Restaurant Review – Anis Café and Bistro

I know it has been a while since I have done a restaurant review and the main reason for that is because lately most restaurants we go to have had a playground attached to it! But last weekend we were able to visit a grown up restaurant and we realized how much we miss going out to nice places for a good meal. We met our friends Spencer and Kelly at Anis Café and Bistro just off Pharr Rd. in Buckhead. Anis is a renovated old house that does have a French café feel to it and the décor was rustic and charming. It is not an extremely big place and a majority of the seating is out in a covered patio, which was very nice for us since the weather was very pleasant. There was a live three piece band playing (sounded just like music from the movie “The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou” with the music performed by Seu Jorge) that helped set the mood and gave it an exotic, French feel to evening. Also, most of the staff is European and that too adds to the feeling of being swept away to a small French café. Even though our server (who looks a lot like Chelsea Clinton) was American, most everyone else is European.

Anis has been around since 1994, but this was my first time being there. The Cobbs have been there a few times and Meg had been there once in the late nineties but things had really changed since that visit. So it was sort of like going for the first time for Meg as well. The menu was full of typical Provencal fair with fresh seafood and Mediterranean/French style dishes. Meg and I started with the mussels, which immediately sent me back to the small café in Cassis, France where we had the biggest bowl of mussels and frites while sipping on a local rose…… Sorry, I drifted off for a minute. Back to the appetizers, Spencer ordered the pan-seared scallops, which were delicious, and Kelly had the tomato tartare, which was also very good. With our appetizers, we ordered a nice Cote de Rhone. I forgot my notepad (actually, Meg doesn’t like it when I bust out the notepad at the table) and they don’t have the wine list online so I don’t have the name of the wine, but it went wonderfully with all of our starters.

On to our entrees, Meg and Kelly both went off the menu and ordered one of the specials for that night. Meg got the grilled pork tenderloin, which was the best dish on the table. Kelly went for the swordfish and it was excellent. Spencer and I stayed on the menu and Spencer got the pan-roasted trout and I went for the hand cut pasta with gulf shrimp. Every dish was very good and you can’t go wrong with any of them. The seafood was very fresh (Chef Jeff Gomez buys the freshest seafood daily) and the cooking style was definitely provincial. For our entrees, we had a bottle from Provence; again I apologize for not having the names. I will try to do better next time! Anyway, it was a little heavier than the Cote de Rhone but still soft and pleasant. Most French wines are blends, so this wine was a little more fruity than the prior one due to the fact it was 100% Grenache. It was excellent with the seafood and the pork. For dessert, Kelly went for the crème brule, which was excellent! Spencer when for three different flavors of sorbet, which he didn’t share so I assume it was good. Meg and I shared the puff pastries and they were OK, but nothing to write home about. I think next time we should try the flourless cake, it just sounds interesting to me!

Overall, I really enjoyed my experience at Anis. I would like to go back again soon. The food was excellent and not overpriced, the service was good and the atmosphere is pretty unique. The wine list was not extensive, but it did have good variety of French wines as well as a few other wines from different regions to satisfy people who are looking for new world wines. Just as with the food, the wine prices were reasonable. You could get a bottle for as little as $28 or as much as $250 with a majority of the choices being in the $35-$65 dollar range. We did have one problem with Anis, and that was the wine glasses. They used the short; thick wine glasses that you see in a college bar. They would serve their clientele a lot better if they improved their wine glasses. Having nice wine glasses would make the experience even better.

If you are looking for a casual dinning experience that transports you to a small café in the French countryside, Anis is your place! We had a great time with some great friends and we all are looking forward to going back soon.

Cheers!