Chef de France or Bistro de Paris?

[twins4me]

Can someone please explain the difference to me? Which would be best for a date night? My parents are watching the kids so we can get out for a special dinner and we would like Le Cellier but it is boooooked! So we are looking into alternatives. i would like to eat in Epcot so that we can have a drink and walk around afterwards.

 

[TPBChick]

Bistro de Paris is considered a little more upscale. They do not accept the dining plan and there is no children's menu. I think this would be the less crowded and more romantic place to eat for a date night.

 

[BrerSam]

We ate at Chef de France on valentines day last year and it was really nice i would recommend it.

 

[Sweet Melissa]

I've tried both and would prefer Bistro de Paris for a date night. In addition to having what I feel is the better menu, it's quieter and a little more intimate.

 

[drenalin'junkie]

FWIW we took a well behaved 3yr old to Bistro and there were several other toddler to teens all well behaved.The food is very nice and the service impeccable.They accomodated several off the menu requests.

Chefs is nice but more relaxed,closer togetherand louder.Food has always been good for us but we've seen others not so lucky or not into it.

 

[skier_pete]

Hmmm, I've never eaten at Bistro De Paris, but while we have enjoyed Chefs De France, I wouldn't call it romantic. The Tables are packed in like Sardines and there are lots of kids. Based on that, I would choose Bistro De Paris.

 

[Golf4food]

Bistro is intended to be "fine French" dining.

Chefs is basically a French version of Applebee's - a streetside cafe/bistro, not fine dining. It is noisy and crowded. We find it pretty over-rated. No bad, mind you, just not up the hype many people seem to give it. I think a lot of people assume "French" with Chefs de France and therefore is MUST be outstanding and upscale and fancy and superior to everything else. It isn't. It's good, but we don't find it better than any number of other places in the WS overall.

Between the two Bistro is by far the better option for a good date location.

 

[Pakey]

Bistro de Paris has a more refined menu. Chefs de France offers rustic French food and has a typical atmosphere of a French cafe with the small crowded tables.

We've always had good luck at Bistro and enjoy the menu. In all of our meals there, we have never seen any children; they used to not offer a children's menu at all. Now I hear they are letting children pick items from the Chef's menu downstairs and I've read reports on here about some noisy dining experiences there now. That would be a shame as this was a nice alternative to V&A for an adult dining experience.

Out of the two, I'd still pick Bistro. At least there you have a chance for a quiet dinner; you certainly won't get that at Chefs.

 

[MrsJD]

I found it interesting that the OP has the exact plan as me! My in-laws will be watching DD4 while we have a date night at WS. I originally booked Bistro, but decided to switch to Teppan Edo in Japan. We also plan to stroll through WS, have a few drinks and a fun dinner just the two of us. It's one of the things i am most looking forward to for our trip!

Have fun OP! Good luck making all those hard ADR decisions

 

[ElizabethB]

There were lots of childen the night dh and I dined at Bistro de Paris. So, don't go thinking there won't be any kids there.

 

[skier_pete]

There were lots of childen the night dh and I dined at Bistro de Paris. So, don't go thinking there won't be any kids there.

The fact is, with the possible exception of V & A...there isn's a restaurant on property that won't have a signifcant # of kids. Your at Disney, after all!

We dined at California Grill last trip, and while tables with kids at them were in the minority, they were probably at about 20 % of them.

 

[OKW Lover]

We just did both of these places last weekend. Bistro was outstanding. Chefs was blah. It's amazing how different our experience was - especially when considering that only about 30' separated our two tables. I'm guessing the food comes out of the same kitchen, but what a difference there is.

I will say that the Bistro was certainly much more expensive. Not out of line though. It was ~$200 for two, with wine. The food was outstanding from appetizer to entree to desert, both in presentation and taste.

Chef's was much less expensive. Only $90 for two, but without wine. The chicken had no flavor and the vegetables had been cooked for a month and a half. The braised short ribs were ok, but not great. A table mate had shrimp that was absolutely tasteless (confirmed by a diner at an adjacent table who had the same dish). Even the creme brulee for desert was poor, as was the chocolate cake was dry and didn't have much flavor.

It will be a long time before we go back to Chefs for dinner. But, we did have a good experience for lunch there. Very strange.

 

[Luv2Roam]

We have always liked Chefs. We are even eating lunch there tomorrow.

 

[TheRustyScupper]

Bistro was outstanding. Chefs was blah.

Yep !

 

[Uncleromulus]

Add me to the Bistro camp. Even wityh children there now, it's much more romantic and more quiet than downstairs at the Chef's.

 

[MaryJ]

DH and I went to Bistro for my birthday in November. It was much more upscale than Chef's. I would recommend it. The food was delicious! We plan to go there again the next time we're at WDW.

 

[PrincessAurora]

I've eaten at both. Neither are amazing food but on the value of food alone I would have to go with the cafe as opposed to Bistro.

Bistro is pretty and pricey and the the looks amazing but it is bland. Here is my review of Bistro with pictures:
http://myunauthorizedirreverentdisneydiary.blogspot.com/2010/01/bistro-de-paris-epcotfrance.html

If you don't mind tossing good money after bad for bland food, Bistro does have the better atmosphere.

Personally I like to go with value plus atmosphere with GREAT food. The cafe is still very pretty especially by the patio and has decent food.