Review: Breakfast at Le Bistrot Pierre

Bath has its fair share of dining establishments, and indeed a huge array of cafes catering for the morning trade, so you would be forgiven if the newly opened Le Bistrot Pierre wasn’t on your radar on the Bath Breakfast circuit. If this is the case however, you’re missing out...

Upon entering the restaurant, we were greeted by the smart and friendly staff - who were busy setting up for the day but only too happy to let us walk around to take in the wonderful décor. The restaurant has been thoughtfully decorated, making full use of the Georgian building's grand features and high ceilings. With the large mirrors and art-deco pictures, you really feel like you’ve walked into a fashionable French restaurant in the middle of Paris!

There is a big chalk board menu in the middle of restaurant, close to the open kitchen so you can see the chefs preparing the food. This provides a great atmosphere and you can smell and see the dishes to help you select your choice from the chalk board or printed menus.

The dishes at a first glance are what you’d typically expect from any establishment serving breakfast; eggs benedict, traditional full breakfast, omelettes, granola and fruit.  However, on closer inspection you recognise the French twist.  For example, I chose the ‘Oeuffs Brouilles’ scrambled eggs with smoked salmon), which instead of toast or a bagel, was served on a toasted brioche and the eggs were seasoned with a generous helping of chives. The smoked salmon was mixed in with the eggs too so the combination of the chives on the creamy scrambled eggs (which were cooked to perfection), really made the staple breakfast choice a lot more interesting than your standard scrambled eggs.

My only criticism is that I wasn’t sure of the brioche - it was very crispy and rather dry, even though beneath the creamy eggs. It was also quite a small serving but I would say that was probably my mistake rather than the restaurants; being a fitness freak, I have quite a large appetite so I perhaps should have chosen my dish more wisely.

My guest’s breakfast, however, certainly would have satisfied my appetite! He opted for the ‘Petit dejeuner Anglais’ (Traditional Breakfast) which was enormous. He was treated to the full works; pork and herb sausages, Stornoway black pudding, bacon, baked beans and eggs.  He said the sausages, bacon and black pudding were clearly very high quality and they were extremely meaty, and the eggs were cooked to wonderfully.

Although slightly higher than your standard café prices, all breakfasts include unlimited tea and coffee so given the high quality of the produce and setting, I really think it's good value.

Breakfast at Bistro Pierre is a fantastic way to start your day, be it a midweek breakfast meeting, remote working, or starting a day of shopping or mooching around Bath. Although we were extremely lucky to have a warm sunny morning to enjoy the terrace, we’re looking forward to going back and dining in the restaurant to take in the buzzing atmosphere and French character.