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Bistro Cassis

175 King of Prussia Road
Radnor, PA 19087

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Chris and I have found a new source of new restaurants -- Restaurant.com. OK, Restaurant.com isn't actually new, but we've only started using it in the last few months.

Chris was in town for Christmas, and that weekend we wanted to do something nice for dinner. Restaurant.com had a really nice promotion going on, so we got a decent amount of our dinner covered for just a few dollars.

The Bistro is on the same premises as Pond Restaurant.  The two seem to have overlapping menus, but the restaurant is a bit nicer and can be reserved for private parties.

So?

It was a teribly foggy night, so we didn't get out there as quickly as we might have, and the restaurant was nearly deserted when we got there.

We were seated by a window -- not my first choice, since drafts bother me, but it wasn't that bad. I would have had a lovely view of the grounds of the Radnor Racquet Club, if not for the fog. Chris had a lovely view of the foyer.

Because of the limitations on our gift certificate, we had to order either appetizers or desserts to meet the purchase minimum. The restaurant had a three-course menu, which would have covered both, but that menu allowed for ordering the items a la carte, which combined with the items on the regular menu made for a nice selection.

Chris and I both found that we liked our appetizers more than we liked our entrees. I got the lobster bisque($10)-- I'm a sucker for a good lobster bisque, and this was amazing. It didn't even need the drizzle of tarragon oil on top, but that certainly didn't hurt!

Chris got the "Homemade Thai Spring Roll, Bean Sprout and Shrimp, Shallot Chili Sauce" ($9). He found them very moist and tasty, with both the shrimp and the sauce adding a lot of flavor.
Then, out came the entees. Chris got the "Seafood Paella , Valencia Rice, Saffron Chorizo Broth" ($24), which he liked all right, but it didn't especially impress him. He spent a summer in Spain, and expects more from a paella.

I got the "Duck Confit Cassoulet with Garlic Sausage and Baked Tarbais Beans" ($19). It was good, although I wasn't that big a fan of some of the other meats that came with it. The beans were odd, but very tasty.

Chris managed to finish his dinner. I got two lunches out of my leftovers.

Rating

Check it out...
... But either save it for a special occastion, or hit Restaurant.com ahead of time. With our gift certificate, we did fairly well, but it could get pretty pricey otherwise.

Unless you're daring enough to just have soup and no entree. In which case, get the lobster bisque and call it a night. Yum.

The rest of the Internet

Check the reviews at Zagat.
A nice review from Craig LaBan of the Philadelphia Inquirer.
An enthusiastic review by Ken Alan at AroundPhilly.com