I've eaten at Bistro Provence multiple times over the past five years, mostly for work events in one of their upstairs rooms, but also once for a smaller dinner. I've read many of the reviews, and many of the negative reviews, in my mind, are unfair because it seems the reviewer didn't know what they were getting when they went. It is expensive, it is French, and the chef makes every dish himself. So yes, the service can be slow and the dishes (particularly the specials) are very expensive. But everything I have had there -- the Branzino, the lobster purses, the bread, the steak -- have all been outstanding except the apple tart which I frankly don't like that much (but that's just a personal taste thing -- I prefer more crust and a sweeter dessert). The staff there is great -- many have been there for years -- BUT the service IS slow (see above, chef making every dish himself) and can be epically slow, hence my deduction of a star. If you're looking for a long, leisurely, special, French dinner -- this is the place for you. If you're looking for a different experience, don't go and don't complain when you get the experience you were looking for. read more

Had a beautiful wedding today at this restaurant! It is slightly hidden across the street from Dogtopia and Ala but a great gem in Bethesda! They have a bar in the Bistro when you first come into the restaurant with some tables, and you walk past the elevator that takes you up to the further reception area. They have a stunning outdoor garden space that they filled with chairs and tables and accommodated a wedding ceremony (approximately 50 guests). The reception was upstairs on the second floor and it was a bit of a cluster having 50 people trying to get up to the second half of the event. The food was absolutely something to write home about! We had a menu to pick for two choices of first course, main course and 4 dessert options. I got the Maryland Crab Flan, Beef Tenderloin with crispy Brussel sprouts and fried risotto ball, and the Lemon Torte and I can honestly say, I thoroughly enjoyed every, single, bite. Perfectly seasoned, large portion of tenderloin, and mouth watering lemon torte that had a perfect balance of tart and sweet. The seafood flan was something I will be going back for with a glass of white wine. All in all the afternoon was beautiful and the wedding was great. read more

See all

Classic French menu, c'est manifique! Feels like you stepped onto a side street in Provence and found a treasure of a bistro. read more

See all

We brought our whole family for a milestone birthday dinner. The food was outstanding and the wait staff was very welcoming and efficient. Agree that the back patio is really charming, a wonderful location. Everything was so good that we are going back tomorrow. chef's kiss. read more

They should consider renaming this place Bistro Arnaquer (translation below). Had dinner for four two weeks ago. Glasses of wine we ordered served in 25 minutes. Appetizers arrived 35 minutes after order and main courses one hour after order. Made the mistake of ordering many items from "specials" which the waiter intoned about but said nothing about prices. One was a zucchini patty appetizer, for $38. Other two were entrees, lamb loin for $90 and branzino for $60. The bread basket only had four small pieces of bread so we asked for some more. Two bread baskets, eight pieces of bread, $16. Our total order was two glasses of wine, two appetizers and four entrees, no deserts. Total bill: $436! I live in NYC. Would guess this place would go out of business in two days. There are four restaurants in my neighborhood that serve better food. Heck, I cook tastier food in my kitchen. Bethesda clearly has diners with fatter wallets and scantier taste buds given how long this restaurant has been in business. A fellow diner reminded me of this part: When we got there, the first opening gambit was when the hostess tried to push us into their private dining area upstairs with a higher cover charge. And then, when I said we had a regular booking, she pretended not to have any such booking and that the place was fully booked downstairs. Then gave us a table downstairs in a half-empty room. While we were there the place had no new customers come in! Oh, here it is: French word for Ripoff: Arnaquer read more

Really delicious. It was a little worried after reading some of the reviews but so happy we decided to come. The owner and Chef works right in the kitchen by the tables. Everything is made with such care. We had a server who was maybe a year there? So welcoming! The lamb was so flavorful. The apple desert wasn't too sweet, so yum. We could've had the scallop asparagus risotto appetizer as an entrée. read more

Not sure how I overlooked this place, but wow, it's going straight to one of my go to's for client dinners. Great service and food was on point. read more

Fantastically good, authentic french food. Excellent wine recommendation. Timely, attentive waitstaff, and we sat in the back patio area which would not have been more lovely even on a spring day. Yes, you will pay for it, but you will get what you pay for. read more

This is an awful restaurant that does not treat customers with respect. Mon Ami Gabi is so much better. The food is bland and over priced. There is nothing special in this restaurant. read more

Every dish was AMAZING. Lovely ambiance. Highly recommend. The lobster was delicious. read more

Bistro Provence - Outdoor dining. - French Near Me - Bethesda, Maryland

Pros: -They have a lot of seating options -- indoor, outdoor covered, and full outdoor -Waiting staff is very attentive -Food tastes good -Massive wine list Cons: -We asked for bread and they said "they weren't doing bread....for a $200 dinner, I thought some bread and butter was a given. I was even happy to pay for it, but it was not available -Small portions ...but expected for a French restaurant. But good to keep in mind when ordering -I got the Branzino dish, which was delicious. It came out with no accompaniments. No starch, no vegetable. Just the seafood in a sauce. This was disappointing. -Molten Lava cake was just a cooker chocolate cake. No molten at all...totally over cooked. Overall, I probably won't be back. Nice ambience for a special occasion, but cons outweighed the pros. read more

Bistro Provence - Escargot - French Near Me - Bethesda, Maryland

See all

If French food is in your taste buds then this place is your first call. The Cam's know how to please. We eat here when ever we are close. Love Bistro Provence ! read more

The primary rating should be AVOID - HORRIBLE SERVICE AND HIDDEN PRICING. This past Thursday, my wife and I had dinner at Bistro Provence. The service was a disgrace to Yannick Cam's presumptions and to Tom Sietsema's praises of the same in his November 2023 review of "favorite places". The restaurant had a minimal number of customers. We experienced long waits for courses, watched servers or assistants wandering around with no apparent sense of urgency or team work. Additionally, my wife and I ordered specials, each of which were priced at almost twice the amount of the offerings on the menu. We didn't ask if there would be such a large premium, and we weren't told of such, (our error). However, I felt as if I had been scammed. To note, the bread costs $8.00 a serving, no wonder that it is, in Sietsema's words, "brought out without having to ask". In reading his reviews in the future, it may be worthwhile to consider what might not have been mentioned. Andrew Labadie Washington D. C. read more

The only reason why I'm giving Bistro Provence 2 stars and not 1 is because of the niceness of the staff. Aside from the staff, our experience was not good. I don't mind the ambiance... the building is very beautiful from the outside but when you walk in there's just something slightly off with the layout. When we went there were hardly any customers, aside from a few sitting outside in the back. It took our server over 30 minutes to take our food order. She came quick for the drinks but for some reason abandoned us for a while before taking our food orders. Once she took down our orders, I set a timer just to see how long it would take for the food to arrive (I never really do this but it was our first time at this restaurant and I was just curious). I'm not sugarcoating or exaggerating this, it took over an hour and 5 minutes for our food to come from the time we gave the server our order. We are incredibly patient when it comes to this sort of thing, so we didn't complain or ask anyone the status of our order, because we don't like to make a scene. Nobody apologized to us for how long it took, so I guess that means it's pretty standard timing for Bistro Provence? I personally think anything longer than 40 minutes is pretty concerning, but over and hour?! Seriously?! And nobody said a word about it to us. And after all of that the food was incredibly average and bland, as well as very overpriced! Won't be going back, unfortunately. read more

Truly excellent French dishes with unique flair, particularly with the sauce work. My table got the branzino, the duck confit, and the risotto. All three were amazing, with special mention to the branzino which had a perfect crust and delicious beurre blanc sauce. And the desserts were also wonderful. Highly recommend the mousse. The staff were very friendly and accommodating. I live nearby and never knew this was here. But I'll be back for sure. read more

Came here for dinner on a weeknight. It was nice weather outside so I sat in the courtyard They had heaters that we used after the sun set. Were the only people there the whole time. Waiter was friendly and explained the menu well. Had the branzino, which was tasty and had a nice savory sauce. Needed salt but enjoyed overall The sautéed potatoes were good and had the right amount of crisp Apple tart was not what I was expecting but was ok. The texture was like a different type of pasty Overall, unsure if I would return read more

Stay away from this restaurant!! The food was average and overpriced. The server was rude. Our table was next to a door staff kept slamming. When I brought it to the owner he acted as though it was my fault. He did not care about his customer experience. Why spend money in a place that treats you poorly? We were hoping for a great dinner and were deeply disappointed. read more

Have been dining here mostly for special occasions for over 15 years now and always find the food, wine pairings, staff and ambience far above other restaurants in the Bethesda area. This is the place for a romantic, intimate and relaxing experience. read more

Over the past 10-15 years, we have dined at Bistro Provence approximately twice a year. We enjoyed it for the excellent food, ambiance, service, and prices. It has been our 'go to' restaurant when friends are in from out of town. Unfortunately, we will be looking elsewhere. Last Saturday night, a group of six of us arrived by 6:10 for a 6PM reservation. We were seated and before we could even say hello to each other, we were informed that we had to order dinner as quickly as possible as a group of forty was due in at 6:30. About five minutes later, as he took our drink order, the waiter reminded us that we had to order because once the big party came in, the chef would be totally focused on them for at least an hour. Five minutes later, we were told that this was out last chance to order! So we skipped a first course since, God forbid, we didn't want to inconvenience the big party or the chef. By the way, when the restaurant had called at noon to confirm our reservation, they made no mention of a large party following us in. They obviously didn't want us to go somewhere else - just hurry up once there. When our dinners arrived, five were served together, and after a few minutes wait, I signaled the waiter to find out what had happened to the sixth dinner. We were told it would be up 'soon.' We should have never had to ask! And we should have been served together. Now people at some of the other tables were starting to leave. The most horrible loud screeches came from the seats being moved. Literally, conversations had to stop. A simple foam pad, available at any office supply store, would solve the problem. With the increase in the dinner prices and a mandatory 20% tip for a party of five or more - no wonder they didn't care about attitude or service - one would expect that they could solve this problem easily. An apology and perhaps free dessert for the inconveniences would have gone a long way to mollifying us. But at $14 a pop, plus 20%, that extra $100 must have been very important. I apologized to the group for the unfortunate hot mess. Fortunately, four of the party had eaten there before - one of the main reasons that we were back - so we chalked it up to another experience and went our merry ways. read more

Terrible experience from start to finish. Ordered a salad and was told by the manager that we never did order it. Ordered duck breast for dinner which came raw (I like my duck undercooked but this was raw). Ordered creme brûlée for desert and it came burned and not eatable. I complained about the creme brûlée and was told "that's how the chef likes it". Will not be going there again and will definitely never recommend this place to anyone. read more

Bistro Provence - Burned creme brûlée - French Near Me - Bethesda, Maryland

See all

Do not go to this restaurant !!! Manager and waiters are rude and impolite. Service is terrible and food is overpriced and overrated. It is a disaster. We were 6 couple going there on January 5 for dinner after having made a reservation two weeks before. We ordered food. Waited one hour and the waiter came back after an hour said the chef says they're out of some of the food items we changed our order and waited for another 30 min. He came back again and said, they were out of some other items including salads and entrees. Now it is almost 2 hours is passed and we are hungry and don't even have the entrees. We asked for the manger her name is Suzanne. She said what was the problem. We explained what was going on. She said 'that's how it is'!!' and if we don't like it we shouldn't come to this restaurant!! We asked to see the chef and they said he doesn't have time for us. We had enough of the impoliteness of the staff including the waiter whose name is Riley. Our Friday evening was ruined and we left. Never again !!! read more

I can't even rate this place. this was the worst place I've ever been to. at 8 pm on a Friday they ran out of everything and the manager had an attitude. They didn't even apologize after we waited one hour after we ordered to come and tell us they were out of the food we ordered. they didn't even apologize and said we had bad "behavior " - whatever happened to customer service? do not EVER go there. they are terrible read more

Their alluring facade on Fairmont Avenue suggests fine French dining within. And after last night, I can say they delivered. On a wintery December evening, we were met with a blast of warm air as we entered the restaurant. Rich brown hardwoods, large glass windows, brown toned walls, warm subdued lighting, set off the white tablecloths. Service was stellar. For an appetizer, my wife had the heirloom tomato, mozzarella, olive, and watercress salad. You would have thought it was summer, with the depth of flavor in those tomatoes. The aged balsamic, olive oil dressing had an intensity that you can't achieve with those light weight balsamic imposters. My appetizer was roasted shrimp in a butter chive sauce. Four little soldiers (shrimp) standing ankle deep in a sauce that was studded with countless chive pieces swimming in the butter. Each chive piece a clone of its neighbor, and each nestled up to but not touching one another. In other words, masterful prep and assembly of the dish. I defy you to recreate that at home. I did not appreciate the roasting process, with the shrimp having a texture that came from boiling or steaming. This didn't detract from the excellence of this dish. My wife had the dorade. Two filets were sandwiched with a scallop mousse, and placed over roasted shrimp, and ratatouille. With my allergy to scallops, I have rely on my wife's take. She loved the fish, found the shrimp similar to our appetizer, and couldn't taste the scallops. My entree was the petite filet mignon. It had a beautiful sear, and was extremely tender. It came with brussel sprouts, and lyonnaise potatoes that were just the right firmness. The sage jus sauce supported the components. On to dessert. My wife went with the apple tart, with chantilly cream. Not too tart, nor too sweet. My molten chocolate cake with chantilly cream was equally successful. We both chose different red wines by the glass. Each of these were exceptional. This stand out restaurant is a standard bearer for Bethesda dining. read more

See all

The best food in Bethesda hands down. It's so delicate and unique and good; every ingredient is high-quality. I've been coming here for years and I love it here. I usually go on my birthday. The asparagus soup is to die for with the light salty Parmesan foam, and the escargot with sweet potato. Mushrooms is such an awesome preparation. You literally can't go wrong, whatever you order will be delicious. Plus, the warm ambience and the beautiful outdoor patio are awesome in the summer, especially with all the flowers. read more

I kinda love this place...for everything that it is. I would have never even known about this place unless my friend had happily stumbled upon it one day as she looked for parking near me. From now on, I'm gonna make her drive around to find parking wherever we go. The building sticks out like Elton John at a black tie affair. The architecture is just so different and it looks like it was built in the...not nows. The cuisine is French and one of the biggest surprises, its very reasonable for what your getting. Roasted sea scallops with fennel puree for 16. Saffron Risotto, Confit of Tomato. Roasted Shrimp for 16.50. For the setting, the restaurant, and the location, I would think it would be twice as much. The stand out dish we got was : Assiette of Norwegian Smoked Salmon, Capers, Hard Boiled Eggs, Chervil ---- ( Ours had a canelle of creme fraiche on it!) The smoked salmon was "Simply the best" #TinaT4Eva I've ever had ( and I've had a lot of smoked salmon) AND if you got everything in on bite - it was an unbelievably perfect marriage. The risotto dish we got was a little too cheesy for me, but the risotto and shrimp were perfectly cooked. I can't believe that I have world renowned chef Yannick Cam in my backyard...but from the looks of it I do. Yannick's laundry list of achievements is extremely impressive and you can taste all of them through his food. I can't wait to go back and try more. They have a beautiful outside garden to dine in when the weather gets nice. Can't wait! read more

See all

I really enjoyed the food at Bistro Provence. It's rare you see the chef do the actual cooking cause the sous chef's usually do it these days. If you can sit by the open kitchen you can watch Yannick Cam do the cooking. The reason I am deducting two stars was our waitress. She had no idea what wine to recommend or did she have any knowledge of wine. She was very snobbish - I guess she's acting like the French part, but she's Asian - LOL. Also, one of our entrees was really overcooked - the veal chop. There was no juices coming out and it was supposed to be medium rare - and our waitress said that looks like medium rare to her - sheesh!. Very snobbish waitress. The kitchen gave us a proper medium rare after that. For the food, we shared several appetizers. Skip the stuffed clams - it was over baked and very dry. My favorite ones were the Risotto with Heirloom Tomatoes, Saffron, Roasted Shrimp, Lobster Purse (it was a special), and foie gras (another special). They were really good- highly recommend them. For our entrees, I got the Branzino with clams and scallops (daily special) - portion was small, but man was it tasty! My brother loved his duck confit and my wife enjoyed her duck breast. Now, as stated before, the veal chop is really good if it's cooked medium-rare. We ordered the molton chocolate cake for dessert. Again, our waitress didn't tell us it would take 30 minutes to make - she should of told us when we were ordering our food to tell us if we wanted that to let her know earlier. Most upscale restaurants I've been to does that. Instead she was busy chit-chatting in the bar. I would of gave this place five stars - maybe I would of if we had a different waiter/waitress. read more

See all

This was an amazing restaurant. The layout is perfect, with a party room on the second floor, and a comfy seating area on the main floor. The bathroom is downstairs (a quick elevator ride away) and there is a garden out back. The restaurant also has a distinct French ambiance with its unique layout, furniture, and style. The waiters were great but Boone was the best. The food. Talk about an out-of-world experience. While I enjoyed tasting everyone's meals, as you do, the best dish was by far my scallops. INCREDIBLE! If you can only order one dish, trust me and order this dish. You'll be thanking me afterwards. The portion size is comfortable for one person (and depending on how hungry you are you might want to order something with it). The rest of my group ordered the roast duck (pretty good) and the asparagus soup (more fun to look at than eat). But the scallops were an explosion of deliciousness. They were tender and soft with a creamy sauce and served with mushrooms. As for dessert, I would highly recommend the vanilla bean creme brûlée or the apple tartin. read more

We always walk by here, thinking is this really Chef Yannick Cams restaurant (was very popular chef back in the days when French fine dining in DC was either Jean Louis at Watergate or Chef Yannick Cam's restaurant, Le Pavillion)? Sure enough he was in the small open kitchen with two sous chefs, cooking away. Like what other yelpers mentioned, this place is rather cozy (especially when their patio is closed) and decor and ambiance is nicely done. People's dress code really varied. Many wore jeans, tshirts, some dressed up. Is this Bethesda fine dining or upscale casual dining? It's hard to tell, except for the prices they command in their menu, clearly wants to be a fine dining spot. They have a long list of daily specials, which they really should have them printed. It's hard to remember their six to eight appetizer and entree specials!! I had their foie gras with blueberry sauce as an appetizer and their duck confit for an entree. No complaints at all. Cooked perfectly and tasted great. No complaints on the food. The one real negative comment was the service though. Does anyone there know their wines? Should have a wine sommelier, for the prices of wine they charge. Our waitress was clueless. Was she new? Spending $80-$90 a bottle flying blind is not ideal. read more

See all

5 stars for service and presentations. I had the baby squids for appetizer, and it was cooked just right, not overly done like other places. As you'd expect from a top French restaurant, presentation and taste are without question best in the area. Our waiter was also very pleasant, made efforts to entertain us without being pretentious. As far as deserts go, the mango sorbet was definitely worth a try - not typical and it's made on order. Many yelpers indicated as well, with drinks, appetizer and desert, the final bill will cost you. Make it a special event. read more

See all

Best French restaurant in DC area! We have come for special occasions, anniversaries and birthdays. The chef prepares everything and viewing the kitchen is an added pleasure. We have ordered various dishes over time and they have all been excellent. The Sancerre is the best, salads are perfect and main dishes like veal chop and duck are exquisite. Desserts are a delight. Service is attentive and personal. The rooms and outdoor dining are charming. We are so lucky to have Bistro Provence in this area! Thank you! read more

I had a hesitation to go to this restaurant because it had 5 stars and also 1 stars, which was confusing. Do not let this stop you from having the meal of a lifetime. We were a party of 4 and had, Lamb, Duck, Steak and Salmon, all of us thought it was one of the best meals, if not the best we have ever had. We all have traveled around the world and this shinning star is in our own backyard. The variety of Appetizers we consumed was unbelievable. The deserts to die for. The owner chef prepares every meal for every customer that has the pleasure of attending this wonderful Romantic restaurant. If you want to get in and out of this restaurant quickly, then this is not your place. If you want a wonderful Fine authentic French Food experience, then you cannot miss this opportunity. It is actually the finest food i have ever had. It is not cheap, but worth every penny and you will appreciate the time it takes to prepare something very special that you will remember for a long time. I will return very soon. read more

Food is nothing unusual and absolutely not worth the prices. The narrow cramped space and tables are too close together not making it the special occasion place the price suggests. The service was fine... read more

Highly disappointed. We hadn't been here for years and returned for an early Valentine meal. Although we had a reservation they didn't seem to have reserved a table and we were stuck by the door with a draft. A glass of house wine cost $20. They even charged for bread. Waited 40 minutes for food and was told it would be another 20, when we ordered fish which cooks fast. For their prices this is ridiculous. We left and found something around the corner. read more

We made a reservation for Sunday lunch over the phone 3 days before the D day. The staff received my call took every information needed for this reservation including my cell phone number. We reserved for 6 people, my family and my friend's family. On Sunday, we were 5 minutes behind when I received a call from my friend saying that the restaurant was closed. I was panicked I thought that they are also closed for lunch on Sunday (they are closed for lunch Monday-Thursday) . I checked the website, they were supposed to open for lunch. So my friend then made a call to the restaurant in front of the restaurant. And she got the information that the restaurant were closed because they have a function, and they were sorry that they forgot to inform us/me. We were so disappointed with their unprofessional attitude, not only it was supposed to be our first experience trying that restaurant, but also because it was not easy to find a replacement for 6 people during busy Sunday lunch time. As part of support MoCo restaurant group, I have this list of restaurants we'd like to try, but now I have crossed Bistro Provence from the list, even before we tried it. read more

Went to dinner to celebrate a friend's milestone birthday on 12/24, we were a big party. The restaurant ambience was nice. However, the lady manager was very unpleasant not only did she not welcome us, I hate to throw the race card however, by the end of our s was obvious we had been minimized based on color of our skin. The sommelier was the worst the last straw for me he was incapable of asking the group what kind of wine we felt like having, didn't even have the customer service to come explain the bottle of wine we had chosen. Worst sommelier I have ever met !! Incapable of hiding his unconcious biases. Our waiter Riley made up for the bad customer service of the manager and incompetent sommelier 10/10 service by Riley. To top everything the manager accused us of not paying when clearly she had not done her math correctly and ended up charging an extra exorbitant amount of money to one payment more than even the entire bill. Not once did the manger take time to apologize for the poor service of the sommelier despite our complaints. Food was okay honestly. That is a matter of taste as some in my party loved their meals. I think because my meal was served 10 minutes after everyone I feel like it was a rush job as the kitchen was closing and it was not well prepared and lacked basic seasoning. So I rate the food 3/5. Overall, the restaurant gets 2/5 for me. No return for me ! It is good to treat all customers equally irrespective of color, don't judge the book by the cover . read more

They give you a basket with five pieces of bread when you sit down. They ask you if you want more bread halfway through dinner. Never mention each basket is 8 dollars each. I want my 16 dollars back. Food is good- portions small. read more

This place is simply amazing! It's a little known secret that the chef has had many award-winning restaurants and now has found home here. Great food, great wine one of the best places in DC for sure. read more

Let me first say that for $85 a person I deserve better . We were upstairs and although I was told it was going to be packed , it was almost empty . The service was weird to say the least . When we ordered we had to ask for a wine list . There was not offer as to would like like a mixed drink or beer ? Nothing . Again very odd . We were told to order the appetizer , main meal and desert all at once since it was going to get crowded and it would not be good for the kitchen if we ordered desert later . That's just weird too . The quality of the food was good except my filet tips were not cooked medium well like I had asked . The portion sizes were very small as well . $17 for a glass of wine it overpriced for Bethesda . This is not New York . Overall for the money I could go anywhere and have much better service ! read more

Went to Bistro Provence Valentines Day 2022 with another couple. Got our wine about an hour after we got there and our entree another hour later. Since everyone had reservations we could not understand the very long wait. The bread was overpriced as was the appetizers. We had a tomato salad with overripe tomatoes. Entree was fish Which was cooked to perfection with excellent sauce but why the canned clams on the plate??Didn't stay for dessert because waiter told us they were backed up. Very expensive and poor quality for some dishes left us with bad taste for the restaurant. read more

Great French cuisine in downtown Bethesda. Beware that parking can be a challenge at certain busy times. The restaurant is very small with limited seating and has a great outdoor area in the back, again with very limited seating. Reservations are a must. We were there on a very quiet weekday night. Our service was impeccable and the staff was very friendly and accommodating explaining various menu items and making helpful suggestions. We had the duck confit, melt in your mouth deliciousness. The filet mignon which was cooked perfectly and the ratatouille as a side. The portions are perfectly sized, so not too much food, yet left feeling very full and satisfied. I would say the duck and the ratatouille were the standouts. The place is above average in terms of cost, will definitely be back but this restaurant is reserved for special occasions for us with the higher price tag! read more