P’tit Louis Bistro

We stopped in for brunch and had an excellent experience. Attentive waiter, as well as delicious food. My wife had the mussels and I had the Crab Benedict. Both were delicious, would love to come back and try their dinner menu soon.

Quaint little French restaurant; intimate & very cozy. Our waiter; Alex, was attentive & very happy to provide us with outstanding service. My husband ordered mussels & I ordered the blue cheese endive salad to start. One word, amazing! The entrees arrived, duck confit & a filet mignon with blue cheese. Both entrees were out of this world. We both can’t wait to return. Thank you to the Chef & Alex for a wonderful evening!

We ate here last year (fall 2014) and had an amazing experience!!! So we made sure this restaurant was on our list for this visit. I have to say that the food was good and the wait staff was polite and attentive but it is now under new management (he is not French) and that is disappointing. The previous owner was a large part of the enjoyable experience.
This was their first week with new management. Imagine our surprise to find out that they could not serve us wine because the liquor license transfer was not complete! What is French food without wine?! We had ordered the cheese plate before we were told that there was no wine. That’s just not right. We watched at least 3 tables leave because of the lack of wine. I am concerned that the new owner will not be able to provide the warm atmosphere we had last time we dined here.

Wonderful oysters on Thursday and Friday. The best I’ve had in Abq.
Also the mussels are on point. This French bistro brings a touch of class and yet celebrates a good meal, the way only the French can… well into the evening. Affordable wine options and a table on the patio, makes for an enjoyable evening.

My husband and I went here with some friends last week. The menu is pretty limited, so I ended up with the spicy mussels and fries. The mussels were good. They also brought around some good bread which was great for dipping in the sauce. The fries were not good, though. They tasted like they might have been undercooked a little and were in desperate need of some salt or some flavor. My husband ordered the bouillabaisse which he said was decent. The shellfish in it was good, but the fish was overcooked. The service was friendly and a bit sassy. It did end up being a rather long meal because it wasn’t particularly quick service. In the end, it was pretty expensive for a meal that we weren’t too impressed with. I won’t be rushing back, but I would give them another chance. The desserts looked pretty good and our friends did seem to enjoy their meals more than either my husband or I did.

We weren’t too sure about P’tit Louis since reviews seemed erratic and we didn’t have a reservation. But after a week of BBQ and Tex-​Mex we were jonesin’ for French food. So we tried it and we got right in (dumb luck beats careful planning?). Most of the Unilocal reviews are spot on — tight quarters, mixed service, good food. Yes it’s small, but in a nice intimate/​charming way. As for service — «ah, the French…» Our server (from Bordeaux) started out arrogant/​verging on rude, but was grudgingly charming after a bit. (As a Parisian once told me «Why should we like you? We do not even like each other…»). The food met our (high) expectations for french food without exceeding them. We shared a starter of endive in a roquefort/​cream cheese paste, unusual and almost too rich, but good. My companion had their marquee (five different styles) mussels, a generous portion, unextraordinary but «correct». Ditto with duck leg confit — moist and tender (both good things) but otherwise unremarkable. The Bordeaux superieur we got was not the year listed, but surprised us with its quality for the price. So: a nice meal, reasonably affordable, and nary a taco in sight.

The food must be great, otherwise they couldn’t afford to treat us like merde.
Reservation
[rez-​er-​vey-​shuh n]
… an arrangement to secure accommodations at a restaurant or hotel, on a boat or plane, etc.
…the record kept or assurance given of such an arrangement:
We made a reservation 5 days in advance – was really looking forward to this special night with family. Got dressed up. Picked up our guest. Searched for parking and walked a block. Arrived on time.
Told it would be a 20 minute wait.
After 15 minutes we were told that we were waiting for one specific table because a party of 20 would be arriving who would be occupying all the other tables ! But the table we were waiting for had just gotten their entrée so I knew that it would be another half hour before we were seated. Why take reservations if you cannot seat your guests for 45 minutes ?
They could have offered us a free appetizer or dessert for our inconvenience, but no.
Non, merci. Jamais ! We will not be giving our business to P’tit Louis – too many other good restaurants in Nob Hill to be treated like that.

My wife and I went for a quiet evening and were seeking true French food and atmosphere. We had a very good meal, that reminded us both of our visits in different areas of France. The service was very attentive, menu simple, and variety of flavors excellent. Portions were a bit on the small side, but that is also very French. Make a reservation, the place is small, the chairs a bit dodgy, and it’s the usual Snob Hill parking drama. We did not encounter the snobbishness listed in other reviews, but I’m sure there were service issues. It’s a nice place to get a little dressed up in a smaller intimate setting. I would not go with a large group, or with people that have not had French type service, or dining arrangements. I would give it five stars, but the smaller space, and more limited menu held me back.

C’est magnifique! Staff were very attentive and friendly. The meal was well paced with time between courses. Boulliabase and Coq au vin were both excellent. Altogether a very enjoyable evening.

The host when we walked immediately gave us attitude about not having a reservation and told us there is nothing he can do. Handed us a card to make a reservation and escorted us out. Lucky enough for us Ajaico nearby treated us like human beings.
Would not recommend this place if you plan on being treated nicely.

My best friend and I spent a couple of nights having fun in Albuquerque last week. He’s a huge Francophile and so we ended up popping in here on a Tuesday evening for a late dinner. When we popped by around 7:30 it was quite busy (not a huge space, but so perfect), so the owner offered to give us a phone call when he had a table available. After talking with another waiting patron (who quickly became our new Albuquerque best friend), we wondered off for a bourbon elsewhere in Nob Hill. We quickly got a call and returned to enjoy one of the best meals I’ve had in a long time.
Our new friend, Evie, was seated near us and we conversed almost the whole meal. She is a good friend of the owner, Christophe, and between the two of them, the food, and the wine, we could not have had a better time. The wine hit me pretty quickly and I don’t speak French, lamentably, I can’t do justice to the names of the dishes, but they were exceptionally prepared, and the service was IMPECCABLE.
I wish I lived in Albuquerque. This bistro would be one of my favorites and I have a feeling it would become a quite lovely bi-​weekly habit…

Christophe, Alex and his their team have created not only a great menu of great French fare but also keep it small enough to enjoy personal conversations with each guest all night.
We love this place and make it a weekly date night and the first place we bring out of town guests to experience Nob Hill

I may be biased as a francophile, but this place has everything I love. Cozy atmosphere (definitely make reservations), wine by the carafe that’s actually drinkable, and greatest hits type of menu of french cuisine. You have moules marinieres that aren’t over-​cooked and served in a delicious broth, steak frites with a proper bavette cut and skinny, crispy, salty fries, and really good bread. You also have the rich, creamy foie appetizer and the garlicky, buttery, tender escargot. If you’re looking for the classics, this is the best place in Albuquerque to find them. Service can be a bit slow if one waiter is on, but if you’re there for a romantic dinner (highly recommended), who cares :)?

I love the food and service at this quaint nob hill restaurant. The menu stays consistent with mostly French country cooking by Kristof, the owner. The cheese selection is lovely. The oysters are always delicious. I usually have the duck because no other restraint in Albuquerque can get it right.
The personal service makes you feel important as a member of the community. It is not a fast paced service so don’t go if you want a quick lunch or dinner. The music is always the perfect volume and you can speak intimately to your dinner companions– no raising your voice necessary.

Everything here is so thoughtful and well crafted. I’m officially addicted and try to make it back at least once a week.

Can’t wait to be back in ABQ just to visit here again.
Ambience: Very cosy inside and small patio outside. Tables closely packed but I had nice pleasant neighbors so it wasn’t too bad. I imagine you’d want to book as I hear it gets pretty full with so few seats.
Service: Two waiters (well, one of them was the chef/​owner) for so few tables meant we got great service. Good recommendations on food and wine and constant replenishing of fresh bread.
Food: Fresh oyster flown in that morning were the best I’ve had from a non-​coastal location. This was followed by a special which was a crispy chicken dish with truffle sauce. Very nice. Finally a crème caramel for desert which was an ideal finish.
Price: Very decent for the quality.
There’s a bunch more items on the menu I’m looking forward to trying. I will also want to arrange a game of petanque with Christophe.

I think this might be my first 5 star Unilocal review. I only reserve this restaurant for those days when I really need a break. It’s the perfect mid-​day getaway for wine, cheese, fresh French bread and much more. In the warm months the place is all open with seating also on a tiny patio. Just today I dined there on the patio under huge sunflowers. The wait staff and owner are very attentive and able to give you much attention because of the small setting.
A water fountain in the background lends to the overall ambiance of a relaxing French bistro.
The menu has never let me down. Their oysters, escargot, muscles, sandwiches and everything else are amazing, fresh and very reasonably priced. You can also order great wine at a nice price point.
Don’t miss this hidden gem in Nob Hill. It’s great for a quiet get-​away or date night.

Kristi recommended the Roquefort Mussels and frites. I probably would not have tried them without a push. The frites were great. Super hot and the right amount of salt. The mussels were sort of a strange flavor combination to begin with, but as I ate them the flavors worked some sort of mojo on me, and by the end I had decided that our first date had been nice. I don’t think we were a love match, so I’ll be going out with another mussel option when I return.
That said, there are like 6 mussel choices. (Mussels mariners, mussels roquefort, mussels madras, mussels piquantes, mussels au saffran, and mussels provencale) Perfect for a fickle girl like me. When it comes to mussels I’m a bit of a flirt and I like to flirt with more than one type. I’m going out with the mussels madras next, watch out!

I have been to Paris. I spent a total of perhaps three hours waiting in a train station to catch the express to London. I believe I purchased a German beer from a vending machine. While this was a long time back, I still recall the snooty attitude I received from one of the employees who worked at the station when I tried, in vain, to pronounce a few foreign sentences. I also remember the kind man who directed me to the correct train after I mistakenly attempted to board the train to Nice. This is all I know of Paris.
And yet I feel as if I know the city intimately, in my fabled little world, due to my visit to P’Tit Louis Bistro. I’m tempted to give this place five stars simply because they nail the experience-​real or imagined-​of enjoying a bite in another country altogether. Without the snooty attitude.
The wife and I got romantically involved, cuisine-​wise, with the Salade oceane and the Croque Madame. Neither were amazing, but both were very good. The gruyère and bechamel cheese oozing out of the sandwich made me exceptionally randy, and once the yolk was popped on top the game was over, I was spent. It was 2:30 on a Saturday afternoon and all I wanted to do was spend the day wandering the Louvre with my lover.
The bread they serve while you wait for a plate is absolutely boring, plain french loaf. I’ve been to the downtown location and I can state, fairly confidently, that the moules are the very best option on the menu, in whatever broth you choose (I had the Roquefort). For the Bistro, the experience is what matters most. For the better part of an hour we were transported from Albuquerque to a fantasy of Paris, with solid entrees, good service, and the crackle of classic French music in the air. We were so transported, in fact, that we wanted to make the place our staple for romantic afternoon stops without the kids (which means we would probably visit, oh, four days a year).
Take a friend or a lover to the Bistro and get to know them in another language.

My husband, another couple and I had dinner at P’tit Louis Bistro on a Saturday night at 5:30 pm. Our server was terrible and had a real attitude. He came over to tell us the specials of the night and didn’t bother to ask for our drink orders. A while later, he returned and just stood there. My dining companions and I were so confused as to why a server would stand there and not acknowledge anyone at the table that we just sat there. The server then proceeded to ask, «Are you ready to order or are you just going to stare at each other?» Wow. I proceeded to order the mussels. He abruptly cut me off to say they were out of mussels! Out of mussels? You’re a French bistro, and, did I mention, it was a SATURDAY night at 5:30 pm! What a joke.
Since two of us were planning to order mussels, we needed a few minutes to choose something else. Still did not ask for our drink orders. Only after we placed our food orders did he finally ask for our drinks.
I eventually settled on the french onion soup and the beet and goat cheese salad. Both were good, but nothing spectacular. I also shared an order of the escargots with my husband. Again, I’ve had better.
My husband ordered the filet and said it was very good. At the end of the meal, we asked for the check to be split because we were running late for the theatre. The server returned and made a big fuss about having to split the bill.
Overall, our service was slow and rude, but the food was good. I maybe willing to give P’tit Louis another shot.