Bistro Le Cep in Houston, TX | French Restaurants | Texas Catalog

Bistro "Le Cep" cuisine is French home cooking at its best, a style of cooking that demands minimal technical skills and no exotic ingredients. In Europe, it is also a way of cooking that grew out of a need to maximize every morsel from all the products in the market each day, so it is economical and features great creativity.
Bistro cuisine knows no boundaries. The variety of dishes can change with every season and yet, all can be seriously be labeled "authentic bistro" dishes. We offer specialties from different regions of France in addition to crusty baguettes, patés, and a well-selected wine list from around the world.
Our decor is humble and cozy, handcrafted pine wood shelves displaying selected wine bottles, large windows are draped in customary bistro style, and a well stocked bar was built by a French craftsman. French theme prints inspire a feeling of being on vacation in Europe and stagecoach lanterns create a dramatic mood in the evening.
Reservations are recommended, or just come on by and enjoy our hospitality.
This breezy cozy lair decked in knotty pine with clustered tables is no secret to fans of European-born Chef Mannke (Rotisserie for Beef and Bird). The duck pate hors d'oeuvre is rustic and savory, as is the garlicky, tender escargot. Try the strikingly fresh redfish napped in butter-caper sauce or the gently sauteed shrimp with fragrant roasted garlic and grilled beefsteak tomato.
End with the rarefied European cheese course, tarte Tatin or chilled bittersweet-chocolate mousse.
Our Heritage
Nobody seems to know or agree on the origin of the word “Bistro”. The most often quoted explanation is that it is a part of the Russian language, and during the fall of Napoleon in 1815, Russian soldiers stormed the cafes and small restaurants shouting "bistro, bistro" (hurry hurry). Whatever its origin, everyone agrees that it is a small unpretentious restaurant; simply a place to enjoy a glass of quality wine, a fine lunch or dinner, or just a slice of homemade pate with crusty bread. A "Bistro" is a place for good times with friends.
"Le Cep" is the trunk of the grapevine, which grows deep into the soil and provides nourishment and moisture to the grapes.
What could be a better or more appropriate name for a French Country Cooking and Wine Bar than...
From his little village near Nice, in southern France, Escoffier gave firm advice, "faites simple" or "make it simple." One of the greatest chefs of the last century in the Western world, he rose to be master chef of all the Ritz hotels. He invented over 7,000 dishes of haute cuisine, but he always remembered the provincial recipes he had first learned at home.
Striving toward this philosophy, Bistro Le Cep offers a generous earthy fare filling the air with wafts of garlic, smoked bacon in steel skillets, or the sweet caramel scent of a fresh tarte tatin about to be released from the oven.
Come by and be inspired by our country cooking. No matter your roots, no matter your heritage, our bistro is certain to become a part of your life.