I have to say after reading the three reviews on the Bistro that I agree with two of them. I urge anyone reading these reviews to disregard John's comments as much as possible. I think that Jan is one hell of a business woman. She offers great drink specials and seems to be constantly striving to make her customers happy. She does not have to offer drink specials every night. She does not have to have Bingo Night every Thursday night and give out free shots to the winners. I am more of a person that sits back and watches how people behave in order to make my first impressions. As the matter of a fact I can be a shy person unless I get to know someone pretty well. I have only spoken to Jan on a few occasions, and therefore, I can provide an unbiased opinion about the Bistro. From what I have seen, Jan makes the enviornment comfortable and accepting, and she does not have a greedy bone in her body, unlike most business owners. In addition, she has made my drinks before and she puts just as much alcohol in the drinks if not more than the bartenders do. Most business owners would be stingy with the alcohol and try to get a bigger return on his or her investment. In addition, she had the ingenious idea to have karaoke on Thursday after bingo, and I swear the bar is more crowded on Thursday nights than it is on the weekend. In addition, the bartenders are very nice there, especially Tiffany and Selena (sorry if i misspelled your name). The bartenders and Jan always make you feel like you are welcome. It does not matter if you are a regular, rich, poor, middle of the road, straight, gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transexual. They will treat you like you are the only customer in the bar irregardless of the size of your usual tip. They all practice respect for the individual, which is an important component in maintaining and securing future loyal clientele. So if you are debating on whether or not to come into the Bistro, I am telling you that if you do, you will not regret it. Please remember to tip your bartenders becuase they deserve it and it's the right thing to do. They are trying to make a living just like everyone else!!! Signed, Chuck, a happy customer read more

Mixed feelings. It IS an important hangout for queer ppl who want to drink, but I wish, for example, the monthly Gender Euphoria meetup would allow ppl of ALL ages to attend and that's not possible at a bar. Also, as person hoping to make friends, it just doesn't (IMO) have the best atmosphere for that, partly because it's often pretty noisy. Not very conversation-friendly. In a previous life, I went to an incredibly friendly (straight) bar. No TVs, the occasional live band, but typically quiet, great for chatting. Was more of a hangout than a place to get tipsy. The bar tenders are okay, but they don't interact with customers much. Maybe they are just too busy. In my previous bar, the main bartender loved to chat with customers and that, I think, really helped ppl to open up and chat among themselves. And feel welcome. Yeah, one bar can't do everything. Just wish there was a more sedate hang-out place for queers that was compatible with conversation. read more

lol no. No Ma'am. This is not it. This bar is the WORST gay bar in Illinois. Not a friendly person in sight. Not One. Well, the door chick was ok. Anyway, the music is terrible. It's just noise. Reminds me of a techno club circa early 2000s. Bartenders (there were two) umm yeah. You can keep them. I could only stand about an hour and a half of this place. I feel sad for the LGBT community here. Saturday night and the best you have to offer is this group of unfriendly people. From the bartenders to the "DJ" upstairs. I ll never go back. No reason to. Just stay home. Seriously. I can see why it's dead on a Saturday night. read more

I moved here from Columbus Ohio were I have been a bartender almost 30 years. The bartender was one of the rudest people (let alone for a bartender) I have ever met! The place felt dirty. And I don't think has been updated in over 20 years. I felt more welcome across the street at the straight bar and I'm the queerest man you'll ever meet. The bartender at the straight bar shook my hand asked me my name and I never had to ask for another drink. The bartender a the Bistro couldn't have cared less if I was there or not. Horiable place Im sorry to say considering it's the only gay bar in town. read more

Safe space for LGBTQ+ community, fun events, and an owner who is very passionate about the Bloomington-Normal community.

WORST BAR IN BLOOMINGTON NORMAL. The bartenders are bitchy the crowd is rude the "drag queens " are sub par at best with the exclusion of Sharon sharealike but one would hope that the show runner at the very least would have some amount of talent save your money and time and go to any of the other bars on the same strip in downtown Bloomington for a gay friendly environment it's the most exclusive high school cliquey place where if you haven't been going for 6 or more years you will be paid zero attention if you want a gay friendly environment go to night shop. read more

Employees are super rude and judgemental. Drinks are mid, ambience is weird and all over the place. Don't bother.

This place is great! From out of town and I had a great time here! The bingo is amazing! read more

The Bistro - a table with bingo cards and a drink - Gay Bars Near Me - Bloomington, Illinois

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Such a cute place and love the owner. Everyone calls her momma and you can tell she care about everyone. Very welcoming accepting and fun chill vibes. My gf and I will be back! read more

The Bistro is awesome and it's always so much fun. Drink prices are cheap and you'll probably even find some sort of free snack (popcorn, etc.) on the edge of the bar. It's a great spot for singing karaoke or dancing any other night of the week. Mama, the owner, is so generous and she cares about every employee, performer, and patron. She opens up this space to be more than just a bar, it is a meeting place for open-minded and progressive people, everyone is welcome. read more

The Bistro is a bar whose time has come and gone. Back when Bloomington-Normal was a "one bar town" it was the only place for gays to go and most of us either skipped it all together or went every once in a great while. With the arrival of Shark Bar on Finance Drive (near Gold's Gym in Bloomington) most of us have abandoned our old, dirty, funny smelling friend all together. Bistro may survivie because it has its hardcore loyalists (I'm not one of them) and the bachelorette crowd downtown to rely on. The bar is VERY dark, VERY dirty, and has that frat house basement smell you just can't quite point out. Most of the time when you approach the door you have to walk through a cloud of smoke just to get to the surly door guy. If you must go, I guess Friday night is the only time to go when DJ Rakestraw is spinning...but it will still be dead. If you go on a Saturday night you'll be listening to whatever DJ Squeeza decides she wants to play (and most of the time that's hardcore Euro-techno...and don't even think of requesting a song unless you want to get screamed at!) I guess that's the luxury you have when you're the owner's girflfriend. We all love Jan and she had a good thing going when she was the only show in town, but not updating a thing in 20+ years won't help business. If you're downtown drinking at any of the other bars (Rosie's, Elroy's, The Loft) and you want to have a drink with "family" you can head to the The B (prefereably when you're nice and drunk) but if you're making a special trip out....just head to Shark for a nice atmosphere, good videos, and good friends! read more

I agree with Kristi that this is a fun bar to go to(and saying this as a heterosexual male). IIRC, I think this is the only gay bar in the whole Bloomington-Normal area. Saddens me that back when I went to Illinois State University, that I never quite made it here a 2nd time, and since I had a great time when I went with a few gay friends and girls here. It's also one of your very few options if you're seeking something other than your typical bar catering to college students in downtown Bloomington, as about 97% of them(literally, lol, outside of this and less than a handful of others) primarily cater to ISU or Illinois Wesleyan students. Bar is pretty roomy on the inside, and drink specials weren't bad. Has a small 2nd-floor area near the back too, if my memory serves me correctly. Only bad thing for those who like being out late is due to the bar closing law in both Bloomington and Normal, that bars close up at 1am on weekdays, so it isn't uncommon(as I've heard from the gay friends I had here) for some to drive to gay bars in Champaign-Urbana, and/or Peoria(not sure about the latter, but I'll guess for all I know, there could be at least 1 there). Wouldn't mind coming back here, if for all I know, I chose one day to return to Illinois State University again. read more

Anyone looking for a small town bar with small town dreams, the bistro is for you. The bar is actually larger than most dive bar, which could host a lot of good events if the crowd ever comes back. The clientele is definitely older and very dedicated to the bar. Everyone is nice, and the owner "Mom" tries to put on a good time. The bar definitely very busy the few times I went, and the show was interesting. The place definitely needs and upgrade and a staff with new ideas. read more

One of the VERY few bars in town where you don't have to worry about personal safety. The staff can be a little sassy, but the drinks are always well mixed and reasonably priced (downright cheap during the week!), and everyone seems to watch out for everyone else. You don't have to be gay to hang out there, and definitely hit it up on drag nights with Sharon Sharealike-- she's the best MC in central IL! read more

The Bistro is an "alternative" (i.e. glbt) nightclub in downtown Bloomington where everyone is welcome. It has a great, hometown bar feel to it and the drinks are top-notch. Definitely no watering down here! There are nightly drink specials, the best being Thursdays when everything, even top shelf drinks, cost only $2.50 (or less if they weren't that much to begin with). Occasionally they have special bands or musicians play, and they have holiday parties and drag shows. There is a decent dance floor and small stage, an ATM inside, and friendly, fun bartenders. They normally open at 8pm but on Fridays are open at 4:30 for happy hour. I don't like going to the sports bars that are filled with college kids whose focus is how someone's hair looks or if a guy can chug ten beers in one minute. I like to be where people are down-to-earth, friendly, and the average age isn't 21 going on 15. read more

Always fun! Friendly customers and staff, great prices. The shows are entertaining. People come to dance on the weekend. Mama (the owner) is the gem of this place, we come here just to see her sometimes! Oh and you should definitely come for Bingo on Thursday nights, it's fabulous. read more

The Bistro is an amazingly fun and welcoming bar. Jan, the owner, is just about as sweet as they come and the bartenders are all awesome. If you want to get away from the Bros and Hos that seem to breed in DT Bloomington it is the perfect place to go. The Bros, of course, avoid the place like the plague and the Hos are off at other bars attempting to attract the Bros. That leaves a bunch of really chill people to hang out with. The drink specials are good if you are trying to drink on a budget. All in all this bar is a must visit. read more

The staff is super friendly, and you always meet interesting people there. The building is dirty needs to be cleaned.

Friendly staff. Fast service. Cheap drinks. Sometimes decent music.

It's not a bad place. It doesn't get super crowded which can be nice compared to the other bars in town. There's 2 cages and decent music the whole time. My only complaint really was the lesbian bartender was completely rude to us when we were asking for drinks and when she gave them to us. She was mean and cranky almost. Then later that night my friend wasn't feeling well which has never happened before to be honest in the 2 years I've known her and so we went to the bathroom and just hung out in the bathroom in case. We were in there and just standing in a stall and the bartender came in went to the bathroom and started screaming at us "if she's sick you guys gotta go! You have to leave she's sick - Get out of here. You have to leave!" I understand bars have some nasty drunks and pukers but she was not one. Her stomach was upset. Probably from one of the drinks she made her. We were walking out of th ebathroom and toward the door and she was still screaming at us. Seriously? Chill the f out. She was obviously rude, and blind cause we were walking to the door and that has put such a negative view on this bar that I once thought was fun. Don't go there. Bar specials are better else where and unless you're with a huge group of friends its dumb. read more

Have been a handful of times on the weekends and everytime the place was dead and those that are there are older. The DJ plays horrible house techno music to an empty dancefloor. The rest of the bar is really dirty and outdated. As for the customer service its horrible. Last time I was there the bartender ignored me for twenty minutes while she flirted with a customer. When I finally interrupted her and explained my friends were waiting on me to close my tab she responded that she "would keep me waiting all night''. Refused to give me my credit card and I was not able to get it back. Had to cancel my credit card. read more