Bistro Provence
4933 Fairmont Ave.
Bethesda, MD 20814
301-656-7373
Neighborhood: Bethesda/Glen Echo
Cuisines: French
Opening Hours:
Open Monday through Friday 11:45 to 2:30 PM and 5 to 10:30 PM, Saturday 11 to 3 PM and 5 to 10:30 PM, Sunday 11:30 to 2:30 PM and 4:30 to 8:30 PM.
Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
Nearby Metro Stops: Bethesda
Price Range: Expensive
Reservations: Not Needed
Website: http://bistroprovence.org/Home_Page.html
Best Dishes:
Cold cucumber soup with oysters; asparagus with custard, chicory, and bacon; lobster with lentils; clams with walnuts; branzino tartare with quail egg; veal chop with roast potatoes and artichokes; crabcakes; tian of spinach, potato, and olive; crepes wit
Price Details:
Starters $11 to $18.50, main courses $19.50 to $36.
Special Features: Wheelchair Accessible
This bistro’s cheek-by-jowl tables evoke Paris more than Provence. Meanwhile, chef Yannick Cam’s cooking ranges from refined (quenelles) to rustic (estouffade, a rich beef stew)—with the occasional pasta thrown into the mix.
A devoted Cam fan club—urbane and skewing older—fills the oak-accented dining room and in the summer spills onto the charming patio. Sit in the back and watch the veteran chef shake his copper sauté pans. Or do as they do in Paris: Argue nonstop about politics—with the couple at the next table.
Go early (between 5:30 and 6:30 daily) to indulge in such gems as a rabbit stew redolent of red wine on the steal of a bistro menu: $26 for two courses, $32 for three.
Don’t miss: Clams stuffed with spinach and walnuts; chestnut gnocchi with Parmesan foam; turbot with lobster sausage and sea urchin; bouillabaisse; molten chocolate cake with milk-chocolate jam; frozen nougat with hazelnut brittle.
Open: Monday for dinner, Tuesday through Sunday for lunch and dinner. Expensive.
