The straightforwardly-named JP French Restaurant definitely lives up to expectations. It’s simple, authentic, reasonably priced (net prices, hurrah to that!) and uses very good produce. Is the chef a culinary prodigy? No, but this is well-executed bistro food. Before you even tuck in, you’ll notice the quality of the service—waiters clearly know the menu and can even answer questions. The space also manages to be cozy, casual but intimate enough for a tete-a-tete, depending on whether you stick to the bar downstairs or head to the mezzanine. Lastly, the well-crafted French wine list’s prices are very competitive (much of it under B1,500, almost all under B3,000). Meals begin with a nice selection of amuse-bouches: pate, chorizo and rillettes on thin, crispy slices of toasted bread. As with the rest of the food here, the flavor comes more from the quality of the produce than the execution. So even if the escargots (B360) are doused in parsley and butter (as they should be), you can still tell they’re fresh and tender. And while the excellent foie gras terrine (B550) comes with a side of average onion jam, it’s really best enjoyed on its own. When it comes to mains, too, JP relies on using the good stuff, with a strong focus on meats, mostly from Australia. The burger (the French do love burgers), for example, is a big, tasty Thai-French beef patty with good bread and strong cheese (B390). The rib eye (B610), too, is incredibly tasty. In fact, it’s clearly been aged because it’s very flavorful but also on the dry side. Bordering on gamey, it should appeal to hardboiled meat-lovers but it’s not for everyone. If you’d like dishes with a bit more preparation involved, you have to look to the rotating specials, and here results vary. On our last visit, we had a duck parmentier (a bit like a shepherd’s pie) with foie gras sauce (B540). Sadly, it wasn’t very subtle or even that flavorful. Desserts, like the iced nougat (B200), can be fairly pedestrian, too. But stick to JP’s simple, authentic, produce-centric bistro menu and you’re pretty much guaranteed a great meal at prices that put some of the competition to shame. Corkage B300.
