My wife and I were in Chambersburg, PA, for a funeral and were meeting some family for dinner, so…read morewe decided to try Bistro 71. We were originally supposed to be seated outside, but when we arrived, the hostess suggested we eat inside since rain was in the forecast. We were seated upstairs, which turned out to be very nice we actually had the entire room to ourselves.
If you order the Beef Wellington, I have one recommendation: ask them NOT to cut it in half before serving it. They cut mine open, and as you can see in the picture, it looked absolutely amazing and juicy. Unfortunately, once it was cut, the juices ran out of the beef after a few bites, and the meat started getting a little dry. I think it would be much better to receive the Wellington whole and cut into it yourself, starting at the end so you keep those juices inside the meat.
Our server was very nice and greeted us shortly after we were seated. We ordered drinks and an egg roll appetizer that was one of the specials. The egg roll was very good, and the salads that came with our meals were also excellent. The dressing was especially good.
For dinner, my wife ordered the chicken special, which was chicken served over mushroom rice with a very good sauce. She really enjoyed it. I ordered the Beef Wellington and when our meals arrived they both looked fantastic. My wife's chicken smelled wonderful, and my Wellington looked amazing. It was also much larger than I expected.
The Beef Wellington was honestly one of the top five I've ever had. The pastry was cooked perfectly, and the beef was a beautiful medium rare and very tender. The potatoes were good as well. I wasn't as impressed with the green beans, but that was really the only part of the meal I didn't care for.
I do think the Wellington could have been even better with a demi-glace or another good sauce on the plate. The beef itself was excellent, but a good sauce would have taken the dish over the top.
Our server was very pleasant, but she wasn't as attentive as we would have liked. I'm not sure if that was because we were placed upstairs, but we could have used refills on drinks quite a bit earlier than we received them. Since we were the only people upstairs, we had to wait for her to come back up to check on us. Still, she was very nice, and I don't want that to take away from what was otherwise a very good experience.
Overall, we really enjoyed our dinner at Bistro 71. The food was very good, the upstairs dining area was comfortable and quiet, and the Beef Wellington was definitely the highlight for me. I'd order it again--just next time, I'm keeping that Wellington whole until I cut into it myself!
