Payard Patisserie & Bistro keeps dining intimate

Payard, which opened one year ago this week, offers an intimate French bistrolike vibe in which, executive chef Gregory Gourreau explains, a “twist of French and American” is the rule.

It works out well, he adds, since, among the bistro’s patrons, interest in each cuisine is about split in half.

Take the continental breakfast buffet, served from 6:30 to 11:30 a.m. ($22), which features fresh yogurt, assorted cereals, bagels with all of the classic deli trimmings, and an assortment of croissants and other breakfast pastries.

For Gourreau, it’s less about geographical borders than treating foods with “respect.” In fact, the same could be said of the patrons who visit the bistro.

“I want to try to be like a bistro. I don’t want to be overpriced,” Gourreau says.

“I want people to be happy and come back. Like, most of the time, people stay for the weekend — Friday, Saturday and Sunday — and I see them every time for breakfast and lunch.”

Of course, it’s also no surprise that any restaurant created by award-winning pastry chef Francois Payard — Gourreau worked with him in New York and, in Las Vegas, worked for Alain Ducasse — would offer a generous selection of eclairs, tarts, napoleons. Such offerings, as well as chocolates, can be purchased for either immediate noshing or as elements of gift packages.

Payard Patisserie & Bistro seats 40, and reservations are not required. The bistro is open from 6:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., and the shop is open from 6:30 a.m. to 11 p.m.

Breakfast and egg dishes: Brioche French toast with fresh berries and whipped cream, $14; Payard chocolate waffle, $14; eggs Benedict, $18; broccoli-cheese quiche with baked tomato, $15

Soups and salads: Soup of the day, $8; shrimp salad, $19; Nicoise salad, $18

Entrees: Black Angus beef burger, $18; braised short ribs, $26; classic croque monsieur, $16

Desserts and pastries: Pont Neuf, $8; raspberry napoleon, $7; pistachio eclair, $7

Information: 731-7292

By JOHN PRZYBYS