Le Bistrot offers elegant yet casual dining in a cream and white room in the winter, and by the poolside in the balmy months of April to October.
The menu is solidly Italian with some nods to international taste in the form of fries which accompany several of the main dishes.
“A confident yet traditional menu, and a sparkling location”
Service was very warm and cheerful, and our waiter obliged by letting us order a main dish – spaghetti with garlic, olive oil and chili pepper – as a small portion starter. This is one of our favourites, and it was every bit as pungent and flavoursome as you could wish, with perfectly cooked spaghetti.
For our main dish, I chose calamari and prawns with grilled seasonal vegetables. The calamari was sweet and tender, and the prawns were the size of a small lobster. These were perfectly offset by the robust smoky flavour of the vegetables, which included fennel, so appropriate for an Italian seafood dish.
My companion decided upon filet of steak with fries, and this was served just to her liking, the fries hot and crisp, the steak meltingly tender and just slightly bloody.
We accompanied the meal with a bottle of the house Villa Cora Chianti Classico, which we found to have robust berry flavours and plenty of backbone. Yes, I know, red wine with fish is supposed to be a no no, but we tend to drink what we like, rather than what we should, and the seafood was by no means overwhelmed.
This charming and decent value restaurant is a great asset to the luxurious Hotel Villa Cora.
The Bill: £46 per head
