1417 French Bistro

1417 is a French bistro with all the trappings of a classic date-night destination, but with food that doesn’t quite live up to the mark. At first glance, the menu looks full of dishes you’d expect to find at any French brasserie, like steak tartare, roasted bone marrow, and beignets. But the tartare is topped with smoked yolk, the bone marrow served with blueberry mostarda, and the beignets paired with blue cheese and raisin chutney. Nearly every dish is served with a twist, and some of them work, but more often than not, the execution falls a little short to deliver on ambitious flavors and a high price point. We wouldn’t really recommend this for a special occasion dinner, but the atmosphere and drinks are nice enough that we’d show up again on Mondays when steak frites and house wines are half-priced, or during Happy Hour any day of the week to enjoy discounted cocktails and apertifs in the dark, cozy dining room.

photo credit: Richard Casteel

photo credit: Richard Casteel

photo credit: Richard Casteel

Food Rundown

photo credit: Richard Casteel

Roasted Marrow Bones

This could have used more heat or time to render the marrow a little more, and the blueberry mostarda it comes served with is a pairing that we’re not sold on.

photo credit: Richard Casteel

Blue Cheese Beignets

These beignets are served with apples, raisin chutney, and blue cheese. It’s a strange combination, but it works.

photo credit: Richard Casteel

Steak Frites

Our steak arrived cooked to a perfect medium rare but without any crust and a little underseasoned. It was also a lot smaller than the one pictured. At $50, you can get better for less elsewhere.