Real Talk: Blaz French Bistro & Wine Bar

Blaz Canteen & Wine Bar is a French bistro and wine bar that opened November of last year, helmed by chef Chris Zhu (formerly of Bird) and Simon Briens (co-founder of RAC). It’s one of three restaurants housed in the iconic villa on Donghu Lu. It’s rather popular right now. But I can't get behind the food.

I’ve had some delicious things from chef before, and the team is extremely strong on hospitality, but the food at Blaz comes off as disappointing. It’s neither here nor there, and I expected more. I went twice. The first time they weren’t ready—the croque madame and foie gras mousse were the only two things I could recommend, a sandwich and a fool-proof dish.

So I went a second time, but I still found the beef tartare unnecessarily spicy and escargot under seasoned. The mains were forgettable. Teething issues? Sure. Overall, it didn't strike me as a particularly strong menu.

It is a gorgeous destination, though, especially the courtyard, which will most definitely be filled with bodies come warmer months. Blaz has a lovely space and an amazing atmosphere. Seating is cozy—you'll definitely overhear conversations—and there's a long shared table, and a long bar made for wine drinkers. Très casual and charming.

For now, I see the atmosphere being its biggest draw.

Here’s what I had:

The Food

French Bistro Blaz

The table bread is excellent. Any French bistro should do this well, and it’s complimentary at Blaz.

Mackerel on Toast (¥48) - Mackerel (three pieces) pickled with rice vinegar and yuzu, a nice little snack with wine.

Terrine (¥128) - A tasty block of pork and duck liver with pistachio and pickles.  

Foie Gras Mousse (¥158) - This is excellent. Comes with shavings of house-cured duck breast. Would order again.

Beef Tartare (¥128) - A crying shame in my opinion. This one is overly seasoned and extremely spicy. I need to be able to taste the meat when I order a beef tartare, but this is so spicy that I can’t taste anything else after a spoonful, just the tear-inducing burn of Sriracha and chili. It wouldn’t matter what kind of meat you put into the bowl. I’ve heard some people like it. It’s not for me. The super thin crispy chips were great though.

Vol Au Vent (¥148) - The pastry of the vol au vent was lovely. However the escargot were sorely under seasoned and lacking the buttery fragrance you'd expect. I could taste the muddiness in the snails.

Hasselback Potato (¥55) - The top of the potato was not crisped enough. You can also get this single potato with 30g of Kaluga Queen caviar for only ¥105. What a deal!

Croque Madame (¥98) - It’s a good sandwich. Loaded up with gruyere, comte, truffle bechamel, black truffle ham and a yolk in the center.

Roasted Chicken (¥248) - This was quite enjoyable. Crispy-skinned chicken that was also tender and juicy. The morel and truffle cream sauce is great with bread.

Pork Belly (¥198) - Slow-cooked with parsnip, peas and red cabbage. The pork belly falls apart as you cut into it, but the soft, fatty belly wasn’t helped by the sweet sauce that accompanied it. It’s a heavy dish and a bit one-dimensional in flavor.

Riz Au Lait (¥65) - Warm rice pudding served with salted butter caramel.

Chocolate Mousse (¥60) - A perfectly fine dessert but nothing crazy.

Pear (¥65) poached in jasmine tea, cream cheese ice cream and pear granite.

Semi-Fredo (¥65) with oolong tea parfait, tapioca and brown sugar sauce. Not a fan of the tapioca, and the semifreddo is more icy than creamy. 

Wines by the glass start from ¥65, bottles from ¥330. The selection is good and they have a little bit of everything—new and old world, biodynamic and natural.

In Summary

Wine?

If you’re not too picky about food and want to just focus on wine, I would still recommended Blaz for date nights. But I need more than what’s currently on offer for a return visit. The chicken was enjoyable, but for ¥248, I can find a better main course elsewhere.

I would only recommend the mackerel, terrine, foie gras mousse, croque madame and roasted chicken.

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Blaz Canteen & Wine Bar

Address: 20 Donghu Lu, near Huaihai Zhong Lu 东湖路20号, 近淮海中路

Tel: [phone]

Hours: Daily 6pm-midnight, closed Tuesday

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