Marie Louise Bistro

Popped into Marie Louise Bistro for cocktails and dinner with my sisters and I was impressed. The restaurant is very cute and romantic. Cocktails were strong but tasty and the food was delicious. Our waiter Helen was very kind, attentive and gave great service! We did the dinner menu where you get a 3-course for I believe $60 or $70. Loved the French onion soup , pear & bleu cheese salad, steak & crab cake entree, and sea-bass and risotto dish was awesome. We really loved everything we tried, except the desserts. I wish the desserts on the dinner special were a little better.

Friendly staff. I would say that first it's not an ideal place for a date. The acoustics make it so that you can hear other people's conversations. Feels a little like a cafeteria with haphazard lighting and art work. The food was also very mid. I had no issue with the french onion soup but I would expect them to do that well. The main was a swordfish on top a very buttery risotto. To me, the flaky lightness of the swordfish clashed with the richness of the risotto. Swordfish was also a bit over cooked. The mousse was okay. A bit stiff, but chocolate was very good.

I was excited to try something new for restaurant week this summer and Marie Louise was on the list. It is a cute little bistro that gives me date night vibes. We were greeted and seated quickly because there was barely anyone there... and I should have taken that as a sign. Usually during restaurant week, restaurants are so lively that you would expect to wait for a table. It was 6pm on a Saturday and only the table next to ours and a few seats at the bar was occupied.Our server was nice and gave us suggestions on what was the best items on the restaurant week menu. The food was very underwhelming. The Maryland crab soup tasted bland and looked light as if it was missing Old Bay. My second course was the Filet Mignon au Poivre with Potatoes Gratine & Asparagus. The filet was cooked perfectly but I did care for the potatoes. Also, the portion size was so small. My friend ordered the duck confit. He also liked the duck but didn't like his potatoes and felt his portion was small too. The desserts were basic and nothing special. I had a lavender collins to drink and barely tasted any gin. I came. I saw. I did not conquer. One and done.

The ambience was nice and even though it was mid January, they still had Christmas decorations up, so it was very comfy/cozy. I was part of a party of six on a Thursday evening and we were the only patrons on the first level so it was really nice and quiet. Everyone enjoyed their food. I had the bistro burger and it was just OK. I ordered it medium well and the temperature was not quite what I ordered. The wait staff was very attentive.

I've been for brunch before. Quite a hole in the wall. Shrimp and grits were good, however, shrimp had a funky taste so I asked for new shrimp to be made. Same taste, was told it was the white wine that they cook with, seems it's not being cooked down all the way.

Marie Louise continues to be a Mt Vernon staple, known for great food and friendly service. Nice atmosphere with seating options at both the upper and main floor.

Today was my first time at Marie Louise, and it was a disappointing visit. Service: I found it lacking. I needed help getting quarters (after multiple issues with the street parking) and somehow the restaurant didn't have quarters. I just think the staff didn't really want to help. -I asked for a milk alternative. It turns out that this restaurant only carries whole milk. What kind of restaurant only carries whole milk nowadays? Not even 2% or oat milk available Food: I found it mediocre. It was my first time eating escargot, so I won't comment on this one. But my eggs Benedict seemed like it was missing some essence from the kitchen. 3 random pieces of fruit and some dry potatoes accompanied the eggs Benedict. It seemed like it was plated by someone without enthusiasm. The only positive was the ambiance. The place had pretty lights and felt cozy. Although the back was disorganized.

I haven't been to Marie Louise in ages but decided to revisit for brunch with my Mom. The inside is really cute and features a loft on the second floor and a dining room and bar on the bottom floor with limited outdoor seating out front. The whole feel is very "Parisian bistro". The food isn't the best French food I've had in Baltimore, but it was still really yummy. I got the shrimp and grits and my mom got the apple and brie sandwich and the french onion soup. Unfortunately, the staff didn't seem to be very informed about food allergens. When I asked if the shrimp and grits were gluten free, the server wasn't sure. He came back and told me the grits packaging said it contained glucose.... not nearly the same thing as gluten but okay, lol. Grits are naturally gluten free however, I was more concerned that flour might be used in the sauce to help thicken it up a bit - not uncommon for French cuisine. Once I asked a few more questions about the sauce, he let me know it was made with cream and cheese. Great!The shrimp and grits were delicious and flavorful. As I write this review, I wonder if the sausage wasn't gluten free (it might've contained bread crumbs?) but fortunately, I have an intolerance so a small exposure like that won't ruin my day. However, if you have serious food allergies or celiac, this probably isn't the place for you. The servers and kitchen staff just don't seem to be very informed and the vaguely written menu certainly doesn't help. My mom wasn't a huge fan of the sandwich - it seemed like the ratio of brie to apple to bread was all off. The drinks, however, were really great and I'd come back for those!

*For reference, food review and summary are at the bottom.When we first walked into Marie Louise Bistro, I was amazed. My partner and I went for valentines day, and it was picturesque. Fairy lights adorned the railing of a stairway to a second floor that takes up only half the space, leaving lofty ceilings. The decor was great as well. We were seated at a 4 person table just for the two of us, which was great - loved the extra space. The waiter gave us menus specific for the occasion, but didn't say a word to us, which was odd. We took a look over our menus, and were a little confused about the lack of descriptions. When the waiter came to take our order, I asked what sort of dish the "maryland crab" was. I was told it was actually a tomato based crab broth soup with no crab meat in it - okay, kinda confusing for you to call it just maryland crab, not even maryland crab soup. I then asked if my partner still wanted it, and at that point he said "let me give you a minute" and went to go take the next table's order. We talked it over and decided to go with the mussels, french onion soup, duck confit, and zucchini louise, and waited for him to come back.We waited, and waited, and waited.... 15 minutes until he even looked in our direction again and came back. We told him our order and he asked if we wanted bread, to which we said yes. We waited 25 minutes for bread, mussels, and soup - i was shocked that they couldnt bring the bread out any sooner. At this point we had been seated for about 45 mins before any food reached our table. We began eating, but we ran out of water - I had to flag a server down for a refill, which was the only time he had stopped at our table since taking our order. Again, this whole time our servers have spoken perhaps two sentences total to us - one of which was to "i'll give you a minute" which turned out to be 15 times longer, and to take our order. As we were waiting for our food, a little over an hour after being seated we had run out of bread for the mussels and asked for more. The second loaf of bread was for some reason larger than the first and was very stale in the center. We ended up waiting a little over 1.5 hours from first sitting to having our entrees brought to us. I will now give a review of the food:bread - the first loaf was fine, nothing to write home about. the second loaf (which we got only because we were waiting so long) was much worse. Bread is not that hard? And it definitely shouldn't be different every time I order it. It also was not complimentary, so we paid for this stale bread. 3/10french onion soup - also just okay. The cheese was good, broth was lacking flavor though. 6/10mussels - the mussels were good. i don't have many complaints, they were not overcooked and the seasoning was light but brought out the flavors well. 7.5/10zucchini louise - brace yourselves. this is really just a warm salad. It's a little confusing what the menu is claiming it is, and the servers did not seem willing to entertain questions about their vague offerings. The plating was outright disappointing for a $28 dish. It was just a cooked sliced zucchini with some tomatoes, onions, and couscous in an acidic sauce. It was not bad, but it was just so difficult to discern what this dish was supposed to be. Ultimately, just a cooked zucchini. 4.5/10, but if I knew exactly what it was and was looking for a vegetarian entree, I think I would give it a 5 or 6. However, the price is simply way too high for what it is. duck confit - this was the centerpiece. The skin was crispy and the inside was juicy, but it ultimately was too salty for the flavors to shine. The juicy fatty portions were delicious but everything was a little too salty. The scalloped potato was even saltier, which made the pairing difficult. The green beans were good but not enough. Overall, it was good, but the salt overpowered it. 6.5/10, with less salt could have been an 8 or 9.In summary: The service was so bad that we walked to the CVS afterwards and the employee there greeted us with a smile and asked if they could help us with anything. that was more positive than any interaction I had that entire night. We were spoken to less than twice, had our water refilled once over almost 2 hours, did not get our entree until after 1.5 hours, and there were no plates cleared (thank god we had 2 extra spaces). The food was average and expensive, although to my understanding the menu prices were raised for the holiday. I want to give a 1 star for the price as well, but I understand the price is usually lower. I give this overall 2 stars, mostly because the interior was very impressive and some of the food items were good, but the service was far below reasonable expectations.

Had a pre theatre dinner here for a rare date night outing. I was so excited to see a couple of musicians setting up and that really added to the atmosphere. Our server made the process seamless and we both enjoyed our meal immensely. I had the Caesar salad and the Apple & Brie sandwich. He had the French onion soup and the duck confit. The bartender served up accompanying mocktails - adding a welcome hint of summer on a brisk winter evening. The space is clean, romantic, and I'm really glad we ventured out. Next time you have a chance to go on the town (and you'd actually like to hear your date talk), check out Marie Louise and follow it up with a show at Center Stage Theatre!