The Central West End of St. Louis is home to a wide variety of restaurants–ethnic, cheap, upscale, fun, exciting, you name it. This critical mass was probably a draw for Gerard Craft of Niche, enticing him to open one of his more casual concepts in the area. Though the fare may not be exciting at Brasserie by Niche it’s definitely solid, well-executed and a credit to the brand.

The restaurant conjures up visions of dining in Paris at a lovely little bistro, complete with chalkboard specials, punched metal ceilings and period lamps. I knew dinner was going to be a treat when our server put a piece of epi pain (a style of French baguette) directly on the brown paper covering the table, along with a small crock of homemade butter. The menu is a collection of classic French hits–French onion soup, escargot, pate, goat cheese tart, coq au vin, roast chicken, cassoulet, mussels and fries and, of course, steak frites.

The beet salad (graciously split for us by our server) was lovely, as was the roast chicken. The chicken was incredibly moist, served in a small skillet and sitting atop a hunk of toasted bread that just begged to be devoured soaked as it was with chicken and mushroom juices. My father and I split a generous side of pomme puree (smooth mashed potatoes) to complete the perfectly executed dish.

I’m ticking off the Gerard Craft restaurants, and so far I’m two for two in the satisfaction category, after an awesome pizza at Pasteria. Next on my list is Niche, Craft’s intimate and innovative restaurant in Clayton.