The muscles on your face that give you the ability to smile — les zygomates, as the French call them — get a good workout at this Leather District restaurant of the same name thanks to its wine list of more than 200 bottles. And it's not just the obvious effects of the wine that make you grin. It isn't even the good French food, live jazz, and laid-back downown atmosphere. It's the way the accessible, affordable wine list makes it easy to indulge in a bottle or two of your favorites. The lusty and juicy reds, crisp whites, and bubbly sparkling wines are available by the glass or in two-ounce tasting flights, and it will cost you only 20 bucks a pop for full bottles of Helderberg, Steen from South Africa, Chateau de lavernette, Beaujolais-Villages from Burgundy, and Colosi from Sicily. Which is worth smiling about.

— Boston Magazine (August 2003)

"There is plenty to smile about here. The combination of casual atmosphere, culturally correct cuisine, convivial crowd, and commitment to wine suggests that this restaurant of the week has legs to grow beyond trendiness and improve with age."

- Boston Magazine

"The felicitous atmosphere of a genuine Paris bistro with the authentic menu to match...Chef Ian Just, whose background includes a stint at Maison Robert, brings the essence of a true bistro to Les Zygomates with dishes that are wholesome and uncomplicated, yet interesting and appealing."

- The Boston Herald

"Les Zygomates seems to hit both food and wine just right. The zinc bar is inviting, and along with the window overlooking South Street, small tables feel intimate."

- Sheryl Julian, The Boston Globe

"Les Zygomates combines the charm and cuisine of a French bistro with an extraordinary wine selection."

- The Improper Bostonian

"The bistro that has everyone talking..."

- Boston Magazine

"You could be sitting in Paris from the feel of the place--very cool in the front café filled with black-garbed artsy types and casually warm in the back dining area."

- Alison Arnett, The Boston Globe

"The menu changes seasonally and two off-menu specials are usually offered nightly. If you're lucky, they may again be serving some of the delights we ate on three visits. For example, lobster bisque was the best I've eaten in recent years, with the taste of the sea from the lobster hulls, enough chunks of lobster meat, and sophisticated control of the thickener."

- Beacon Hill Paper

"Les Zygomates is a great combination of comfortable food, a bustling atmosphere, great choices of wines by the glass, and evening entertainment."

- Newbury Street Guide

"It's true. Les Zygomates is named for the muscles around the mouth that enable you to smile. More than the name of this bistro and wine bar makes me happy. Les Zygomates is real French cuisine...The crowd is fashionable, but not glitzy--making it a nice place late at night."

- Renee Becker, The Boston Phoenix

"This restaurant is striking because it's so different from others in Boston, in the most subtle sort of way. In a sea of robust Mediterranean food and bold color schemes, Les Zygomates is a graphic designer's dream of quiet white, black, and gray with the red banquettes for accent."

- Alison Arnett, The Boston Globe

"How marvelous to eat, drink, and be merry and learn something — all at the same time."

- Boston Magazine