Bijou

Bijou is a shining beacon in the city of Lebanon, IN. The Lobster Feuilleté is absolutely fantastic! It's a must for any time you come in. Be warned- and this is not a bad thing- his is a french style restaurant. This means there's no hustle and bustle -- get you in and get you out. This is sit down relax experience.

Lebanon, Indiana is approximately 4178 miles (or 6724 kilometers if you prefer) from Paris, France. However, our experience at the Bijou gave us a true Parisian experience just 10 minutes from our little suburban lives in the Midwest.

I had heard wonderful things about Bijou from some of my colleagues and when our 15th Anniversary came around, it seemed like a logical time to give it a try. We were greeted by the owner and shown to an intimate table which has a bit of a history for wedding proposals and other memorable occasions.

Our server, Philippe, who originally hailed from Paris, was outstanding and made us feel completely at home. He put us at ease with our dining selections, which might have been a little intimidating for the uninitiated.

**In the interest of full disclosure, my better half is a French teacher and could have "showed off" a bit, but decided not to. Maybe next time!**

From their "famous" French bread to the creme' brulee at the end of the meal, everything that was served to us was delicious. To start the meal, we shared the Duck Rillettes and a French Onion Soup, which were both a bit different than your typical Hoosier fare. For the main course, I opted for the Filet Oscar style. I've had my fair share of steak, but this stood out in that the combination of flavors was artistic. My better half had the Sole stuffed with Lobster and Shrimp and was kind enough to give me a few bites - which is saying a great deal since she is a big lobster fan!

All in all, an exemplary dining experience. We will be back.

We've been to Bijou at least 5-6 times over the past 10 years.  The menu is limited and doesn't change, so it's easy to get a "been there" feeling after you've visited a few times.  The food preparation is mostly good, and some of it is very good.  Not much is great though, and occasionally something is below expectations.  

The service is professional, but at a recent visit there was not enough staff to adequately handle the small crowd.  As a result, dinner for 6 took about 3 hours, which is way too long for a three-course meal in Indiana.  The owner who runs the front of the house is nice, but it was disappointing that he didn't do much to help the single waiter when things got behind.

Three of the meals during our most recent visit were excellent, two were very good, and one was fair.  I had the stuffed flounder "special" and found it to be slightly overcooked and dry.  The strip steak, lamb chops, and duck were excellent though, and the Tuna and the other fish dish were apparently very good.  All of the appetizers were excellent, but the soups and salads were about average.  I have my doubts about whether the Cesar salad dressing is really house-made.  If it is house-made it appears to have been made well before service, and not made fresh as it should be.

Overall, I still like the place, but it doesn't seem like the owners (who are the chef and the guy who runs the front of the house) are putting in the effort to make it top-drawer.  I imagine that it must be hard to put in the necessary effort year-after-year if you're only going to have 20-30 guests on a good night, but that's the only way to have a first-class restaurant.  They've lasted 10+ years though, which is not easy to do in this market.

Wine is priced like they want to people to drink it, which is refreshing in Indiana.  And there are several interesting wine choices on the list too.

Overall, a nice place for a quiet, relaxed dinner, with the potential to be well above average if you're there on the right night.

Cheers,

T.