Last week my sister and I had a lovely lunch at Jules in Gastown. Here is a photograph of their gorgeous chandelier because my camera was behaving more badly than normal and my photos of the food were too blurry to be useful. Perhaps there is something useful in posting a photo of the decor, however. Our lunch – I had the Duck Confit with Puy Lentil Salad ($19) accompanied by an impeccably made kir and Ally had the Nicoise salad ($10) – was delectable and perfectly pleasing, but there was equal satisfaction to be had in ducking into an exquisite French room in the middle of the day.
The people at Jules describe it as “a casual French bistro” and that’s a good way of describing the simple brick walls and tile floors. There’s no pretension here, but that doesn’t mean that it’s not also dripping with elegance. There are the chandeliers, for instance, and the wait staff who greet you in French.
I was here quite a while ago for dessert and cheese and port and it was such an exquisite-yet-simple treat that I’ve been meaning to return ever since, and I am still not able to leave off my intentions to return because there are many more things on the menu I want to try. The cassoulet, for instance, which is not available at lunch.
Here’s a shot of my lovely dining companion, Allyson, and a bit of her Nicoise salad.
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Jules
216 Abbott Street, Vancouver
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I love Jules Bistro. Coincidentally, I had lunch with my brother there one day (or was it dinner?). We had a great time. Although for a duck confit for lunch I find it rather overpriced.
We had such an upsetting experience at Jules and I wouldn’t want any other diner to have to go through this. We arrived at 830 on a Tuesday night; there were four of us and we wanted to have desert and wine. We waited for a bit and then were seated by the owner. A few minutes later, when he realized we were there for desert, he stormed up to the table and shouted at us and tried to humiliate us. He simply raised his voice and demanded to know why we did not inform him we only wanted dessert and how he was shocked that hadn’t. He said he could have seated other people in our seats and wondered how four people could sit down only for dessert. Other diners looked on and we were shocked by his behaviour. We have been to Jules many times before and we have taken our friends there. We were embarrassed that our friends were treated like this at a place we had recommended and we were totally furious. The owner of the restaurant didn’t even acknowledge the fact that we have been there so many times before. The food is good and the prices are decent but a man like this does not deserve the business. I have never written a bad review before…I’ve never even felt compelled to write a review before but I just felt that I needed to tell people what had happened.
that’s really too bad. I’ve stopped in many times for only a drink and dessert and it’s been ok.
Yes, I’ve had a good experience most times i’ve been – since June i’d say about 8 times but I was just in complete shock at what happened last night – it was enough for me to move on.