bob Nov 14,2009

I would never go back. The food was not to my taste at all, although the service was good. Value for money? Not in my books.

LovesToEat Sep 16,2006

You're not alone with getting bad service at the Beer Bistro. I took a friend out for her b-day back in March. The dining room wasn't that busy, maybe only 1/2 full. The server (it was a male) just gave us attitude all night...from delivering us the menu to rolling his eyes at us when we ordered! I didn't think there was anything particularly offensive about our order...she had the pizza, I had the steak frites. I was a bit mortified since it was my idea to go there for dinner and it was her b-day and she was getting such horrible service. Haven't been back since. Definitely won't recommend it to others.

ognir Sep 15,2006

I'll just emphasize the the night I was there our waiter was excellent. Very friendly and he didn't bat an eye when we sent food back. (Something I almost never do.) He appeared very concerned and wanted to make sure we had food we liked.

I just think some of their menu ideas are wonky, starting with the fact that everything must have beer in it.

camp1980 Sep 14,2006

My boyfriend and I went for dinner at 6:30. The menu looks great with many very tempting items. Due to all the great things people say about the frites both of us decided to have the Steak and Frites. Neither of us were straving so we didn't bother with apps.

Then after ordering our steak we sat there for over an hour. The server showed up once in that hour to ask if I wanted more pop, completely ignoring my boyfriend to see if he wanted more beer. After over an hour we had the chef show up at our table to explain that there had been a mistake and our order had been lost and was never cooked. From that point on the chef served us for the rest of the evening. Bringing over two free apps, the smoked kobe beef taco's and bbq pulled pork pizza. The taco's were ok. The pizza I found to be great. The blending of flavours was amazing and I loved the smoked flavour that came through.

The chef also brought over a beer for my BF and I to try. I informed the chef that I don't drink beer, so he asked if I would try a strawberry beer. This beer was the highlight of my evening. I have finally found a beer that I like. I am sure it is a beer that most beer drinkers would turn their nose up at but I loved the sweet taste.

Are steaks were cooked perfect and yes the fries are wonderful. I loved the homemade smoked ketchup and I generally don't eat ketchup. Then for desert the chef brought us each a dessert platter. I don't know what all was on the plate but I know they were all great with my favorite being the sorbet made out of the beer that I was drinking.

In the end we were at the restaurant for 3 hours and ended up with an amazing meal all served by the chef which was a great touch. I would go back in a second.

allen Aug 29,2006

I too will have to swim against the tide.

I went, late one Friday night to Beer Bistro. We had the:

- Lobster Quesadilla
- Smoked Rainbow Trout Salad
- Pan Roasted Chicken
- Cherry Duck Breast

We actually wanted to try the monkfish, but were informed that "they were out".

The trout itself in the salad was excellent - just right in my opinion. However, they'd put far too much dressing (creamy) on the greens. I remember being surprised because the menu didn't mention a dressing at all. Unfortunately it collected at the bottom and overwhlemed the rest of the ingredients.

The chicken was slightly overdone and more dry and...stringy, I guess...than I would have liked. Frankly I don't remember it being a standout. I'd pass.

The duck was a major disappointment. It was far too tough. I liked the caramelized onions and mushrooms however - those were great! Sad, because if the duck wasn't overdone...

Anyways, I was disappointed with the food. The service however, was excellent. Our server was friendly and attentive without being "in your face".

Maybe it was a fluke?

bogie Aug 29,2006

I have to give a dissenting opinion. In my visits to BeerBistro, the food has been average at best and at times downright awful.

I once had a baked mussels dish that was so bad I don't even want to discuss it. The anchiote chicken and duck pizza that I had on my last visit were OK, but nothing noteworthy about them.

The best thing about this place is the frites and beers, that's all I will eat there unless they improve their kitchen. I haven't been since February, so maybe that has happened already.

Oh, the beer ice cream was excellent, though!

jen2202 Aug 26,2006

Beer Bistro was fantastic! the service was great and suggestive, not pushy for those in my party not sure what type of beer to try. I had the lamb, it was wonderful, 2 in my party had steak, they raved about it. even the homemade ketchup was fab! i would say a must try if u have not been there, ill be back.

spaghetti Aug 18,2006

Beer bistro was more fun to drink at than eat. Everything I ordered was mediocre, but other family members had more luck. The beer tasting menu was great though and I even tried my first actual Beer Float with coffee flavored beer and heath bar ice cream- definitely better than the garlic ice cream I had in Gilroy!

pinstripeprince Aug 18,2006

really glad you enjoyed beerbistro, it's one of the more solid quality restaurants downtown. i don't find it blows anyone away in terms of innovation or anything else but it's a great casual and enjoyable place.

the lobster quesadilla, has never gotten fantastic reviews. it sounds tempting but they don't seem to pull it off quite right. i actually think i had it and the lobster was a bit lacky, stringy and flavourless. everything else though, especially those frites, are wonderful. they sometimes have these applewood smoked ribs that go over incredibly well.

oh and was anyone tempted by their blueberry beer? they pipe in blueberries while pouring and so you get this interesting muddled berry effect. the beer is ok itself, but those berries are great... especially when the sorbet/ice cream is made with it.

susancinsf Aug 17,2006

I was here at the AIDS Conference. We ended up staying till almost midnight, talking and bonding, and all of us, from the SF bay area, loved it and agreed that we'd love to see something similar back at home in San Francisco!

frites: these were the best frites I've had in years. Perfectly done, Belgian style, or perhaps just a bit thinner than Belgian style. Actually, to my taste they were perfect! Even though I ate more than my share, one serving was enough for the table (portions of every dish were quite generous)

Brussel mussles: several of us had these, in a spicy tomato beer sauce with fennel and sausage: excellent!

gazpacho: this was cucumber based with yogurt, and not of the rough texture the person who ordered it expected (it was blended and creamy), and delicious...

steak tartare; a treat;

bistro salad: huge portion, well-dressed;

the heirloom tomato salad: fresh, delicious ingredients.

Monkfish: tasty, but the fish was slightly overcooked.

lobster quesadillas: I didn't try these, and didn't hear any raves...

and finally, we shared the chef's dessert selection platter, which included wonderful flourless chocolate cake, cheesecake and house-made ice-cream, all made with beer, all worth fighting over, and surrounded by beautiful, flavorful pieces of stone fruit and berries.

as if all that wasn't enough, the beer list! I've been a bit shocked, or more than a bit shocked, at wine prices in Canada (wines that would be $8 or $9 US in my local grocery in San Francisco were about $50 Canadian at BeerBistro, and then there are your taxes!), so what a joy to see such a huge, thoughtful beer selection at such reasonable prices (given quality and the location). Deliriums Tremens (this is a Belgian beer in case anyone thinks it was my condition) YUM!!!.

Total with a couple of beers each and plenty of food, including tax and tip, was about $55 per person. Well worth it for cooking of this quality. and of course, everyone thanked me for finding the place, just a short trolly ride down King from the area where we were staying! (btw, your transit system is great; at midnight the trolly came right away and was safe and clean. count your blessings!).