This is an updated review.
I had been to this place about a week beforehand and met a friend for happy hour. That was a pleasant experience so I decided to return for dinner to get the full experience and enable me to write a useful review.
My friend and I met there on Monday of Restaurant Week. I arrived early so I sat at the bar and chatted with Rianne (sp). She was very friendly and pleasant. I asked for bleu cheese stuffed olives for my drink but she indicated that only pimento ones were available. After a few minutes she said that she would stuff some for me if I would like. I've met very few bartenders willing to do that. She gets 5 stars for that!
My friend arrived and we decided to dine on the patio overlooking the lake. Very romantic and peaceful.
We were told that only the Restaurant Week menu was available, but neither of thought was an issue. She ordered the escargots and I ordered the pate for our appetizers. That's when the disappointment began.
The escargot were served sans shells but they were ok, lacking in presentation. The pate was a tremendous disappointment. It was served in a very small ramekin coated by a thick layer of duck fat. Both my friend (she's European) and I are used to pate served in slices.
We both ordered sea bass in puff pastry with saffron sauce as our entrees. The pastry was very pale and the sauce and fish were absolutely tasteless. The entree was served with approximately a quarter cup of extremely unappetizing (in appearance and taste) ratattouille. The desserts were equally uninspired.
My friend complained about the quality of our dinners and we were told that ours was the only complaint that had been made. The manager did make an adjustment to the bill.
I came to Bistro with high hopes for this fairly new restaurant but I left greatly disappointed. After reviewing the prior reviews I'm afraid my experience was not the exception.
The friendly, accommodating bartender, the nice patio, the charcuterie are the only positives I can find. I honestly hope the operators of Bistro can make it work.