Frederick's Bistro

Frederick's Bistro Restaurant Review:

Frederick Costa has helped form San Antonio’s fine dining scene over the years from his eponymous, Asian-French restaurant in upper Alamo Heights. But with the birth of the Bistro, he began exploring a new audience (Beemers and Audis as opposed to Caddys) and has reinvigorated his cuisine in the process. Appetizers such as crispy calamari over spicy Chinese noodles or duck confit with leeks and shiitakes seem especially at home in this paneled and dramatically lighted setting. A pizza with crab and grilled asparagus is another appealing option, suggesting that overall there’s less emphasis here on Frederick’s Asian-French fusion. Instead, dishes like the Kurobuta pork shank over mushroom risotto take the spotlight, along with rainbow trout with baby shrimp in lemon butter. The wine list is good albeit predictable; a daily happy hour in the adjacent bar more pointedly emphasizes the different demographic.