Gulf Bistro

In town on business. Took my wife for Valentine’s Day. Turned out to be a great choice. Food and service was outstanding. An unexpected gem in the most off-​beat location. Family run. Quaint environment. Everyone was very friendly and helpful. Dinner was great.

In a word, terrible. Let me begin by saying we’ve been to many amazing French restaurants, here in the US and in France.
This was our one and ONLY visit to Gulf Bistro. Hearing that everyone in there was French, we thought we were in a for a treat!
We were greeted and seating in a surly manner.
My wife asked if they had French wine by the glass and told no… only Californian. Really?! In a French restaurant? French wine only came in a bottle. Since we don’t drink much, we opted out.
We then ordered pâté as an appetizer. It came out in a cold hard slab that tasted just this side of lunch meat. Maybe head cheese. Not kidding.
We were given a complimentary salad of wilted BAG lettuce.
Finally the the entrees. «My I had a little lamb»…and I mean LITTLE, not the price of course, that was plenty high. The French green bean medley was absolutely from frozen, as were the potatoes.
My wife hated her meal as well.
I’d say if you’re looking for French food, don’t look here.

When I entered the dark, red walled room It smelled strongly of scented candles instead of food. I asked for a glass of Bordeaux and was told they don’t have any French wine by the glass, but I could buy a bottle and take it home. My husband asked for a vodka martini. They only have beer and wine. Strike two. I asked for an appetizer to start and was told it was too busy I would have to order my dinner as well when the waitress got to us. The pâté was not good, the lettuce was from a bag, my pork was dry with berry jelly on top. My husbands lamp chops small and too much Rosemary. The vegetables were over cooked or perhaps frozen. I’m from Chicago and used to great French food. This was not it. The hostess who also waited on us was snotty.

This is a fabulous restaurant. A real gem. Food and service is excellent. Not the norm. Try it, you’ll love it.

The best meal we’ve experienced this visit to the area. The sauces are superb as is the service. Genuine French menu with delightful interior design. We will be back!

Our Unilocal Elite friends Melissa and Todd asked us to come try this place so we all met up for dinner and good times. Born and raised in France, I have to try every French restaurant in Tampa Bay and they said this was a good one. They were right!!!
The place is small and warm. The owner is from France and very nice. The menu is perfect size. Not too many or too few items, and what is there gives you plenty of choices.
We started with Escargots, Lobster Bisque, then got surf and turf for our entrees and finished dinner off with chocolate mousse, and Profiteroles au chocolat, something I was very leery about, as I have never had a good experience with that in the US unless it was at a Michelin Star restaurant. More on that later.
The plating was beautiful on every dish. Nice to see the care taken on each plate (see photos).
The lobster Bisque was wonderful. Well seasoned.
The escargots were served in a creamy garlic sauce, something I had never seen before, and it was AMAZING! That sauce!!! Holy crap that sauce!!! Cleaned it out with bread and could have had a whole cup on the side. WOW!
The filet was so tender you could cut it with your fork, and perfectly cooked and seasoned. Lobster was also perfectly cooked and seasoned and definitely fresh.
The chocolate mousse was thick and delicious. Not too light or too heavy. Perfect.
But what about the profiteroles? Well… One word… Perfect! They weren’t hard like many other places. They were soft, and the custard filling (something many places also forget) was exquisite! The chocolate sauce was high quality (definitely not your Hershey syrup here).
Finally!!! If you want to know what profiteroles should taste like, either go to France, or come to this restaurant. Amazing!
We will definitely be back. Thank you Melissa and Todd for bringing us here.

Small and very quaint! Food was superb. Special 4 course meal is a good choice. Chocolate mousse for dessert was far above average.

We found this cozy little place through Unilocal.We had no reservations but stopped by on a Saturday night anyway. We were lucky to get a table for two.
It was a perfect experience from salad to dessert. Everything tasted and presented well. I can’t pronounce what I had but it was chicken with bacon. My wife had tenderloin with mushrooms. We didn’t leave anything on our plate. Both meals came with green beans and potatoes plus a little fish of what seem to be eggs and beans. All very good. Desserts were large and full of flavor. Check the photos.
Highly recommended and will go back for dinner on our next visit to this area.

From a very unassuming store front along Gulf Blvd. in Madeira Beach, you’ll find a wonderfully cozy, romantic, French restaurant. The décor and ambiance are comfortable and friendly. We were cheerfully met at the door and led to our table.
We decided to get the ‘Tabled’ Hote’ which, for an additional $ 13, you get a choice of appetizer and dessert. For appetizers, we selected the Lobster Bisque and the Escargot en Cocote which was in a delicious butter and garlic sauce. (see pics) Luckily, the hot crusty bread was amply provided during the course of the meal and thank goodness! You need bread to sop up every last drop of goodness on each plate. The escargot was some of the best I have ever had, period!
For entrées, we ordered the La Soup du Chef ‘Bouillabaisse Way’ and the Medallions de Boeuf. (see pics) The bouillabaisse was lush with large shrimp, Grouper, clams, scallops and mussels. The seafood was ample and perfectly cooked. I had asked that the filet medallions be cooked rare and I had asked for the Sauce Béarnaise on top. What a dish! It was the best piece of steak I’ve had in YEARS! The accompanying green beans, corn casserole and au gratin potatoes were fine, as well.
For desserts, we opted for the Berry Coulis Crêpe a la mode and the Orange Marmalade Crêpe a la mode. Both were deceivingly rich and filling. They were both delicious!
Be aware that they do not serve iced tea but they have other beverages and very fine house wines. You can bring in your own bottle as well, with a nominal corkage fee. This was our first visit to the Gulf Bistro and it will not be our last. They do not take American Express but they do take other credit cards. There are not many tables so reservations are necessary but not required. They were packed the night we were there. The family that runs the restaurant is cheerful, helpful and very French!

Three of us went here for dinner on the strength of Unilocal reviews, and they did not disappoint. The food was outstanding, especially the fish entrees.
The server, an older woman possibly also the owner, was absolutely charming. She noted that everything was homemade, and you could tell by how good the food was.
The restaurant itself doesn’t look like much from the outside, but inside it is super cute. We were there for a casual business dinner, but I would definitely consider this place for a date, as it is intimate and uncrowded.

Good service and food. specify whether you prefer vegetables well done or «al dente»

I’ll admit I’m not a French food connoisseur by any means, but I definitely feel like I’ve been missing out now. A very good restaurant both in food and hospitality. Definitely feels family-​run and the people couldn’t be friendlier. Small and quaint but popular so reservations are recommended. My wife and I like to share the country salad and soup first and they happily will split the salad for you. Entrée s all are very chef inspired and fresh. For those of you who are skeptical about French food there is nothing to worry about they serve things you would eat at other restaurants with a little twist that makes it all the more delicious.
Make sure to try the Grand Marnier crème brûlée and leave time to relax and enjoy the laid back atmosphere here. This isn’t a rushed restaurant like Chili’s.

Party of 4 and everything that I had or sampled was excellent to «couldn’t have been better». Both onion soup and lobster bisque were as good as it gets. Rolls and salad excellent. Duck available at least 3 ways — duck breast in orange sauce — super. I had pork with a cheese sauce with walnuts — just to try something different — pretty good but unusual.
House wines at $ 25/​bottle a bargain nowadays but we got a better red at $ 28 and it was great. Desserts — had the crêpe with berries and sampled the profiteroles — both just right.
They were quite busy on a Wednesday nite in snowbird season but the kitchen was fast and service was excellent. Sometimes when you go to a small restaurant that’s very busy, it can be a long time between courses (I’m thinking of some other local French restaurants), but that wasn’t the case here. Just an excellent experience.

A great little gem of a place, almost missed it out on Gulf Boulevard in Madeira Beach.
Very quiet — they close at 9 on a Saturday — but we had a great time, especially since the restaurant options in St Pete are pretty dull and mediocre. We made the dinner entrees into 4 course meals. The only dud was the Margaux dessert — 3 ½ scoops of ice cream with caramel sauce (seemed pre-​made), toasted almonds, and Redi-​whip «dessert topping».
Would recommend anyone looking for something that doesn’t resemble a redneck sports bar.

Oh, my Goodness!!! My meal at the Gulf Bistro was exceptional. I read an article in the Tampa Tribune that listed 12 restaurants to visit during 2015 and I decided to try one tonight. I chose the Gulf Bistro and it was, as they say at the Trop, a Grand Slam!
I started with the lobster bisque which was superb. I added a bit of pepper and the lobster bits stood out as a hint of texture throughout the creamy delight. The escargots en cocote was pretty good, due mainly to the wonderful tenderness of the snails, but I would have enjoyed more garlic to give the heavy cream sauce some zip. The salad was next and I did like the home made house vinegiarette dressing.
The main course was the bouillabaisse and it was a treat. The soup had just enough flavor to compliment the tender shellfish and grouper and the portion offered plenty to enjoy. A glass of a nice house cabernet accompanied my meal.
The grand finale was a Cup Margaux, which was a large scoop of vanilla ice cream adorned with caramel sauce, fresh whipped cream and toasted almonds, served in a chilled dish. Perfection!
Outstanding service by Marie, who owns the restaurant with her husband Frederic. My compliments to the chef!
Like the Terminator, I’ll be back.

Bottom line. You are missing out on this place. This is the best place in west coast of FL. Start with their farmers salad and it will open your eyes. Any of the dinner plates are top notch. The chef is outstanding and the prices should be twice as much. Unreal experience!!!

This place is phenomenal. Superb! As good as anything I’ve had in France, Quebec, New York and Chicago. Come for the food. Come back for the food. Owned by a husband/​wife team from France. Loaded with natives, from Quebec Canada.
It’s a small place tucked in the corner of a two store front strip mall. Blink and you will miss it. It’s tiny and quaint, decorated with a mix match of table cloths, chairs and tables.
We had a phenomenal meal there. My daughter inhaled their mussels appetizer in a lemon sauce. I had the grouper and mussel special. The best grouper dish I have had in Florida. For being the state fish, most places don’t serve it right because they make the filets too thin. This was a generous filet, flaked to perfection. My husband had the duck confit in an orange sauce. O.M.G. it was great.
They take reservations and were barely able to accommodate us; point noted for the next time. Not really a place for kids unless your kids eat off the adult menu which mine do. Marie was all over my 8yo and commented that they don’t see many children at the restaurant and loved that she ordered the mussels. She was so sweet!
I honestly could not make up my mind and plan on going back soon. I chose the grouper special hoping that someone finally made grouper well and this preparation was amazing.
If you crave French, if you love French, if you’ve never had French and want to try it, this is the place for everyone!

Very good. We went based on Unilocal reviews and we were impressed. Did not expect to find a classic French place here. Small, no view, but romantic, intimate, homemade scratch food. Can get pricey if you allow it, we did, but much different than all the other seafood shacks up and down the coast. Nice to see something unique.
The special was a flounder in a light egg batter and white wine cream sauce. Fantastic. Deserts were awesome. We will visit again.

My parents have been raving about Gulf Bistro for years and now I finally understand why. This is a fabulous restaurant, although you’d never know it to see it from the outside. It’s the kind of place where I could have eaten until I made myself sick, it was so good.
We tried the Chef’s Table D’Hote Special (aka the 4 course prix fixe menu). This is a great value, btw. The lobster bisque was the best I’ve had in years. The Chateaubriand was simply incredible. Tender, rich, savory. I’m still thinking about it. We sampled a variety of desserts around the table and all were delicious. The chocolate crepes were my personal favorite but the chocolate mousse was also very good.
I love that this is a family operation. The owners definitely recognized my parents and were so happy that they brought us (their daughters and sons-​in-​law) to dinner. They chatted with us throughout the meal and I left with the feeling that we had just had a lovely evening in the owner’s home. Great experience, and I look forward to our next visit.

Ohhhhh my does this place remind me of the little restaurants back home. The décor is very Provencal with lots of yellow and blue. It’s a small restaurant and the owners are French; if they know you can speak it, they will pretty much stick to it. Definitely friendly service here, and in true French fashion, no one is rushing you out the door once you finish eating.
I went here for the first time a week or so ago and decided to have one of their specials. It started off with a small salad. It had a light mustard dressing on it, not too different from what I used to get on a salade Niçoise when I was growing up in the south of France. For the main course I ordered a pork dish that came with green beans and potatoes. The pork was cooked in red wine with carrots and mushrooms and could be cut with a butter knife. Oh, and a basket of warm bread came with it all. Yum! I decided to give the crème brûlée a shot too, and it was pretty good. I’ve had better before, but this was still up there.