As its name suggests, Bistrot Dumas serves traditional French food. So traditional you can practically predict the menu; there shall be foie gras and snails and saucisson and frog legs and beef tartare and entrecote. Situated in the neighbourhood of Champel, it might be a little bit out of the way for some. To be frank, we live in the area but I’m not sure Mr. A and I would be returning anytime soon.

Not that we had a terrible evening. The food was hearty, the servings generous and service was friendly and as efficient as it could be with only one person covering all the tables. But I chose to not stay for dessert. I don’t think I’ve ever had dinner in a restaurant and not ordered dessert when desserts were available.

I’m not even exactly sure what went wrong. All the ingredients for discovering a fantastic local institutions that only locals knew about (and did not want to let you in on the secret) were in place. There was an extensive wine list. The menu was riddled with personal favourites. There were at least a dozen options on the dessert menu – more than both the list of entrees and mains. And it’s a really cute restaurant.

But there were faults in the cookery and the flavours were not memorable. And it was by no means a cheap meal: 2 entrees, 2 mains and a bottle of average-priced wine came to CHF 175.

The amuse bouche, a vegetarian spring roll in “Thai sauce” (i.e. sweet chilli), was dry. For entree, I had the bone marrow, which was unfortunately under-seasoned. Aside from putting them in the oven, the only effort required with bone marrow is adding the salt and it seemed a bit inexcusable when no care was taken with this one step.

The main of veal sweetbreads, traditionally a favourite (alongside bone marrow), were really tough and not at all its creamy self. It was served with a mustard sauce, seasonal vegetables and spinach. Decent but uninspired. The chef came out with potatoes dauphinoise as a side dish to my main – the highlight of the evening! It was as yum as you would expect potatoes with loads of melted cheese and butter and cream (and did I mention melted cheese?), would be. Overall disappointing.

Mr. A had better luck. The eggs “a la Francaise” with fresh black truffle shavings looked and tasted appetising. And the fillet de boeuf was well cooked, although again served with an average sauce and your standard three vege. It did come with a morsel of goodness in the form of a fried foei gras ball, which was reportedly delicious and consumed in one swift mouthful, somewhat strategically I think on Mr. A’s part.

Some other small things did not help. The restaurant prides itself in its wine cellar and the first wine we requested was not available. We asked for tap water and got a bottle of (already-opened) San Pellegrino. For reasons unknown, I felt a bit nauseous at the end of the meal and thus the decision to not stay for dessert.

Bistro Dumas seemed to be a popular establishment though, and will give them the benefit of the doubt and put this experience down as our own fault for making the wrong menu choices. But even in Champel there is more creative and satisfying fare to be had and it might take some time before I am willing to test that theory and give it a second chance.