Le Bistrot Pierre

So this place SHOULD be better than it is I think — it looks pretty upmarket, nice décor, dimmed lighting and built into a nice hotel chain in Stratford.
I walked in after settling in to the hotel for a work trip, and decided to go for a starter and a main course, having not eaten much all day (I normally struggle to eat two courses so it usually ends up in a terrible waste of food!).
Having perused the menu — it looks a bit fancy and very provincal France — I settled on a haddock risotto to start, and their gratin macaroni for main (basically a posh mac & cheese!)… and I was left feeling a bit meh about both courses.
The risotto I’m fairly sure didn’t use risotto rice. The texture wasn’t right, so instead it was creamy, fishy white rice. Not unpleasant, but unlike any risotto I’ve ever had before. Then the macaroni came out with an over-​powering garlic & white truffle oil herb on the top… had it been a bit less liberally added then I think it would have added something, but literally all I could taste with every mouthful was the truffle oil and it got really sickly really quickly.
The staff are super attentive, and it’s got a lovely environment and I know I’m returning for a work function shortly so I’ll be happy enough to give it another bash, but I just wasn’t blown away. That said, I had 1 large glass of wine, and 2 good sized courses and it only came to £22 which was much better than I had anticipated.

Saturday morning came and went, and with our shopping finished, we were in the mood for something nice for lunch. By the River Avon, we happened to notice a cute Thai restaurant and wandered over to it. However, apparently it was closed due to a kitchen fire and was currently being refurbished! So, my apologies Le Bistrot Pierre, but you the safety net back up restaurant ;)
The other reviewer had some interesting points — this place wasn’t particularly very memorable. I got the soup de jour (butternut squash), and the special fish lunch, Lewis got a steak. Everything was nice, but it wasn’t fantastic. Lewis said his steak was a bit chewy (not the best cut meat), and my fries were fairly greasy. The soup and fish were nice, but again, it wasn’t super memorable. Nothing about our meal made us think, OMG we need to come here again!
Dessert was very good. Lewis got the Chocolate brownie and it really was incredibly good. They were also serving cinnamon flavored crème brûlée, but I ended up not getting anything because I was too full.
Would I come back here again? If I was in the area, maybe. But I think it just didn’t have anything particularly memorable, to be fair. Maybe dinner would be a bit different. But with all the other fierce competition in Stratford, they may need to step up their game a little bit…

Our first night’s dinner in England was spent at Le Bistro Pierre in lovely Stratford upon Avon
We had been given a wine voucher from our super-​nice B&B owners — for a bottle of Rose (this should have been our 1^st warning)
Everyone was drinking this wine & commenting on how lovely it was… Sis & I thought it was horrible! Bitter aftertaste & huge infusions of strawberries… bleck True California wine snobs indeed!
To start, we shared the Whole Baked Camembert & it was nothing special. They had heated it up in the oven so it was runny… add 3 tiny pieces of toast — not *nearly* enough for a whole cheese round and cold Pimento and Plum Chutney and it was a weird combo. Maybe if all the condiments were likewise heated?
We both ordered the Goat Cheese Mushroom Tart for dinner & I was extremely saddened to see it come out completely ladden w/​Spinach as the main ingredient. Those of you who read my reviews know I absolutely LOATHE spinach & had I known this was in the dish, I def wouldn’t have ordered… it was nowhere in the menu description
(Sis on the other hand, loves spinach & thought it was tasty)
Dessert for me was a Chocolate Pecan Tart — it was really a brownie in a crust paired a/​Caramel Ice Cream. Warm & delish — this was the hit of my meal
Sis for a Sorbet & the Black Currant was the most intensely incredible tasting sorbet she’s ever tasted
So score on dessert but huge miss for me on the entrée… but since Sis liked hers, I’m rounding up to 3-​stars
Please be sure to provide appropriate expectations in your menu descriptions!