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Aspen, Colorado's local dining guide.

eatAspen.com

Aspen, Colorado's local dining guide.

Rustique Bistro (Closed)

User Reviews

Catherine W.

Aspen, Colorado

June 3, 2012
I walked into Rustique sweaty and underdressed with no reservation and a ravenous appetite. If I had stepped into the same caliber restaurant in France I surely would have been kicked back outside and given a hose to shower off, but fortunately for me there is no more flexible and welcoming a bistro than the one I had so unceremoniously barreled into. Within seconds I had been whisked away to a charming corner table, the evening light illuminating my nook. Rustique is an authentic French bistro in Aspen. It's delicious food and homey atmosphere have kept a continuous stream of customers coming to their tables for over fourteen years. Even during the off-season it's packed with a diverse array of personalities, ranging from the average hungry hockey player to new business associates awkwardly blinking at each other across the table. It has cream weather beaten walls, with dried flowers and copper pots hanging from the rafters. The waiters bustle around in crisp aprons, the smell of French onion soup and red wine wafting behind them. There's a classy side bar as you walk in and the tables provide a sneak- peek of the kitchen, chef hat's bobbing behind a tiled line of ovens. It's an artful restaurant and though the decor and friendly wait staff is enough to get you to sit down; the food is what guarantees your return. A common line used by Rustique's staff is "if you find a can in our kitchen, I'll buy you dinner", it's not used in vain. Every dish cooked is completely from scratch; even the bread is baked fresh by an exclusive bread baker, who has been with the restaurant for eight years. The menu changes periodically to incorporate the season's best, but you can always count on certain dishes that won't disappoint. The Risotto with Short Ribs, and Coq Au Vin, to name a couple, have been some of the most ordered dishes since they hit the menu almost a decade ago, and that is the key to Rustique's success: consistency. The chef's, menus, and waiters have been churning out the same high quality work every year without fail. This reliability is what keeps devoted customers, like me, coming back whenever an opportunity presents itself. I decided that the Pan Roasted Trout with fingerling potatoes would appease my hunger, and ordered the famous onion soup gratinee as an appetizer. Both were new to me and I was blown away by the delicious simplicity of the dishes. The onion soup exceeded my expectations. It was not thick and greasy, as I have experienced in other restaraunts, but fresh. It had a picked straight from the garden and thrown right in the cooking pot taste to it. The onions came in noodle like strips, adding a soft texture and sweet vegetable tang. The broth complemented it perfectly, it was merely a side note to the sweetness of the onions and the saltiness of the cheese. The bread was soaked but not mushy resting on top of the soup with a gruyere quilt sealing it off. It was a delicious dish and I ended up using some slightly crude tactics to try and get the last drops. When the trout came I knew I was in for a treat. The fingerlings potatoes and mushrooms were plump with butter, and the trout was roasted just as I like it, cooked evenly throughout with no raw pink surprises in the middle. A colorful tarragon pooled around the edges. It was a pretty dish; the purple and yellow of the potatoes combined with the orange sauce made it quite a color wheel. The art of the dish wasn't in the colors though it was in the taste. Everything was cooked perfectly, the fish was boneless, and it was rich but not overwhelming. I don't have enough praise for this dish. It was an exceptional meal and I left happy, but then, I always do. Rustique once again surprised me and trumped my expectations, and I can't wait for my next visit. Read more reviews by Catherine

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Geraldine

Aspen, Colorado

April 19, 2012
I really enjoy the Steak au Poivre.

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Pam B

Aspen

April 13, 2012
Five of us had dinner at Rustique Bistro and enjoyed it immensely. We had appetizers, dinner, drinks and a bottle of wine. It was great. It is nice that a restaurant thinks of its locals and visitors at the end of the season with 50% off.

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Joey J.

October 22, 2011
I have previously lived in Aspen for three years but never tried Rustique so when i visited we tried it for the first time. The salmon tartar was quite good, but the rest of the meal was a huge disappointment. Having been a sous chef in a 4 diamond restaurant oreviously, I was surprised at how bland the food was. I had the steak au poivre and it was full of grizzle and tough to chew with little flavor. My friend had the coq au vin and not only was there no seasoning or flavor, but it was all one color and looked like a pile of mud. I would not be returning to this "French Bistro".

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Gail S.

Aspen, Colorado

September 23, 2011
I took advantage of Rustique's 50% off dinner, twice last week with friends. The food and service was terrific. The place was packed and they turned tables!! As a local I really appreciated the off season discount!

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Harold S.

Atlanta, GA

February 8, 2010
A disappointment. Service was attentive yet main courses were overcooked (trout) and tough with uninteresting sauce (lamb shank). First courses were welcome French classic (mussels and escargot) but in-house baked bread was heavy and doughy; not desirable qualities for use with mussels and escargot!

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Bettie M.

Chapman, Alabama

August 12, 2009
Rustique is my favorite Aspen restaurant - always excellent service and a perfect menu for any taste...from individual Cheese Souffle, lovely salads, and a Beef Casserole that is guaranteed to satisfy. Rob has been a friend and collegue for years and I am delighted to support his well dresrved success.

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John T. (10+ Reviews)

Baltimore/Paris

August 3, 2009
Rustique is a place we've never quite "got." Since it opened, we have valiantly tried to understand why Francophiles love this "French bistro." It is something like those corner cafes you and I went to on our first trip to France; packed, lots of earthy sounding dishes and piles of food with cheap wine (whoops, the latter is not possible in Aspen). In any case, they have this $32.00 two-course meal before 6 PM (or available at the bar all evening) and we went again. Colette had a salad of quite nice asparagus and lettuce that was overdressed and a huge half-chicken that was OK, but nothing more. I had half my salmon tartare that was unfortunately also more sauced-creamy than need be and a bizarre dish of liver slices, correctly under-cooked but over-breaded, with a sauce that could have come out of a can. With a bottle of wine our bill was $99.74; the worst price-quality meal of the week. Highlight: the dancing mouse outside on the patio. John Talbott's Paris

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Janna

L.A.

July 2, 2009
Excellent- Farm to Table- it was really wonderful.

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Todd S.

Aspen

March 25, 2009
Food was great and it was QUIET! We go here a lot; Why? Because it is QUIET AND PEACEFUL!

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Mary U.

Aspen

March 18, 2009
Food was very good but the prices were ridiculously high and for the wines as well.

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Ben B.

December 24, 2008
Rustique remains one of our favorite restaurants in Aspen, We dined at Rustique with our family of seven over the Christmas holiday and had our usually great service. The food is exceptionally flavorful, we all enjoyed the escargots, and the bread served in a paper bag is hot, soft and popular with the whole family. One point to note, we attempted to book a Dec 20 reservation several weeks in advance for our party of seven, but were told we had to pay a $50 per person deposit, which we never do. We called for a reservation on Dec 20 and our party got right in. There are very few Aspen restaurants that require an advance deposit and we encourage Rustique to drop this practice.

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