A week after experiencing Hank’s Low Country Seafood at the intersection of Gay and High Street, my wife and I returned to the neighborhood. This evening’s agenda involved a trip to Chouette, a newly opened French Bistro across the street.

It was a rainy evening. I had a stressful week at work. So, a hearty meal was calling my name.

Stepping inside the restaurant, the ambience immediately enveloped me. It was distinctly France. One of the first things I noticed the clock over the main bar, and the high ceilings. A doorman even welcomed us in. I felt very formal. And I felt underdressed (my wife got the memo though – figures! Haha.).

We sat down to dinner in an upstairs loft-like section. We sat in a corner booth in the rear of the section. It felt intimate and I had fun looking at the understated art on the walls. But the opening to the main bar area below created a sense of openness and grandeur. Sitting in a giant room like that can be overwhelming. And here we got to experience the best of both worlds. Not an easy thing to do – so kudos to the interior design team!

Our waitress Lauren was very attentive and had great timing with checking in on us.

My wife and I both had a tenderloin steak with pommes frites (French fries). She had her steak medium with au poivre sauce and I had mine medium well with bordelaise sauce. I’ll leave the exquisite commentary on steaks to the culinary experts, but I felt refined eating that dinner. It felt inappropriate to each those frites anyway other than plain! No ketchup requests in this fine dining establishment from me!

Image description: The exterior signage shows a rather distinguished looking owl in its logo.

Image description: We quite enjoyed the bread basket and the butter with the paper cover on it, with the funny phrase “It’s all French to us” printed on it!

Image description: I enjoyed the understated black and white abstract art on the walls.

Image description: An open lobby bustling with customers. A mosaic tile floor forms the main walkway. Waitstaff are all wearing bowties. The wood paneling is very dark, and the ceiling is an off-white/grey color that gives an impression of the interior being much older!

Image description: The main menu illuminated by a soft white table light.