THIS RESTAURANT IS CLOSED Pastis

THIS RESTAURANT IS CLOSED Pastis Restaurant Review:

Pastis is a little slice of Paris' Left Bank plunked in the middle of downtown Hartford. With lace curtains, tile floor, zinc bar and Toulouse-Lautrec reproductions on the walls, the restaurant oozes café charm. And the food, while not always textbook examples of French bistro fare, is quite good. The country pâté is nice and pebbly, the duck confit indulgently fatty, and the salad frisée warm with the porky goodness of bacon. Our favorite starter is the baked mussels swimming in garlic-herb butter and wearing a crispy hat of toasted Gruyère. For entrées we like the roasted salmon on a bed of lentils, pan-roasted chicken, and the grilled hanger steak (the latter two served with perfect french fries.) The menu's plats du jour include choucroute, beef Bourgogne and sole meunière. There are also bistro classics like cassoulet, coq au vin and onion soup gratinée to warm your cold bones. For real extravagance, order one of the fruits de mer presentations, grand towers of iced shellfish that go great with Champagne or a cold Sancerre. C'est bon.