La Cigale: Disappointing appies, great mains and delectable desserts!

MX is leaving for a year, and wanted to go somewhere fancy before he left, so here we are! Heard great things about La Cigale, so I'm super stoked he decided on this restaurant for this going-away party =D

Restaurant: La Cigale French Bistro (visit their website here)

Location: 1961 West 4th Avenue, Vancouver
Cuisine: French
Price range: $25+





Date of visit: July 27, 2014
Atmosphere: 4/5
Staff/service: 5/5
Food variety: 2/5
Food quality: 2/5
Buck worthy? 1/5

I was the first to arrive and the server seated me promptly, he was very friendly and funny. I couldn't decide what to get because I didn't have someone to share my food with, and wanted to try more variety, so I opted to try some French staple appies instead of one main. Ordered a French Onion Soup ($8.75). Interesting presentation but the soup was nothing special. I felt it lacked flavor. There was bread, onion and cheese in it and after a few mouthfuls of cheese, I was sick of the soup. Couldn't quite taste the onion in the soup and it was quite bland... maybe a bit more salt would've done it more justice.

Onwards, I ordered an Escargot ($9.00). This was more disappointing than the soup. The escargot was muddy and had bits of shell left on it. Flavors and texture were mediocre-- I've had way better elsewhere. At least these flavors weren't favorable for me. Too oily and gritty, escargot didn't taste fresh. *sadface*

Highlight of the meal was thedessert, their

Crème Brûlée ($8.00) was smooth, creamy, and a perfect sweetness. The sugar on top was crunchy and mildly warm where the creme portion was cool (not cold!) and melted in my mouth. I was surprised by the size and glad I could share it with someone!

YD, who sat beside me ordered their Millefeuilles de Betteraves, which was a beautiful layered beat salad with creamy cheese and herb layers. She said it was quite good, flavorful but she didn't like the cheese too much (not a fan overall).

Overall I think those who ordered mains were quite satisfied with the flavor, albeit they were disappointed with the portion sizes.