Paris Bistro Naperville

Tonight my friends and I went to Paris Bistro, which is in the strip mall with the Showplace Theater on Route 59 at 95th Street. We just had desserts, but they were quite wonderful. The creme brulee was particularly excellent -- the kind of creme that trembles. Perfect. We also had chocolate mouse, delicious, molten lava cake with a small scoop of vanilla gelato, flourless chocolate cake, and mixed berry French cheesecake. All the pastries are made in house. They also have a variety of gelato.

But before we started all THAT, the chef came out with a nutella and blueberry crepe, gratis. He wanted us to taste what he was doing in the kitchen. It was delightful. The crepe was really tender. Crepes can be made gluten free, as well.

The current menu has changed a bit versus what's on the website, and they also have nightly specials. Tonight's were Chilean seabass with a cherry tomato sauce and polenta, or porkchops with an artichoke sauce. Monday & Thursday are half-price bottles of wine.

They also serve a brunch on Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 8-2.

The pictues on the website show the interior of the restaurant -- very well designed, but not many tables.

We plan on going back next week to try the savory....

Paris Bistro
2835 Showplace
630-357-1005

Made it back last night for dinner. We started with the french onion soup, which was delicious; instead of a single slice of bread on top, it had several torn-up pieces of bread with cheese on top, which made it easier to eat, actually. Not too many pieces of onion, but a very nice, deep flavor.

We also had friend green tomatoes, which were perfectly fried with a rather spicy aioli. Very good. Also tried the pommes croquettes, which were very creamy with a crisp coating.

One of us had the scallop and shrimp dish, with a slightly spicy coconut sauce, polenta, and cabbage salad. The scallops were huge and extremely tender. Dish was fabulous. The cabbage was a great counterpoint to the richness of the seafood and creaminess of the polenta.

The other had roast beef, 4 slices with a tasty herby/peppery crust and red wine reduction, which seemed a trifle sweet to me, but still very good. Served with hericot vert and an optional side of the mascarpone polenta, which made a great bite with the roast beef.

Finally, we ordered a dessert crepe each. One was the banana with creme brulee and the other was the very berry with berries and mascarpone. Both were huge -- one to share would have been enough. Crepes were incredibly tender. Each came with an espresso cup of gelato: berry and caramel, maybe?

The place was fairly busy, seemed to have quite a bit of walk-in business for gelato and desserts. The staff is super nice, and the chef came out to greet his diners.

This is the kind of neighborhood place that I'm glad to have in this desert of chain restaurants.

I'm happy to read that you a good experience. I went for dinner about a month ago and was very disappointed. I had roast chicken. Very simple meal. It was dry and overdone. I'm happy to give it another try. Besides, it gets me a little closer to the French bakery farther down on 59.