BIFF’S BISTRO

For summerlicious this year I only made it out to one restaurant, partly due to scheduling and partly due to budgeting (we bought a house! Future dedicated post to come!). Looking through the list of restaurants priced at $28 or $38 for dinner, the one menu that jumped out was Biff’s, which also met the criteria of being located downtown and a new spot for me. I have friends who visit weekly for their $1 after 5pm oyster deal and generally all had positive thoughts about the French Bistro.

Atmosphere: Biff’s decor was traditional with intimate lighting, leather benches and dark wood tables. The restaurant was pretty big with a bar area, main dining area and multiple private rooms. I could see this being a popular venue for corporate events during the holidays. With our reservation being just after 5pm on a Thursday the restaurant was fairly quiet, even during Summerlicious, but started to fill up around 7pm. Many of the diners around us at tables were much older while a more suit and tie audience occupied the bar.

Service: Our server was very friendly. He chatted with us, checked in on us often and I felt like he genuinely wanted to make sure we enjoyed our dinner. However, when he came by to top up my friend’s beer, he poured it straight into the glass making it all head to the point where the glass even spilled over once he left. I appreciated the good intention, but it was a bizarre move. Either he didn’t know how to properly pour beer, or forgot the can was beer. Either way, he walked away before we could react beyond being a bit shocked. Aside from that misstep, service was great. Our dishes arrived promptly. The bill did as well, without being asked for, which was again a bit odd. However, our server did tell us to take our time and that it wasn’t a rush. Maybe he was changing shifts?

Food: To start, I choose the Tomato and Cucumber Gazpacho for my appetizer, my go to whenever I see it on a Summerlicious menu. The bowl of cold soup was served with slices of cucumber and a sweet balsamic drizzle, refreshing for a hot summer day. A touch more olive oil would have been nice.

For my main, my friend went with the safe bet of Beef Tri-tip Steak while my curiosity was piqued by the Maple Mustard Pork Croquette. I’m not sure what I was expecting, but I do wish I had stuck to the steak. The croquette was made of seasoned shredded pork, battered and fried, served on a crushed potato salad with cabbage and a smoky aioli. I liked the flavour of the croquette, but it was a lot of pork and after eating half, the texture was quite monotonous. I wouldn’t got as far as to say I didn’t like the dish, but I do think I would’ve enjoyed another entree more.

Both of us went with Chocolate Cake for dessert which was dense and rich. Overall, summerlicious at Biff’s was good, not amazing and fairly priced.