Reviews of Bistro 185
| Food |
 |
| Service |
 |
| Atmosphere |
 |
| Cleanliness |
|
Overall |
 |
|
|
|
Way too Good for E 185th
The atmosphere in this place leaves a LOT to be desired. Everything is dark and old and, in the bar area, cramped.
That being said, the crummy atmosphere is more than made up for by the outstanding food.
I was just there, again, today for lunch. The daily lunch specials are OUTSTANDING and they often run out before lunch is over. Today's special was chicken paprikash. However, because my friend and I go often, they kindly made us a lunch portion of their "long boned pork shanks with raspberry chipotle glaze", which is the Monday lunch special, and charged us the lunch special price. Very accomodating.
The pork shank dish is unbelievably good. The meat is perfect, falls off the bone, and the meat is lean but moist. The glaze is excellent. The lunch special is served with sweet potato fries (which they will kindly substitute for a small charge, $1 I think, in any dish that comes with fries). The sweet potato fries are really, really good and worth any substitution charge.
The prices are not cheap, my friend and I both had the pork shank ($9.50 each), a blueberry mojito - they went upstairs to the garden to pick the mint fresh - ($9.00, ouch, but really, really good), and cinnamon cheese streudel (can't remember how much).
The portions are very fair, not overly large, but you won't go away hungry. I took home one of the two pork shanks from my lunch.
I usually skip dessert. I certainly don't eat streudel, too many calories with not enough pleasure. However, I will order any dessert made by the chef. Now, I must clarify, I will order any dessert made by the chef, however, not all the desserts are made by the chef. I believe most or all of the cakes and tortes are made by an outside baker/bakery. They are better than average, but pale in comparison to the chef's desserts.
The cinnamon cheese streudel had the most perfect, flaky crust (I know, flaky crust almost certainly means that shortening was involved so don't eat it every day). And apparently, cheese streudel has always been missing the cinnamon. The cinnamon gave the streudel just something extra.
The best dessert here though is the bread pudding. The chef makes different types of bread pudding. The best is the plain bread pudding. It sounds stupid, but the plain bread pudding is so good, it's almost custardy; it's hard to properly describe this beautiful, simple dessert. But, it's not always available (my friend actually calls and asks if they have it).
There are a couple of off notes in the menu. The tuna melt on the lunch menu had far too much cheese. And the chicken dishes are a little less than they should be, especially when compared to the rest of the menu. However, overall, this is an excellent restaurant.
Review by Juli from North Olmsted posted August 07, 2007
|
|
| Food |
|
| Service |
 |
| Atmosphere |
|
| Cleanliness |
|
Overall |
|
|
|
|
Something different & tasty
We ate here one night recently and very much enjoyed it. The portions are big. The food is very home-y, like something your mom or grandma would make. Very delicious. The dessert menu had some choices on it that you don't usually see, and we were very pleased with them. The atmosphere is warm and cozy, the table we sat at had some cool maps on it. Make reservations, because it can get crowded.
Review by Anonymous from Sagamore Hills posted May 09, 2007
|
|
| Food |
|
| Service |
|
| Atmosphere |
|
| Cleanliness |
|
Overall |
|
|
|
|
WONDERFUL!!
They recently extended their menu - and it is wonderful! We eat there a lot for lunch - it gets packed!! Service could be a bit quicker. But all in all I HIGHLY recommend it!!
I love the cajun chicken sandwich. We also love the schnitzel sandwich and the fish fry (great mac&chz!) They have healthy items on the menu as well. Everything is reasonably priced. Generally a sandwich with cottage fries and (really yummy coleslaw) is around $8.95. It is a cozy atmosphere (although I wish they would put cushions on the benches). It is very clean!!
Review by Anonymous from Cleveland posted February 13, 2007
|
|
|
|
