A weeknight in Newport: late winter/early spring. No problem parking, no wrangle with reservations, no din in the dining rooms. Sigh. It's just what a Rhode Islander would wish for -- in contrast to the steady buzz of tourists in the summer -- and makes a visit here more like a trip to a foreign country.

Indeed, the food at Le Bistro-Newport, as you might expect, has a heavy French accent and the decor has a very European feel to it. This stems from the soft glow of electric candles in wall sconces; warm, peach-colored walls; dark woodwork set off by lace curtains; and crisp white table linens with forest green underskirts. Three intimate dining rooms overlook Bowen's Wharf. Though the view from our table is a courtyard dominated by a tall sycamore, the other second-floor room and the third-floor space afford glimpses of the harbor and the Newport Bridge.

The dinner menu is subject to change, depending on local seafood and available game. In addition to the dozen or so entrees, there were four specials on the evening we were there, including filet mignon, baked stuffed lobster, trout meunière, and a lobster and artichoke dish. The appetizers change slightly with the seasons as well, though they always tip the scales toward seafood -- smoked salmon, shrimp cocktail, Spinney Creek oysters, steamed littlenecks, escargots -- with a chef's paté and a plate of assorted sausages tossed in for good measure.

Zeroing right in on the Newport bouillabaisse ($22.95), with shrimp, clams, mussels, scallops and scrod, I picked the warm salad with chevre ($6.50) as a starter, instead of another seafood dish. After much angst-ing over such beef choices as Black Angus sirloin with "authentic French fries," Bill settled on roast pheasant ($22.95) with the onion soup ($4.50) to begin the meal.

The slightly warm greens of the salad were liberally doused with vinaigrette, and tiny bites of chevre cut the bitterness of the prevalent radicchio, though it might have been nice to have one more foil for the bold earthiness of the greens. Bill thoroughly enjoyed half of the generous portion.

He was far less enthusiastic about his onion soup -- not enough cheese, too thin a broth, and too bland a taste. I, however, liked the sweetness the onions gave the soup and the crispy broiled cheese around the edges. To each his or her own, I guess.

The pheasant was well prepared, the mild fowl flavor energized by sauteed apple slices and a Calvados cream sauce. Large-grained white rice and steamed butternut squash accompanied the pheasant, but once again Bill found them too bland.

Meanwhile, I was luxuriating with the star of the evening, the bouillabaisse and its accompanying rouille, and trying to ignore Bill's covetous glances. Pernod and saffron enhanced the seafood's light tomato and leek broth, and the dollop of mayonnaise-like rouille, intended for stirring into the soup, was scarcely needed. Its sharp and fiery creaminess was, however, a great complement to the herby broth.

Chef Kevin Wood had a fistful of dessert specialties at the ready that evening: fresh apple tart with almond pastry; the de rigueur crème brûlée; Creole bread pudding with a warm bourbon sauce; French vanilla or coffee ice cream with chocolate walnut sauce; and the newest addition, a chocolate mint dome cake. The latter ($6.50) drew us like moths to a flame.

A toothsome confection indeed, this cake began with a chocolate genoise (sponge cake) brushed with crème de menthe pressed into a large bowl and filled with two whipped ganaches, one chocolate/crème de menthe and the other white chocolate. A wedge of this filled dome cake was turned onto a plate pooled with a chocolate crème Anglaise. This dessert had a lightness that kept you coming back for more, as did the contrasts between the different kinds of chocolate.

Le Bistro has an award-winning wine list, and its carefully chosen offering of 16 wines by the glass includes sparkling, blush, white, and red, from as far away as New Zealand and as close as Sakonnet Vineyards. Bill savored a glass of an Australian Shiraz/cabernet sauvignon followed by a French chardonnay, the latter a recommendation from our friendly waiter, George.

The service at Le Bistro is crisp and attentive, with none of the pretentiousness found at some French restaurants. Of course, the staff wasn't harried by packed dining rooms and waiting lists. And neither were we. Late winter in Newport. Midweek. Sigh.

Issue Date: March 22 - 28, 2002