Bastille Day dining: Restaurants celebrating France’s national day

Liz Balmaseda, Palm Beach Post
·2 min read
Pistache French bistro is located in downtown West Palm Beach.
Pistache French bistro is located in downtown West Palm Beach.

You don’t have to be French to partake in a celebratory Bastille Day feast on Thursday, July 14. In fact, several local restaurants invite you to do so.

France’s fête nationale commemorates the 1789 storming of the Bastille prison in the early months of the French Revolution. Now, 233 years later, you can still hear echoes of the day across the globe.

Closer to home in Palm Beach County, you’ll find Bastille Day menus at the following restaurants.

Café Boulud

Dreaming up Bastille Day wine pairings at Café Boulud is head sommelier Imre Papp.
Dreaming up Bastille Day wine pairings at Café Boulud is head sommelier Imre Papp.

Chef Daniel Boulud’s chic restaurant at The Brazilian Court Hotel will celebrate Bastille Day with a fancy four-course dinner with wine pairings by head sommelier Imre Papp.

On executive chef Dieter Samijn’s menu: avocado with crab and citrus paired with extra-dry Champagne, bluefin tuna with tomato Antiboise sauce paired with a floral white wine from the Languedoc, a Marseilles-inspired bouillabaisse matched with an aromatic white wine from the Rhone Valley, and a grilled Mediterranean sea bass served with pommes Anna and ratatouille and accompanied by a Beaujolais from the village of Fleurie. The sweet finale: Crêpe Suzette paired with a sweet Muscat de Beaumes-de-Venise.

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Al fresco options at Café Boulud, which is located at The Brazilian Court Hotel in Palm Beach.
Al fresco options at Café Boulud, which is located at The Brazilian Court Hotel in Palm Beach.

The dinner, which costs $165 per person, kicks off with a seated reception at 6:45 p.m. and dinner at 7 p.m.

Pistache

Freshly baked French bread at Pistache in downtown West Palm.
Freshly baked French bread at Pistache in downtown West Palm.

This popular French bistro in downtown West Palm Beach is offering an a la carte menu to celebrate the day.

On the menu: Starters include torchon de foie gras with seasonal stone fruit, hazelnut, petite salad and brioche ($28) and summer truffle with cavatelli pasta, porcini cream and pecorino ($26). Entrees include coq au vin with strozzapreti pasta and carrot puree ($38) and bouillabaisse with local fish, mussels, clams and shrimp in a saffron-scented broth ($38).

Pistache: 101 N. Clematis St., West Palm Beach, 561-833-5090, PistacheWPB.com 

Chez Marie French Bistro

A view of Chez Marie French Bistro in Boca Raton.
A view of Chez Marie French Bistro in Boca Raton.

This Boca Raton bistro is offering a nicely priced, three-course menu ($39.90 per person) during their annual Bastille Day celebration.

On the menu: Dinner begins with a choice of escargots, French onion soup or Caesar salad. Main plates include coq au vin, mussels and frites and honey mustard-glazed salmon. For dessert, there’s lavender crème brûlée, chocolate mousse or apple crumble.

There’s entertainment as well. Singer Thierry Khalfa performs from 6 to 9 p.m. To reserve a seat, visit the bistro’s website at ChezMarieFrenchBistro.com.

  • Chez Marie French Bistro: 5030 Champion Blvd., in the Polo Club Shoppes, Boca Raton, 561-997-0027

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Bastille Day dining: Restaurants celebrating France’s national day