We’ve been eating out a lot lately. Blame it on the fact that I have a long list of restaurants I’d like to try out before 2011 closes. I know I am already writing a lot about food as it is, but the Manila resto landscape seems to changing and ever-expanding that it’s hard to keep tabs on the developments.
Anyway, the past week saw me and hubby scouting for furniture and knick-knacks in Bangkal, Makati City.If you don’t know Bangkal, this area is best known as a haven for second-hand car parts, thrift shops and flea market finds. We had a great time touring the shops and when it was time to eat, the newly-opened Le Bistro d’Agathe was on the agenda. There seemed to be no other fine dining restaurant in this side of town otherwise.
Le Bistro d’Agathe occupies the former space left by the famous Fat Michael’s.It is actually a modest apartment converted into a dining establishment. It’s a wise move on the part of the French owner and chef Patrice to move here (from Puerto Galera) since mall rentals are astronomical.As a result of lower overhead, he is able to pass on a reasonable cost of dining to his customers.
So yes, an enjoyable French set meal at the bistro will only set you off P580 net. This already includes the choice of appetizer or soup, the main course and dessert.
For my hors d’ouevre, I chose the terrine dish and didn’t quite know what to expect.The serving was more ample than I thought and I even had to share it with my mate. The terrine at Le Bistro is a meatloaf of chopped pork liver, onions and other ingredients. Am not a big fan of liver but the dish was seasoned just right and had none of the aftertaste that I dread with (okay….) liver! 😀
Our tummy-warmer was this chunky tomato cream soup that hardly tasted like it came from a commercial foil pack. A good one since I can actually taste bits of the lycopene-rich tomatoes 🙂
Hubs had the chicken with mustard cream sauce but I thought I ordered the better dish, the beef stroganoff with mushrooms and baby potatoes. This is simply one of the best I tasted of this dish and I certainly wiped my plate clean of the delicious sauce! I just wish the beef was a little bit more tender.
Le Bistro d’Agathe’s menu is very lean and the other choices for the mains are the quiche lorraine, ox tongue with ravigote sauce, pepper steak with pan-fried potatoes and blue marlin fish with lemon butter sauce. They also have lasagna, spaghetti carbonara and bolognese.
For our meal ender, we alternated between –
Creme caramel. Be warned: if you’re used to the rich taste of leche flan, you’ll find this one mildly-flavored. But then again, this is probably how the French prefer it 😀
The French apple pie was something I liked, a sheet that consisted of the crust, cream and apple slices. It was flat, thin and just had the right taste. Most importantly, it went well with the house’s perfectly brewed coffee.
Chef Patrice posing beside a set of paintings by a Filipino artist that adorn the walls. We hope he opens his bakery soon. I heard the chef makes French baguette and pain au chocolat “just like what you would taste in Paris.” If that happens, aren’t we lucky?
Address:
1154 A Lacuna st., cor Rodriguez Avenue.
Bangkal, Makati City Philippines
Operating Hours:
Mon-Sat : 11:30 am-3 pm; 5 pm-10pm
Closed on Sundays
Phone: 09475192148
or check out the bistro page on Facebook
I didn’t know this place is existing in Bangkal. My hubby (when we were still in college) used to live in this area. And the only place that we frequently goes to at that time was the Bulaluhan along Evangelista.
Hi Margot. I cannot seem to find the bulaluhan anymore 🙁 I only saw the big fast food chains like Pizza Hut, Jollibee and McDo
The food pictures look scrumptious, especially the French apple pie.
Food was good, but pricey =(. Ambiance in the surroundings was not as expected.
Le Bistro d’Agathe is a LOUSY RESTAURANT.
1) Zero ambiance – stale yellow paint, polyester table clothes, wilted cheap daisies with babies breath as decor.
2) Mediocre, at best, food using cheap ingredients – The soup the French cook FORCED me to have was a bad rendition of gazpacho only served hot. He used local tomatoes which were highly acidic then had audacity to have me pay for it, even if I had one try and left it on the table. I innitialy asked for Ceasar Salad to go with my steak — why? Well if you have it on your menu, I would assume (so easy it is to make the damn thing) you will serve it, but he insisted that it was a French (ya right) restaurant so to try this superb soup which was so pathetic an attempt at gazpacho. I then insisted that I still wanted a salad, so he forced me again to have a green salad, so I thought why not, maybe he’ll have some delicate french mustard dressing. Well I got chopped iceberg lettuce with balsamic vinegar, how very French, how very gross; I didn’t touch it. The terrine, was ok, maybe the saving grace of the restaurant, but when my friend had it on his cheap bread (I’ll talk about that later) with butter, he insulted her then goes to the next table to talk about us. The bread – I don’t know what French BS he was trying to educate us with, but he serves cheap brown German type bread, which was terrible. Thank goodness his butter was ok, but then again, he could have easily bought some French butter from Santi’s (debatable though cause I can’t imagine him even knowing what Santi’s is). Anyway, my steak was cooked well (take note: he actually praised me for having ordered it medium rare — excuse me Sir Cook, ordering medium rare in Manila is not impressive, it’s the norm, obviously). But as another French CHEF I’ve I know has told me, all cooks and chefs should know how to make a perfect medium rare steak, if not, then they shouldn’t cook at all. Anyway, fine, the sauce was ok, that is if I remove most of the hand-full (yes a whole hand-full) of pepper that he put in it. I mean yes, pepper steak, but to drown the sauce and the steak with pepper to the point that you don’t taste a delicate sauce or the beef itself is just sin and for amateurs. My husband’s Beef Stroganoff, was bland and probably made from left over meat. My friend’s chicken dish was tasteless, yet he insisted that she have this because the Bolognese (yes again, very French) she wanted was not French (Oh really, duh?). So, as you have well-noticed, I’ve now mentioned, Ceasar Salad, Bolognese as part of his menu, he also had Lasanga and Carbonara. Now, if you are so arrogant to believe that people should eat French food in a French restaurant, then please don’t even bother to have Italian and American food on your menu. But I guess this French COOK, at best, thought that the big city folks had the same taste as island hopping tourists from Sabang. The apple pie — which he claimed was not American apple pie, but French, yes yes COOK, we know what Tarte Tatin is – was not made with Golden Delicious apples and had cinnamon, ya not American ha? And the Creme Caramel, mediocre, I’ll go for my driver’s delicious leche flan (with vanilla extract) any day.
3) The French COOK — there is no way this man can possibly be a Chef. He has zero appeal, with zero technique. Not to mention the fact that he had body odor (yes BO in pinoy speak). I cannot possibly accept any good Chef or cook with body odor because that would definitely reflect on the sanitation in the kitchen. Not to mention, this man probably believed his FAMOUS restaurant in Sabang (an Island off of Batangas) to be the best thing since ‘apple pie’ to come to Manila. Well, it can only be good for the culinary tastes of Euro and Pinoy tourists in Sabang, probably for lack of choice. I normally do not write negative reviews about restaurants if I had a pleasant enough time, but thanks to this arrogant man, I have taken time out of my busy schedule to make sure no one else will experience that night. This cook should realize that there are many educated people out there who have eaten in many excellent French restaurants around the world and do not deserve to be treated the way he treated us for fear of accurate reviews such as this one.
The service by a young girl was good, she was polite and only wish that she will find new employment as soon as this TERRIBLE, MEDIOCRE, RIDICULOUS, FRENCH-WANNA-BE BISTRO CLOSES DOWN.
I’ve been curious about the bistro so I’ve been looking at internet blogs about the place. I can’t help but notice that the recent comment, which is very detailed, also appears, word for word, in The Awesome Planet. Is this a coincidence, or is it her career to spread negative publicity?
Hi All, well, I have been surprised by this agressive comment from a deeply frustrated Ana Marques so I decided to pay a visit to this place yesterday evening. I have been used to dine several times in LE BISTRO D’ AGATHE in its former location in Puerto Galera. The place has been famous among european expatriates and food loving pinoys for its great beef meat, the delicacy of its home made terrine and the overall respect of true french gastronomy in its way of cooking. Definitely not a place for ” backpackers” but rather for epicurian guests who have the requested organoleptic cultural background for appreciating and enjoying it. And who- of course- can afford dining on the relatively pricey side ( even if the dishes are offered at a fraction of the cost they should be in France).
About what I discovered yesterday in LE BISTRO d’ AGATHE MAKATI, I will say it in short : the place is new, it has still to find its soul and its personality. The food is pleasant, the ratio price/quality is correct, and the global experience was more than positive.
That’s why I wonder to what extend this negative and hainous comment from Ana M. could be the overreacting symptom of a person hurted in her feelings because she has not got what she needed : recognition of her social status as a ” highly educated wealthy person who visited the world and who knows better about french cooking….”
A symptom is the abusive use of the word ” CHEAP”. She employed it six times in her short review…and also she has been able to insert ” SANTIS” as a proof of her own social standing….
I am shocked by this comment. It is nothing about judging the restaurant. I have the feeling that she wanted to justify her very personal rejection of the chef Patrice, nothing more.
On one specific issue, I agree with her : the young waitress is very professional and friendly. Beside this, I wish her to find in the very near future another restaurant where they will be obsequious enough for comforting her in the idea that she is soooo different from the ” cheap Charlies” ……
I’ve been a consistent customer of the bistrot for about two months now, and I usually bring friends and family. My husband is so in love with the Pepper steak. My son attacks on the strogonoff while my daughter is a solid lasagna fan. As for me, the Ox tongue drives me crazy. Patrice, the chef-owner, is very nice and serves very good food. He always ensures you like how your steak’s done or if your ox tongue’s sauce is enough etc. – as do the ladies who wait. The bistrot was like a little treasure in the heart of the city which serves really good food at a reasonable price. Where else can you get good european food for only P600 per head? We sometimes even share three orders for the four of us – serving is generous! I also love the simple, homey ambience. It’s like a perfectly mix-matched concept of fine dining in an amicable setting. Just like how it really is in authentic bistrots in France (where I and my family stayed for 4 years so I know how bistrots are). I am so concerned with the too-detailed negative, full-of-hatred and very below the belt comment of AnaMG. I’ve been coming back and forth to the bistrot and I never had a bad experience. Why even wish for the restaurant to close? Dirty linens and even comment negatively on the paint? I’d never bring my family to a dirty place! And unbelievably, to top it all, even went to the extreme making very negative personal comments about the chef. I do not know about the other readers, but my friends who read the comment called me and said everything AnaMG said was not believable and too orchestrated to be true. Come to think of it, she probably spent an hour writing the entire thing – that doesn’t read like a natural commentary (just because you were served bad food). I pity her. Too much hatred in her heart. I wish people who read this tries out the bistrot so they can judge for themselves. As for me, I have a reservation for my mother and her friends by the end of the month.
My bosses treated me to victory dinner at this place the other night and I was surprised to know that there’s a French resto that popped out of the side streets of Makati. The food was great and the place has that Café de la Paix feel to it. I wanna bring my boyfriend there this weekend and maybe it could be our new date place.
I’ve known the Bistro Agathe for some time as I had the chance to bring my family to the resto a couple of times when we were in Mindoro. We’ve always loved their food like the meat loaf appetizer (my personal favorite), the pepper steak and the ox tongue.
Early this week, my daughter chanced upon the Bistro on the net while looking for a small fine dining place where she can celebrate her birthday next month with her friends, and and we were pleased to know that they are now in Makati. The problem is she also saw the bad review about it. I couldn’t believe the review so I brought my husband there to have dinner last night to find out for ourselves – so that I know I wont waste my money for my daughter’s birthday. We went there to have dinner to see how the place looks like and see if their good food has now turned into what the lady AnaMG described it to be.
As before, we had a pleasant experience. We ordered the ox tongue and the pepper steak – of course that also came with the meat loaf and the tomato soup and fresh bread and the apple pie. The food was great! I don’t focus on the fancy names and even attempt to find out if the food’s origin is French or Italian or whatever – what matters to a simple person like me is whether the food tastes good and of course, if it is priced right. As far as I’m concerned, I put a check mark on taste and value for money. I even overheard people from other tables telling the Chef that they were satisfied with the food.
I was wary to talk to the Chef because he might turn out to be the monster that he has been pianted to be in the bad review, but he turned out to be pleasant and friendly and appeared to be genuinely concerned with his customers. My husband wanted a medium rare steak but I ordered a medium well one. When the steak was served, the chef noticed that he was checking it and said that he wanted a medium rare steak but it was alright as it was already there (my mistake), the chef cooked him a new one!!! Wow! You can’t find that kind of service every day.
I cannot understand were AnaMG is coming from. We cannot imagine what happened at the time she ate there that actually warranted the comments that even included “dirty lines and ugly flowers and the bad paint color” and some really nasty personal comments about the Chef. It makes you think – especially when there are very good reviews of the Bistro Agathe done by blog site owners themselves (awesome planet, average pink, annlyn.net and many more sites) – who I would imagine give non-biased reviews, for otherwise, they will risk putting their blog sites up for question.
While having breakfast this morning, my husband and I became curious and searched the net for more comments on the Bistro and we found out that AnaMG, or Anna Marques, or we do not know what other names she’s used, cut and paste the same comments on about 4 sites.
http://www.munchpunch.com/accounts/public/8014.aspx
http://www.ourawesomeplanet.com/awesome/2011/06/le-bistro-d-agathe.html
http://averagepink.blogspot.com/2011/07/agathe.html
http://www.annalyn.net/2011/07/10/le-bistro-dagathe-a-french-restaurant-in-makati/#more-5486
It brings to mind an article in the Inquirer about a group of “professional” writers who get paid to do demolition jobs or promotional writing for or against businesses.
http://showbizandstyle.inquirer.net/sim/sim/view/20110122-315972/Please-Dont-Give-Blogging-a-Bad-Name
We checked on “AnaMG” and noted that she has a comment in this site (munchpunch) where she describes how heavenly perfect one restaurant is!
I suspect that there is more here than meets the eye. I suggest that miss AnaMG does better inteliigence work next time though. She alluded that Agathe had island hopping customers in Sabang – the Bistro was in Muelle, never in Sabang.
I will not gain anything by writing this and I most definitely don’t intend to be a spokesperson for a restaurant, but I have a huge thing against a seemingly orchestrated, sinister plan to destroy the image of another person or business based on comments that are far too different from what I have personally witnessed.
As far as I am concerned, my daughter will bring her close friends to the Bistro Agathe for her birthday dinner end of September.
Ana MG’s rant notwithstanding. My family will try the D’Agathe tomorrow lunch using the 50% off coupon we got from one of those discount thingies. I go to restos for the food and food alone. It’s a good thing Fat Michael’s gone. I never liked their food anyway. Kitsch can never be over and above the taste of food. Anyway, my taste buds and stomach are waiting eagerly. 😀