Ciel Plaza Bar & Grill

Ciel Plaza Bar and Grill is the latest concept for the later known Caio 2 and Ciel by Damien Vatel. Located above the Green Lantern, off of the winding Stone Oak Parkway and between numerous higher end apartment homes, Ciel Plaza feels both resort like and comfortable. An oasis of sorts. The space is still somewhat bare on the inside but boasts a few pool tables and a dart board. Sporadic local, colorful artwork catches your eye along with a long, inviting and well stocked bar located towards the back. On the warm Friday evening, the first of which CP was open for business, we walked past the bar and out the already ajar large glass door to a patio decorated with large palm trees in cherry wood planters and solid blue, yellow and orange patio chairs. In the right seat, one can see through the trees clear to the highest point in Stone Oak.
Our service was shaky at first, there were only 3 – 4 other tables and at least two other waiters plus a water/​bus boy yet we had the bar manager himself greet us after quite a few minutes. He informed us that our waiter would be by soon but he ended up waiting on us the entire evening. This required him to split his time between our table, the bar and later another table that he took over.
We started immediately with a Pizza Quattro, see the photo and note the heavenly goat cheese centered in the middle. The flavor of the pizza was awesome and we especially loved the fresh diced tomatoes, however, it could have used more time in the oven as it was slightly undercooked in the middle.
Later in the evening, after the wine set in and the pleasantries of the pizza wore off, we ordered another dish to split — this one was not on the menu. House made papardelle pasta with roasted vegetables including squash, mushrooms, peas, tomatoes and zucchini with a cream sauce. This was a real winner. The portion of the pasta is not large, but is really just enough with the hefty serving of filling, crispy and well seasoned veggies. I fully recommend that any pasta dish you order here that you specify one of the home made pastas. As mentioned, the served size is a bit smaller than dry pasta, but give up portion for taste and quality.
We finished with the dessert special, a chocolate tart with fresh raspberries and a sweet raspberry sauce. A perfect closer. The menu is very affordable, with only a handful of items reaching over the $ 12 range and most falling around $ 9 – 10.
Overall, we had a nice time. The patio is very pleasant, but we did have a gnat problem specifically with those suckers flying into our wine — both the glasses and the bottle. I would encourage the staff to find a solution to that problem. I would also encourage for a ‘non-​smoking’ policy on the patio as other, nearby restaurants have already implemented.

I have followed (and eaten) at the expansions, concepts and menus in the Olmos park empire of Damien Watel. I even tried «Frite» (but that’s another review). Overall I have been a rabid fan and have had many a meal that was well executed and served. So I was pretty excited to go to his new «northside» outpost. After the dissapointments at the northside Paesanos and Silo, I hoped for a real clean transplant!
All is not well — - the Northside glitz monster strikes again!
First– the location is very very difficult– access is past Evans road off 281; or all the way down Stone Oak Parkway. either one is traffic Hell. Maybe for peopke that live nearby its not so bad, but holy mamma! it took me 40 minutes from I-​10 and Leon Springs!
Second– the location location is new, sterile construction/​modern/​cold/​antithesis of local/​and a wierdly buried «V» shape. It has its upscale operating room charm, but this is the rich, pretentious cousin of the original… the best part is the red stained concrete floor and a nice stone wall– the «ciel» skylight was replaced with standard insulated black painted commercial roofing…
Oh– the parking lot is laid out so that car’s headlights blast you while you are eating! I never knew what a deer felt like before!
As to the food– it was a nicely written menu, some bistro fare, some high end neo-​french. i was optimistic
individual reviews–
**bread– what was served never met a baguette– needs to, room temp.
**escargots– more garlic butter needed, crumb toppping was nice– why doesn’t anyone serve them in shells anymore?
**sauteed foi gras– ridiculously small portions (wholesale cost for a 1.5 pound lobe is about $ 50 – 70.00 and the serving was about 1.5 ounces… menu price over $ 20.00– no port wine or sautern based sauce
** salmon– asked for it cooked through as it is normally cooked «medium rare» ok but really uninspired– My two kids said it was bland
**duck confit with white beans– shades of a classic causolet! I was excited. The confit was a roasted thigh that had never been cooked in fat, and the white beans were, well, white beans. The flavor and symphony of casoulet not there.
SERVICE– HORRIBLE! very slow (and there were 6 occupied tables)
the waiter was like a John Cleese character– strange comments, lapses in serving, empty water glasses, empty bread baskets, had to ask for the bill twice– I think his previous gig was at a national casual dining chain… and touching the customers (I personally don’t want to know their names and was horrified when he pointedly insisted my wife and I shake hands with him)
maybe it will get better in time, but I will make the drive to Olmos Park next time–