DINING
Bistr09 Fashion Fusion at Brist09. Brunch never looked be er in Alamo Heights. By Janis Turk
Chef Lisa Astoga Watel is in the Bistr09 kitchen, cooking in four-inch heels.“Why not? I love these shoes,” she says with a wink and a smile.
at how things were done before, but rather toward the next 20 years,” explains Damien. “Restaurants have become too casual in today’s foodtruck era, so we focused on a strong sense of style.”
Ever the fashionista, in the kitchen or the front of the house, Lisa is always dressed to the nines.
Stylish it is. With vaulted ceilings, le floors, bright skylights, a long bar with cheery yellow chairs, and a shiny black piano, the front room gleams. Behind a wall of exposed brick and a large arched window, tables set with white linens fill a quieter space in the carpeted dining room.
The Chile-born, culinary school-trained chef, who for nine years served as personal chef to actor Tommy Lee Jones and family, cooks beside husband chef Damien Watel and niece chef Andrea Astorga in the kitchen of their Alamo Heights eatery, making every dish divine. A li le bit Jennifer Lopez and a whole lot Julia Child, Lisa carries her natural beauty and good taste, be it in food or fashion, in a way that seems effortless, modern, and fun. It’s that ‘simple-meets-stylish’ concept that’s the recipe for Bistr09’s success. “Bistr09 is a classic French brasserie that elevates and celebrates the food and the dining experience. It’s also everyone’s favorite neighborhood place,” says Damien Watel. French-born Damien is a celebrated local chef, best known for the Olmos Park eatery, Bistro Vatel, which enjoyed a cult-like following for many years. Bistr09 is the ninth restaurant the Watels have had in San Antonio, and many of their most ardent patrons live in Alamo Heights. So when Bistr09 opened in the spring of 2019 in the former L’Etoile space on Broadway, its name gave a nod to its new zip code. “I love to cook for locals, so we wanted a neighborhood bistro that doesn’t look back 90
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Contemporary art adds bright colors, and in homage to ar st Gilbert Duran’s controversial giant fork sculpture at the Watels’ former Stone Oak restaurants, Ciel and Ciao 2, a fat silver fork stands by the front door. Lisa, who with Andrea was also the force behind Bite restaurant in Southtown, today spends her me in the kitchen at Bistr09 with Damien, and Andrea (who last hails from Monterrey, Mexico), bringing their diverse culinary tradi ons to the table. Even their young son, Enzo, helps taste everything. “We collaborate with a pinch of love, salt, and work,” she says. The dinner menu is filled with tradi onal brasserie favorites, including a poulet ro and mash (roasted chicken and potatoes), duck confit, steak frites, foie gras, French onion soup, moules frites (mussels in white wine served with fries), and newer dishes, like fried chicken lollipops. The bespoke wine list is impressive, and the restaurant offers a full bar, featuring Bite’s signature Bloody Marys.