Here after an Easter Sunday family memorial up at VMI, reservations were made previously by another family member and we were seated immediately when we arrived. They were out of the soups that day, so I didn't get to enjoy my normal light lunch of soup/salad, so me and my best friend decided to just go for the salad alone. The prices are on par for a little niche place like this, but I wasn't really thrilled by the selections. The staff there was very friendly and attentive, and overall it would have been a little better if I could have sampled some of the items there given the time. If I do make it back up there, I will definitely return to try again. read more

We were passing through Lexington visiting in the area. We went for a "earlier" dinner and when we arrived we were immediately seated. The place was cute and had a friendly neighbor vibe. We ordered the shrimp and grits and almond crusted chicken salad. Both were good - nice sized portions. The almond crusted chicken breast was delicious on a bed of greens that looked just out of the bag. The shrimp and grits were most tasty. I'm used to the grits being more solid but the shrimp were cooked perfectly! They served some amazing beer bread rolls - they were memorable! Cute place, glad we tried it! read more

I really wanted to love it. I came back twice to make sure I was giving it a fair review. But the green beans took ages to chew - felt like they'd been on the vine for weeks too long; the salmon was fishy in that cloying way that salmon can be when it's cooked with too much moisture. The following day, for lunch, the salad was fine, but nothing to write home about (they got my order - for grilled chicken on top of the salad - wrong, and delivered shrimp, which were fine but not what I wanted). Really wanted to love this place; may give it another try during my next visit. read more

I enjoy the Bistro- I have lunched here on a few occasions and it is great with friends or for a business lunch. The menu has a good selection, great location and good views of Main Street. I have come here for drinks with my girlfriends, too- and it is nice spot for that. Morty, the bartender, is great and he has helped us celebrate birthdays:) The bread pudding is delicious! read more

Food excellent. Service even better. Menu diverse enough to satisfy everyone but not so big that they can't do everything really well! Shrimp and grits, excellent (but it would be okay to add some bacon), duck-- excellent, strip steak excellent, trout--excellent and bistro sals yummy with pears, nuts, cheese and and poppy seed dressing. French Chardonnay also very good. Soooo accommodating. So good went there for dinner two night in a row. read more

After dropping our three kids off with my parents, my wife and I hit up the Bistro on Main for a "just the two of us!" dinner out. Maybe it was the sweet taste of freedom or maybe it was the house Cabernet - but everything was pretty darn good. My wife had salmon with sweet potato and spinach. Fuji apple chutney on the salmon provided some appley goodness to the well-prepared fish. The sweet potatoes were pleasantly creamy and with just enough seasoning to let the natural flavors shine through in a pleasing way. The spinach neither added nor detracted from the dish. I had the chicken scallopini, which was okay. It could have used a touch of salt on the chicken itself (I'm being picky here) and some capers might have helped bring out that tangyness I was missing. I was glad the chef didn't skimp on the prosciutto, though. The pasta was cooked nicely. For dessert, we split the mousse, which was overall tasty - white chocolate and dark chocolate mousses served parfait style with homemade whipped cream and strawberry slices. The dark chocolate had a strange plastic aftertaste both my wife and I noticed, but it was by no means inedible. We still finished the whole thing. Overall, Bistro on Main offered a tasty dinner and is worth a second look the next time we are nearby (and sans kiddos.) read more

Have tried several dishes, all of them are great! Crab cake, filet sandwich, salad, quesadilla, pro boys, everything I tried are perfect and fresh! read more

Great experience. I ordered a steak, but it was a terrible cut of meat, I mentioned to the owner and she replaced my steak with the grilled salmon. It wasn't her fault the the NY Strip was bad. My wife had shrimp and grits. We really enjoyed the meal. read more

Traveling to Maine and was looking for takeout to bring back to hotel. What a great choice we made. Ordered the salad with pear and goat cheese and poppy seed dressing delicious. Wife had the gumbo and I the shrimp and grits. Both excellent. Definitely a restaurant to return to. The staff managing the takeout/pickup was great. thank you all read more

Wow what a nice place in the fall, I was in Lexington on business for 3 days and let yelp guide my dinning and entertainment. I started here having lunch, there were in party. I had the Beef Filet Sandwich, It was great "Top Quality Beef" it was medium rare. Guest 2 had The Crab Cake Sandwich, she made the mistake of letting the rest of have a taste. Well as kind that was she had to wait for a second sandwich between the 4 of us we demolished her sandwich. OMG it was so tasty and a must have, we also placed a extra order for 2 orders of the Crab cakes. Guest 3 had The Grilled Chicken Caesar Wrap, she stated that it was very well seasoned grilled chicken and cleaned he She read more

We came in town for a national horse show at the Horse center. Went downtown and ended up eating at this bistro twice! We absolutely loved it! The summer salad with grilled chicken was my favorite! The cheese plates were to die for, The crème brûlée was amazing, The artichoke linguine with cream sauce was amazing! Great waitresses, great atmosphere! read more

We had such a good experience here. We ordered the beet gnocchi (delicious!) and the spring rolls (good) for an appetizer. The special was scallop pad Thai and is was really good. Lots of scallop and cooked to perfection. The beer (hefeweissen) and wine (Elouan Pinot Noir) were great and the servers were so nice and helpful. The owner was very pleasant and accommodating. read more

Great meal and service this evening ... nicely composed menu and beautifully presented entrees ... Shrimp and grits - full of flavor (and good size portion!), sea bass "special" w/risotto and pineapple salsa, salmon w/sweet potato mash and sautéed spinach and my Bibb Lettuce-Scallops version of Cobb Salad ... all four of us were pleasantly satiated. Waiter and helpers kept water glasses full. Bistro's Beer bread - 'always a treat! Friends from out of town are now also fans! Kudos to Jackie and her team! read more

My husband and I recently visited this establishment . We were staying at The Georges which was directly across from this cafe. We wanted to have a glass of wine as well as look at their menu for a future reservation. We were met by a very judgmental hostess perhaps the owner. She asked if we had masks first before serving us. We had no issue with wearing a mask but thought it was interesting that no other patrons that we saw were wearing one. We were 12 feet away from the closest customer. We put on our masks. However we were somewhat confused. by how we were going to drink wine. She, the hostess, then asked us if we were local and started to talk about her Governor. I believe, but not certain, that she was going to tell us about his stance on masks which once again we had no problem wearing. By this time, we felt she did not want our business and left. Such an odd experience. Perhaps she's affiliated with The Red Hen. We certainly felt that she was judging us.We would never recommend this establishment to anyone. Ruined our lovely evening. read more

Oh man! This was GOOD GOOD! From NJ and staged overnight at Hampton Inn Lexington to pick up my daughter from Sweet Briar College the following morning. Walked the street with my other daughter (14) at dinner time looking at the menus posted outside the doors and this one stuck out. She had the salmon. I had the gumbo and a lager. They brought out bread. All of above was killer, I mean 10 out of 10. Portions were modest, perfect for us. Would definitely recommend this place to a friend or a stranger. Also man behind the bar, must have been the owner(?) greeted us warmly upon arrival and exit. So warmly it gave me the impression he may be the owner. And our waitress was simply devine. The perfect end to a long day in the car. read more

Very nice atmosphere, very professional servers and hostesses. I wanted like shrimp alfredo and even though they didnt have it on the menu, they were very accommodating and the meal turned put delicious! It is worth the price, definitely check it out for a nicer dinner option! read more

I've never had a meal here that wasn't delicious. And lunch is surprisingly quick and inexpensive for such a nice restaurant.

Fantastic restaurant. My son and I each had strip steak and they nailed it. My wife had the salmon; she loved it. We also had an appetizer- warmed brie cheese, it was delish! Great service, all good! read more

Great location, easy to find parking and walk. Interesting atmosphere...seemed like a fancy place when we walked in but they welcomed us in our T-shirt's and shorts. Accommodated the kids with a great pizza. Had the butternut squash ravioli which was remarkable. Beer bread was also delicious. Friendly staff! Even hear them sharing some gluten and dairy free options with other guests. read more

Not sure who this certain lady was (she seemed to be the manager -she had very short blonde hair, tall, and seemed to be ard 50 yrs old), but this woman was very rude. We were asked to hurry and order bc it was abt to get busy. Ummmm.... it was a group of 10 or so... we had just bought three appetizers, all a second round of drinks (which were awesome which is why I almost gave this place two stars - well except for one drink that had a napkin in it)... and we were all gng to order an entree.... so rude...... just wanted others to be aware to get in and get out if your gng here or you might get kicked out. read more

A cute little place with surprisingly good and dirt-cheap food. I had a piece of quiche with a bistro salad, which were both quite tasty, for only $8. One of my friends had the tilapia which came with the hugest piece of fish I'd ever seen and she really enjoyed it. I think the bill for 4 of us for lunch was just under $40. Service was very friendly as well. I imagine this is one of the nicer dining establishments in town. read more

This was our first dining experience at The Bistro. My husband and I enjoyed our dinner very much. We always share, we are small eaters. We got the baked Halibut with Jasmine rice and Bok Choy. It was delicious ! It was served on separate plates. We asked for it well done. It was superb, well done, but still moist. The wine & dessert were just as good. The Jazz music, excellent for dining. I highly recommend The Bistro on Main read more

Excellent. The food was fantastic. The owner and host were very kind. Salmon, was really good. Best of all the homemade bread was fantastic, save some room. Wonderful town. read more

This review is really a beware. We recently visited Bistro on a Friday afternoon. All their signs say open for lunch until 2:30 PM. So at 2:15 my husband and I were seated politely in the dining room. At that time there were two other tables of 4-6 people dining also several diners at bar. We were greatly politely by our wonderful waitress. We ordered appetizers and a bottle of wine. At this time my husband had to take a unexpected phone call and excused himself from the table to go outside. Approximately 10 minutes later an abrupt woman approached the table to tell me I needed to order immediately because the kitchen closed at 2. I apologized because I thought that they closed at 2:30. She stammered and said oh I meant 2:30. I knew what we wanted so I ordered both of us had their specials. Within earshot of me she spat at our waitress " that's how it's done ". Our food arrived beautifully prepared. My husband was still on the phone. Five minutes later the last patron at the bar was leaving. He asked the rude lady if he was the last one there. She said "absolutely not someone let them in " and glared at me. She then proceeded to walk into the waitress station and yell at the waitresses ( still doing side work) that never to seat people 15 minutes before lunch ends. I have never been so humiliated and embarrassed in a restaurant. It turns out this lady is an owner of the establishment. What a shame. read more

Our party of five was there for dinner on 10/18. The experience was disappointing! Food: Average but not spectacular! The spinach side dish was so salty that it burned our tongues after the first taste. Service: THE WORST THAT I HAVE EVER EXPERIENCED! 1. After being seated by the friendly hostess, we ordered our drinks. One guest ordered hot tea with lemon and honey and the waitress told her honey was not available. 2. Second guest ordered a glass of red wine. It didn't come for the longest time. We had to flag the waitress down to remind her and still, it didn't come until we had finished all of our appetizers. 3. Since we were visiting from out of town, we politely asked the waitress to take a photo for us when she was available, She claimed that she didn't have time. We then asked the hostess who happily and graciously obliged. 4. The horrible experience continued. When we asked for the bread to be refilled, the waitress told us that there was no second serving of bread. 5. Before some of us finished our entrees, we were asked if we wanted desserts and then given the check. We certainly expected better service from a restaurant of this caliber. We did observe the waitress serving other tables. She appeared to be attentive and professional. Maybe she didn't like to wait on our table because we're Asians! I only gave the experience 2 stars due to the friendly hostess. read more

Great service and food! In from out of state and this place was close by our hotel, highly recommend

Very nice food. Fun place and good service. We had burgers and a crab cake sandwich and all were good.

WOW! What a wonderful place we stumbled upon! This place deserves all 5 stars. The place was packed (VMI graduation weekend) but we were quickly greeted by the staff. We were given the option to sit at the bar or at a table - we chose the bar. They brought us out small biscuits and muffins which were served with a strawberry butter. SO good!! I ordered the Country Benedict and my boyfriend ordered the Salmon Omelet. Both were served with potatoes and fruit. The portions were just enough food for us... Not too much. The food, the atmosphere, and the staff were all great and I will definitely be going back! read more

Simply amazing. A very busy restaurant in an otherwise not overly busy town. Walking in the door, we knew this was a good sign. For an appetizer, we tried the calamari. Normally we shy away from seafood when we're not at the beach, but the recommendation from the server was so strong we had to try. For our entrees, we both ordered one of the daily special dishes, my wife got Tuna encrusted with black and white sesame seeds resting on a bed of green tea soba noodles. The sauce had a great kick of spice, with a vinegar taste. I ordered the NY Strip steak with a bleu cheese cream sauce that was simply wonderful. The steak, normally not my favorite cut, was phenomenal. Tender, melt in your mouth steak, bite after bite. It was resting on great mashed potatoes and green beans. If we're back in town, we're going back! read more

Their sweet tea was good, and the interior was nice and a little country-ish (appropriately so). Aside from that, I had the plainest taco salad ever (at the recommendation of the waitress, who said it was her favorite there). There was zero seasoning of any ingredients, and no salsa on top. Just... weird, bland, not what you'd expect from a taco salad. The service was also scattered, with different waitresses delivering food, dropping off the check, and taking payments from various tables without communicating so patrons were often left telling "their" waitress what was going on. read more

The bread is the best part of the meal. Overall, I like Bistro, but there are easy ways they could improve. A better drink selection would be nice and it would be great if they would expand their brunch hours. There aren't enough places to brunch in LExington. The waitstaff is generally very nice, but beware if you have a large group. When I went with a large group, they hurried us out of the place after only an hour and a half, claiming we had to leave because they had another large reservation. The manager was extremely rude and the server refused to split the check; an extremely simple task. However, the food is good and they have a good selection. read more

One of the best restaurant experiences I've ever had. Online we mentioned it was our anniversary when we made the reservation and BOTH the server AND the hostess mentioned it when we arrived. Service was impeccable. Food was off the hook. Highest recommendation. read more

Located in delightful "downtown" Lexington, Bistro on Main is definitely a friendly neighborhood place where you can enjoy a leisurely well-served dinner. We strongly recommend it. The opening round consisted of a light bread with a mild hint of cornbread and butter with a hint of lemon. A fine start. We moved onto excellent fried calamari. As our server promised, they were very lightly breaded and quite tasty. For the main course we both chose one of the evening specials, John Dory en Papillote. While familiar with fish (sea bass, tilapia) baked in parchment paper, we had never heard of this particular fish, a light white fish. Prepared with white wine, lemon slices and, we think, garlic, it was accompanied by yellow squash, thinly sliced redskin potatoes and asparagus. It was PERFECT! We completed our dinner by sharing a plate of chocolate ganache brownie a la mode. It was as tasty as expected but perhaps a bit on the dry side. The server was pleasant, helpful and sufficiently attentive. That is, she didn't rush us or smother us. In conclusion, we greatly enjoyed our meal and the dining experience at Bistro on Main. read more

We, a couple, had dinner at the Bistro on Main on a Wednesday evening, and the food and service were outstanding. She had baked hen breast with creamy mushroom sauce, very tasty. He had the special of the evening, paella, which was superb. For $3.00, we each added a Greek salad with the dinners, and it was a generous size and loaded with feta, olives, and red onions. For fine dining, this was a very reasonably priced dinner, a great value. Highly recommend. read more

I had a big group coming into Lexington over the weekend and it being an alumni homecoming weekend at VMI, I was worried that we wouldn't have a place for dinner Saturday. I called Bistro on Main and they had room and took my reservation. The staff was very attentive, bring us some really good bread and taking our drink orders shortly after we sat down. Everything on the menu looked good, and I had a somewhat healthy linguine dish with chicken which was very delicious. Everyone had a good time and this is probably one of the finer restaurants in Lexington. read more

Very clean, relaxing atmosphere. Excellent service & delicious food! The burger was outstanding!!

This restaurant set the bar for excellent service and food. Our waiter was very friendly and attentive during our stay. The selections on the menu were all very appetizing and we would have been happy ordering any of them for our appetizer or main course. We ended up selecting Brie for our appetizer and an order of Pecan crusted trout and chicken linguine with lemon cream sauce. We had no trouble finishing our dinner and ate every bite - very delicious meals! We highly recommend this restaurant to anyone who wants high quality food and service. read more

I went to Bistro two nights in a row and our meals were okay to good, but certainly not impressive. The first night I ordered a pecan-crusted trout that was lacking flavor (the pecans were surprisingly dull), though the mound of balsamic-sweetened rice the fish was perched on was tasty and a nice texture. The second night I ordered the Asian noodle dish with tofu--that turned out to be not what I was expecting and ultimately not my taste. The dish was soba noodles with stir fried veges (Asian so far) but served with a watery sauce that reminded much more of French style soup (using a wine and maybe an animal broth, perhaps a splash of vinegar) than any sort of Asian cuisine. The dish was overall not what I was interested in ordering and the veges were not particularly flavorful though they should be in season. The tofu was grilled like a chicken and unfortunately dry (personally, I don't think grilling tofu on an open flame is a good idea); what marinade they probably used had evaporated an gave me the impression of an artificial meat flavor. I also tried a few things from my companions' plates--particularly a risotto that was overcooked to the point of mealiness in a cheese that lacked freshness, depth, or a thick, pleasing, binding texture. I also had some pureed sweet potato that was spiced lightly with cinnamon. Not bad, especially when paired with the salmon it was served with, but not impressive either. Lastly, I tried a crab cake appetizer that I was pleased with. The crab was good quality--tender and flavorful. The creamy sauce they served it with reminded me of an aioli--though substituting cream for the egg yolk. It worked well. The beer selection was okay. They served a Three Brothers Pale Ale on tap, that was very good (I'm partial to Three Brothers) and I also had a Fullers ESB that would a pretty good pairing for many of the items on their menu. Other than those two beers, there weren't many that caught my fancy. Many mainstream beers that pass as "European" or "exotic" like Hoegaarden but are owned by InBev or somesuch conglomerate and the occasional "microbrew" Dogfish Head (60 min - which I don't care for). And there was nothing from the area that would be hard to get elsewhere--which was disappointing. I had a taste of two desserts: the first, a creme brulee, again lacked flavor (the vanilla was really too understated); but the second, a key lime pie, was very good. The lime was bright and fresh, while the crust was a wonderful texture and flavor. Overall, service was great--attentive, friendly, and accommodating. We made a reservation for four, but picked up another person after the reservation was made. The Bistro very graciously accommodated our new number--though they were obviously quite full up and it was probably actually a problem for them. I really appreciate the effort they made there. Overall, my thought is this: I ate all the food I was served, because it was not bad and in some cases good. However, the Bistro seems to be shooting for a higher culinary level with the items on their menu than they are actually able to pull off. So maybe I'm judging them harsher for it. And maybe not. Maybe it's just okay to good food. read more

Visited this past weekend for our anniversary dinner. The food was amazing -- beer bread, anybody?! - and THREE separate servers wished us "happy anniversary." We split the linguini with pesto, each had salads and enjoyed the baked brie with raspberry preserves. So good! When we refused dessert, our server brought us a brownie with two candles and a side of vanilla ice cream to congratulate us. One of the best dinners we've had in 22 years. read more

We took our daughter and 6 of her friends for her birthday lunch. The service was excellent and the foods was great! The girls all had salads, I was worried that it wouldn't be filing, but then they arrived. More than a meal. Everything was fresh and we'll plated. I have a filet mignon sandwich that was out of this world. Something I would definitely order again. After lunch they brought out our cake and helped take the photos so everyone could be in the photo. They made you feel like a guest not a costumer. We'll definitely go back. read more