First time eating at this quaint, fine dining restaurant. I liked how it was located right in the heart of downtown Rochester. First impression, liked the small space feel. They had a full size bar, which I was surprised to see. They also had a violinist and singer that night. It was Friday. I was excited to try this place because I read some pretty good reviews. I thought, the food has to be good. My guest and I ordered coconut shrimp to start with. Was disappointed to see they were over cooked. The breading was too dark for my taste. I read that the French onion soup is a staple so I ordered it. It was delicious! Lots of cheese and very flavorful. Next, I ordered salmon with fingerling potatoes, sauté spinach and halved cherry tomatoes. I was totally disappointed. The salmon was so oily/ greasy also, it was a bit crispy, almost like it was deep fried if that makes sense. It was delicious in taste but that's probably because it was so oily. Literally 10 minutes after I finished, my stomach was in knots! I hated myself for eating most of it! Even though that upset my stomach, I ended up still getting dessert, chocolate lava cake. Yes it was rich, but it was so good! Guilty pleasure for sure. I may try it one more time. read more

See all

Terrific experience. Waitress Chandler provided attentive service at a relaxed pace...ideal. NY strip and swordfish were cooked to perfection. A very nice night. read more

Came into town to see my sons performance with the Oakland University Choral and wanted to take him out before the performance. Let me say this is a treasure for the Rochester community. We ordered the cheese plate, Brussels sprouts and some French Onion soup as an App and we were pleased with the results. My Mom and wife ordered the Lake perch and deemed it wonderful. I had the Pork chop special (with spinach and roasted peppers). Service was great and will be stopping in again when in town. read more

Amazing service from Victoria, she was very attentive but gave a perfect balance between taking care of you and giving you space to enjoy the evening. The food was good, not great, but a solid good. Some of the high points were the lamb sausage (completely unexpected), the dates and charcuterie. The ok points were the gnocchi, beef tips and grilled shrimp. The gnocchi was supposed to be in a demo glacé, it tasted more like beef gravy and had a flour taste to them. The beef tips were swimming in a brown gravy but were very tender and good. The grilled shrimp tasted too much like smoke or fuel from the grill, the polenta was bland too. Great wine list and good beer selection as well. I think we'll give this place another try soon. read more

See all

What a great experience. I had salmon w/ fingerling potatoes, artichokes, spinach and plum tomatoes. Excellent. Flavors worked together beautifully but kept individual flavor. My husband had the lamp rigatoni and it's the first time in a very long time I've seen him clean his plate. Wonderful service. Fair prices. Nice wine list. And the lemon cake was out of this world. read more

Really want to love this place, but it's just too darn loud! If you're in the mood for shouting at your dinner partner (or don't want to talk to them, ha!) then come here. Unfortunately the place has a lot of tables in a small room with all hard surfaces, and both times I've been here, live and amplified jazz style music. Not a good spot for a date you're interested in talking to, unless you go during not-so-busy hours. Food: Brussels sprouts appetizer was quite good, but both of our pastas were too oily (flavor was nice though). Service: I rate the service as 5 stars. Really top notch. read more

We made last minute reservations and we had a great dinner here. We decided to sit at the bar, was spaced out and comfortable. Our bartender was friendly and efficient. They have a good selection of beer and liquor. I had the salmon and it was the best, lots of flavor. . My husband had the filet and it was cooked just as expected he also got fries and he said they were the best fries he has ever had. We stayed and had a few drinks after dinner and the atmosphere was chill. I will definitely be back. read more

In my opinion this is $$$ not $$. The food was medicore at best. We got the crabcakes app, she got the Roasted Scottish Salmon and I got the chicken fried lake perch. The crapcakes were very good, but the veggies that came with it were cold (not room temperature, but COLD). The perch that I got was very good. It came with fries and green beans and the portion was large. I'd order that again. The Salmon was medicore\bad. It was over cooked and dry and didn't have much flavor (after we left we think the lemon oregano vinaigrette was forgotten). The salmon needed a sauce, something acidic, it was better with lemon. The service was very nice, they were all very polite albeit slow. I did wish my water didn't run dry, especially because it wasn't a busy evening (maybe 20 patrons). The kitchen is viable from the restaurant and the cooks were wearing Adidas's sweat pants, I'd expect professional culinary attire if I can see you. Spending $70-80 I'd expect more. This place is VERY CLOSE to greatness, it just has to polish the details. We most likely wouldn't go back. read more

Went there for a family dinner. The service was spot right on. Not bothersome but right when you start looking. All our starters were excellent. We had calamari and grilled octopus. The meals were Red Snapper, Salmon, Chicken Pasta and Michigan Perch. Definitely will be back. read more

No menus posted online, had no idea what to expect. Disappointment is what we got. Side of Brussel sprouts; overcooked, tasteless, and greasy - best part was roasted hazelnuts. Roasted salmon with artichokes, fingerling potatoes, spinach and tomatoes all swimming in oil. Salmon tasted as though it was fried in olive oil, not roasted. I tasted absolutely no lemon-oregano vinaigrette! Same for the fiery pasta; way too oily, the Italian sausage was very tasty, but scarce. Definitely not worth $24 for that pasta. Best part of the entire meal was the wine. OVERCOOKED, OVERPRICED, AND GREASY - WASTE OF MONEY! read more

LOVE THIS PLACE. Finally Rochester has a fine dining place with a casual atmosphere. Due to COVID-19 a bunch of their wine bottles are on sale- 25$ for a bottle of GREAT sparkling rose (ask your server about their on sale wine menu). The food here is just phenomenal! HUGE portions and great for the price! The atmosphere is so great- if you want to have a fun girls night seating by the bar is the amazing or outside! If you want to have a quiet dinner with the family they have separate dining room seating! For an appetizer I highly recommended mozzarella and tomato salad or the potato gnocchi- both very tasteful! For an entree their Chicken Limon is very tasty and easily feeds 2! For dessert their lava cake is sooo rich and mouthwatering! I highly recommend Rochester Bistro! read more

Rochester bistro is one of the best restaurants in Rochester, the ambiance, the workers, and the FOOD!!!!! Best steaks I've had are from this restaurant. The kalamari is also one of my favorites!! Highly recommend GREAT FOOD read more

My boyfriend took me here for my birthday last night and I can not put into words how AMAZING everything about this place was!!! I know for a fact we cannot wait to go back!!!! read more

See all

Great Food, Excellent Service (Chandler), nice Wine List, and Good Atmosphere!! We will definitely be visiting again soon.

I placed my order near closing time on Christmas Eve. The woman who took the order said "no problem"! We picked up our steaks and they were cooked perfectly! Everything tasted great and we will definitely recommend the "Bistro" to others. Merry Christmas to all and to all goodnight! read more

I was looking for new experience, I came across this place using yelp! I would strongly recommend it, the ambience is nice and cozy, the service is good , and the food is amazing. P.S. very lovely for a date ;) read more

This place has some great food options and decently priced! I've been here a number of times for various occasions. I have had good experiences at each of the various occasions here. The wait staff is typically very friendly with an occasional instance of a "bad day", but overall a great experience. I'd recommend you give this place a shot if you are in the area and thinking about getting some dinner. read more

Update: after my review the management got in touch with me and apologized for the inconvenience and refunded me for the entree. I will say this makes me know and be thankful for the time taken to care for the customers. It really is a really great place to visit. read more

Food is incredible, wait staff are professionals and the live dinner music put the Rochester Bistro dinning experience over the top. Highly recommend. read more

If you are looking for amazing fine dining meal with hand crafted drinks and excellent service this is the place to come! The ambiance is perfect too. read more

This place is so close to my house I can walk to it and I would everyday if I could.... Everything I've had has been delish, from my Titos on the rocks to the wine , the apps, my veal chop to die for, and of coarse the yummy dessert.... The service both times I've been was right on... try this place it's a keeper read more

My roommate and I have been here twice. The first time was OK. The appetizer was good. I had the lake perch and she had the fiery pasta. The perch was good, but she said her pasta was not "fiery" at all. Dessert was amazing! Fast forward to our second trip. We each had a salad and it was good. We did not receive any bread or butter. Our waitress did the bare minimum for us. I ordered a pasta dish and she ordered the sea bass. My pasta was very bland and had an odd texture to it. Her Sea Bass was soggy. We both agreed that our side dishes (sweet potato fries and mushrooms) were good. In my opinion, the place is way overpriced for stuff that is okay. Side dishes and dessert are good but the main entrees have always been lackluster. We both agreed that we would not go back. read more

So my wife and I came to this restaurant fairly early after it opened and thought the meals were pretty good but not necessarily a place I'd list near the top of our Rochester favorite eats chart. Well it's been almost two years and my things have changed. Where once, I wouldn't think to recommend this place, it now moves towards the top of my list. While the decor remains a little old school, the meals have really kicked it up a notch. We went with another couple and not one of us had anything to complain about. The meals were all fresh and delicious and the wait staff very friendly and helpful. It's great to add another Rochester 'go-to' establishment to our personal chart read more

Rochester Bistro doesn't disappoint. Fantastic food, knowedgable awesome service. Great vino, Librandi's Gravello. Dining alfresco is pleasant. read more

4.5/5. Probably my fave restaurant in Rochester. I love eating here small plates style. I've tried the tenderloin tips, tomato mozzarella salad, piggy back dates, tiramisu, cheese plate, fillet, lamb pasta, and a few more things. Everything I've tried so far has been delicious and with good prices. My boyfriend said its the best old fashioned he's had. It had muddled cherries - lots of people just use a maraschino cherry. read more

Enjoyed myself. Good apps, food, and spirits. Honestly, some of the best mashed potatoes I've ever had. Live entertainment was cool. Liked the atmosphere. Steak was a bit over cooked hence the one star reduction (even over cooked it was still darn good though). read more

Great food. Awesome violinist, really set the mood and was entertaining. Great service. We had the tuna tar tar and it was phenomenal. We also had a pasta dish which was also amazing and lastly their drink "the Ex Wife" was so good. If you go after 7:30pm it's less crowded. Definitely recommend this place. read more

What a great experience! Every dish we had tasted amazing. We all decided that the appetizers were too good to pass up so we had fire cracker shrimp, gnocchi, beef tips, and a side of truffle fries to share. Each dish better than the next. We also shared some soups and salads. the salads are very large, perfect for sharing. I recommend the steak salad, juicy steak throughout. The french onion soup is PERFECT for a cold winters day. The christmas decor was just enough for the restaurant. read more

Delicious menu and exceptional service! It's a beautiful restaurant and their service is phenomenal! Great location as well!

Disappointing to say the least. The coconut shrimp was ok, but the shape was rather odd. The Lamb was dreadful. There was blood on the outside. The meat was raw on the inside, and almost burnt on the outside. Akin to what you expect at burger king. The only saving grace was the tiramisu was out of this world. read more

Loved the interior especially with the stairs decorated in winter greenery. We ate in the bar area which was cozy. Ordered a oatmeal stout and a hot tea (variety of teas to choose from). Hubby and I shared a calamari appetizer (with a sweet tangy sauce of lemon, garlic, capers and parsley) and an arugula salad (lightly dressed and full of fun stuff like ham, dates, nuts, cheese, etc). We also split a a Chicken-fried Michigan Lake Perch. The kitchen staff put it on two plates for us and I questioned the size as we each had a healthy portion of fish (4 pieces), fries and green beans. It was more than enough to eat but I did eat it all, it was very good. No room for dessert. Bill before tip = $52 Enjoy the food and atmosphere. read more

EDIT:I want to change my rating back to three stars and was personally contacted by the manager and will give this place another visit because the service was impeccable. Originally gave this place three stars because the service and staff were incredibly nice. However the food was mediocre to say the least. My mother is sick. She ordered the fish special and was told there was only one Dover Sole special left. After a few minuets our waiter came back and she ordered the Sole. When it was brought out it looked a lot like Perch and smelled and tasted just like Perch and we were both assured it was Sole. We were also assured that that was just the way the fish was prepared. Not Happy. Will not come again and can not recommend on a good conscious. read more

Food was phenomenal. My wife and I shared a bone marrow appetizer, best we've ever had. She had the salmon and I had sea bass for our entrees. Wow. Very tasty, perfectly prepared and a great presentation. Service was excellent. We were greeted as soon as we sat down. We were attended to without being interrupted. Wine was refilled as needed. Ask for Kevin. We were there are on a Saturday night in December, 12/3/2016. The place was packed and there were some large groups. We were seated next to a group who were done with dinner but hung around way too long. They were full of wine and good cheer. Very noisy with high pitched almost screaming laughs. It was unbearable for awhile. They left as our entrees were being served, thank God. After they left there was normal noise level and our dining experience improved dramatically. I can't downgrade the restaurant because of a couple of loud hens. Price was high. Some would say pricey. It is not a restaurant you would frequent often. More of a special occasion place. We are definitely returning before the end of the year. read more

Best kept secret in downtown Rochester Great atmosphere, the absolute best server, awesome food!!! We've been meaning to get here, finally did, and couldn't be happier. Honestly, you HAVE to go here! Outstanding menu - extensive appetizer menu We had the octopus, coconut shrimp, tenderloin tips and tomatoes- all were amazing Perch, two filet dinners and I had the steak salad for our entrees All were great! The steak in my salad was a little too well done for me, but the lettuces and accompaniments were really good. All four of us were too stuffed to even consider dessert, therefore, no comment We will absolutely be back - and often Great wine offerings - by glass and bottle- full bar Great spot for drinks and appetizers if not for full dinner experience read more

Ordered the veal chop and asked for medium rare that was suggested by the server. It came out overcooked. Second one was so rare I couldn't eat it. They offered to cook it more but I was just turned off. They charged for it anyway. Not going back. read more

So many good things about this place. Super impressed. Firstly, the atmosphere itself was gorgeous and clean. I went on a Friday, and they had live music. It was amazing! Great singer and good violinist. Not too loud, not too quiet. The drinks were phenomenal. High recommend the Sparkling Rosé and the Amelia. Refreshing and delicious! The coconut shrimp was so good.... loved the batter. Also got the mozzarella, tomato, and balsamic vinegar salad which was to die for! The mozzarella was super fresh. We got the calamari as well, which could have been fried a little bit more in my opinion, but the sauce with it was so good. My entree was the NY steak.... I couldn't say more good things about it. Cooked perfectly medium rare. Potatoes we're amazing. Lastly finished with the best cappuccino ever! Loved this place and will go back again for sure. read more

I would rather give 3.5 stars this place has good food. The tomato soup was fantastic it was to die for would go back just for that. The presentation was good great. I had the pork loin. Very tender and tasty but i think i would get something else next time. Meal seemed like it was missing something And was very pricey and drink were very expensive. Other then that i would recommend. read more

My girlfriend really wanted to try this place out. The decoration and ambiance was really nice. They have a nice Christmas thing going on. Even had red and green napkins. Server was nice as well. But that's about all the positive things I have to say. I ordered the Bistro Burger, medium rare, and calamari. My girl friend ordered the Roasted Pork Shoulder. The calamari was not bad, but also not that good. Ask for the sauce on the side if you want it to be crispy by the time it reaches you. The burger I got was well done and burnt. They said that it was a mix up, which is understandable. The second burger was medium, which was totally fine. However, the outside was still burnt, which made it really bitter and left a horrible after taste. The fries were not any better either. Tasted like cardboard with salt. I can't go too much into detail about the Roasted Pork Shoulder. My girlfriend just said it was way too salty and dry. I had a little bite of it and it just reminded me of the pork you would have in a type of Chinese soup. All in all, it was a disappointing experience. We will not be back. read more

Food was very bland. Brussel sprouts had no flavor, cabbage soup was just ok and the beef tips were very unfavorable. Restaurant came highly recommended. Very disappointed read more

They have the best French onion soup!! Love the gnocchi as well!! Great management and staff!!