The bistro, it seems, first became popular in 1940’s Paris, when
it might have been a café, or snack bar, or even a small restaurant.

Etymologically, there are a couple of possibilities in French. There is a word bastringue, which means a small dance hall. There is bistre, which rather disappointingly turns out to be a surgical instrument. There is a verb bistoullier, which means to make up concoctions. It also carries the sense that these concoctions are at least laughable and usually unpleasant.

The likeliest contender seems not to be French at all, but Russian for ‘quick’. And dimly reported thought he mists of antiquity is the fact that Russian troops, entering Paris in 1815 or thereabouts, were all yelling ‘bistro’ at the top of their voices. They were all starving, and they wanted sustenance in a hurry.

Can it be, then, that a bistro is a place you can get quick French food? This is another simple question.

Some dishes can undoubtedly be prepared quickly. Moules Mariniere, for example, grilled steak, pommes allumettes. But I think we might all agree that a plate of escargots would be another piece of typical bistro fare. And it is certainly true that, once prepared, they can be baked and served within no more than ten minutes of being ordered.

The catch here is ‘once prepared’. Our bistro chef has simply done what every other good cook should: prepare carefully beforehand to make service as quick as possible. In and out of restaurants this is a golden rule.
So simple speed does not a bistro make. Nor does the absence of serious preparation for service, which in any event is almost impossible if you’re using fresh ingredients. What then?

Simplicity? Perhaps bistro food is somehow simpler than other restaurants. But simpler how? ‘Simple’ seems to mean something you don’t have to do carefully. That idea we can throw out immediately: all cooking should be careful, bistro or not.
In terms of the actual food and cooking, there are two other areas to consider. The first is economy in the kitchen, good housekeeping. But as with preparation, this should be common practice for cooks everywhere. To discard perfectly usable by-products is not high-falutin’, it is just profligate.

Indeed, good housekeeping may even be a mark of the more, and not the less, expensive restaurant these days. Cheaper restaurants will almost certainly be more inclined to buy pre-cut steaks and muddle through with stock cubes, whereas the more expensive will do things as they should be done – will bone, will butcher and sweat over carefully reduced stocks.

Which finally leads us to the remaining point, expense, and maybe a definition. We have seen that bistros are neither quick nor slower than the other places, whomsoever they may be. The preparation depends on the skill and professionalism of the chef and the integrity of the management, as does the housekeeping. It’s just that the bistro should be cheaper, we feel, and the menu less cushioned with foie gras or studded with truffles. But how can we tell as we stand outside?

It’s easy. Bistros are just restaurants without tablecloths!

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