Rustique Bistro

Rustique is hands down, one of my favorite restaurants in town. I always get great food, excellent service and a relaxed vibe. It’s my home away from home! But better! I’ve tried most of the menu and of course have my favorites, but also like to try the specials. Love the soups, bar burger, short rib risotto. It’s always on point. You will experience a great meal with good people. Your decision is made. Go already.

YES. I have never had such amazing french onion soup. I dream of that soup. I order that soup at other places and am always disappointed. Everything here was absolutely delicious. It was the perfect place to celebrate getting engaged to my wonderful now-​husband!

Truffle Mac is the best in town and they have great affordable wine! We sat at the bar and had wonderful service.

Great french cuisine in this little bistro. We did the off-​season dinner special — the starters were blah, but the mains were quite good. I had flat iron that was cooked just right and my company had the salmon that was just perfect.
Nice cozy décor inside makes for a cozy comfortable atmosphere. Staff are friendly and the service is good with our food arriving quite quickly.
Would recommend and would come back.

Friendly, fast and delicious!!! Love the cold cuts plate with delicious local meats and cheeses.

Located on a quiet corner on Monarch St. in downtown Aspen, this inviting little bistro offers French/​continental cuisine, with one of the best daily specials menu I have ever seen. Featuring casual Mediterranean décor, a relaxed atmosphere and excellent service, this upscale restaurant will not disappoint those with a palate for gourmet cuisine and rational food portions.
The night we dined there, my wife had the shrimp and crab cake with risotto special. I had the the sweetbreads, also from the specials menu. Both were expertly prepared and served to perfection. Entrees are offered either as full or half portions so that those with lighter appetites can enjoy all that this great restaurant has to offer.
To accompany the daily specials, there are a host of specialty cocktails that defy description. They are fantastic.
Desserts are equally brilliant. The chocolate pot de crème and the seasonal fruit ice creams are worth saving room for.
Rustique is definitely worth a visit if you’re looking for upscale dining in the heart of Aspen.

Great new menu. Great food. Great service. As usual, Rustique did not disappoint. Can’t wait for our next visit.

This is an amazing restaurant. We eat here every time we visit Aspen and always have been elated with the quality of service and food. The truffled macaroni and cheese breaks ever rule of health, and is thus super delicious. Amazing service. Very helpful and knowledgeable. Their wines are sensational and a great value. We had a left bank red. The lamb was so tender it fell off the fork. Be prepared to enjoy a great evening.

This bistro looks nice on the outside but inside is a nightmare. It started with being served an expensive bottle of wine in glasses that were so dirty we had to send them back. Since this was the last bottle of this wine; well you know the rest.
My wife and I both had the special of the evening, seafood stew. It was so salty it was nearly inedible.
The service was very mediocre.
You know you are going to overpay in Aspen but at least you should be able to expect a good meal.
I recommend you stay away.

Awesome new menu! Loved the heirloom tomato and lobster salad. Best food in town, great and reasonably priced wine list, and the service is top notch. It’s a very relaxed atmosphere and we could all hear each other talk — a real treat in this town.

A decent experience, but not amazing. I expected more from the high reviews and the price. The host just pointed to the dining room and said sit where you want. Seemed odd. The butternut squash soup was underwhelming and had zero depth. The aged ribeye was so-​so. My asparagus was forgotten, came late, but was appropriately comped. The cream puff dessert was average. Our wine, espresso, and cognac were excellent though! Ha ha. The waiter was very professional, attentive, and did not rush us out the door. I’ll think twice before coming back.

I went to Rustique for the closing ceremony of Aspen Shortsfest last week. Had their mixed greens salad and their steak au poivre, both delicious! The ambient is elegant, and their staff is friendly and efficient. Thank you for having us! Highly recommended!

WOW! Aspen is fabulous in itself but Café Rustique is in its own category. French cuisine, all your favorites. I had the duck L’orange. The wine list is extensive. The onion soup was ok, not like La Bonne Soupe in NYC. I highly recommend this place to anyone who loves good food and wine A. Not a plus bc of the onion soup but a solid A.

The overall experience is ok. Onion soup is ok. Steak is too salty for my taste. And it is too pricey considering the food that served.

Not particularly impressed. We have had much better escargot, and the short ribs pot a feu was undistinguished — despite the waiter saying it was a perennial favorite that has been on the menu since it opened. I expect to pay more in Aspen, but even counting that it was nowhere near worth the price. Ambience & location are both fine, but I expect better food. I don’t know what it is with French restaurant reviews on Unilocal in ski towns; this is the second one reviewed as 4+ stars that we considered «meh.»

we have always loved rustique, food, ambiance and price good. unfortunately we will never go back. the other night our waiter spilled my husband’s dinner all over his shirt. the waiter apologized profusely, and brought over some napkins and water for what turned out to be a useless clean up.(picture manuel on faulty towers.). management was aware of the accident, but never comped us for the meal, or sent a bottle of wine, or offered to pay for the shirt to be cleaned. (it turned out to be ruined). we were very
surprised by how poorly we were treated.

Best risotto I have ever had! Crab with a lemon buerre blanc. Oh my goodness! The soufflé was wonderful as well.

I was just so-​so on this restaurant. We went in a group of 5 and had a good time.
First, there is a coat check at the door and after we asked if there was a charge, the hostess replied «just tips.» Asking for tips is off-​putting to me. I can’t imagine anyone in Aspen not knowing they are supposed to tip the coat check. Not a big deal, but I didn’t care for that.
The beer selection is abysmal for a restaurant of this caliber. It definitely needs an upgrade.
The $ 14 Caesar salad that someone started with definitely nothing special. It looked very bland and could be done better.
Our french onion soup was not the best I’ve had, but it was good.
We, along with another party, had the braised short ribs in the dutch oven. I thought the meat and the vegetables that accompanied them were bland.
The chicken entrée that I got was good, not great. Again a little bland.
Someone else had the pork entrée which he enjoyed.
Based on the so-​so dinner, we decided not to stay for dessert.
The bathrooms need a serious upgrade. Those were bathrooms I would expect to find at a one $ restaurant.
We come to Aspen every year and like to try new places each time. This was not my favorite, but it had a good ambiance and decent food.

I wish more places did it right, like Rustique, and served you warm bread with melting butter. I only wish I remembered to save that warm bread to dip in our left over cheese from the Artichoke appetizer we had.
We sat at the bar, for the bar menu, to find everything available, plus a few cheaper items so you can save your precious dough for the ski slopes. Overall our bartender was extremely courteous, and the food was served well.
We tried the burger and the Pulled Short Rib Beef Risotto. The beef was great, supple and tender. My only complain was the sheer amount of oil lurking on my plate. I wanted to blot it with a napkin, otherwise, we were very satisfied.

Good food and a great atmosphere. That’s what I was promised. For the most part? That’s what I got.
Star 1: How was the service and atmosphere?
Without question the atmosphere at Rustique is one of the highlights. Warm and cozy on the often sub-​freezing evenings, the atmosphere is complimented by a wonderful staff who are as friendly as they are timely. Star Granted.
Star 2: How were the portions relative to the cost?
It’s Aspen, so it’s expensive, but you already knew that. Luckily, I knew that as well. Even so, was I expecting to pay $ 36.00 before tax and tip? No, particularly because I had two pasta (ish) dishes. We’re not talking filet mignon here, and I can only think of maybe two or three meals I’ve had in the US these past few months that were $ 35+ without drinks, and they were of substantially higher quality than Rustique. No Star Granted.
Stars 3 and 4: How was the food?
This is a tale of two courses.
Starter: Mac and Cheese with Roasted Mushrooms and Truffle —
Yum. yum. yum. yum. Oh my God… yum. This was seriously amazing, and was without question the best Mac and Cheese I’ve ever had (I’m looking at you, Noodles & Co.). The blend was perfect, and that’s all I have to say about that.
Main: Old World Risotto with Short Ribs —
Slightly less yum. Yes, I know that Risotto can be tough, but this was straight up mush, which was hugely disappointing. The short ribs were wonderful, but the quality of the Risotto really brought this down for me. Overall? One great dish, one not so great. Single Star Granted.
Star 5: Would you eat here every day if you could?
I want to say no here, but at the end of the day, I know this is what I would first recommend to anyone wanting to splurge in Aspen. That being the case? Star Granted.