I'm so happy I found this restaurant! I went there today for dinner, and I was greeted right away with a big smile. I sat down, and my server came right away. I ordered a drink and an appetizer and entree, which I loved. Finally, I ordered tiramisu for dessert which was delicious. The ambiance was cozy.! definitely recommend this place. Great job to the chef and wait staff.
Dorothy W.
Service can be slow but it is a delightful place for a leisurely lunch with delicious food.
Andy
Friendly environment, welcoming and easy to locate items available for purchase. I ordered the baguette sandwich with brie and turkey and pistachio chocolate croissant. Everything was fresh and appealing!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Sinaly Roy
After a few years , Stopped at the downstairs entrance bistro area on a Sunday afternoon for a coffee and sandwich after many years. Food was ok, but space was very unappealing; glass windows dirty and overly covered in signs, the abandoned front welcome bar area was scattered with piles of half opened cardboard boxes of supplies, and the fireplace sitting area was littered with crumbs and bits of food all over the floor and tables . Won’t be backParking: Sumner shopping center in Bethesda, MD
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 3
Service: 3
C Christensen
I really love this neighborhood gem. Pretty much everything they bake is delicious. My kids adore the brownies. The service is friendly and fast. Highly recommend this spot.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Mirella Barahona
I have been at this locations several times, just to buy cakes. I think they are great regardless of the price. And their costumer service was always great until today. I came in with my mother and there were two kids at the front that didn’t even look like they were old enough to be working. They didn’t even greet me or asked if I needed any help I had to say Hello and asked for help. As the girl was getting the cake out of he display to place it on the box, the chocolate squares fell off and she said “ oh we can always attach them” she picked them up and attached them back to the cake. Sadly I really needed the cake and that was the only chocolate cake they had in display. Will I ever go back? I don’t think so.
Service: 1
Lisa
Good food, service and
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Rabia Masood
I tried bakery items, found great variety and fun flavors!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
A. M.
Do not purchase their to-go food. My "salad" turned out to be an artfully prepared box of lettuce with 2 tomatoes, 4 green beans, 1 fingerling potato, and no more than 2 tablespoons of tuna. I actually spent some time rummaging through the lettuce because I was sure there must be more. Nope. Worst were the 2 kalamata olives, one of which was pitted, so I bit into the second one incautiously--and surprise! It had a pit. I fear I may have cracked my tooth. Clearly they do not value their customers enough to do much quality control, or to put enough ingredients into a $14 salad to make it an actual "salad" rather than a box of lettuce with some garnish.
Natalie R.
The food was delicious! I got the chicken pot pie and Caesar salad (no protein). Perfect temperature. Came out in a reasonable time. Staff were super friendly and accommodating! The restaurant was cozy and spacious.
Went to the bakery/coffee bar today. The lack of helpfulness and disregard for customers was pronounced. It’s confusing where you order, pay and pick up and none of the three teenagers behind the counter seem to offer any information. The baguette sandwich was basically tasteless, although the lentil soup was good. My latte was half foam, so not the right proportion of milk to espresso. My friend got a café au lait, which was undrinkable to her… It looked more like a cup of coffee with a little almond milk in it (very dark). She had to rush off, so I mentioned it to the kids behind the counter as I was leaving, in hopes that they would be interested in learning and making sure they were creating the right types of drinks later, but they showed no interest whatsoever. There are signs posted everywhere to keep customers in line - we don’t heat up any food; please be patient we’re working as fast as we can - but no oversight of the employees and no urgency to serve people efficiently and do it well. Feels like a typical Bethesda experience: pay a lot, don’t get much.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 2
Service: 2
Heather S.
The pastries are pretty good, not great. The coffee is pretty good considering that's not an emphasis. The sandwiches are good as are the cakes and cookies, some excellent (Pave). There is at least one very helpful/professional person there and then there are others who seem to be poorly trained. Place is always a bit too dusty, needs a really good deep clean and all staff should be trained on use of gloves/paper/tongs etc to handle baked goods.
SENEM AYDOGAN
We tried the bistro part for the first time for a quick early dinner on a Sunday evening. They have a small patio upstairs which we enjoyed (but had to move indoors due to mosquitoes!). It was quiet and the service was good.Onion soup was delicious! We also ordered two caesar salads (salmon and chicken), which were very big portions and delicious as well.We paid 10$ for soup, 22$ for salmon caesar salad and, 17$ for chicken caesar salad.I’d like to try the bakery part soon.Overall, it was a solid 4-4,5 star. I recommend this business.
Blessed Queen
The food was alright. I felt like they rush you to leave…and they hover over constantly. Including when we asked to sit outside for a little bit we were denied a chair…I don’t think I will visit again. They could do better in customer service.
rusty m
For the past 10 years, The Bistro was always a ‘go to’ place for reasonable priced good French food. No longer for us. This was the third time we’ve been disappointed. The mussels were TINY; about the size of a small peanut. Fries were hot but limp and mushy. When I got to the broth at the bottom of the bowl it was so salty I could not eat it. My guest got the crab cakes which were a generous size, but the Dijon mustard in the crab mixture was so strong it overwhelmed the crab. So to pick up the disappointing meal on a high note, we went for our favorite dessert…apple rustic. Both came to the table stone cold, right out of the refrigerator and tasted like they were made last week. For $4 extra I got a scoop of vanilla ice cream about the size of a large marble. Service was a 5 out of 10. We had to ask for more water and to have our table wiped down before dessert. The table cloths/paper are gone. This dinner for two people with a 4oz glass of wine, each, was just over $100. I don’t mind paying the $100, if the food and service great.
I'm so happy I found this restaurant! I went there today for dinner, and I was greeted right away with a big smile. I sat down, and my server came right away. I ordered a drink and an appetizer and entree, which I loved. Finally, I ordered tiramisu for dessert which was delicious. The ambiance was cozy.! definitely recommend this place. Great job to the chef and wait staff.
Service can be slow but it is a delightful place for a leisurely lunch with delicious food.
Friendly environment, welcoming and easy to locate items available for purchase. I ordered the baguette sandwich with brie and turkey and pistachio chocolate croissant. Everything was fresh and appealing!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
After a few years , Stopped at the downstairs entrance bistro area on a Sunday afternoon for a coffee and sandwich after many years. Food was ok, but space was very unappealing; glass windows dirty and overly covered in signs, the abandoned front welcome bar area was scattered with piles of half opened cardboard boxes of supplies, and the fireplace sitting area was littered with crumbs and bits of food all over the floor and tables . Won’t be backParking: Sumner shopping center in Bethesda, MD
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 3
Service: 3
I really love this neighborhood gem. Pretty much everything they bake is delicious. My kids adore the brownies. The service is friendly and fast. Highly recommend this spot.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
I have been at this locations several times, just to buy cakes. I think they are great regardless of the price. And their costumer service was always great until today. I came in with my mother and there were two kids at the front that didn’t even look like they were old enough to be working. They didn’t even greet me or asked if I needed any help I had to say Hello and asked for help. As the girl was getting the cake out of he display to place it on the box, the chocolate squares fell off and she said “ oh we can always attach them” she picked them up and attached them back to the cake. Sadly I really needed the cake and that was the only chocolate cake they had in display. Will I ever go back? I don’t think so.
Service: 1
Good food, service and
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
I tried bakery items, found great variety and fun flavors!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Do not purchase their to-go food. My "salad" turned out to be an artfully prepared box of lettuce with 2 tomatoes, 4 green beans, 1 fingerling potato, and no more than 2 tablespoons of tuna. I actually spent some time rummaging through the lettuce because I was sure there must be more. Nope. Worst were the 2 kalamata olives, one of which was pitted, so I bit into the second one incautiously--and surprise! It had a pit. I fear I may have cracked my tooth. Clearly they do not value their customers enough to do much quality control, or to put enough ingredients into a $14 salad to make it an actual "salad" rather than a box of lettuce with some garnish.
The food was delicious! I got the chicken pot pie and Caesar salad (no protein). Perfect temperature. Came out in a reasonable time. Staff were super friendly and accommodating! The restaurant was cozy and spacious.
Restaurantji Recommends
Went to the bakery/coffee bar today. The lack of helpfulness and disregard for customers was pronounced. It’s confusing where you order, pay and pick up and none of the three teenagers behind the counter seem to offer any information. The baguette sandwich was basically tasteless, although the lentil soup was good. My latte was half foam, so not the right proportion of milk to espresso. My friend got a café au lait, which was undrinkable to her… It looked more like a cup of coffee with a little almond milk in it (very dark). She had to rush off, so I mentioned it to the kids behind the counter as I was leaving, in hopes that they would be interested in learning and making sure they were creating the right types of drinks later, but they showed no interest whatsoever. There are signs posted everywhere to keep customers in line - we don’t heat up any food; please be patient we’re working as fast as we can - but no oversight of the employees and no urgency to serve people efficiently and do it well. Feels like a typical Bethesda experience: pay a lot, don’t get much.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 2
Service: 2
The pastries are pretty good, not great. The coffee is pretty good considering that's not an emphasis. The sandwiches are good as are the cakes and cookies, some excellent (Pave). There is at least one very helpful/professional person there and then there are others who seem to be poorly trained. Place is always a bit too dusty, needs a really good deep clean and all staff should be trained on use of gloves/paper/tongs etc to handle baked goods.
We tried the bistro part for the first time for a quick early dinner on a Sunday evening. They have a small patio upstairs which we enjoyed (but had to move indoors due to mosquitoes!). It was quiet and the service was good.Onion soup was delicious! We also ordered two caesar salads (salmon and chicken), which were very big portions and delicious as well.We paid 10$ for soup, 22$ for salmon caesar salad and, 17$ for chicken caesar salad.I’d like to try the bakery part soon.Overall, it was a solid 4-4,5 star. I recommend this business.
The food was alright. I felt like they rush you to leave…and they hover over constantly. Including when we asked to sit outside for a little bit we were denied a chair…I don’t think I will visit again. They could do better in customer service.
For the past 10 years, The Bistro was always a ‘go to’ place for reasonable priced good French food. No longer for us. This was the third time we’ve been disappointed. The mussels were TINY; about the size of a small peanut. Fries were hot but limp and mushy. When I got to the broth at the bottom of the bowl it was so salty I could not eat it. My guest got the crab cakes which were a generous size, but the Dijon mustard in the crab mixture was so strong it overwhelmed the crab. So to pick up the disappointing meal on a high note, we went for our favorite dessert…apple rustic. Both came to the table stone cold, right out of the refrigerator and tasted like they were made last week. For $4 extra I got a scoop of vanilla ice cream about the size of a large marble. Service was a 5 out of 10. We had to ask for more water and to have our table wiped down before dessert. The table cloths/paper are gone. This dinner for two people with a 4oz glass of wine, each, was just over $100. I don’t mind paying the $100, if the food and service great.