What is a Bistro? - Spoonbread

The word bistro sounds familiar, but do you know what is a bistro? What makes a Bistro a Bistro?

Bistro is the name given to a particular type of restaurant, which is mainly oriented to restaurants that serve a simple meal, at a moderate price and normally served with alcoholic beverages, the name was born in Paris, it became so popular, that the trend quickly began to spread throughout Europe.

A European trend..

Bistro was used to denote this type of restaurant trend, they serve accessible food where meals were accompanied by alcoholic beverages. These types of restaurants are generally quite simple inside, they try not to be flashy restaurants. It is usually a restaurant where you can just relax and enjoy a good meal and of course a glass of wine or just a cold beer.

Bistros nowadays…

The Bistros try to stand out for the food they serve, they have a combination of local food, and more regional favorites plates. Something very common among bistros is that they are open all day, and some of them also offer brunch meals.

What is the difference between a Bistro and a Restaurant?

In general, there are very few differences between a bistro and a restaurant, it was more a name trend due to their affordable prices that made them stand out, however today we can say that there are certain characteristics that a bistro should meet In order to be a bistro and not just another restaurant:

It must be a small, simple and inexpensive restaurant.
Generally, in bistros, food is ordered directly at the counter, there are no waiters.
The bistros should have simple meals and nothing elaborate, to keep prices affordable.
In general, they try to add a French dish to honor the origin of the name.
Inexpensive food for the general public.
Generally the bistros are a bit more informal.

Now, the bistro concept has many variants and many plates I will try to explain to you some of the most important or common bistro plates.

What is a bistro salad?

A bistro salad is a classic Lettuce Salad that is topped with Bacon and Cooked Eggs, and is normally found in all the bistros around the country. It is a great salad intended to be served with rich foods like roasts.

What is a bistro steak?

Is a steak that must be thin, fibrous, chewy and full of flavor, that should be served in a bistro at a modest and affordable price for everyone.

Now you know what a bistro is, how about making a reservation at our place?