It was once the case that every town had a half decent French bistro, but due to modern trends and fewer people eating out, many have shut.
Happily, Rustique restaurant is still going strong and, with a full house on a chilly Wednesday night, should still be with us for many years to come. With tables close together and a fairly small dining room, it’s impossible not to feel welcomed and warmed by the atmosphere. The smell of garlic and parsley pervades the room, and apart from the slightly naff fake flower adorning each table, everything
looked good.
We order a Leffe each and browse the menu. The set menu is one of the cheapest I’ve come across in York – £12.95 for two courses or £14.95 for three.
I start with chicken liver pâté, blushing pink and served with onion marmalade and bread. The pâté itself is very good, perfectly seasoned and although ever so slightly grainy, smooth enough to satisfy your
indulgent side.
The onion marmalade was tangy enough to cut the richness and the herb oil had a short, sharp, garlicky punch. The bread it was served with was a slightly disappointing baguette and, as far as I’m concerned, there is no need to drizzle balsamic glaze all over the plate, but as starters go, this was very good.
My companion was given an extremely limited (read: chosen for her) menu. No-one had taken note of the fact that she was vegan despite being told a few days before. The green salad with potatoes, French beans and olives was a little watery, although the effort was there.
The mustard dressing stole the show. For the main I completely disregarded my partner’s dietary preferences and had steak-frites, rare with garlic butter. Such a simple dish, and executed admirably. Crispy chips, dead on rare steak and another wave of garlic, perfect.
The vegan risotto had a thoughtful medley of well-cooked vegetables and a nice background flavour of good vegetable stock. This would have been a great dish had the rice been cooked properly, but it was underdone and a little chewy, and so ended up being our least favourite plate overall.
Rustique is a great value restaurant that does some really fantastic dishes. For a meat-eater, it’s easily one of the better places to eat in York.
Rillettes, confits and great steaks feature on the menu, and two courses for £12.95 is a steal. For vegetarians and vegans, make doubly sure the restaurant is fully aware of your food preferences before going or you won’t experience the best Rustique has to offer, or even better yet, start eating
meat again.
The classic French dishes were done so well, you’ll never look at a stuffed pepper again.