since my first choice hadn’t opened for the day, and Bistro Saisons had I decided to go to Bistro Saisons. The restaurant had just opened for the day (I got there shortly after 11) so I had my pick of tables. What I loved first of all were the big windows, which let in a lot of sunlight. The restaurant has a simple and classic décor, and it was bright and cheery. From talking with the waitress it sounds like Bistro Saisons is more casual for lunch and then a little more intimate for dinner. It seems like it would be a great date spot of dinner, but I’d come here with my friends or family too.
The lunch menu has a nice selection of soups, salads, sandwiches, and frites. Of course being a French restaurant the focus is on French food, but the restaurant also sources local foods and farms, which is awesome. That wasn’t something I found out until I checked their website after my visit — I think it might be nice if they mentioned this on the menu as well. I’m not one of those «eat local or die» kind of people, but knowing that local ingredients are being used for their food is always nice.
Moving onto the food I ordered the Jambon Brie Sandwich. If can’t remember the French you learned back in elementary school this is essentially a ham and cheese sandwich. That’s not right. This is better than a ham and cheese sandwich. This is an open face sandwich with thin slices of delicious ham (jambon) brie cheese, topped with a fried duck egg. I’ve never had duck egg before — it seems a little bit bigger than a chicken egg would be, and had a really rich flavour that worked perfectly with the rest of the sandwich. The sandwich also has béchamel sauce (which is always delicious) and it’s served on top of this butter salty olive bread.
Sometimes I like to try dishes in restaurant that have something in them that I don’t like, and I’ve never liked olives. It’s a challenge. If you can make me reconsider my hatred for something like olives then I’m going to take notice. In this dish I quite enjoyed the olives — I think because they weren’t too overpowering. Everything worked well together. The sandwich was $ 14 and came with either fries or a house salad. I decided to get the house salad which was good, certainly nothing mind blowing, but it was good. One thing I did appreciate about the salad was that the dressing to salad ratio was spot on. It wasn’t too dry; it wasn’t too soggy, it was just right. The dressing was nice balsamic vinaigrette.
Lunch would have been filling enough, but the waitress came by and asked if I wanted dessert and then I made the mistake of asking if they had crème brûlée, which they did. I’m a huge sucker for crème brûlée and when I found out the special for today was white chocolate I had to order it. The crème brûlée was so good — I mean delicious creamy white chocolate how can you go wrong? That was rhetorical — you can’t. It seems their crème brûlée flavours change, so I’d be interested in coming back again to try something else.
The waitress who served me was very personable and friendly and quite attentive in making sure that everything was going well, and that I was enjoying my meal. After my meal the owner (I believe) of Bistro Saisons came by to ask me about my experience, and she too seemed very interested in hearing what I thought — even asking me if there was anything specifically they could improve on next time.
Seeing Bistro Saisons is a newly opened restaurant they have probably had a few kinks to work out (like any newly opened business does) but the fact the staff and owner seemed genuinely interested in what I thought of the food, the service and the restaurant was great. It seems someone else on Unilocal didn’t have a great experience here, but everything about my meal and my time at Bistro Saisons was excellent. I hope other people will be willing to try Bistro Saisons as well. Delicious food, reasonable price, personable and attentive service, not to mention supporting a local business and locally sourced food — that’s pretty much a perfect restaurant in my opinion, and Bistro Saisons excels on all points. I’ll be back again for sure.