Restaurant Review: Cafe de Paris (Columbia, MD)

Overview

Ambiance: Casual, somewhat rustic feel.
Food: Classic French Countryside Cuisine
Service: Good
Wine List: Sufficient- Focus on France with fair prices, would benefit from more selections/diversity
Pricing: $$-$$$ (Dinner for two without wine ~$65).
Corkage: N/A
Attire: No specific dress code. Jeans/Khaki’s with a polo shirt for men would be good. No shorts or tank tops.
Overall: Very Good - definitely worth trying, recommended for private events, as well as a night out with someone special.
Location/Contact Info: http://www.cafedepariscolumbia.com
8808 Centre Park Drive
Columbia, MD Phone: 410-997-3904

REVIEW: Tucked away among strip malls and commercial businesses, Cafe de Paris sits at the end of a row of offices and shops. Parking is plentiful and within very close proximity. Entering the restaurant you are greeted by numerous wood cases of wine as well as individual bottles scattered about. To your right is the “Crepe Cafe” which offers a cute selection of crepes and has a very laid back, French cafe feel. I have not tried the Crepes but will report on these in the future.

Again to the main corridor. To your immediate left is an entrance to a good sized, isolated from the main dining area, bar which has many wines by the glass and a wide variety of cocktails available. We showed up an hour before our reservation and took advantage of the bar menu for an appetizer and glass of wine. The bartender was very friendly and helpful with suggestions. We enjoyed a Pinot Grigio and a Chinin Blanc along with a very generous order of mussels in a curry sauce that were cooked to perfection. The sauce was very good and could have been served alone with some bread! Our tab here set us back around $25, which was fine for the quality of the wines and appetizer. One final note: the owner Erik Rochard was quite friendly coming by on more than one occasion to ensure we were getting good service and enjoying our time at the bar. His love for the restaurant obvious in his smile and willingness to please.

Once our party arrived we moved to the private dining area. Our walk across the old wood floors through the general dining room gave us a taste of the elegant decor and spacious seating area. The main area was quite welcoming and would be a great place to take a date while being able to quietly enjoy each others company. I took a few walks through here over the course of the evening and find it was consistently pleasant and never too loud.

We gathered in our dining area and I took a long look at the wine list. Although we brought all of our wine, I was impressed with some of the well thought out selections on the list and the reasonable pricing. As you would expect, the majority of the wines are French, but there are a variety of wines that I had not heard of and would have loved to try had we not all brought our own.

As far as the food goes, we tried a wide variety of dishes: some were very good, some were OK. For starters the homemade French onion soup was quite good and the Fois Gras was very delicate and rich. Moving on to the entrees, the lamb was cooked medium rare to perfection and had great flavor and tenderness. A large Rib Eye steak served over a bed of fries had the perfect amount of fat and was very flavorful as well. The Crisp Duck Leg Confit was tender and flavorful, but there lacked seasoning in the accompanying White Bean Cassoulet w/ Chicken & Lamb Sausage. The desserts were all good, with the best being the delicate and creamy Profiteroles.

Overall we were impressed with the restaurant. We were at no point hurried along, even though we were there long after the other guests had left. I’d definitely recommend the bar as a great place to meet up with friends over wine and appetizers, as well as the general dining and private dining areas for your next dinner or event. Cafe de Paris lives up to its reputation as being a high quality, authentic French Bistro.