Went here for a first date - was perfect atmosphere! Comfortable, but nice, not a pretention in the place! Menu has lots of options - all good, comfort-food-with-a twist dishes prepared using quality ingredients. Food was great, service was timely, friendly & helpful. It was a quiet afternoon, so that probably helped, but it was great to be able to linger over appetizers, entrees, and our drinks. I thought portions were adequate to large - couldn't have eaten another bite, despite how yummy everything was. read more

Excellent food, excellent service! I am vegan and they GLADLY accommodated me and I had a marvelous dinner! Everyone at my table was happy, well fed and to be honest, we were treated and well cared for as though we were regulars even though we were passing through Bowling Green on our way home to Atlanta. Highly recommend! read more

I love coming here for brunch. Their drinks are great, I always get a mimosa, and they have a creative menu to choose from. I have yet to have a bad meal here. read more

Food was great, service was wonderful, nice atmosphere--somewhat formal but clearly doesn't have to be (It IS Kentucky after all). Definitely worth going back to soon. They make a good mojito too read more

I didn't have the pizza. I had the greek salad and a dish that had penne pasta, chicken, prosciutto, and shrimp in a cream sauce. Pretty rich! I went on a Wednesday and they affectionately called it Whino Wednesday i believe. 1/2 price on wine by the glass as well as 1/2 price on bottles. Too bad I had to drive back to my hotel. However, I had a great glass of Cabernet Sauvignon. The bartender, waiting staff, and owner were super friendly. I hope I get back soon! read more

I really enjoyed my meal there. I don't mind paying a little for well prepared food that is fresh. I give it several thumbs up and will return when I the chance. read more

The food is really, good, with creative specials and attentive service. The only drawback is the noisiness. With two large parties in the open 4-room space, we could hardly exchange a word over the loudness level. You really need either partitions or soft furnishings to dampen the resonance. The wooden floors and brick walls are nice, but do the opposite of sound insulating. read more

This is yet another prime example of an amazing locally owned restaurant. Places like The Bistro are why I wish we had more family and locally owned restaurants instead of the large franchise fast food and sit down restaurants. I have been to The Bistro on multiple occasions at varying times of the day. Regardless of how busy it is they always offer amazing service. The staff is always friendly and the cooks are wonderful. My favorite dish is the Penne Rustica. The serving sizes are large and the prices are very reasonable for the quality of food. read more

This place is lovely, in an old building with an enthusiastic staff. The food was good! My husband loved his grilled lamb lollipops with a bean and veggie medley. Good place to go for in upscale evening meal. read more

My wife and I celebrated her birthday here while on a road trip! Excellent choice, as service, food and atmosphere where all terrific! Food centers on local suppliers--always a plus-- and was well prepared and served. Lots of choices for vegetarians also! Highly recommend! read more

What a find! We are just passing through Bowling Green and checked ratings on Yelp. So glad we did. The location in a mansion built in the 1800's, the gracious welcome and description of menus details by our server...then the food. We loved it all. Will definitely find this spot again next time through town. read more

The barbecue sliders were amazing and were a perfect size and with enough room left we top it off with the chocolate mousse cake. The rest of our group loved every bite. No complaints. read more

You really shouldn't eat anywhere else in BG. Everything is amazing!! We bring our "little" kids with us occasionally and the staff and chef have always more than catered to them and their appetites! read more

Great meal....went with a large group and everyone loved their food. The only complaint I have is they are lacking in their beer selection. Otherwise the menu provided lots of great choices...I recommend the creole shrimp read more

We just had the best experience here celebrating our 36th anniversary! The service and meal could not have been better! We had delicious cocktails, perfectly cooked steaks and then a chocolate cake that was amazing. We definitely will be back but won't wait until the next anniversary!! read more

I had the vegetable curry daily lunch special washed down with a bourbon barrel ale - really tasty!

Was driving through town and with Covid I refused to eat indoors at any restaurant. Lucky for us The Bistro has a nice covered patio. I also noticed how the employees seemed to take all the precautions wearing masks, gloves and politely keeping their distance while providing excellent service. The first time I ordered the salmon crab cake. So delicious and served over all healthy items. Please don't confuse healthy with bland. This entree was amazing. My dining partner opted for shrimp and grits and it was also scrumptious as I got to have some. On our second visit I ordered the seared scallops special over angel hair pasta, he ordered the tortellini carbonara. Both entrees did not disappoint. I'm so glad we found a place that was nice enough to feel like date night but casual enough that we felt comfortable. It was our first time out in a while. Outdoors. It felt very safe. And the atmosphere, food, and service were on point. read more

The chef is amazing!!! He comes up with the most delicious combinations. We had the tuna tartar and didn't want anything else because it was such a decadent treat. Our server, Jenny was terrific and the atmosphere is so warm and welcoming. We love coming when it is warm enough to sit out on the deck. The last time we were there my husband had this beautiful dish of mussels, shrimp, octopus and squid ink pasta. So delightful!!! read more

The chef really out did himself this time! Had the crab appetizer and the scallops and gnocci special. It was amazing. Leaving full and would recommend this restaurant to anyone wanting to experience a classy and special place in Bowling Green! read more

In August we celebrated my husband's birthday at The Bistro, while visiting Bowling Green. We love this restaurant! The food was delicious, the decor was very trendy, and the service was excellent. I highly recommend this place for a special occasion, a date night, or whenever you want something just a little different. I was afraid it wouldn't be kid friendly, but my 3 year old daughter ate just fine. The bar looked nice too. Next time, my husband and I are going to check out the bar. read more

Very good food and amazing service! Have enjoyed all my lunches at the bistro. Need more drink specials!

It's expensive you can't imagine i order mahi mahi fish with ceazer salad it was super delicious but at the end when he bring ticket it was more than 50 bucks OMG!, i want in night arround 9 45 it was quite read more

Fabulous food. Terrific service. An eclectic menu makes choosing difficult, but choose we did. We started with four drinks ; spicy manhattan, spicy dirty, blood orange margarita, and a Magnolia. The Spicy Manhattan got the highest marks with the Magnolia coming in a close second. For dinner we split the pork belly kimchi rice bowl with our friends splitting the penne rustica. Both were great, but the pork bell kimchi was outstanding. We highly recommend this place for those who want extraordinary food. The portions are definitely large enough to split and are delicious enough to want all to yourself. read more

I liked the restaurant decor and ambiance but there were some BIG drawbacks. The main issue was the fact that you couldn't make substitutions to sides. If a chef is that much of a "soup nazi" he needs to go. Recently ate at Alex Guarnaschelli's 'Butter' in NYC and she allowed substitutions on anything you ordered. There are some things people can't tolerate or may be allergic to...or just detest and shouldn't be forced to have on a plate. read more

Took friends from out of town here over the weekend. The staff was friendly and attentive. The ambiance and decor is nice and warm, set in an old home converted to a restaurant. The menu is fairly small with 10-12 dishes. Apparently they have daily specials or chef creations. The fair is very meat and potatoes. Not a single vegetarian or vegan item on the menu, unless you count the two salad options. They offered vegetable lo mein, but when asked we were told it couldn't be made vegan. Thus I ended up eating side dishes, sautéed vegetables and roasted potatoes. Not bad, but seriously... not a single thought out option for non-meat eaters and no offer to try to come up with anything. Lots of fish options on the menu, which is what everyone else in the party ate. The salmon was over cooked for both the people that ordered it. Overall, I can't see a reason to return. Over-priced for the quality and lack of options. read more

I can't understand why mine is the only 5 star review. Obviously no one reviewing this place ordered the Champagne Chicken. This dinner is nothing short of exquisite. The champagne sauce is nicely prepared and an exceptional complement to the chicken breast. Presentation of the entree was unpretentious and good -- presentation and content of the antipasto plate matched or exceeded any antipasto plate I have ever ordered. Decor is funky and pleasant, featuring local artists. Server was knowledgeable and attentive without being intrusive. The house white wine could have been better, but then I should have ordered better. read more

The server basically ignore me. Walked by and did not asked if I needed water. However, he chatted with the older couple for a long time.

Excellent Portuguese soup! Great service and wonderful place to enjoy a great lunch or dinner with friends. Manager checked on our table and made sure everything was good. This place is fantastic! read more

Came here for a work dinner. It's located in "old" Bowling Green in a little house. There's parking on the street or in parking lots next to the restaurant or across the street. We were promptly seated and our waiter came to serve drinks. I ordered a glass of wine but their selection was limited to things that I could easily find in a grocery store. Their beer selection was much larger. The menu looked great with lots of selections and they had several appetizer and entree specials. I opted for the salmon on pea mash and Yukon potatoes with a orange mustard vinaigrette salad. The salmon and potatoes were good but pea mash was cold (intended) and wasn't what I expected. The dish overall was good though. Others in my party ordered the prime rib and filet which looked awesome so probably should have gotten that. Dinner regrets. The desserts (turtle pie and cheesecake) looked really good but I was stuffed after eating. Maybe next time. The service was great. Very attentive and knowledgeable about the food read more

We were traveling through town and arrived at The Bistro around 3:45; an awkward time as the restaurant was about to close for lunch and prep for dinner. The hostess was incredibly gracious, and treated us like welcome guests. The food was excellent, restaurant decor was charming, and I ate my lunch wishing I could stay for dinner. Definitely recommend! read more

Loved the pork belly rice bowl. Kimche not to strong, corn fresh off the cob. Mediterranean cosmo- limoncello, vodka and pomegranate puree was perfect. read more

Calamari and veal picatta is amazing. I wish I could eat here every night!

Very good food but iffy service. I went there alone to celebrate my birthday. Guess a single isn't as attractive to a server. Still the drink and food (goat cheese and beet salad) and dinner (seared ahi with grilled asparagus) was very good. Dessert (something chocolate) tasted store bought but was good. Just didn't feel like they much cared about me as a customer. read more

Food is usually good. Service, not so much. I've had multiple rude waitress incidents at this place. The last time I was there, our waitress disappeared for 20 minutes and messed up our check--and never apologized for either. For one of the nicer restaurants in town, they should really try to hire more professional wait staff. Also they don't have any beer on tap, which is really strange. read more

Saturday night my husband and I had a "date night" in which I suggested we go to the Bistro. This was our first time to go in over a year. (Having kids has put a damper on our nice dinners out. ) I've always labeled The Bistro as "hit and miss", but when it's good, it's usually REALLY good! Saturday night was one of the rare off nights, I suppose. We both ordered the Filet Pappato and it was good. Not as good as I remember...perhaps a bit overcooked...but still a good meal. I would have rated higher if the service hadn't been so slow and basically non-existent. On our way to our table, we stopped to talk to a group of people we recognize (2 minutes tops), then sat down and waited for our server. When she appeared she informed us she was sorry to keep us waiting but she'd checked several times before and we weren't to our table yet. (In less than 2 minutes??) She seemed super busy and showed up to deliver food and check in at appropriate times, but I didn't order another glass of wine because she didn't ask me until I was already finished with my meal. No appetizers, no dessert, no salads, 1 drink each, our meal between the two of us was $105. I don't mind to pay that for an outstanding experience, but this was average. Disappointing use of a date night without kids. read more

Food and service were great but very loud. We had a table of six and had a hard time hearing each other.

Party of 6 treated very well! We enjoyed our recent evening at the Bistro, from cocktails through paying the check, split 3 ways. Service was attentive but not obtrusive. Food was delicious, though next time, I will stick with one of my favorites rather than being tempted by a special. read more

First of all this is not the worst restaurant I've ever been to, and it is quite possible I just went on a bad day or ordered a bad item. I have never actually written a bad review for a restaurant but the experience was just so terrible and their reputation so good that I'm in shock. First, when we got there we weren't even greeted at the door. We stood there twiddling our thumbs wondering if we were meant to seat ourselves or wait for someone to take us to our seat. When we did sit down the decor was great it's a great little venue but that's where the compliments end. Our server was either new or incompetent. I hope for his sake he was just new. He did not know the specials and did not offer to tell us what they were. In fact I realized there were specials only when I overheard another server tell his table what they were. That server seemed spectacular so at least one server there is quite impressive, ours was not. We waited an extensive period of time to get coffee because they were apparently brewing another pot however when we actually got the coffee it tasted stale. Also when I drank my coffee the server never offered to refill my cup. My boyfriend ordered the wedge salad and the crab cakes eggs benedict, I ordered just the crabcake eggs benedict. The wedge salad came with a crisp bread that had been allowed to go stale to the point that it could barely be broken in half. The salad had the minimum amount of gorgonzola cheese on it, not enough to justify the price. The crab cake eggs benedict however is where everything just took a left turn to awful. The crab cake was gritty and bready and tasted like stale canned crab. The egg was over cooked to the point that the yolk was grainy. I didn't even know an egg could be cooked to that point. Calling the dish eggs benedict puts shame to the name. The sauce was only a thin bland tasting red pepper puree, no tasty hollendaise. The dish was simply a disgusting crab cake with an overcooked egg plopped on top. The potatoes that came with it were ok at best. The fruit salad consisted of white part of watermelon, not even the sweet part. This was one of the worst breakfasts I've ever eaten. To top it all off the "eggs benedict" cost $14. It would be one thing if this were in a big city or in a fancy hotel where the prices are jacked up but this is in Bowling Green. Prices that high for food that bad are simply unacceptable. I planned on telling the server about how bad the food was but was never actually given a chance as he never actually stopped to speak with us. It is possible we just had a horrible experience but this was without a doubt the most disappointing meal I've had in Kentucky. I hope that someone at the restaurant reads this review because I was not able to track anyone down to give this feedback in the restaurant. I think this must be a good restaurant because it does have amazing reviews but our experience was horrendous. read more

In the past, I would give The Bistro 4 stars. My husband and I went in January 2015 and were surprised to see that the menu was downsized significantly. They no longer serve bread, pizza, or pasta. Thank goodness the Mediterranean tilapia was still on the menu, or we may have left. The Bailey's chocolate cake is also very good. Still good food, but much more limited menu than before. If you had a favorite dish, it might no longer be available. read more

Worst service that I have ever had from a restaurant of this caliper! The sever was extremely over worked and stressed. Reservations were made for a party of only FIVE. My dish was delivered cold and when I asked for it to be warmed I was treated like an inconvenience instead of a guest. My dish was put in front of me and he said "he will return to check on it". Of course it was steaming but much better than cold pasta. When he returned and asked how it was I said "it's freezing" his response "that's what I thought". No pride for the chef he works for. Absolutely awful! read more