Simplicity may not always be considered a selling point when it comes to restaurants. Which is why it’s good to remember that elegance and simplicity have long been very close cousins. Both can be found co-mingling nicely at Bistro Campagne, a small French restaurant that’s been keeping Lincoln Square happy and well fed since 2002. Quiet and unassuming also accurately describe the restaurant’s overall personality. Picturesque, and with a palpable aura of the old-world, from the street Bistro Campagne looks like Little Red Riding Hood’s house with an attractive restaurant sign on top. Or like something you’d expect to find in Germany’s Black Forest. Rustic, and in this case, very inviting.
Warm and dark, the restaurant’s interior keeps up the charm offensive. Not at all large and not in the least congested with seating, the spacing between tables benefit both safety and conversational privacy. Tables for two don’t seem to be a begrudging afterthought. One window looks out on a tranquil patio with more tables; also generously spaced. On a warm Thursday evening in May, most of them are filled.
The whole atmosphere invites you to downshift, exhale, sit and lose yourself in the joy of a good meal. On this side of the Atlantic, we’re a little over French food. Heavy, involved and often rich, our palettes have moved on to lighter and more adventurous fare. Bistro Campagne reminds us of all the things that make this kind of fare so wonderful. At their heart, bistros aim to offer straightforward nourishing meals that emphasize the practical and the available. Although it’s true that entrées can be substantial, lighter options are always included on the roster to address more restrictive dietary concerns. Often slow cooked using familiar ingredients to make hearty cassoulets, bean stews and the ever-popular steak and frites, today’s bistro menus include at least one fish entrée. Two (salmon and halibut) can be found in the lineup on Bistro Campagne’s current menu. Elegance comes in the form of skillful food preparation and idyllic surroundings.
If you’ve ever gone the extra mile and paid market price for quality fish to cook at home, you know how terrifying it can be to make sure you don’t ruin it with overcooking. Finding a restaurant that knows how prepare fish in a way that honors and showcases the flavor of the fish is not nearly as easy as you might think or hope. Freed from pandemic prison two weeks ago, a hallelujah restaurant outing in Andersonville found trout tasting like washed out tilapia. That misfortune helped make the fletan (halibut) at Bistro Campagne feel like such a triumph. When prepared well, halibut can’t be matched for it sweetness and texture. Wrapped in a beautiful char, ladled with a light Hollandaise sauce, and sitting on a bed of asparagus, potatoes, lentils, Fresno chilies, and pine nuts, the halibut looked like a feast and a beautiful reward. The more you ate, the slower you ate; simply to extend the pleasure of it.
The house salad preceding it was generous, fresh and under dressed in its basil vinaigrette. Because the vegetables were so clean, it was fun appreciating the authenticity of their flavor; either completely unvarnished or with only light swipes of the salty sourness of the vinaigrette to give them zing.
Across the table, a mound of glistening steak strips with a companion heap of frites looked as appealing as the fish. Larger than many bistro menus, Bistro Campagne’s seems to take the extra effort to insure there’s something in its rotation to stir the culinary imagination and please the palette of just about anyone. By offering a cheese plate with the option of adding a charcuterie board to join it lets diners tap into two indulgences at once. And of course, you’d expect to see pomme (potato) frites, but not oignon (onion), too.
In the warmer months, Bistro Campagne even has a secret weapon. Two small patios adjoining the restaurant don’t have much competition when it comes to ingratiating appeal. Larger than pocket patios, very comfortable, secluded and sheltered from the sounds of the city, they have the feel of a secret garden. Wrought iron tables and chairs, old trees, shade and spotless service will spoil you for any other patio experience. Like many restaurants, servers and staff at Bistro Campagne remind you that seating is limited to 90 minutes. It doesn’t seem to be too rigidly enforced. If you’re in the middle of ordering one of the three classically French desserts, or finishing the evening with a cognac, you’re not abruptly rushed out. It’s the kind of civility you’d like to see more of in the broader society. For now, we’ll just be grateful to find it just north of Sunnyside on Lincoln Ave.
Bistro Campagne
4518 N. Lincoln Avenue
773-271-6100
https://www.bistrocampagne.com/dine-in
Closed Monday and Tuesday
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