Bistro Foufou

What a gem of a place, located in an old firehouse. My daughter & I walked downtown for a bite to eat for breakfast on Sunday & really lucked out to find this place. We were quickly seated by a polite young gal & were greeted by our waiter shortly thereafter.
I ordered the hash which was absolutely delicious & my daughter had the Croque Mansieur. As I was finishing mine, my daughter offered a bite of her’s to me. It was out of this world! The house made brioche was the best I’ve had. Crumbly with a touch of sweetness.
The service couldn’t have been better & we were even visited by the (French) owner to see if everything was to our liking. I’ll definitely be back & will recommend to others!

We had appetizers and it was bad, the lobster bisque contained only about a tablespoon of lobster. The escargot made my girlfriend ill. We did not stick around for the entrée. Drinks were good though.

Very quiet on a Saturday evening which was surprising, but happy to find seats at the bar. The happy hour menu was set on the bar area where we were seating and as we were looking at the options, the bartender did not hesitate to let us know that happy hour was over. At 6:00. FYI it ends at 6:00. I thought for sure she’d say something humourous like we had 2.3 seconds to order to be funny, but no.
Fine, I get it, but at least take the menu off the table OR give us a 1.5 minute window to order. So, disappointed, the night kind of started off meh. The happy hour menu does look amazing so there will definitely be a re-​visit in the future. We ended up ordering off the bar menu which had similar prices for food as the happy hour, minus the drinks. That made it better! The lamb meatballs were amazing, followed by the roasted garlic + toast. The mussels were just ok, I wouldn’t order them again. My biggest disappointment was them not honoring one of those UpNorth Live Deals I cleverly purchased. I thought I was such a hot shot attempting to use it for small plates and cocktails, and was immediately shot down. Perhaps not the restaurants fault. I’ll be back for happy hour at approximately 5:55pm.

I may be ignorant to French cuisine, but I thought the experience here was just okay.
We went on a quiet Sunday evening. There were maybe 10 customers in the place. The food itself tasted good. My boyfriend and I both took the recommendation of our waitress, and ordered the scallops and risotto. We were a little leery as we thought, she may have just chosen the most expensive thing on the menu. But the food was prepared well. Service was normal speed. Waitress was very kind.
What it’s got going against it is that there are so many other GREAT restaurants in Traverse City. I’d rather save my money, and eat equally stellar food, at a lower cost.
TL;DR Okay food, okay service. But just okay.

Came here on a Sat night in Oct. Our reservation was for 7pm, when we arrived the hostess told us we’d have to wait for our table since it’s Sat and they’re busy. Fine, so we sit at the bar. The bartender asks us if we’re eating at the bar or waiting for a table. We tell him we’re waiting on a table, then he asks us what time and we tell him 7 (it’s now 7:10) and he says yeah it’s Sat so they’re busy, and he can’t take our drink order yet. So how about instead of reminding your customers with reservations how busy you are on a Sat, you tell management to hire the appropriate amount of staff for a busy night?! There was one bartender on a Sat night filling drink orders for the tables and bar, not smart. We finally did get seated and ordered the trout, from the menu and the special. About 15 minutes later the waiter comes back to tell us that there is no more trout. My guess is that it went bad, good for them for not serving it. Then I had to remind him to bring the glass of wine that I ordered, he brought back a white when I had ordered a red. When he returned with the right wine he left it on the table without a word of apology. For dessert I got the crêpe, which was cold, heresy for a French restaurant. I didn’t complain since by then I was really tired of this place and just wanted to go home. Of his own accord the waiter took an item off of our bill as way of apology for the kitchen, but really there was no excuse, it wasn’t even all that busy, certainly not like Red Ginger was on Fri night. We enjoyed Red Ginger and Towne Plaza (our favorite meal) more, we’d have to be fou to go back to Bistro FouFou!

Went there on a Friday night and got right in which should have been a strong clue. Every other place downtown was packed and not taking reservations. Mussels and goat cheese/​tomato appetizers were very good. Then our party of four waited an hour and fifteen minutes for food. Got the short ribs-​horrible! Ribs were dry like a tough old pot roast. The beans were undercooked and had no flavor. I did not send it back. I just wanted to go home after the ridiculous wait. The waiter never checked back after delivering the food either. He probably was embassassed. One person did like his meal– got the duck.
I would never go back. There are too many great restaurants downtown

On a Saturday night in October I was not expecting to call 7 other restaurants before finding one in traverse city that didn’t have a wait for 3.
So glad no one else could accommodate us! We sat in the bar in a high top with our 7 yo daughter. The bartender/​waiter got slammed so the manger took over. How fantastic to see! We had amazing service patched over by the 2 of them.
Food was amazing: chefs risotto: roasted tomato, bacon lardons and seared scallop for our daughter with the most delicious French onion soup-​no I am not joking. Our daughter is an amazing foodie!
I had the salad lyonnaise with the most perfectly poached egg. The dressing was not too heavy and perfectly balanced acidity. I also had the charcuterie board. I was blown away! A perfect combo with my Pinot noir.
My husband had the braised short ribs with white beans. Fantastic. He said said it needed more pepper. It came with CarmeliEd peaches which he said needed a little more cooking, but the flavor was still wonderful.
Would definitely return. Heard the brunch is amazing.

Great early dinner! Food was high quality, as were drinks. Nice environment and fanatic service. I would request our server Nick every time!

My girlfriend and I went here for dinner a couple weeks ago and it was fantastic. We started with the oysters, which were very fresh (especially considering the location). After that, we sampled the escargot, which were prepared inside of hollowed out red skin potatoes. Tasty, but I think I would have preferred the classic presentation.
Luckily, I was able to sample both entrees which were both excellent. I had the sea scallops which were perfectly prepared and my girlfriend had the lamb. Lamb was cooked medium rare as it should be and sliced over some yummy veggies. I would definitely get the lamb if I went back. Decent wine selection.
I will be returning next time I’m in TC.

My friends and I had a phenomenal brunch at Bistro Foufou during the Traverse City Film Festifval last week. We had the escargot and croissants for appetizers. Indulgent, yes, but so worth it! I followed that with the house-​made corned beef hash and fried eggs. One of my friends had the crab cake sandwich on brioche. I was lucky enough to try it. Delicious. The croissants and brioche are also house-​made. Our meal was so fabulous, that we returned for dinner that evening. We begain with the beet salad and then, I had the lamb tenderloin. This is one place you don’t want to miss. The food was outstanding, the desserts, beyond scrumptious. The staff, top-​notch. And, Chef Guillaume HazaËl-​Massieux is attentive and charming. This bistro is a must when visiting the Traverse Bay Area.

Came here for brunch with my mother-​in-​law. She had the smoke salmon eggs Benedict and I had the omelette special. We both split our entrées so we could taste all of the amazing flavors. Both of our dishes were done perfectly and seasoned to perfection. We finished it off with a nutella crêpe per the waiters recommendation, and it was excellent. Great for sharing.

My fiancée and his business associate and I were there for dinner last night. It took a good 20 minutes for the waiter to come over and take our drink order. The restaurant was full and there were only two servers on the floor, plus one busser.
The food was rather disappointing. I had the French onion soup, which was mostly croûton. I also had the steak frittes — the steak was nice, but the fries were cold and greasy.
My fiancée had the watermelon salad which he announced okay, and the vegetarian risotto which was quite good, if a bit heavy.
Our guest had the escargot and liked it, but was also disappointed by the steak frittes.
Our server did the best job he could with virtually no help. The owner of the restaurant spent the majority of the evening seated at the table next to us, visiting with either his family or close friends. Why he wasn’t helping his staff take orders or run food — I have no idea.

While I was in Traverse City for 3-​days of work meetings, I had a quick lunch break and decided to check out Bistro Foufou. It’s a quaint little French bistro just off of Front Street. I sat at the bar and ordered the Duck confit, piquante sauce, and red cabbage slaw all on a brioche bun. I was definitely a fan of this sandwich with its sweet and BBQ spicy flavors. You also get a little side salad with the dish.
I took a look at the dinner menu and decided to come back later for some appetizers.
I returned a few hours later for appetizers and a glass of rose. I love escargot so I had to order that dish as well as the steak tartare. The escargot was sauteed in butter (yum!) with garlic parsley and Pernod, and served in potatoe cups. You can definitely taste the Pernod, so if you don’t like anise or licorice flavors, avoid this dish. The steak tartare is served with a raw egg yolk and grilled baguette.
I also asked the hostess about several of the other dishes and she was very knowledgable about the menu. I figured since I was at a French bistro I should also have a little bubbly so I opted for a nice glass of sparking rose. The hostess who had also waited on me at lunch time brought me a little tasting of the day’s risotto with some duck confit added. It was definitely a bowl of comfort food!
I will definitely come back here to try a few of the other dishes from the dinner menu.

I came in on a recommendation from Château Chantal (gorgeous winery… I highly recommend that one as well) after my flight out of Traverse City was cancelled and I had some time to kill.
I arrived at 1:45 pm — 15 minutes before lunch ended — and guiltily asked if I could still order food. The server Bryan was very sweet about it and sat me right away.
The croque Madame was delicious, as was the pinot noir. The owner Guillaume was quite the gracious host and we chatted about everything from French wines to Michael Moore to the pros of living in Traverse City of which there were many. I’m about to start searching the real estate ads.
People of Traverse City, you have a lovely gem of a French bistro in your midst. I highly recommend you start celebrating Bastille Day in all its wine-​drinking, petanque-​playing glory. That’s tomorrow, by the way. Go! Guillaume is waiting for you.

Delicious brunch and great service! Will definitely come back for dinner next time we are in town! Overall great place!

Cool french bistro place owned by a real Frenchman with a classic Paris feel. Guillaume is a great guy. He also has a great country Cuisine restaurant in Glen arbor — la becasse. Great atmosphere there

Stopped here just to try it… Happened to come during happy hour… muscles for $ 5??? Salmon cakes for$ 5??? Wine for $ 3 per glass??? A great way to sample the cooking and believe me it was AMAZING!!!

Started out nice. Walked in, welcomed warmly and quickly seated. Steak tartar was creamy. French onion soup didn’t come with a ridiculous amount of cheese that happens too often. Things were going fine until the cassoulet. The green beans were nicely cooked and the pork belly was crispy. Unfortunately the other beans were hard and undercooked. The duck confit was stringy. The rabbit sausage tasted like ground rabbit meat without much seasoning.
I was hoping for more with dessert. I ordered the crème brûlée. It was better tasting than the main course but had a slight burned smell that did not come through in the taste. I think they got a little too aggressive with the flame and burned some of the sugar on the edge of the ramekin.
The ambiance was great so it was disappointing not to have better food experience.

We went in for the brunch sign, the interior is cute. Very French with large signs that explain mostly the drink menus and have cute sayings on them. Not the worlds most extensive brunch menu but considering how good the food was when it arrived I don’t blame them. I always prefer fewer dishes done with care than a large amount of dishes slapped together.
Since the only kind of vegan dish was the stuffed French toast I opted for the Eggs Benedict and I’m glad I did! It was delicious, the eggs were poached to perfection and the Béarnaise sauce was perfect! Freshly made, delicate and wonderful. The eggs came on some light toasted bread with a piece of smoked salmon. The salty salmon paired very well with the creamy eggs and lemony sauce. The American potatoes we’re very good too! Nicely crunchy and flavorful.
My only (slight) issue is that our coffees took a long time for some reason. I don’t even mind that the food took a while since it was so good! I don’t mind waiting for great food.
But be ready to wait if you go here, which I do recommend ^.^

I have never been to this place before and I was on a hunt for Sunday brunch — GOOD Sunday brunch — and walking down Cass I saw a sign that said «SUNDAY BRUNCH» right outside their doors. So, we obliged. The menu was small for brunch with chef omelette, waffles, fish, French toast and soup/​salad. I opted for the French toast for $ 12. Our service was poor — we didn’t even get water refilled at all. And once we finished we waited what seemed a long time for the check and for our plates to be taken. I wasn’t very impressed with the French toast — two regular pieces of bread with no cinnamon flavor but stuffed with cream cheese. It was way to savory for me. The best part were the potatoes. It was somewhere different but I don’t think I’ll be going back.