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Cantine aims to embody their self-described “nouveau” bistro label in different ways. The restaurant’s design is slightly jarring, sporting a sort of space age orange “plastique” look, with a small dining room surrounding a central bar. But it has nailed down the bistro concept far better than other competitors, with fellow diners chatting away in French, a chalk board list of French wines, and a decidedly French influenced menu.

The food also employs a slightly modified tack from the norm. Taking a cue from their Japanese sister restaurant Shoka, Cantine entered the all you can eat buffet game, scaling back their a la carte menu, choosing to focus on tapas-like small plates. The Japanese buffet has become increasingly common in the city as have their varying degrees of quality. But Cantine proves that such fluctuations need not apply to it, providing diners with a well-executed buffet menu of 30 plus small plates at value price of 188RMB.

Some dishes take the common and elaborate on it. A basket of bread arrives with a set of dipping sauces, including a shockingly orange one I mistook for an aioli, only to find a light and smooth salmon mousse (though the menu lists it as anchovy).

A small bowl of tartly marinated artichokes appears next, a dish the manager Barthemely Lrr says Chinese locals apparently shy away from, but is most familiar and welcome to French patrons. A beef carpaccio, while not French, does feature tender Shandong beef with classic adornments of parmesan and capers.

Cuttlefish escabeche (an acid marinated fish preparation) is served room temperature in a sauce that engages in a perfect balancing act between the vinegar’s tartness with the sweetness of bell peppers and onions.

Beef meatballs come draped in a rosemary tomato sauce that is smartly subdued on the normally overpowering herb, while hiding an unexpected but welcome spicy punch.

And there are some real gems. Tiny stuffed calamari come three to a plate, filled with succulently braised lamb shoulder and sauced with a shallot and port wine reduction. Braised rabbit in red wine is pillowy tender and the sauce is reminiscent of a great beef bourguignon, leaving me to ask for more bread to sop up the deeply flavored sauce.

There are some less stellar dishes, but only because one feels the need to rate them against the real stars of the menu: the house made foie gras terrine is a little underwhelming, and a camembert sandwich seems to have received an unnecessary last second addition of salt. And though I had heard good things about the a la carte menu’s Duck Confit, mine was a bit too dry, but the gratin styled potato side was deliciously porky with bacon and onions.

Desserts emerge as a real treat, again displaying a high level of execution. The house made sweets pay homage to classic French desserts such as Ile Flottante (“floating islands”, an egg white meringue) which come drizzled in caramel. Reaching across European borders, a tiramisu was airily light in both texture and sweetness, with dots of fruit coulis serving as a complement to the cheese’s creaminess.

Cantine shines in its service and value as well. Servers are polite and attentive, even asking if you have any allergies before taking your order, something I’m only used to in the US. The value from the tapas promotion alone – which even includes a glass of house wine - is worth taking advantage of. Both the a la carte and dessert menu are reasonably priced for their portion sizes.

My stomach full, I glanced around at the other diners who continued to relax at their tables with a true European sense of pace and felt compelled to recline back in my seat as well. Head chef Cyrille Mulle was conversing with fellow francophones as servers continued to pour bottles of wine for guests, a decidedly cozy atmosphere permeating the air; there are certainly worse places to spend a relaxed dinner in the city and perhaps few better. I can only hope other bistros in the city aim to foster the rewarding dining experience present at Cantine.

Price:
200RMB per person (without large consumption of alcoholic beverage)
Tapas buffet option available for 188RMB

By Jerome Yuan

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