St. Martin's Wine Bistro - Dallas, TX Most Romantic French Restaurant (Reviews)

Food - 3 1/2 Service - 4 Atmosphere - 3 1/2

Star Rating by the Dallas Morning News
March 2003, Ms. Waltrina Stovall

ROMANCE IS IN THE AIR: At 26, St. Martin's Wine Bistro is practically a dowager in restaurant years. But like a fine wine, it has only improved with age. The intimacy of the narrow space is rendered cozier still by its division into two long rooms. Dark, gleaming woods, white napery, gentle lighting and romantic tunes wafting from the piano also help set the mood. Ben Jacks and Louis Henderson take the keyboard on alternate nights; both take requests, but we liked Mr. Jacks' selections, mostly love songs from the '40s and '50s, just fine.

BACK STORY: Founded in 1977, the French-American bistro has been owned since 1997 by Mohsen Heidari, who also owns San Francisco Rose next door and Arthur's in Addison. A brother owns Old Warsaw on Maple Avenue, another romantic charmer. Guess it's in the family genes.

IN THE BEGINNING: St. Martin's says that its champagne Brie soup ($5.95) is famous; if that's not the case, we'd like to help spread the word about the unctuously rich potage. Nor could we argue with the waiter's assurance that the bistro's escargots ($8.95) are among the best in Dallas. We kept plunging the good house bread in the creamy garlic-shallot sauce that bathed the tender morsels. A house salad ($5.95) might not win superlatives, but we were utterly satisfied with the good greens in balsamic vinaigrette.

MIDDLE GROUND: All the protein bases – chicken, duck, pork, beef, veal, lamb and seafood – are covered on the menu, and the blackboard usually lists several specials. On our visit, seared sushi tuna ($19.95) earned its special status. Two huge triangles of the fish, crusted with black sesame seeds and rosy rare inside, lay across a mound of fluffy wasabi mashed potatoes. On the side were two sauces, a mouth-teasing wasabi-aioli and a more traditional seasoned soy. Two hunky tournedos of beef tenderloin ($21.95) were topped by coarsely chopped portobello mushrooms and bathed in brandy sauce. On the less successful side: Sea scallops in champagne and red pepper coulis ($18.95) were just this side of raw, and the sauce and accompanying rice were bland.

VEGETABLE PATCH: If you shun meat, choices include penne with grilled vegetables ($12.95) and stuffed portobello (also $12.95) with coarsely chopped basil, roasted red pepper, mozzarella and tomato (a concassé).

HOORAY FOR BRÛLÉE: I used to think the Riviera had the best crème brûlée in Dallas; since that restaurant's demise, the title may belong to St. Martin's for a perfect custard topped with a sheer, crackling sheet of caramel. The fresh berries that adorned it were unneeded. Other desserts (each $5.50) include chocolate mousse, cheesecake and house-made ice creams and sorbets drizzled with Godiva liqueurs. Fortified coffees and after-dinner drinks such as port, sherry and brandy are other options.

HE SAID IT FIRST: When we asked our waiter's name, he said it was Flawless. We couldn't have agreed more. At first, he seemed to be one of those stereotypically stuffy French waiters, but by the time he crouched down to eye level to recite the night's specials with amusing asides, I realized he was playing a different role: a campy one that might have been written by Tennessee Williams. We enjoyed his banter and imagine that he tailors it according to his assessment of the table. We also appreciated his cluing us in to a nice Chilean cabernet ($28) that wasn't on the wine list (which, by the by, has lots of reasonably priced options, including 30 selections by the glass).

DETAILS, DETAILS: St. Martin's describes its dress code as "nice casual." We lucked into a parking slot out front, but should you need it, there's complimentary valet parking in the lot behind the restaurant.

Food - 3 1/2 Service - 3 Atmosphere - 3 1/2

Star Rating by the Dallas Morning News
July 1997, Ms. Teresa Gubbins

No question, a restaurant is doing something right when it stays in business for 20 years. But St. Martin's doesn't seem to do a single thing wrong.

Located in the thick of Lower Greenville, St. Martin's has fine food, an intensely romantic atmosphere, responsive service and, best of all, very reasonable prices, considering the high-caliber dining experience you get. This would be a great, affordable restaurant for a young guy - or gal - to impress a date.

Originally a wine bistro, St. Martin's still has a commitment to wine, with more than 400 varieties, including wines from France, Chile and even Bulgaria.

But the restaurant stays fresh. A recent remodeling with guilt wallpaper and impressionist paintings framed in gold plays up its strength as a romantic spot. Long, dark and seductive, the room has warm lighting and flickering candles. And every night a pianist plays sweeping songs, including "Theme From The Summer of '42".

Last, most of the tables are small - meant for two.

The chef is Javier Lopez, who has worked in the kitchen at St. Martin's for years. He maintains the restaurant's New American profile, with plenty of fresh fish.

One nightly special - written on blackboards that hang on the wall - was mahi-mahi ($17.95), a thick rectangle of lovely white fish topped with julienned red and yellow bell peppers, plus one whole scallop and a medium shrimp. Accompanying the fish was rice - a bit dried out - plus crisp steamed vegetables, such as broccoli florets, sliced squash and sugar-snap peas.

Also on the specials board: pork tenderloin ($17.95), a St. Martin's trademark, chewy-tender and delicious. This night the pork was stuffed with chopped spinach that had been softened with cream and spiked with bits of bacon. A rust-colored glaze had a subtle barbecue twang. The whole thing was yummy. On the side were steamed vegetables, plus a fancy little pouf of herbed mashed potatoes.

Cheese boards are coming back, they say, but St. Martin's has always offered them. A small board ($8.95) includes two cheeses - perhaps a contrasting pair of Italian cheeses, such as a soft white mozzarella, paired with a firm yellow Asiago - plus pate. There were thin slices of orange and apple, water crackers, grapes and sweet little cornichons.

Soup ($4.25) was the clincher. Champagne Brie soup is the restaurant's signature, but the one I'll go back for was the soup du jour, a smooth bell pepper puree, golden and rich, with a bit of chipotle pepper depositing a hint of heat. A sprinkle of parsley added a nice visual touch.

The other vivid memory was sweet: namely the white chocolate brownie ($5.50), a large pale square, warmed to a delicious moistness, then topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and an incredible milk-chocolate fudge sauce. Creme caramel ($5.50) was a sweet little custard dotted with whipped cream, elevated by a ring of good, ripe blackberries.

Alas, coffee was flavored with hazelnut, but it came in large friendly mugs, and by then, after such a wonderful meal, it was easy to feel forgiving.

Even, romantic.