O'Brien's Bistro

This charming restaurant could not be more different from last week's experience. You have a choice of dining in or outside, though eating outside in this heat is not advisable at this point in the year. O'Brien's has large windows allowing daylight to fall upon the diners. The walls are lined with quaint prints and an aquarium full of colorful fish stands in the middle of the main room.

Within minutes of sitting down, you are instantly brought a basket of these rolls or savory scones or...well, I don't know what exactly their proper name is, but they are so so tasty. But, these rolls are made with rosemary which gives them a clean fresh flavor. They are even served warm right out of the oven.

I ordered a bowl of French onion soup. If you haven't already noticed by now, I am a big fan of soup. There are very few places here in Pensacola that serve soup and even fewer places with GOOD soup. Anyway, this soup was delicious. The onions were  sweet and the cheese was nice and melty and gooey. Need I say more?

One of their lunchtime specialties is called Trio of Salads. It is basically a salad sampler where you can choose 3 salads from a list of 7. The list includes chicken salad, shrimp salad, egg salad, Caprese salad, roasted corn and black bean salad, marinated mushroom salad, and Caesar salad.

The three that I chose were the Caesar, fruit, and shrimp salads. The Caesar was crisp with croutons and shavings of Parmesan cheese. The fruit was sweet and juicy. The shrimp salad was made with baby shrimp and, most unusually, dill. The dill actually married nicely with the flavor of the shrimp, a very clever combination.

For dessert, I ordered the creme brulee. The custard was cold, such a nice treat on such a hot day, and there was a gentle drizzle of raspberry sauce on top that was to die for. It was velvety and seed free. My only complaint was that there should have been more of that sauce.

So, if you are one of those people who likes to go to Olive Garden for that ever popular soup, salad, and breadstick deal, keep in mind that you can have the same thing but 1000 times better at O'Brien's Bistro. The bread is complimentary. You can choose what kind of salads you want to try. The French onion soup is packed with flavor. A simple yet delicious lunch that puts others like it to shame.

Overall meal: 4.8-5/5