During our July 2023 trip to Jackson, Wyoming, we were walking around the town square when we noticed people having drinks on a rooftop. We couldn't quite figure out where the entrance was to get up there, but eventually learned it was the top floor of The Cloudveil Hotel.
When we planned our return trip for October, we were hoping to finally experience the roof deck, but they were already closed for the season. Instead, we decided to dine at the hotel's restaurant, The Bistro.
We arrived around 7:15pm and were greeted by a bubbly hostess. She walked us to a high top table in the bar area. The entire restaurant was packed. It reminded me of Eastern Standard in Boston, where both the bar and dining room areas are always bustling and energetic, and where you can hear the clinking of glassware all around you.
We began with drinks, each ordering the rosé French 75. It was a lovely cocktail. It was crisp, and not overly flowery or sweet.
While we perused the menu, our server delivered us a basket with slices of French baguette and butter to accompany it. Normally I skip the bread at restaurants, but in French restaurants, it's extremely hard to resist.
I was delighted to discover that The Bistro had several excellent vegetarian options on the menu, alongside classic French dishes like mussels, steak and foie gras.
For appetizers, we decided to share the chickpea fries with Greek yogurt and chili oil. They came in a very impressive vertical presentation.
All of the yogurt and chili oil was on the very bottom of the plate, so we had to disassembe the tower of fries in order to dip each one individually. My dinner date said, "The plating was beautiful, but pretty impractical for actually enjoying the dish."
In the entree round, my bestie ordered the portobello mushrooms and I went with the ricotta "pillows."
The mushrooms came with ratatouille, basil pistou, romesco sauce, and goat cheese crumbs. We were both expecting a ratatouille presentation like in the famous animated movie (thinly sliced into a round pie plate), but these veggies were diced on top of the mushrooms.
She described, "The flavors are fantastic. The sauce was excellent. I was pleasanty surprised they served whole mushrooms, and that the portion was so generous overall."
The gnocchi was tossed in arugula pesto with fresh corn, fava beans, baby tomatoes, ricotta salata, and shaved fennel.
The pesto was fresh and delicious. The combination of vegetables worked so well together. I thought this was an ideal portion size.
As we always try to do, we saved room for dessert. We selected the chocolate bread pudding which came with a giant scoop of vanilla bean ice cream on top.
We both felt it should have had a crispier top layer. It felt a bit too mushy. It also could have used a caramel drizzle on top.
My favorite part of dining at The Bistro was that is attracts every kind of person and group. Next to us were three friends who looked like they had just finished a hike. Behind us was a table of eight digging into a huge feast. Two couples sat down next to us - one local and one visiting them from out of town. While the restaurant may seem fancy when you look it up online, they truly welcome anyone seeking a great meal.
Before we left, we popped into the ladies room, which had a mirror that was simply begging for a selfie.
If you're thinking about planning a trip to Jackson, The Cloudveil should be one of your stops. The hotel is located at 112 Center Street, Jackson, Wyoming 83001.
