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Let me start by saying, I have not tried their food yet. This is more of a critic of the management, upon arrival at the Bistro, than their culinary skills. A lab mate of my girlfriend recommended us to check this place out. The first time we came, it was after 3:00 pm, so we were out luck. My bad I guess, except what's the deal with the hours only 11:00 am - 3:00 pm? Soft opening I can understand, but it has been a month already, isn't time to step up to the majors? Anyhoo, today we both decided to take a study break and checkout the Bistro. we arrived a little after 12:00 noon. I was quite surprised that the Bistro operated on reservations since it is on the campus of UCSD, but okay they must desperately want to imitate Wolfgang's Jai. We were walk ins, so they took our names and told us we had to wait 20 minutes, even though there were 6 empty tables available. Later on, my girlfriend remarked that there was a back counter that required no reservations, she said they should have at least offer us that choice. The hostess gave us the option of waiting inside or outside, we opted to stand by the entrance to wait for our turn. There was an empty table with funky chairs close by so we sat down and people watch, which was fun. The Bistro reminded me of fine dining in Vegas. It's a posh place with hobo like patrons. I always get a chuckle in Vegas when I'm in some superstar chef's (5 stars) restaurant, only to look around and see people in T-shirts and shorts, laugh my funny bones out of place. Most if not all the guests today were college students, dressed accordingly for school. My girlfriend noted she found the backpacks on the ground, which definitely contrast the modern urban decor, quite a juxtaposition and hysterical. From other yelp comments, I discovered that the Bistro is applying for a liquor license. In the meantime, It was funny to see aqua being served in imitation fine crystals, in lieu of a good sauvignon blanc or a merlot. I had to chuckle at this point, it felt like I was in a Disneyland for adult place, where the kids pretended to be grown ups. Based on the clientele and the decor, the Bistro could be a cool place for high school prom dinners. I digress, 10 minutes into our wait, a hostess came and kick us out of the chairs we were sitting at. She said this table was reserved, except there were three other empty tables, that she could have sat the party of four at, WTF?? I felt it was rude. We waited longer, as others came in and were seated first. I presumed they had reservations. I busted out my trusty iPhone Mildred and punched the yelp application to see the comments posted. I discovered the Bistro's draconian adherence to their reservation system. At this point, I was beginning to be iffy about the whole thing. Since finals are in two weeks and my girlfriend has studies, I was ready to bailed. As the cliche goes, "in for a penny in for a pound", we continued to wait. We were both observing the staff, many comments rated them as being helpful and all, but what we saw were waiters/waitress lingering around with sourpuss expressions. Sometime they just stood still in the middle of the dinning area mimicking garden statues. At least their behaviors gave my girlfriend and I a source of entertainment. The straw that broke the camel's back was when another party of two came in. My girlfriend distinctively heard they did not have a reservation, and yet a short time later, they got a table before us. At which point we both had it, and left the restaurant. Basic reality check: 1. The Bistro is on the campus of UCSD. As such parking is always atrocious, so most of the general public will not put up with parking miles away and walking there. And if you plan to park in the 20 minutes spots, the ticket police are always around. 2. The hours are very limited, and presently in the middle of the day. With the location so far on the North side of campus, even faculty members will not dine here on a regular basis. So mainly it will be students. Someone said it best in a yelp, a faux 4 stars dining hall. 3. The Bistro, like all UCSD dining, relies on a captive audience of campus students. As such they know they can get away with murder. Too often they always mistreat their patrons, because there is always a large pool of freshmen and sophomores who do not have transportation to venture off the reservation. 4. From observation, I gather that the staff are mostly college students working part time. They need to get some professional staff in there to train and to supervise. I saw spotty service at best. 5. Being adjacent to the Rady's School, someone needs to take management classes. At least a crash course at pho ca dào in Mira Mesa or at cotixan in hospitality. Conclusion: Hard press for me to return in the near future. I'll let everyone else be the guinea pigs as the Bistro seasoned into a veteran. As for now, good luck, but not on my buck.
For a dining hall, I'd have to say the food is really good, but I'm not a HUGE fan of it. I really enjoy the desserts, but the entrees are mediocre. Sometimes I crave "real" food but being a lazy college student, this is as real as it gets on-campus. The Bistro is an Asian fusion restaurant and I'm not exactly sure what it's fused with. They offer decent sushi, salads, noodle entrees, and even salmon. I've been here a few times and tried the udon noodle dishes which I found too salty, but I LOVE the desserts! The panna cotta tastes AMAZING and the creme brulee is so creamy! However, the caramel on the creme brulee was hard (not crunchy) when I tried it. Overall, I think it's worth it if you have dining dollars as the food here is pretty pricey for the portions you get, but if you're craving restaurant food, this is the place to be. The place itself has really cool architecture but the seats are made out of plastic and it reminded me of cheap IKEA furniture. I'd recommend getting a reservation if you're coming at peak hours (lunch/dinner rushes) TL;DR: Food: Entrees: 3/5-- Udon dishes were salty for my taste, but the overall flavor was good. Dessert: 5/5-- try the panna cotta & creme brulee! Price: $$ Service: it can be really slow during peak hours (~20 minute wait time)
Pleasantly surprised at this establishment. Had good service, food came out quick, and the decor was clean, simple,+pretty. Order the lettuce wraps, pork buns, crunchy roll. All were decent, but nothing spectacular. The pork buns were the best, had a little bits of pieces that were a little over cooked, but the rest was creamy and tender. For a "dining commons" it was really good, comparatively to a restaurant though the food was mediocre. I can definitely see why students come here for a change in food.
The BBQ pork is not very tender, the mash potato was pretty good, the sauce had a weird sour and sweet kinda taste.. just not very Asian overall. The creme brûlée is oily, had some salt over it, and the temperature was mostly cold. Overall this meal was just.. pretty meh, as expected of a campus food though
A few of my co-workers love this place. They're constantly raving about the noodles and the appetizers and the service. The fact that they're within walking distance of the office and very rarely crowded are also points that are made in favor of this dining establishment. Fueled by the rave reviews and eager to try something new, a couple co-workers and I decided to hit this place up for a late lunch one day. Now, when I say "late", I mean closer to 1:30/1:45, so, you know - later than your typical lunch meal, but not so late as to be dinner. Despite the "late" hour, the dining room was still pretty packed, but we were shown to a table right away. The first thing I noticed upon sitting down was that the chairs - modern and sleek as they are - do nothing to help those of us who are vertically challenged. I felt like a little girl playing at the big girl table. Some higher seats or maybe a cushion or three would be tremendously helpful. Our waitress came to our table almost directly after we sat down, bearing a serving of the crispy wonton noodles and a couple dipping sauces, Though she seemed friendly enough, she lacked vocal projection, and it was difficult for any of us to hear her. That's partly due to the fact that she seemed to be a soft-speaker, but mostly due to the fact that the dining room is one big cavern, with lots of metallic surfaces for noises to bounce off of. We had a grand old time trying to read her lips, and comparing notes as to what she actually said when she walked away from the table. We took some time to go over the menu, and I was immediately struck by the fact that though the above-mentioned co-workers speak of this restaurant as though it were a noodle house, there were only three different noodle dishes on offer. Not a big deal, but none of the proffered noodle dishes appealed to me that day, so I chose to go with the Baby Bok Choy meal (with sauteed vegetables over brown rice). One of the girls ordered the salmon cake salad and the other made a meal out of the chicken spring rolls and the crunchy sushi roll. The food was delivered in this order: chicken spring rolls, salmon cake salad, Baby Bok Choy. Where was the crunchy roll, you might ask? Great question. We asked that, as well, and were told that it was on its way. Problem with that was, it really *wasn't* on its way. We finished our meals and were ready to cancel the sushi order by the time the waitress came by with the plate, and by that time, the girl who ordered it had to immediately ask for a to-go box. The thing that irks is that there was no apology for the huge delay, or even the slightest hint that the waitress understood that a wait like that is just not cool. Oh, I forgot to review the food. So, my meal was decent, but certainly didn't blow me away. I felt like the "star" of the plate - the baby Bok Choy - was conspicuously absent. It was mostly rice, other vegetables, and two small Bok Choy stalks on the sides, like a garnish. Plus, it was swimming in what I think was a teriyaki sauce, and there were these incredibly overpowering orange rinds on top. Maybe I wasn't supposed to eat them? The other girls said their food was good, as well (at least the one enjoyed her spring rolls), but again, I don't remember either of them making yummy noises on first bite. When we got back to the office, we were approached by the Bistro-loving co-workers, who were keen to know what we thought. We all said pretty much the same thing, at different times - food was okay, but the service was terrible. The joke was, "Maybe you got the 'B' Team", since we went so late, but going closer to 2 pm than 12 pm does not give a waitress a pass.
This is pretty good for a dining hall on the campus of UCSD. It's great that you can use your dining dollars for a restaurant experience without leaving campus. They start with a free appetizer of fried wonton skins in a seaweed cone. Two kinds of dipping sauces - savory and sweet. We had to use the rest of the dining dollars since it's "use it or lose it". Had the rainbow roll $11, spring rolls with chicken $8, pulled pork sliders $13, bistro stack with ahi tuna poke $9. Everything was quite tasty. Note: they do not accept tips. Just use your dining dollars or pay with .
Came here for the Sushi, and not much else! I came here three separate times to try The Bistro at brunch, lunch, and dinner. Overall, I rate the entire experience at 3.4/5. Brunch: The menu items are limited, but that isn't considered in the rating. Contrary, I expect more of the food this way. But the pricing of the food does not reflect the sizing and quality. I got the udon noodles and seared tuna and it was decent! I needed some soy sauce for flavour, however. And the serving size had much more bland udon than fish. Lunch/Dinner: I had a much better experience for lunch and dinner! Going for the Sushi, both times, I prefer The Tower more than The Rainbow. The quality of the sushi is the best on campus--hands down--but the price of the plates were between $11-$13. I believe the inflation of campus foods really affected the pricing of The Bistro, however it should not be the case for commuters and non-students that are visiting and would like a quality plate of sushi at UCSD.
TL;DR: Only brunch and desserts are good. The rest is pretty shit. In details: Good: Brunch: Their brunch is from 10AM - 4PM on Sunday. Most of the selection of the brunch is good. The egg Benedict is flavorful. You can get it with salmon or pork belly; both are good. Sometime though the taro cake will be soggy, but when it's not it's delicious. The Acai bowl is also good. Large portion for only $9. The pork belly thing is not worth it. Pork belly itself is good but you only get 2 pieces. The rest of the bowl is pretty bad and doesn't go with the pork belly. Dessert: Most of their desserts here are good. The green tea ice cream, creme brûlée, fried banana with ice cream are pretty good. Their take on the Thai mango with sticky is pretty shit; sticky rice doesn't taste good and it's drenched in coconut sauce and the mango wasn't sweet either Bad: Oh boy there's a lot to list. For some reason this place tries to serve a bunch of Japanese food but doesn't seem to excel in any of them. The ramen is super bland (had to ask for salt, and even then it was still bad) and the noodles were subpar. The salmon's seasoning wasn't too bad but it was a little fishy, and that's coming from someone who eats raw fish. The chicken thing was also very dry. And then, the sushi/rolls.. According to most sushi chef, what makes a good sushi is 90% rice and 10% fish. The rice is bad; pretty dry and hard. The seaweed is soggy. And the fish is eh. My friend got a stomach ache from here twice. So yeah, I only go here for Sunday brunch.
"Who died?" "Nobody died. how can you kill an idea? How can you kill the personification of an action?" "Then what died? who are you mourning?" "A point of view." Neil Gaiman - The Sandman, Vol. 10: The Wake So nice... Modern decor and great service are as good as it gets at UCSD. The scent of fried goodness teased me. Delicious complimentary won ton strips. Crunchy with a light flavor. Potstickers to prime me. Nicely charred bottom with a bit of crunch. Excellent flavor from the pork and the wrapper. Market Steak with porcini mushrooms to fill me. Cooked a bit past medium well. Very good beef flavor mix with the tasty mushrooms. A little chewy. Better than Denny's or Coco's. Not as good as Black Angus. Red bean ice cream to complete me. Frozen solid the way I love it. Rich and dense like my fav high butterfat ice creams. This is my first red bean ice cream and I really love the flavor. You get actual beans. Things have changed since I went to school here. Back in the day there was the Pub or the cafeteria's which were to be avoided. Things have changed...
I've been here a couple times and I would say it's a good option if you have to eat on campus. The price isn't too bad even if you don't have dining dollars because they don't accept gratuity so just think of it as tip included. I've tried a couple sushi rolls, the Lemongrass Salmon, and the Green Tea ice cream and they were all pretty good. Portion size for some entrees might not be filling, especially when you're paying about $15 average per entrée. The salmon is a more healthy option which I like. It's also nice that you get the wonton chips as you're seated. I know it's supposed to be a more fine dining option but the music playing doesn't really go with the atmosphere. I also wish that there weren't backpacks everywhere. Tip: Make a reservation during lunch time so you can skip the wait!
Ah the legendary bistro. As a sixther, coming out all the way to the village is basically reliving the Trail of Tears. The place was pretty packed out. But soon, we found seats for 5. Our server was amazing and made sure we were comfortable. He served some pretty good jokes with our meal. The Stack (3.5/10). A delectable sounding entree. Layers of poke, avocado, black rice, tomato, edamame, and microgreens served with taro chips. The poke was overly salty and the rest of the layers weren't even seasoned at all. It was actually quite interesting to eat at first, but soon the novel aspect of eating overly salty tuna with bland vegetables wore off. The black rice was a hard and loose and the "stack" soon turned into The Mess as the layers slid down on each other, falling victim to the wondrous force named gravity that exists on earth. It wasnt good :( Rainbow Roll (6/10). Some good news in the midst of the sadness. The roll was decently made and held together when I picked it up to eat. Pretty standard rainbow roll, but 6/10 cause dining dollars. Green Tea Ice Cream (5/10). It tasted exactly like green tea ice cream. Which is a good thing. Mango Sticky Rice (3/10). We had our boy from Thailand try this dish out. It did not please his palette or any of ours. The "sticky rice" was more of a cold sad brick of more sadness. And the mango puree they put on top, barely had any flavor. It was surprising awful. Like I knew it wouldn''t be good, but dam that was awful. :( im sorry Lemongrass Creme Brulee (7/10). This was actually quite tasty. Subtle lemongrass flavor and the top was nicely bruleed and caramelized. Had a satisfying crunch when it was cracked opened. It wasnt overly sweet. This one was alright 3/5 cuz dining dollars
The Bistro is pretty fancy considering it's college campus food. It can get crowded, but you can make a reservation if you're worried about not getting a spot. They also accept dining dollars. The prices vary, but the most expensive dish is the short rib ($19). I ordered the soy-gingered salmon cake salad, and I have to admit I was impressed! I thought it was a generous serving for $8. However, if you're a huge fan of ginger, don't expect to taste a lot of it in the cakes. The dumplings are a safe choice for an appetizer. They also serve pho and sushi here, but if you have a car, I wouldn't order them because you could get much better pho and sushi off campus. The tempura roll was good, but a little too dry for my liking. Overall, it's worth a try!
First and foremost, dining dollars does NOT equal real money IMO; you can't compare one dining dollar to one real dollar... So, I can't really say much about the pricing due to the fact that I'm buying lunch for everyone and their mother to keep from being wasteful. However, I don't think I would ever pay real money to eat here. I've been here twice, and yelp's definition for the two star rating sums it up well: "Meh. I've experienced better." Like most Filipinos, I'm a white rice fiend, so finding out that they only served brown made me a little sad. I wish they didn't put so many small chunks of ginger in it, I really didn't enjoy the crunchy texture with my soft rice. Both times the fish was cooked well, but the halibut was a little oily from the sauce they used. They give you a pretty good portion though. My friend didn't like the hoisin chicken - too much thick sauce, and some parts were dry while other parts were moist. He also thought that they pretty much took one of the chickens from the village market, cut it in half, and served it with rice and veggies. Rolls are a little small and mostly rice, but if you like garlic (as in, REALLY like garlic), go with The Strand Roll. Sooo much garlic! I agree with everyone else that says that dessert was probably the best part of the meal. My favorite dessert so far had to be the creme brulee, but I didn't really get any of the lemongrass or ginger flavor that was supposed to be there. The green tea and banana turon was pretty good. The chocolate sauce is legit sauce, not just hershey's syrup. All I have to say is that if you're calling it turon, it better be turon. Where the heck is my jackfruit? Or the sticky brown sugar coating?? *sigh* Coconut panna cotta was meh. A little too light for me, but my friend liked the spicy fruit salad that came with it. The service is a little slow, but I figure that it's because of the kinks being worked out with the kitchen, etc. However, all of the servers I have had (Maddie & Lauren) were great. Backwaiters/waitresses were also very attentive. I dropped my fork once, and one of them came right away to offer me a new one. Bottom line: Fancier looking dining hall food
The food was great and the chef personally came and asked how was our food and told the chef that it was great, especially the tiramisu. I agree with the other reviewers that the wait was kind of long, but if you considered how many students ordering, it was understandable. Always pack, so if your hungry for this place, come during before or way after lunch. Great place to hang out and talk to since we are waiting lol. My daughter ate the Thai tea tiramisu and loved it. So if you bring someone to share dessert, then you better give them 1 bite and you bite 3 times like my daughter and I. read more
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Let me start by saying, I have not tried their food yet. This is more of a critic of the management, upon arrival at the Bistro, than their culinary skills. A lab mate of my girlfriend recommended us to check this place out. The first time we came, it was after 3:00 pm, so we were out luck. My bad I guess, except what's the deal with the hours only 11:00 am - 3:00 pm? Soft opening I can understand, but it has been a month already, isn't time to step up to the majors? Anyhoo, today we both decided to take a study break and checkout the Bistro. we arrived a little after 12:00 noon. I was quite surprised that the Bistro operated on reservations since it is on the campus of UCSD, but okay they must desperately want to imitate Wolfgang's Jai. We were walk ins, so they took our names and told us we had to wait 20 minutes, even though there were 6 empty tables available. Later on, my girlfriend remarked that there was a back counter that required no reservations, she said they should have at least offer us that choice. The hostess gave us the option of waiting inside or outside, we opted to stand by the entrance to wait for our turn. There was an empty table with funky chairs close by so we sat down and people watch, which was fun. The Bistro reminded me of fine dining in Vegas. It's a posh place with hobo like patrons. I always get a chuckle in Vegas when I'm in some superstar chef's (5 stars) restaurant, only to look around and see people in T-shirts and shorts, laugh my funny bones out of place. Most if not all the guests today were college students, dressed accordingly for school. My girlfriend noted she found the backpacks on the ground, which definitely contrast the modern urban decor, quite a juxtaposition and hysterical. From other yelp comments, I discovered that the Bistro is applying for a liquor license. In the meantime, It was funny to see aqua being served in imitation fine crystals, in lieu of a good sauvignon blanc or a merlot. I had to chuckle at this point, it felt like I was in a Disneyland for adult place, where the kids pretended to be grown ups. Based on the clientele and the decor, the Bistro could be a cool place for high school prom dinners. I digress, 10 minutes into our wait, a hostess came and kick us out of the chairs we were sitting at. She said this table was reserved, except there were three other empty tables, that she could have sat the party of four at, WTF?? I felt it was rude. We waited longer, as others came in and were seated first. I presumed they had reservations. I busted out my trusty iPhone Mildred and punched the yelp application to see the comments posted. I discovered the Bistro's draconian adherence to their reservation system. At this point, I was beginning to be iffy about the whole thing. Since finals are in two weeks and my girlfriend has studies, I was ready to bailed. As the cliche goes, "in for a penny in for a pound", we continued to wait. We were both observing the staff, many comments rated them as being helpful and all, but what we saw were waiters/waitress lingering around with sourpuss expressions. Sometime they just stood still in the middle of the dinning area mimicking garden statues. At least their behaviors gave my girlfriend and I a source of entertainment. The straw that broke the camel's back was when another party of two came in. My girlfriend distinctively heard they did not have a reservation, and yet a short time later, they got a table before us. At which point we both had it, and left the restaurant. Basic reality check: 1. The Bistro is on the campus of UCSD. As such parking is always atrocious, so most of the general public will not put up with parking miles away and walking there. And if you plan to park in the 20 minutes spots, the ticket police are always around. 2. The hours are very limited, and presently in the middle of the day. With the location so far on the North side of campus, even faculty members will not dine here on a regular basis. So mainly it will be students. Someone said it best in a yelp, a faux 4 stars dining hall. 3. The Bistro, like all UCSD dining, relies on a captive audience of campus students. As such they know they can get away with murder. Too often they always mistreat their patrons, because there is always a large pool of freshmen and sophomores who do not have transportation to venture off the reservation. 4. From observation, I gather that the staff are mostly college students working part time. They need to get some professional staff in there to train and to supervise. I saw spotty service at best. 5. Being adjacent to the Rady's School, someone needs to take management classes. At least a crash course at pho ca dào in Mira Mesa or at cotixan in hospitality. Conclusion: Hard press for me to return in the near future. I'll let everyone else be the guinea pigs as the Bistro seasoned into a veteran. As for now, good luck, but not on my buck. read more
For a dining hall, I'd have to say the food is really good, but I'm not a HUGE fan of it. I really enjoy the desserts, but the entrees are mediocre. Sometimes I crave "real" food but being a lazy college student, this is as real as it gets on-campus. The Bistro is an Asian fusion restaurant and I'm not exactly sure what it's fused with. They offer decent sushi, salads, noodle entrees, and even salmon. I've been here a few times and tried the udon noodle dishes which I found too salty, but I LOVE the desserts! The panna cotta tastes AMAZING and the creme brulee is so creamy! However, the caramel on the creme brulee was hard (not crunchy) when I tried it. Overall, I think it's worth it if you have dining dollars as the food here is pretty pricey for the portions you get, but if you're craving restaurant food, this is the place to be. The place itself has really cool architecture but the seats are made out of plastic and it reminded me of cheap IKEA furniture. I'd recommend getting a reservation if you're coming at peak hours (lunch/dinner rushes) TL;DR: Food: Entrees: 3/5-- Udon dishes were salty for my taste, but the overall flavor was good. Dessert: 5/5-- try the panna cotta & creme brulee! Price: $$ Service: it can be really slow during peak hours (~20 minute wait time) read more
Pleasantly surprised at this establishment. Had good service, food came out quick, and the decor was clean, simple,+pretty. Order the lettuce wraps, pork buns, crunchy roll. All were decent, but nothing spectacular. The pork buns were the best, had a little bits of pieces that were a little over cooked, but the rest was creamy and tender. For a "dining commons" it was really good, comparatively to a restaurant though the food was mediocre. I can definitely see why students come here for a change in food. read more
7 years ago
The BBQ pork is not very tender, the mash potato was pretty good, the sauce had a weird sour and sweet kinda taste.. just not very Asian overall. The creme brûlée is oily, had some salt over it, and the temperature was mostly cold. Overall this meal was just.. pretty meh, as expected of a campus food though read more
12 years ago
A few of my co-workers love this place. They're constantly raving about the noodles and the appetizers and the service. The fact that they're within walking distance of the office and very rarely crowded are also points that are made in favor of this dining establishment. Fueled by the rave reviews and eager to try something new, a couple co-workers and I decided to hit this place up for a late lunch one day. Now, when I say "late", I mean closer to 1:30/1:45, so, you know - later than your typical lunch meal, but not so late as to be dinner. Despite the "late" hour, the dining room was still pretty packed, but we were shown to a table right away. The first thing I noticed upon sitting down was that the chairs - modern and sleek as they are - do nothing to help those of us who are vertically challenged. I felt like a little girl playing at the big girl table. Some higher seats or maybe a cushion or three would be tremendously helpful. Our waitress came to our table almost directly after we sat down, bearing a serving of the crispy wonton noodles and a couple dipping sauces, Though she seemed friendly enough, she lacked vocal projection, and it was difficult for any of us to hear her. That's partly due to the fact that she seemed to be a soft-speaker, but mostly due to the fact that the dining room is one big cavern, with lots of metallic surfaces for noises to bounce off of. We had a grand old time trying to read her lips, and comparing notes as to what she actually said when she walked away from the table. We took some time to go over the menu, and I was immediately struck by the fact that though the above-mentioned co-workers speak of this restaurant as though it were a noodle house, there were only three different noodle dishes on offer. Not a big deal, but none of the proffered noodle dishes appealed to me that day, so I chose to go with the Baby Bok Choy meal (with sauteed vegetables over brown rice). One of the girls ordered the salmon cake salad and the other made a meal out of the chicken spring rolls and the crunchy sushi roll. The food was delivered in this order: chicken spring rolls, salmon cake salad, Baby Bok Choy. Where was the crunchy roll, you might ask? Great question. We asked that, as well, and were told that it was on its way. Problem with that was, it really *wasn't* on its way. We finished our meals and were ready to cancel the sushi order by the time the waitress came by with the plate, and by that time, the girl who ordered it had to immediately ask for a to-go box. The thing that irks is that there was no apology for the huge delay, or even the slightest hint that the waitress understood that a wait like that is just not cool. Oh, I forgot to review the food. So, my meal was decent, but certainly didn't blow me away. I felt like the "star" of the plate - the baby Bok Choy - was conspicuously absent. It was mostly rice, other vegetables, and two small Bok Choy stalks on the sides, like a garnish. Plus, it was swimming in what I think was a teriyaki sauce, and there were these incredibly overpowering orange rinds on top. Maybe I wasn't supposed to eat them? The other girls said their food was good, as well (at least the one enjoyed her spring rolls), but again, I don't remember either of them making yummy noises on first bite. When we got back to the office, we were approached by the Bistro-loving co-workers, who were keen to know what we thought. We all said pretty much the same thing, at different times - food was okay, but the service was terrible. The joke was, "Maybe you got the 'B' Team", since we went so late, but going closer to 2 pm than 12 pm does not give a waitress a pass. read more
This is pretty good for a dining hall on the campus of UCSD. It's great that you can use your dining dollars for a restaurant experience without leaving campus. They start with a free appetizer of fried wonton skins in a seaweed cone. Two kinds of dipping sauces - savory and sweet. We had to use the rest of the dining dollars since it's "use it or lose it". Had the rainbow roll $11, spring rolls with chicken $8, pulled pork sliders $13, bistro stack with ahi tuna poke $9. Everything was quite tasty. Note: they do not accept tips. Just use your dining dollars or pay with . read more
9 years ago
Came here for the Sushi, and not much else! I came here three separate times to try The Bistro at brunch, lunch, and dinner. Overall, I rate the entire experience at 3.4/5. Brunch: The menu items are limited, but that isn't considered in the rating. Contrary, I expect more of the food this way. But the pricing of the food does not reflect the sizing and quality. I got the udon noodles and seared tuna and it was decent! I needed some soy sauce for flavour, however. And the serving size had much more bland udon than fish. Lunch/Dinner: I had a much better experience for lunch and dinner! Going for the Sushi, both times, I prefer The Tower more than The Rainbow. The quality of the sushi is the best on campus--hands down--but the price of the plates were between $11-$13. I believe the inflation of campus foods really affected the pricing of The Bistro, however it should not be the case for commuters and non-students that are visiting and would like a quality plate of sushi at UCSD. read more
4 years ago
9 years ago
TL;DR: Only brunch and desserts are good. The rest is pretty shit. In details: Good: Brunch: Their brunch is from 10AM - 4PM on Sunday. Most of the selection of the brunch is good. The egg Benedict is flavorful. You can get it with salmon or pork belly; both are good. Sometime though the taro cake will be soggy, but when it's not it's delicious. The Acai bowl is also good. Large portion for only $9. The pork belly thing is not worth it. Pork belly itself is good but you only get 2 pieces. The rest of the bowl is pretty bad and doesn't go with the pork belly. Dessert: Most of their desserts here are good. The green tea ice cream, creme brûlée, fried banana with ice cream are pretty good. Their take on the Thai mango with sticky is pretty shit; sticky rice doesn't taste good and it's drenched in coconut sauce and the mango wasn't sweet either Bad: Oh boy there's a lot to list. For some reason this place tries to serve a bunch of Japanese food but doesn't seem to excel in any of them. The ramen is super bland (had to ask for salt, and even then it was still bad) and the noodles were subpar. The salmon's seasoning wasn't too bad but it was a little fishy, and that's coming from someone who eats raw fish. The chicken thing was also very dry. And then, the sushi/rolls.. According to most sushi chef, what makes a good sushi is 90% rice and 10% fish. The rice is bad; pretty dry and hard. The seaweed is soggy. And the fish is eh. My friend got a stomach ache from here twice. So yeah, I only go here for Sunday brunch. read more
"Who died?" "Nobody died. how can you kill an idea? How can you kill the personification of an action?" "Then what died? who are you mourning?" "A point of view." Neil Gaiman - The Sandman, Vol. 10: The Wake So nice... Modern decor and great service are as good as it gets at UCSD. The scent of fried goodness teased me. Delicious complimentary won ton strips. Crunchy with a light flavor. Potstickers to prime me. Nicely charred bottom with a bit of crunch. Excellent flavor from the pork and the wrapper. Market Steak with porcini mushrooms to fill me. Cooked a bit past medium well. Very good beef flavor mix with the tasty mushrooms. A little chewy. Better than Denny's or Coco's. Not as good as Black Angus. Red bean ice cream to complete me. Frozen solid the way I love it. Rich and dense like my fav high butterfat ice creams. This is my first red bean ice cream and I really love the flavor. You get actual beans. Things have changed since I went to school here. Back in the day there was the Pub or the cafeteria's which were to be avoided. Things have changed... read more
I've been here a couple times and I would say it's a good option if you have to eat on campus. The price isn't too bad even if you don't have dining dollars because they don't accept gratuity so just think of it as tip included. I've tried a couple sushi rolls, the Lemongrass Salmon, and the Green Tea ice cream and they were all pretty good. Portion size for some entrees might not be filling, especially when you're paying about $15 average per entrée. The salmon is a more healthy option which I like. It's also nice that you get the wonton chips as you're seated. I know it's supposed to be a more fine dining option but the music playing doesn't really go with the atmosphere. I also wish that there weren't backpacks everywhere. Tip: Make a reservation during lunch time so you can skip the wait! read more
11 years ago
Ah the legendary bistro. As a sixther, coming out all the way to the village is basically reliving the Trail of Tears. The place was pretty packed out. But soon, we found seats for 5. Our server was amazing and made sure we were comfortable. He served some pretty good jokes with our meal. The Stack (3.5/10). A delectable sounding entree. Layers of poke, avocado, black rice, tomato, edamame, and microgreens served with taro chips. The poke was overly salty and the rest of the layers weren't even seasoned at all. It was actually quite interesting to eat at first, but soon the novel aspect of eating overly salty tuna with bland vegetables wore off. The black rice was a hard and loose and the "stack" soon turned into The Mess as the layers slid down on each other, falling victim to the wondrous force named gravity that exists on earth. It wasnt good :( Rainbow Roll (6/10). Some good news in the midst of the sadness. The roll was decently made and held together when I picked it up to eat. Pretty standard rainbow roll, but 6/10 cause dining dollars. Green Tea Ice Cream (5/10). It tasted exactly like green tea ice cream. Which is a good thing. Mango Sticky Rice (3/10). We had our boy from Thailand try this dish out. It did not please his palette or any of ours. The "sticky rice" was more of a cold sad brick of more sadness. And the mango puree they put on top, barely had any flavor. It was surprising awful. Like I knew it wouldn''t be good, but dam that was awful. :( im sorry Lemongrass Creme Brulee (7/10). This was actually quite tasty. Subtle lemongrass flavor and the top was nicely bruleed and caramelized. Had a satisfying crunch when it was cracked opened. It wasnt overly sweet. This one was alright 3/5 cuz dining dollars read more
The Bistro is pretty fancy considering it's college campus food. It can get crowded, but you can make a reservation if you're worried about not getting a spot. They also accept dining dollars. The prices vary, but the most expensive dish is the short rib ($19). I ordered the soy-gingered salmon cake salad, and I have to admit I was impressed! I thought it was a generous serving for $8. However, if you're a huge fan of ginger, don't expect to taste a lot of it in the cakes. The dumplings are a safe choice for an appetizer. They also serve pho and sushi here, but if you have a car, I wouldn't order them because you could get much better pho and sushi off campus. The tempura roll was good, but a little too dry for my liking. Overall, it's worth a try! read more
15 years ago
First and foremost, dining dollars does NOT equal real money IMO; you can't compare one dining dollar to one real dollar... So, I can't really say much about the pricing due to the fact that I'm buying lunch for everyone and their mother to keep from being wasteful. However, I don't think I would ever pay real money to eat here. I've been here twice, and yelp's definition for the two star rating sums it up well: "Meh. I've experienced better." Like most Filipinos, I'm a white rice fiend, so finding out that they only served brown made me a little sad. I wish they didn't put so many small chunks of ginger in it, I really didn't enjoy the crunchy texture with my soft rice. Both times the fish was cooked well, but the halibut was a little oily from the sauce they used. They give you a pretty good portion though. My friend didn't like the hoisin chicken - too much thick sauce, and some parts were dry while other parts were moist. He also thought that they pretty much took one of the chickens from the village market, cut it in half, and served it with rice and veggies. Rolls are a little small and mostly rice, but if you like garlic (as in, REALLY like garlic), go with The Strand Roll. Sooo much garlic! I agree with everyone else that says that dessert was probably the best part of the meal. My favorite dessert so far had to be the creme brulee, but I didn't really get any of the lemongrass or ginger flavor that was supposed to be there. The green tea and banana turon was pretty good. The chocolate sauce is legit sauce, not just hershey's syrup. All I have to say is that if you're calling it turon, it better be turon. Where the heck is my jackfruit? Or the sticky brown sugar coating?? *sigh* Coconut panna cotta was meh. A little too light for me, but my friend liked the spicy fruit salad that came with it. The service is a little slow, but I figure that it's because of the kinks being worked out with the kitchen, etc. However, all of the servers I have had (Maddie & Lauren) were great. Backwaiters/waitresses were also very attentive. I dropped my fork once, and one of them came right away to offer me a new one. Bottom line: Fancier looking dining hall food read more
14 years ago
-The Bistro is located on UCSD's campus and accepts "dining dollars" along with normal payment. -The architecture is stunning! We have the deconstructed ceiling with the exposed, painted white pipes. There are bamboo lines creating cubist yet natural vibes reminiscent of the Bird's Nest Stadium in Beijing. The chairs are ergonomic, appear flimsy, but are comfy and mod. So chic (especially for students stuck on campus)!! Think colors in clementine oranges and lime tree greens. The look is so much more impressive than the food. -I ordered "the Bistro" sushi roll. It was beautifully decorated like the restaurant but, in essence, was a simple California roll stacked with thin slices of salmon. The sauce, which soaked the rice, was WAY TOO spicy!! I couldn't handle. They serve complimentary deep fried chips in a seaweed paper with sweet&sour sauce which is cute. Water comes in a wine bottle. -Overall, everything is super classy. If you're a student trying to treat your parents? or a date? I dunno. This place has its purpose. read more
10 years ago
AHHH NOOOO this place white-washes Asian food TO THE MAX AHHH. I mean, as it's one of the VERY LIMITED Asian dining options on campus, I guess i'll have to deal with it. But ok, i've tried the chicken, the salmon, the dragon roll, the udon stir-fry, and the opah, and all of them were extremely buttery/oily and lacking in Asian flavor SIGNIFICANTLY. The only exception to that would be the dragon roll. i ordered it without the cream cheese bc dammit cream cheese is disgusting in sushi. It was actually not bad, i'd order it again but probably ask for less artificial-crab. Here's a run-down of each meal's review: Chicken: The white meat was really dry. The dark meat was pretty okay but, overall, not much flavor Salmon: FRIK THIS PLACE FOR CHARGING ME $17 FOR A PIECE OF DRY ROCK SALMON WITH NO FLAVOR AND POTATOES THAT CLASH WITH EVERYTHING ELSE ON THE DISH. Mashed potatoes: oily. Vegetables: oily. SNOW PEAS: OILY. i don't understand how you can make healthy food so unhealthy but dam. Udon Stir-Fry: Not a fan of bell peppers, and that taste is super prominent in this dish. It's aight. Nothing more I have to day. Opah: Same as salmon but it wasn't dry. Dragon Roll: Actually not bad. It would be the only thing on this list that I would order again lol. *without cream cheese tho* Okay, this place aint super repulsive but the chefs gotta understand that with heavy-tasting options, you have to have some nice WHITE rice to balance the flavors out so the dish doesn't get too overwhelming/oily. What they mainly do wrong at this place is give you this buttery brown grain rice that weighs the dish down so much. If youre like me and hate overly oily stuff, substitute for white rice and it'll be so much better. Service: CMON GUYS YOURE COLLEGE KIDS TOO AND KNOW HOW BUSY WE ARE. TRY TO MULTITASK A LITTLE SO WE DONT HAVE TO WAIT SOOOOO LONG FOR OUR CHECK/SOY SAUCE/WATER BC WE GOT CRAP TO DO For the buck tho, i'd rather get some real Asian food in convoy, not this fancied-up weighed-down version. read more
7 years ago
15 years ago
Really this place is pretty solid for a campus eatery, I mean a professional looking waitstaff with cool water service jugs? Not many places can say that. That being said, there are certain things on the menu that stand out better than others. I would say most items on the sushi are a must get. last time i got their dragon roll. Very large for the price. it might be good to share 2 rolls with a friend for a light lunch or dinner. I would tell them to go easy on the sauce though. They tend to get a little sauce happy Vegetarian dishes might not be the best my vegan friend didn't like his thai curry all that much. Though i did like the seared salmonll; properly sealed, good moisture level and texture. Had nice touch with the lightly sauteed bok choi and serving of brown rice. Will comeback when i'm feeling fancy and don't want to wander off campus read more
15 years ago
11 years ago
Meh, could have been better if Lincoln didn't forget that he had a table in the corner. The 4 of us just sat there and stared at him until he decided to make eye contact with us. Waited 15 minutes to finally get our order taken. Asked for extra chips, and the he said "yes". Waited 10 minutes, so we asked AGAIN. "We're running low" he said. Cool Lincoln, but you could have told us that BEFORE you said yes 10 minutes ago and I just saw you dropping off wonton chips to other tables who obviously asked for more too. The other servers seem to be on top of things, so maybe we were just the unlucky ones.. Food was okay, but there was a 15 minute gap between when the two of us received our food and when the other two did. It was probably because the sushi side of the restaurant was slammed, so it happens. read more
7 years ago
By far the best dining on campus for breakfast lunch and dinner. I always enjoy the food and the service here. read more
Most people at UCSD know the Bistro for the sushi, which is delicious in its own right. However, today my friends and I decided to try out the other options: for me, the salmon cake salad, and for my friends, a beef pho and a chicken udon. We started our meal with their free starter: fried wonton with this crazy-good sweet and sour sauce and avocado sauce. When my soy glazed salmon cake salad came, it looked really good- the salmon looked nice and pink with pepper flakes and the salad did not look drenched. Upon taste, the two components complimented each other greatly- the salmon was warm and rich enough to cut the acidity of the spring salad. A few bonus points to my meal were that the salmon had a slight heat that tingled on the palate as I was eating and after eating, I did not feel bloated- AKA the proportion size was perfect for me. I stole a taste of my friend's chicken udon dish- and that is 2/5 on my scale. The udon was cooked nicely with a slight chewiness, broth was acceptable, but the addition of tomatoes just did not work, and the chicken was just so soft- not enough texture contrast. I finished my meal with a perfect matcha green tea ice cream- how could you go wrong with ice cream for dessert? Our waitress was very attentive and courteous to is throughout everything, which I really appreciated! Plus, dining room vibe was good. This is a great dining hall in terms of UCSD dining halls- and in this case the price was pretty worth the taste. Good job bistro! read more
I absolutely love the bistro. I think it's amazing that you can pay dining dollars to get a good restaurant service, and they don't even accept tips (not by dining dollars, I'm not too sure about credit cards though). Everything I've ordered is really on point and consistent, which is convenient. I know what I want to order, and know that I will be satisfied every time! The spicy shrimp lettuce wraps are a must! You should order and share with a friend if you wanna try multiple things. But that appetizer won't feed more than 2 people really. It only comes with 4 pieces of shrimp. But totally worth it because it's spiced perfectly. I don't know if it comes with sauce drizzled on it, so I always just ask for the sauce on the side. It comes with a peanut sauce and a more tangy vinaigrette sauce with cucumbers in it. The papaya salad is on point as well! Perfect amount of spicy (I like spicy!), and it's not liquidy like the other papaya salads I've had. I didn't order a level of spicy and it came out with a good kick. If you don't like spicy then tell them! The salmon dish... Amazing! I prefer less saucy foods (if you couldn't tell from the shrimp review lol), so again, I order it on the side. And it is sooo good! The chicken dish is also delish!! Broclini is my favorite and the cook it perfectly! Nice crunch factor every time. The salmon and chicken dishes come with the perfect mashed potatoes too, omg drooling a little right now thinking of them :x My favorite sushi roll is the rainbow roll (I posted pics). I forget names of other rolls I've tried but all that I have tried and my friends have tried are really delicious. Just read descriptions and pick based on your tastings. Green tea ice cream? How could they go wrong!? If you can't tell, I really like this place! The architecture is cool, the presentation of plates are beautiful and perfect for Instagram pics, and the staff is (overall) friendly and helpful. Try and make reservations and know that they stop sushi takeout at 4, and all other takeout around 5:30 (I believe). read more
14 years ago
What's with the bad reviews? This place is actually pretty damn good. Things to try: The Bistro Roll ($9) - spicy krab, gobo root, cucumber, and ebi roll topped with avocado and tuna. The Dragon Roll ($10) - tempura shrimp, krab and cream cheese topped with eel, avocado and eel sauce. The Hoisin-Glazed Roasted Chicken ($13) - one half chicken glazed with hoisin and then roasted to a crisp, juicy finish. Paired with soy glazed broccolini and brown rice. The half roasted chicken is a steal! The chicken was moist and juicy, and the skin was perfectly sweetened with the hoison glaze. The broccolini, which is known to be quite bitter, balanced out the sweetness of the chicken. I highly recommend it! If you're more into sushi rolls, I would recommend the Bistro Roll. It's so gooood. Did I mention that most of their rolls come in ten pieces? Mm hmm, this place does it right. A bang for your buck! Or dining dollars. P.S. Complementary wonton chips wrapped in a seaweed paper cone! So frickin' addicting. read more
Food: Meh Desserts: Banana turon is very good (except for the green tea ice cream that comes with it - fishy and icy), other desserts are pretty good too The food is average, but that's for restraunts in general. For UCSD food, it's no worse than what you get in the dining halls, and maybe even a little bit better. Regardless, The Bistro deserves at least one trip if only for the novelty of it. Dining dollars!!!!! Also, hopefully you'll get Kelly H. as your busboy. She's the best water refiller on campus! read more
One of the perks of living in ERC is being so close to The Bistro. It is a huge plus that students can use dining dollars here. The first time that I came here, I made the terrible mistake of ordering the ramen. Please don't get it. It looks like it would taste good, but it actually tastes even worse than the ramen from Cafe Ventanas. I forced down three bites, and then had to order something else. After that visit, I've only been ordering sushi every time I go. The sushi is definitely worth getting. I've tried a few different kinds of sushi here and my favorite is the rising sun. It's on the more expensive side, but it's definitely worth it especially since I'm sick of dining hall food. I also love the complementary wonton chips wrapped in a seaweed cone thing that can be constantly refilled with no charge. If you want an appetizer, I recommend the pot stickers! The desserts are also pretty good too. I really like the green tea ice cream, and the lemongrass and ginger creme brûlée isn't bad either. The banana turons comes with a scoop of green tea ice cream! Unfortunately, unlike the other dining halls, The Bistro is only opened on weekdays. There is usually a long wait during lunch and dinner hours, especially on Fridays. They do take reservations and take out. If you want take out, you have to go there and order. They won't let you order over the phone. Even though The Bistro might be far for most students from other colleges, it is definitely worth getting if you want something different than what is offered at dining halls. 4 stars! read more
12 years ago
LOVE LOVE LOVE bistro!!! Last year my friend Jackie and I used to go here every 2 days (sometimes even 4 days in a row). Sit at the sushi bar and order from the head sushi chef mike! He's the man and always hooks it up! I always run out of dining dollars by 3rd quarter Cus of how delicious bistro is!! Highly recommended ! read more
Plating is always really fancy, but the food is mediocre at best. I've been here a few times and its never really blown me away. Although it is "classier" than other dining halls at UCSD, I'd have to say the food is almost on par with other places. Especially now with 64 Degrees over in Revelle. The salmon I got was extremely overcooked and very dry. The veggies that came with it were way too salty. Not the best place to get food on campus. read more
12 years ago
I live at UCSD and this is the best place to get sushi on campus. You can never go wrong with The Bistro or the Dragon roll. The rolls are fresh and tasty. I like the fact that we can use our dining dollars. Good people and great service. The menu has changed so they no longer offer the ahi tuna appetizer which I'm bummed about but they have a new dessert menu. Try the pineapple w/ creme anglaise. read more
10 years ago
The Bistro is known by pretty much every on-campus student at UCSD. It's been a kind of place to go when you want food that is a bit better than your run-of-the-mill dining food. Recently the Bistro has come under new management, changing their menu items and creating new brunch hours (10am-4pm on Sundays as of the time of this review), and I have to say the dishes have been improved. The food is good, not great. The sushi is the most popular food at the restaurant, with about 10 different types, ranging from Dragon unagi rolls to imitation crab crunchy rolls. I'd give them a 6.5/10--the fish and rice quality aren't the best, but they can satisfy a craving. The other entrees I believe are not as good. For example, the ramen is a bit bland and the garnish doesn't go that well with the broth or noodles. I would recommend the pork belly sweet buns, though--those are probably the best thing on the menu. My favorite time to eat is brunch, because I love the Eggs Benedict (grilled salmon or pork belly). Unfortunately, they are pretty inconsistent. Most of the time the poached egg is nice and runny with a beautiful presentation (see my photo). Other times, the egg is overcooked and flipped off onto the plate. But even when it's prefect, the portion is a bit small (7/10 overall). The staff is nice and usually attentive, but I feel they can improve especially knowing when to pick up the check. Overall, this is a good dining choice, especially if you live in the Village, because it's so much closer than Café V! If you're in a hurry, get the sushi for take-out. Definitely worth your dining dollars! Maybe not worth your cash. read more
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The Bistro At the Strand - asianfusion - Updated September 2026
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