21 Bistro

I think this restaurant is closed. Phone # no longer works. We walked by last night and it’s not there.

Lunch was ho-​hum. Nothing particularly memorable, or for that matter, particularly French about the lunch offerings. The warm chicken salad was fine, but I could make that myself. Soda was flat. For the price, you can find much better options less than a block each way.
Maybe my mistake was not coming for dinner,

The food here is legitimately good, it’s just damn expensive. I had never had ratatouille before coming here but now I want more! It’s not an everyday lunch spot, more like a nice place to take a date or to come with someone on a special occasion. Small and cozy inside which is nice but also limiting.
Seriously though, every French restaurant I’ve seen is expensive. It makes me wonder what poor French people eat.

Came here around 3pm on a Sunday and the place was closed. According to Unilocal and facebook, their hours are from 11:30am to 9pm. Looked for a sign on the door and windows for hours of operation and there was none. Lame!

I wouldn’t say the food was bad but it wouldn’t be memorable to me in a year. I won’t remember what I ate here in a year more likely because of the fact that I won’t be returning. There were 18 seats that I could count inside so if you don’t want to smell car fumes from the street prepare to be cramped. Also the wine was not chilled even though they «kept» it in the refridgerator. Second order of bread that we had was frozen in the middle. also if you dont have a favorite at this restaurant good luck with variety. There’s only two soups and a handful of appetizers and entrees.

I finally got a chance to try this place out since I showed up a little bit early last time. Has a nice, casual, cozy atmosphere (20 seats inside, 10 outside) with an open kitchen for those who like watch the cooks/​chefs at work preparing your meals. Across the small room was an elderly lady that brought a new friend to try the food which she gave high praise to. They were enjoying their afternoon, passing the time relishing on events from their youth and current events while enjoying their soup on a cool breezy day. This place is doing well for itself considering it has been open for about a year and a half (worth the drive to try out, especially if you live in Monrovia or nearby). When it comes to quenching your adult thirst, they have a small but intriguing selection of wines ranging from Brazilier dry Chenin Blanc ($ 24−25/ bottle), to Laherte Frères Brut Champagne ($ 45−46/half bottle). By the glass pours range from $ 8 to $ 10 (port wine). The only downside to their collection is that they only had two beers on hand; bud light and Kronenburg (although the latter is a good choice based on taste and price ($ 6).
I started off with a few pieces of baguette and butter while my order was being fired when my mouth started watering at the smell of the scallops being seared just a few feet away…
*Seared Sea Scallops– the aromas floating in the air, teasing my senses like a curvaceous vixen of a model giving a «come hither» look to a chubby nerd (me). Seared deliciously, juicy and tender enough to be cut with a fork. Was topped with rich, creamy truffle beurre blanc (no truffle oil was used, let’s make sure you know that little factoid. Since they were out of the pea purée, my scallops were served with seasonal vegetables sautéed with pepper, garlic and butter. Paired perfectly with the Kronenburg, served ice cold in a pilsner glass.
*Braised Short Ribs– boneless short rib on top of mashed potatoes drizzled with the reduced braising liquid. The meat was fork tender as it should be, and balanced well with the hints of thyme, garlic, and red wine in the sauce. The potatoes were delicately seasoned simply with butter, salt, and white pepper.
*Cheese and Charcutterie Plate– I got quite a plateful saving this for last. On a small cutting board, I was given slices of: Genoa salami, sopressata, spicy salami, manchego, black pepper cheese, and Roquefort bleu cheese. By far, my favorites were the spicy salami and sopressata for the meats. Also, you can never go wrong with aged manchego, nor with the creamy/​saltiness of Roquefort if you are into blue veined cheeses. It was served with a few slices of radishes and whole grain mustard, not with the traditional accompaniments of sliced fruit, honey, quince paste, or nuts.

Skirtsteak, Pasta Carbonara, Pasta Penne Wonderful. .,
Great Service by Jeff. This was our 2^nd time & we were greeted so warmly. Small, snuggy, friendly and really Great Food. We shall RETURN!

We just had lunch here today for the first time and purely by accident because the place we’d intended to go didn’t have a menu that hit the right chord on this particular day. But French onion soup tends to stop me in my tracks no matter what else I’m doing, if only to give it a fair shot at least once.
Fast forward to POST LUNCH: Ok, so I’m a few (23 or so) pounds heavier than I was what seemed like mere moments ago when I first saw the menu. Totally worth it. The problem is how I’m going to avoid becoming a blimp by, say, Friday? I’m going to have to skip town just to avoid the temptation of this joint. 21 Bistro, why would you do this to me? I never did a thing to you! Was it my special request on the French onion soup? Was it that you thought you’d make my lunch so good, I’d pay… oh yes, how I’d pay? I was perfectly fine until you came along! (So what if it was actually *I* who came along? Don’t go getting all technical on me!)
Doomed, I tell ya. I’ll never wear a bikini again. Never mind that my 53 y/​o a** hasn’t seen one in over 2 decades and has no skull-​crushing interest in doing so. It’s all about FOOD, baby! Harrumph.
See that dish down there? That’s right, the pasta carbonara with bacon? Oh Christ, kill me now! When I became too full for the by-​mouth method, I began fumbling around for the syringe which surely should have accompanied the dish for us serious main-​liners, but none was to be had, so I settled for the to-​go box. I’m super excited that by a week from tomorrow, I’ll be hungry enough again to dig in!
we. will. be. back. Heart attacks be damned. Thank you, 21 Bistro, for waking me back up to good food today. And remarkably happy and decent service.

Cute unassuming restaurant just in the middle of town on Lime. We came to an uncrowded restaurant and had a nice table outside on the sidewalk. Great service, quaint and european feel. Salad, soup, wine, scallops and short ribs all split made for a nice tasting eventing without being too full or too broke. I’ll be back.

This restaurant is just too cute! I came here a day before Valentines day to scope this place out as a potential place to book my birthday party, but too bad it only seats literally 10 – 12 people max.
Upon entering we were greeted by a very old gentlemen who was super courteous and immediately got us seated. I believe there were only two men waiting and one cook in the back. The whole time they had jazz and frank sinatra playing in the background.
This place serves french food at reasonable prices. We shared a scallop appetizer which included two jumbo scallops with pesto sauce. It was tasty. I ordered the short rib and although it was good, it was a little on the dry side. My husband ordered the lamb shank which he scarfed down in like ten minutes, so it must’ve been yummy.
We were so full that we passed on dessert. I heard their desserts are delectable.
I would come back again to enjoy a nice intimate dinner.

SO. GOOD.
Peter & I came here randomly because we didn’t know where else to go in Oldtown Monrovia. When we arrived, the restaurant had one couple seated. We were seated immediately, were brought water, & told the specials for the day. I ordered the duck confit & Peter ordered the lamb shank. Peter also ordered a bottle of wine. The older gentleman checked, and it was out of stock. He did, however, make a recommendation for a pinot noir. We don’t usually drink pinots, but at his recommendation… SURE!
The recommended pinot was very nice. While we waited, we were brought a little loaf of bread straight of the oven. Very fresh! My duck was deeeelish! The skin was crispy and the meat was tender. It came with white beans which was super nommy.
Peter’s lamb shank was extremely flavorful. He told me that back in the day, he had a Tunisian friend who would make this for him. The lamb shank here was reminiscent of the homecooked lamb shank he used to eat!
Entrees were so tasty that we decided to order the crème brûlée for dessert. In accordance with our entrees, the crème brûlée was a hit! We ordered one, and the waiter suggested we order two just because it’s so delicious haha! The layer of sugar was thin, but the flavor was still present.
We thought that the older gentleman was the owner, but turns out he’s the father of the owner. The waiter informed us that the owner is actually a doctor of acupuncture! Crazy! Kudos to him for be such a well-​rounded guy.
By the end of our meal, the restaurant was packed and had people waiting to be seated. Pete & I are already looking forward to our next meal here :)

The place is very small, but in a cozy way. The service was immediately warm and friendly, we were off to a good start just by walking in the doors!
We started with the soup: Souo á La Lyonnaise. It was a creamy onion and potato soup, blended (which I didn’t expect) and worth every penny. It was so delicious that I was tempted to opt out of an entrée and order more!
Salad de Poulet Chaud et Fromage De Chevre Rotis (with balsalmic vinaigrette instead of the creamy cilantro dressing). Again, amazing choice. The greens were fresh with a sharp peppery taste, the checken was succulent and flavorful, the croutons were slathered in melted goat cheese, and all the richness was cut with large pieces of fresh cucumber and this slices of radish! They even split it into two portions for us.
I ordered the Pan Fried Salmon with Warm Ratatouille, Beurre Blanc. It was cooked to perfection with a seared outside and a flaky inside. The veggies were a wonderful compliment, and the white sause was light and flavorful.
Braised Lamb Shank, Carrots, Onions (served over Couscous). I must admit, this was not my favorite dish as it lacked sufficient flavor for me… but I also must admit that I am not a fan of lamb. My boyfriend loved it amd gave that dish 4 out of 5 stars. His words, «it fell off the bone, you can tell it was slow cooked, it was very tender, but not over cooked. It wasn’t fatty, and they brought out the flavor without masking it and while still avoiding the gamey flavor lamb is famous for. I wasn’t really a fan of the couscous flavor though.»
All in all, we are glad we stopped in and we can’t wait to return!

They’re hours are wrong. They close after lunch at 2:30 PM. I was disappointed when I came to find that they had the closed sign up. The waitress came out because I stood out there sad and confused. She offered to let us in since she hadn’t let the chef go but we decided against keeping them.
I finally made it back and got the Kobe steak, warm chicken salad, scallops and crème brûlée. It’s a small and cute place with a couple tables outside and about 6 mini tables inside. They even had a mini bar seating area. It doesn’t look like it’ll be good for large parties without prior notification.
The menu is a simple one pager. Everything sounded good. The only item I really enjoyed was the scallops. The steak was decent but the chicken in the salad was really dry. The crème brûlée was sweeter than I’m used to but like I said, the scallops were good and I would probably come back just for those.
The service was great. The gentleman kept refilling our waters and checking up on us. Perhaps I’ll be back to try other items from this super cute place.

Cute little restaurant that just opened 9 months ago.
We decided to give this place a try because it has outdoor seating and we wanted to bring our new puppy out with us.
Great date spot. Small, but cozy. The hubby and I were celebrating our 1 year anniversary and this place was the perfect choice.
Pros:
–Fresh hot complimentary French bread
–Beet salad was a good portion size. They even split it onto 2 plates for us
–Scallop appetizer was cooked perfectly
–Tender lamb shank … No need for a knife
–Braised short rib… no need for a knife for this either
Cons:
–Right next to the theater, so parking is a little hard to find
–No restroom inside the restaurant. You have to ask for a key and go around to the back of the building
All in all, definitely coming back here.

Tiny little restaurant. Maybe it’s names after the amount of people it can seat. Actually, probably only seats 15.
The food is the best in the area. I had the scallops and fell in love! So fresh, light, and delicious.
The salads are great too, the portions aren’t very big, they’re better as sides.
Great little café for lunch or dinner, especially if you want to treat yourself!

3.5 Stars for now. But that extra half star is just enough to make me return for another meal in the future.
They open at 11:30AM and I came here for lunch on Friday June 7^th with two of my coworkers. We arrived close to 11:40AM and to our horror saw the «CLOSED» sign in front of the window and nobody was inside. We decided to park the car anyway to see if they were open. It turns out that they were open… phew! The one woman working there went ahead and turned the sign around to «OPEN».
I wasn’t able to locate their hours of operation on their website, but luckily Unilocal had it listed.
I ordered a Cappuccino ($ 3) and the Sandwich de Jambon au Gruyère et sa Petite Salade at $ 10 (Ham & Cheese Panini) from their lunch menu. Note that I couldn’t locate the lunch menu on their website either, but they DO have one. Their lunch menu is very similar to their dinner menu although smaller portions and costs between $ 10 – 18 (scallops, short rib, shrimp, ham & cheese sandwich, penne pasta). My coworker orders the Salade de Poulet Chaud et Fromage de Chevre Rotis (chicken salad).
They lady who served us was very nice in the beginning. She took our drink order, answered several of our questions, dropped off bread etc. but just avoided us after that. After putting in our food order, we sat outside close to 40 minutes. Mind you we are on our lunch break and ordered 1 salad and 2 sandwiches. One of my coworkers needed to use the restroom and it’s located to the left of the building through the gates. As we were sitting outside, we saw a lady park her car right in front of us and a man comes out to pick up shopping bags from her and goes inside the restaurant. My coworker makes a comment, «Oh they must have come right from the grocery store, that must be our lunch.
Our food eventually comes out after we asked how much longer it was going to take. The food itself was pretty good. The cheese was nice in the sandwich and it had a thick slice of ham inside (not cold cut). I also liked how they dressed the salad on the side.
We were there for about an hour and 40 minutes. Well, I guess it was a Friday after all. It felt like if I were back in Paris or Italy where every meal is like a 2 – 3 hour experience…
I paid $ 15 which included my Cappuccino, Panini, tax and tip.
My advice is…
Come here if you are not in a hurry.
Come here if you want a heavier lunch (not a lot of «lighter» options)
Come here for dinner.
Make a reservation.

Looked this place up on Unilocal and decided to come here for Mother’s Day. This place is a super small restaurant there were only ¾ tablets inside. However, they do have an outside patio with more tables/​chairs. When I came with my family they didn’t have lamb shanks or the slow braised beef. Boo.
To start off, we ordered the frisee salad and the chicken salad. Both had a unique and delicious dressing, but the chicken was pretty dry in the chicken salad.
We also ordered the scallops as an appetizer; the sauce was really good, but the scallops weren’t fresh; but I guess $ 10 for 2 scallops ain’t bad.
My brother ordered the Pan Fried Shrimp in Puff Pastry and the presentation was really nice, and the sauce was delicious as well. I personally don’t like shrimp so I didn’t try any of the shrimp :/​
I ordered the Kobe Ranch Steak and this was delicious! I really enjoyed it and it was cooked very well.
I don’t really remember what my mom and my dad got, but it wasn’t too bad :) I feel that this little restaurant makes sauces very well and complements each of the dishes. This place isn’t super expensive either, so I am a fan!

Incredible gem in Monrovia! We almost had everything on their menu… and everything was superb. Excellent price, superb service, and incredibly intimate (small, cozy) ambiance… We will definitely be back much more often! =)
It’s a really small space… so do make reservations!
Pst. the scallops here are divine!!! =)
oh, and the rose wine here. totally worth it. =)
*** 5 stars for supporting local MONROVIA eats!!! ***
** this place will hold a special happy place in my heart… =)

Hidden Gem in Old Town Monrovia!
Found this decent French restaurant on Unilocal around San Gabriel Valley. It’s a small café in Monrovia playing relaxing French music in the background. You can sit at the outside patio to enjoy the street or inside to enjoy the ambiance of the restaurant.
This restaurant actually closes in the late afternoon. It wasn’t listed on Unilocal.We got into the restaurant a bit before 2pm. The waitress let us choose our own table and notified us that they were closing soon, so we ordered right away.
For 2 people, we had the following:
Fris’ee Salad ($ 12) — lardons & poached egg w/​mustard vinaigrette
Seared Sea Scallops ($ 10) — truffle and celery root purée w/​sautéed wild mushroom (*MUST-​TRY!*)
Slow Braised Short Ribs & Mash Potato ($ 20)
Complimentary Bread
Fris’ee Salad was good. I enjoyed it w/​the running egg yolk a lot. It’s my first seeing a running egg yolk in a salad. Seared Sea Scallops was FANTASTIC. A must-​try. Scallops were seared at its perfect state, and the purée sauce on top was delicious. Slow Braised Short Ribs & Mash Potato was nice. The accompanying vegetables was garlicky and taste. Complimentary bread was toasted and tasted great.
I will definitely come back and try their duck leg!

Our date night… no corkage fee, the wine cost as much as the meal and the meal was a steal!!! The scallops, the sauces, the braised short ribs and crème brûlée were de Fukien licious… Conchettta formerly of New Orleans and relocated to the SGV is the fulltime Chef… that means you get exactly the same dish every time you order it.
We appreciated the non charge for corkage… next time we will definitely try their unique wine selection… lots of paso Robles and Argentinian pairings… all in all another excellent experience in an otherwise IMO rather dull little town.