Bistro Florin

This place is no longer in business. I tried going there August 2014 and it is closed.

Best meal I’ve had outside of Paris. Waiter was knowledgable, friendly, spoke French and English. Comfortable seating, great atmosphere. And the food was amazing. We had stingray — how cool is that? And steak, cooked perfectly with potato, tomato, grapes. Escargot was perfect appetizer and crème brûlée a perfect ending. Brought our own wine and enjoyed bread and butter as well. Not too pricey but by far worth the money you do spend.

I cannot say enough about this place. I live in Portland, Maine, small-​town capitol of amazing restaurants, and I couldn’t find a single fault here.
I was pretty wary when we walked up to the restaurant – it doesn’t look like much from the outside and the décor is definitely nothing to write home about. It’s a very small dining room with apparently only one waiter. My boyfriend doesn’t speak French so the waiter translated THE ENTIRE MENU for us! (I probably could have done without the explanation of what ravioli is, but so kind nonetheless.) He could not have been any more accommodating.
We started with foie gras ravioli and brie – I was, frankly, shocked by the quality of the presentation. The onion soup was the perfect size – a first-​course snack with the clarity and simplicity of the best French food.
I had the duck (not in a jar) with a beet reduction, roasted vegetables and popcorn. Again, the plate was gorgeous and the duck was cooked perfectly. He had the lamb and it fell off the bone – no knife necessary. We finished with lime crème brûlée – delicate flavor, perfectly bruleed top.
Of course, bring your own wine! The bill was 80 for basically four courses for each of us – extremely affordable.

Awesome. Fantastic food and service. Someone has the short ribs and I have bavette beef. Amazing, well balanced flavours. Remember to bring your wine, the have none. Maitre de very attentive and warm. Would return in a heartbeat.

Le menu est tellement intéressant! J’ai finalement choisi des raviolis au foie gras avec une bavette aux échalotes et la mousse au chocolat! C’était vraiment succulent! Merci à notre serveur qui est plus que sympathique. Mon amoureux et moi avons été comblés!

Excellent food. Especially the corn soup was breath taking. Service was very nice and the dinner was the perfect start into an French Canadian night in Ottawa!

This place really served some spectacular food. The food is traditional French which means it is excellent and rich. The prices were good but a bit higher than he two $$ it had on my phone looking at the map. Entrees were in he $ 22 – 29 range which I would say is more $$$. However, I think they were less expensive than they should have been. I would definitely go back. Though they really need to make the bathroom into the basement a lot nicer. Btw, you can bring your own wine to this one.

This gem is tucked away in the heart of downtown. Here you will find a cozy Bistro with a lovely terraced courtyard, with leafy vines and strung lights adding to the warm ambience. Your server will bring you a chalk board presenting the daily menu. The bistro specializes in creative takes of classic French food; the dishes were artfully arranged on the plates and tasted as amazing as they appeared. Our party of six enjoyed everything we tried (salads, escargot, filets, seafood); most of us were traveling from other cities but one local foodie was with us and couldn’t believe she hadn’t discovered this place before, especially upon learning its bring-​your-​own-​wine!

Had the escargot and side salad for appetizer it was very tasty and fresh. My main course was he duck confit in a jar with mashed potatoes. The duck was fantastic, very tasty and portions were fine. Our only complaint was the mashed potatoes were
Not mashed enough.
Will definitely go back when in Montréal.
It’s BYOB also!

After seeing the reviews we decided to check this out… so glad we did. The food and service were both great, though it is a short menu, we still had a hard time choosing. We started with ceviche, foie gras crème brûlée, and a crispy Brie. They were all delicious, but be aware that the ceviche was not a South American style we are used to. Main courses were duck in a Joan and the rack of lamb. Again, all delicious!

Great little spot. No pretention, just good food and friendly service. I loved that they had BYOB. Thank you Unilocal for helping us find this place!

Saw the review and decided to go here. Glad we made the choice.
We sat in the backyard which was very cozy.
We ordered Canard en Jarre, lamb shank, salmon tartar and a dish with shrimps, lobsters, mussels etc. All were great.
And don’t forget to bring your own wine.
Had a great time here. Highly recommended.

What happened it has been closed now for the past month and the is up for rent!
Will miss the back patio and the service!
R.I.P
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Very nice as usual, tried their new dish, Surf and turf, lobster overcooked and too salty, meat lack of juice, presentation perfect.
The foi gras entrée would be better warmer.
BUT: service with Melanie and overall ambiance wonderful. Pet friendly too.
Just a great place to go out, bring you own wine, in the heart if the village
thanks and look forward to re-​visit!

The menu is scribbled on a blackboard and whilst it’s short it’s adventurous and left me quite conflicted about what to choose.
The Shrimp ceviche was delicious and so was the soup du jour.
I had Canard en Jarre. Literally a piece of duck cooked in a jar. It was full of flavors and a preparation I hadn’t seen anywhere before. My guest had the lamb shank. I stole a taste and it was quite delicious. We shared ice-​cream in expresso with cream and chocolate sauce — also delicious.
We sat in the garden which made us feel liked «family» sharing the great ambiance created by the friendly staff.

ADORABLE.
We went here to power up our stomachs before heading to the ‘Mondial de la bière’, that was a good decision on our behalf.
In the back they have outdoor seating, inside there’s nice art and overall a pleasant décor, the staff is super friendly and the food is great.
Reservations are needed, we didn’t have any and they fabricated a seating arrangement for us despite that but next time I will save them the effort and just reserve, and there will be a next time for sure.

My fiancé and I are major foodies and well-​traveled, and we agree that one of the best meals of our entire lives was Bristo Florin! You have to eat there if you visit Montréal, we’d come back from NYC just to do it again.
I saw Bistro Florin on Unilocal and Trip Advisor and decided to take my fiancé there for his birthday dinner when we visited Montréal for a weekend trip. The ambiance is great, not pretentious at all, with good music, and perfect service. The restaurant has a nice patio in the back, and you can bring your own wine too.
Our waiter was nice enough to read through the menu and explain each dish for us. We both had the carrot and ginger soup as an appetizer, which was homemade and light with the right amount of natural sweetness. My fiancé went with a duck confit with mashed potatoes and cabbage smothered in gravy poached from the duck. It just melted in our mouths, and surprisingly wasn’t greasy at all. I had the duck breast in blueberry sauce with vegetables on the side. Amazing combination of flavors and textures! We were on such a high with the mind-​boggling food that we just had to finish the night off with chocolate cake. This all came out to less than $ 75 for two, which wasn’t bad at all.
I’m telling you, the food was sooo good that not only did we personally thank the chefs but my fiancé left his rental car keys at the restaurant (major food coma). We didn’t realize until the next day right before we had to check out that the keys were missing. We went back to Bistro Florin and found a note on the door for us telling us to contact the chef’s phone number so he could come and give us our keys! After 20 minutes or so the chef came and saved us, chatted about his former time as a chef in France and Guatemala, and proceeded to wish us safe travels home before going on his way. This was a perfect dining experience and I had to write this review so that others can enjoy Bistro Florin too.

Déception… les plats étaient tous froids, et les portions très, très petites…
Le serveur était débordé (midi) mais tout de même sympathique.
Je n’y retournerai pas, c’rst certain.
J’avais emmené tous mes collègues en lisant les avis ici., qui sont très bons. Ça s’est avéré une mauvaise expérience au final.

My boyfriend and I went to Montréal over Christmas, and Bistro Florin was one of the highlights of our trip! The atmosphere was welcoming and comfortable. We shared oysters to start, which were fresh and delicious. My boyfriend had beef and I had salmon, both were cooked perfectly. It was such a wonderful and delicious experience, I suggest this place to anyone in the area looking for well prepared and flavorful French food. Great service as well!

Every time I visit Montréal, I go to Bistro Florin. The owner (s) are indeed from France and are now in Montréal by way of here and there. This restaurant is truly amazing for the following reasons. There is a shaded outdoor patio for summer dining. During the summer, reservations for the patio are a must. But there is usually interior seating inside at all times of year. Even though every single dish on the menu is amazingly delicious, the prices are reasonable for what you get. You can have a delicious soup such as vichyssoise plus an appetizer including their fabulous «La crème brûlée au foie gras», a main course (often including a duck preparation and one or two of the main courses always include an optional fois gras accompaniment), and a desert (a frozen nougat cake on my last summer visit, yum) for $ 40.00 U. S per person. Apportez votre vin (Bring your own wine.)
The menu changes frequently, if not daily. They are also open for lunch with slightly smaller portions and of course priced inexpensively.
I found this little place on my own and then took my Montréal friends there. They could not believe that I had found such a jewel of an authentic country French restaurant without anyone’s recommendation. They now attend this gastronome of gustatory delights at least once a month. LOL.

My boyfriend and I stumbled upon Bistro Florin on Grand Prix weekend. We had tried to get into O’Thym without a reservation, but failed and were wandering. We noticed this cute place (very new at the time) and found that it had a great outdoor seating area in the back of the restaurant.
The staff was amazing. They spoke both French and English and we believe the owner is from France
We started with drinks and an appetizer. I had a nice white wine. We had an escargot in a puff pastry — to die for! My main was a grilled salmon with veggies. The fish was perfectly cooked and dressed with a tasty (but fattening) French buttery sauce. We split desert.
We left a few hours later after having a leisurely dinner and completely satisfied. If I lived in Montréal, I’d be here much more often. I look forward to going back and hope it stays around for many years!

We highly recommend eating at Bistro Florin. The food, ambience, and service is superb. The food is simple, but delicious «French Country» style cuisine. It was originally recommended that we eat at Au Pied De Cochon, but could not get a reservation. Second on the list was Le Deux Gamins, who ended up closing that day due to a gas leak. So we just headed out of the hotel to see what we could find by chance. As we walked on Amherst we looked to the right and there was a menu board propped up at the entrance to what looked like an outdoor bistro. We found that it was the outdoor space opened for dining in warm weather.
After being graciously seated our waiter brought over the menu, and because it was dark read and described every item to us in french. I understood everything, even though I speak very little french, (Julia C. would be proud). When I said something in English our waiter apologized to me and spoke to us in English the remainder of the meal (which I did not expect him to do). For appetizers we ordered the rabbit and a bowl of the seafood soup that were both excellent and large for an appetizer. For a main course we had the bœuf bourguignon and were going to order a second entrée but were told that the entrees came with a choice of soup or salad. So we chose to have the mushroom soup and still paid for a side salad. The mushroom soup was also excellent and the bœuf bourguignon was too.
For dessert we had the profiteroles and a raspberry tart, which were good. We also had a half carafe of wine. When our bill came we were pleasantly surprised to see the total less than $ 70 for two.

Was there for lunch last week. Great service. Great food that is price reasonably.
Bravo!