Downtown Baltimore is mostly a vast wasteland of overpriced chains. Chez Hugo Bistro recently opened on Redwood Street, about two blocks from the inner harbor and offers a lovely Parisian escape from the city.
Chez Hugo Bistro
A friend and I recently went for dinner and were able to try some of the delicious French options. First off, I should point out the beauty of the space. The dark wood and blue walls were accented with marble and gold. Seriously stunning.
We started the meal with a drink at the bar. I ordered a “75” which was the traditional French gin drink with St. Germain elderflower liquor, lemon, and sparkling wine. It was very lemon forward and a great way to start the meal.
“75”
Taking our waiter’s advice, we started with the Gougers – or gruyere cheese puffs. We kept popping three delicious fluffy bites into our mouth. I’m drooling just thinking about them.
Gougers
We also shared the Escargot Au Beurre Persille. They were plump and buttery, just like they should be. It was actually my first time trying escargot and for sure I would order them again.
Escargot Au Beurre Persille
My favorite of the dishes was probably the Tartare de Betterave. Unlike your traditional French tartare, this version was made with beets. The chips added a necessary saltiness to the beets. It was such a great bite and a healthy-ish take on this traditional french dish.
Tartare de Betterave
My friend ordered the French Onion Soup and was nice enough to offer me a bite. I’m definitely going to be ordering myself a bowl on my next visit to Chez Hugo.
French Onion Soup
French Onion Soup
For an entree, we shared the Steak Frites. The fries were thin and crispy – we couldn’t get enough. But the steak was a little fattier than we would have preferred which was kind of a bummer.
Steak Frites
Our waiter also suggested ordering the Pike Quenelles de Brochet. They sounded amazing and I think every other group in the dining room ordered this. Another dish that I will for sure be ordering next time.
French pastries are some of my favorites, so we did save room for dessert. We went with the Mille Feuille. Layered similarly to a Napeolon, the flaky pastry dough had vanilla cream between the pastry sheets. This was also delicious. Pro tip, all of the pastries are made in house so you probably can’t go wrong with any of the delicious bites.
Mille Feuille
Chez Hugo Bistro is located at 206 E Redwood St, Downtown Baltimore.
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Looking for a place to eat? Check out Rachel’s Baltimore Restaurant List.
Categories: Cuisine, Date Night, Downtown, French Food