We have not been to Bastille in Alexandria since they moved locations, but the new location, while closer to King & Duke Streets, is easily accessible and offers tons of street parking.
On arrival, we perused th menu choices of $39 or $49 for 3 or 4 courses respectively which is a steal to start and then checked out the wine specials. A Ballade Mas de Lavail, Cotes Catalan 2015 Rousillon(100% Carignan Blanc) Veilles Vignes is an unreal bargain at $29 and offers up a nice white with lots of exciting mineral notes and paired wonderfully with our starters:
Escargots will always be a winner, and the special of Yellowfin Tuna Tartare was nice, but had more beets than tuna. Beignets aux Crevettes(are a nice light start with puffy shrimp beignets).
The salads here are very nice and offer a large variety from Cauliflower with Barley, Apple, Frisee, Toasted Walnuts and Mustard to a Beet with Orange, Arugula, Pickled Shallots, Goat Cheese & Sherry Vinaigrette, but if you get the Tuna starter special, these two would make an overabundance of beets!
Our red wine was a Clos de Morres "Pompette" from Vaucluse 2016 which is a Rhone blend of Tempranillo(I found this grape odd to find in the Rhone!), Aubun & Counoise, a lighter red, but very nice nonetheless.
All the mains were quite nice, although some seemed to be heavy on the salt. The Seared Sea Scallops have a Forest Mushroom Risotto and White Truffle Sauce, so the dish has a heft while the Moullard Duck Breast "Marocain" has a nice spice rub with Spiced Vegetable Tagine, Quinoa, Almonds, Coriander, Parsley & Date Compote. I adored the Cassoulet au Confit de Canard which had perfectly cooked white beans and was loaded with meat from the crispy duck leg confit to the lamb shoulder and duck sausage!
Desserts were nice as well with White Chocolate Panna Cotta with Blood Orange being a lighter choice and the Coulant de Chocolate with Passionfruit and Chocolate Mousse Cake Special both being ideal for chocoholics.
Photos are on FB and the service from Jacob was friendly and helpful throughout, although, I did have to refill my own wine glass(nice crystal) from time to time. It was odd that all the lights in the rear room were turned off(it was a quiet night) making it hard to find the bathroom in the dark!
It's a quaint bargain of a bistro that is a great neighborhood spot in Alexandria!
