https://www.bizoudowntown.com/home daily 1.0 2025-10-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5b341645e17ba32545bf6792/1530161796566-JVCVS5H57LFMKZJ62QCP/BE2221F3-1BC1-4158-9589-B100A38415CF.jpg Bizou https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5b341645e17ba32545bf6792/1530155405832-T3IBUAU2FPQZM4D2XXK9/vincent+and+tim.jpg Bizou https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5b341645e17ba32545bf6792/1530155530757-ZV3P3DGQKV9VZAJ9ZPQU/bizou+juke+box.png Bizou https://www.bizoudowntown.com/menus daily 0.75 2026-01-23 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5b341645e17ba32545bf6792/1530155776001-MRUK5Y6237OBL9PZ79SP/FF5D9F18-BD88-4AF4-BA90-659ADB83A5AB.jpg Menus https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5b341645e17ba32545bf6792/1530155886723-2KRNEOWMFWPDOWOQ328I/AFACE9C7-433D-4911-AAFA-0B3060052418.jpg Menus https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5b341645e17ba32545bf6792/21be3069-edbe-45e2-b9d3-3c774fe7ae3d/Bizou+Summer+2025+Lunch+Menu.png Menus https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5b341645e17ba32545bf6792/42fb7ad0-c458-4bff-9b1e-ae32b9d8c815/Winter+Bizou+Dinner+2026.png Menus https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5b341645e17ba32545bf6792/ccd336fb-5a21-43e4-95f8-f17174cc8e90/Bizou+Brunch.png Menus https://www.bizoudowntown.com/reservations-info daily 0.75 2025-10-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5b341645e17ba32545bf6792/1530160998881-M64NPGZYG1MLMSJK83ZU/233DF6C6-822C-4A11-B028-AFFA92626B82.jpg Reservations & Information https://www.bizoudowntown.com/press daily 0.75 2025-07-08 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5b341645e17ba32545bf6792/1583342404410-QEGHN3YIRCZO4E4PML2V/8613D9EA-7A0A-44F1-9771-1C40A8F7F6AE.jpeg Press https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5b341645e17ba32545bf6792/1583352124006-DG3TY3WZNBPSRH574X9Q/05_o7a7449.jpg Press https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5b341645e17ba32545bf6792/1583343165008-K4CQ0WFKQ8IWOV0H91BF/bizou.jpg Press - Why Bizou? Why Bizou? In March 1991, in a small space on a then-desolate downtown mall, two young chefs, one from France and one from West Virginia, opened a restaurant that would shape Charlottesville dining for decades. The French chef was Vincent Derquenne, the West Virginian Tim Burgess, and their restaurant was called Metropolitain. In 1995, it moved to a larger space on Water Street before closing in 2002. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5b341645e17ba32545bf6792/1583344512652-43KH720PMT2N2PDKV7F1/banana.jpg Press - Grilled Banana Bread at Bizou “I have attempted to recreate this at home to no avail. Bizou does it best.” Grilled Banana Bread at Bizou “I have attempted to recreate this at home to no avail. Bizou does it best.” https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5b341645e17ba32545bf6792/1583347819583-OU6U2HPAJSGYF3JYL7VS/DEBA56B1-4776-4591-9D66-A7962FD3CD8A_8_10.jpg Press - Meatloaf for Four, for a Year Meatloaf for Four, for a Year In Bizou’s early days, it ran a “Sorry, Mom” ad campaign, as in “Sorry, Mom, we’re going to Bizou tonight.” Win the Bizou auction, and you will be apologizing to mom all year long for choosing Bizou over her cooking. Anytime you want, you may walk into Bizou and pick up a meal-to-go featuring one of Charlottesville’s signature dishes: Bizou’s “Classic Meatloaf.” https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5b341645e17ba32545bf6792/1583349061212-ZQKY9X3STET8MFFKUBVT/Bizou_JacksonSmith1-660x335.jpg Press - “It’s crazy and cozy at the same time” I recently returned to the same booth where I enjoyed those rabbit quesadillas more than 20 years ago. The place looks much the same—diner-like décor with salvaged jukeboxes in each booth. “It’s not brand new and shiny,” says Derquenne. “It’s crazy and cozy at the same time. I think sometimes that’s what we want.” https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5b341645e17ba32545bf6792/1583351720279-97I012L9KAG348KB2ZBH/Catoctin_Breeze.SPREAD-2-994x617_1_50.jpg Press - “civilians love Bizou” Once at Charlottesville’s downtown Amtrak station, you won’t need a car. The Draftsman, a sleek boutique hotel, is a ten-minute walk (from $158). Or, for some Southern pampering, the Inn at 400 West High is five minutes farther (from $210), just off the pedestrian mall at the heart of Charlottesville life. With dozens of locally owned shops and eateries, the mall is always bustling. For dinner, civilians love Bizou, an old-style French cafe featuring framed movie posters, zinc-topped tables, and a comfort-food menu with creative twists. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5b341645e17ba32545bf6792/1583351017528-1UUDPSBR8AAE3IXK7XM0/imrs_50.jpg Press - Cà ed Balos Dolcetto d'Alba 2016 Cà ed Balos Dolcetto d'Alba 2016 Piedmont, Italy, $20 I found this wine entrancing from the first sip. The color is deep ruby, the aromas burst with ripe flavors of dark cherries, plums and maybe a hint of citrus peel. And the flavors would not quit. Stock up and keep this on hand for those nights when pasta, pizza and abbondanza are on the menu. But hurry: Only 150 cases were produced. Hopefully some of them will show up in more stores soon. Alcohol by volume: 13 percent. Distributed by Simon N Cellars: Available in the District at A. Litteri, MacArthur Beverages; on the list at Bibiana, Lupo Verde. Available in Virginia at the Italian Store in Arlington, Leesburg Vintner in Leesburg, Tastings of Charlottesville and Wine Warehouse in Charlottesville; on the list at Bizou in Charlottesville. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5b341645e17ba32545bf6792/1583349497261-EYL8N1658ZKBFMHO5ZX6/ri-venditti-9143-660x335.jpg Press In Charlottesville, Bizou owners Vincent Derquenne and Tim Burgess pioneered a push toward local, high-quality ingredients with Metropolitain restaurant (now Bizou) on the Downtown Mall. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5b341645e17ba32545bf6792/1583349996037-CD28U2B4IT7X514481MY/MG_0464-660x335.jpg Press You can’t go wrong with the age-old combination of tomatoes and mozzarella. But you can go even more right when you combine housemade mozz with local heirloom tomatoes at the height of freshness. And that’s just what you get with Bizou’s caprese salad special: a bed of baby arugula topped with creamy cheese and slices of heirloom varieties like Mr. Stripeys, fresh basil, oil and a balsamic reduction. “We change it up a few times during the season,” Bizou chef Brett Venditti says. “We might use garlic olive oil, sometimes a basil oil, or do a burrata.” https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5b341645e17ba32545bf6792/1583350341488-CZLLV3TB9TGL9Y6O8E0O/07__o7a7505_2_50.jpg Press Just over two years later, Burgess and Derquenne (then 25 and 23 respectively) were itching to open a restaurant together. With little money to bankroll the effort, the options were limited. A dive on the Downtown Mall called Fat City Diner was one of the few sites they could actually afford, in part because it was near the site of a recent murder. “Dead and scary,” is how Burgess described the Mall at that time. https://www.c-ville.com/the-pioneers-tim-burgess-and-vincent-derquenne-food-drink-annual-2013/ https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5b341645e17ba32545bf6792/1583351296351-C68PCAE2G0ROLNUTTVRX/JY3BV5RSTYI6RNV5ACCKCZTJQ4_2_38.jpg Press - Chateau Moulinat 2015/2016 Chateau Moulinat 2015/2016 Bordeaux, France, $16 Textbook Bordeaux, offering the traditional “pencil” graphite aromas over scents of plum, cherry and blackcurrant. And the wine kept getting better over a few days, suggesting it will last for several years in your cellar, and will reward decanting if you can’t wait. Sustainably farmed, it is packaged in a traditional wooden box for a case. Since I wrote this up in April, the wine has moved to the 2016 vintage and the price has gone up a bit. That shouldn’t deter you from trying it. ABV: 13 percent. Imported and distributed by Le Storie: Available in the District at Ace Beverage, DCanter. Available in Virginia at Arrowine and Cheese in Arlington, Chain Bridge Cellars in McLean, Corks & Kegs, J. Emerson Fine Wines & Cheese, Once Upon a Vine (both locations) and Union Market in Richmond, Department of Beer and Wine and Grape + Bean (Old Town, Rosemont) in Alexandria, Tastings of Charlottesville and Wine Warehouse in Charlottesville, Vino Market in Midlothian; on the list at Alley Light and Bizou in Charlottesville, Can Can Brasserie, Cask Cafe, Saison and Rowland in Richmond. https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/food/the-12-best-bargain-wines-of-2018-cost-as-little-as-9-what-are-you-waiting-for/2018/12/27/93d963d0-0794-11e9-a3f0-71c95106d96a_story.html?arc404=true https://www.bizoudowntown.com/graduationweekend daily 0.75 2026-03-05 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5b341645e17ba32545bf6792/d5e9ea09-0934-4e25-9c5c-7f3963ee08d3/Bizou+Graduation+2026.png Graduation Weekend - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.bizoudowntown.com/restaurant-week daily 0.75 2026-01-23 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5b341645e17ba32545bf6792/be060128-7a61-4450-9720-3a530c3f6a54/Winter+2026+Restaurant+Week+Menu.png Restaurant Week - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.