83 bistro recipes

Pan-seared chicken breasts swimming in silky tarragon cream sauce with white wine and Dijon mustard for elegant weeknight French bistro dining.

La Madeleine's tomato basil soup copycat: silky pureed tomatoes with fresh basil, finished with heavy cream and butter. The famous French bistro soup made at home.

French meatballs blend ground beef with sausage and milk-soaked bread, then simmer in a herbed beef-stock gravy with thyme and bay. A bistro-style boulettes a la francaise.

Madelaine's tomato basil soup with fresh tomatoes, fragrant basil, heavy cream, and butter. A classic creamy bistro-style soup made with just 6 ingredients in 60 minutes.

Hamburgers au poivre transforms ground beef patties into bistro fare with a cracked pepper crust, cognac flambé, and red wine pan sauce. Steak au poivre on a weeknight budget.

Mushroom focaccia tops plain focaccia bread with sauteed portobello slices, salty anchovy strips, fresh rosemary, and melted mozzarella. A 20-minute upgrade from store-bought bread to bistro-worthy starter.

Warm mushroom and mixed greens salad spoons sherry-glazed sauteed mushrooms over crisp greens, wilting them slightly under a warm lemon-thyme dressing. A light, bistro-style salad in about 25 minutes.

Beer pairing suggestion: American India pale ale or amber ale. The Stone World Bistro & Gardens, in Escondido, California, serves wood-grilled trout with black mission fig butter to make it taste even milder and sweeter. Mission figs are available in the dried fruit section of most large supermarkets. Untreated wood planks for grilling are available in grilling and barbecue sections of hardware store s as well as some supermarkets.

Restaurant and bistro Green’s of Whitby source and promote the very best of foods from the surrounding area. Situated in the busy fishing harbour of Whitby, Rob chooses seafood fresh from the quayside every morning, recently winning one of the food industry’s most coveted awards; Seafood Chef of the Year. Prime local meats and game are also a speciality. The abundance of fresh produce means that the menu changes frequently to offer the best of the day.

Sauce Esterhazy with sauteed mushrooms and shallots in paprika-spiked sour cream with Worcestershire sauce. A rich Hungarian-inspired steak sauce ready in 15 minutes that turns broiled beef into a bistro dinner.

Pork tenderloin medallions Veronique: sauteed in butter, finished in a sherry-cream sauce built from the pan drippings, and topped with butter-sauteed seedless grapes. Elegant French bistro cooking.

Seared filet mignon with a red wine and shallot pan sauce reduced with beef stock and thyme. A classic French bistro steak dinner ready in 30 minutes.

Roasted asparagus with hollandaise pairs hot-roasted spears with blender-made hollandaise sauce. The French bistro classic done with no double boiler required.

Filet mignon seared and topped with a Madeira-cream green peppercorn sauce spiked with Dijon and shallots. A classic bistro steak dinner for two in under 40 minutes.

Shrimp Andre sautes mushrooms, onion, and butterflied shrimp in butter with sherry, then folds in a lemony Mornay sauce. A classic French bistro plate over rice pilaf, ready in 20 minutes.

Pan-fried red snapper fillets topped with butter-sauteed shrimp, capers, lemon slices, and slivered almonds. A 30-minute seafood dinner with bistro-level elegance.