Blue Moon Bistro — Restaurant in Beaufort

Had a nice experience here last night. I wish there was a way to do 4.5 stars as that's what my true rating would be. First off front of the house get's a SOLID 5 stars. When looking at the menu I realized I forgot my reading glasses. The front of the house manager(Ashley?) instantly noticed and came over to over me some reading glasses they keep for just such an occasion. I can honestly say I've never had that type of service before....great paying attention to customers and fulfilling their needs. Our server Hannah was a delight. She was knowledgable, friendly, attentive...a true professional. The ambience was great. Subdued lighting and a relaxed feel. Now onto the food. The bread was served with butter that had a touch of orange marmalade added. It was delicious and inventive. The caesar salad was very good. It had a deep fried deviled egg which was quite good. It was something I'd not had before and it works...again a nice inventive touch. For entrees we had crab cakes and rack of lamb. The crab cakes were very nice. The only issue we had in our entire experience was my rack of lamb. Hannah said the chef cooks between medium and meduim rare which is how I like it. Unfortunately it came out rare...as in cold dark red center rare. Now normally I would have sent it back but honestly I was starving(hadn't eaten that day) and pressed for time. Unlike a steak I can tolerate pure rare lamb but it's not ideal and I know most can't. So my only comment to the owner/chef is to please be attentive to meat temps. I run into this a lot and it can be the difference between a good place and a great place...and the difference between a customer returning or not. At $42 this dish should always be perfectly cooked. Beyond that desserts were also very good. We had the lemon chess pie and creme brulee. Overall we enjoyed the experience, would recommend, and will return. Please address the meat cook temps(use of meat thermometer etc) as I'll be honest if it happened again I'd probably not return.

EDIT-- So we returned here last week and it was just 5 stars all the way. Had Hannah again as our waitress...she's such a professional she remembered us and even what wine my mom liked. She's just the best server we've ever had. She recommened the Filet and it was cooked perfectly. The Caeser salad was great as was the Lobster bisque. Manager stopped by as always to check on things. The atmosphere as I stated before is so charming and relaxing. We'll be back again as this has become our goto place when anyone comes to town. It's a 45 minute drive from us in New Bern but the restaurants as so bad in New Bern the drive is well worth it to have such...

When I rate a restaurant, I look at the ambiance, the service, food taste and appearance, and lastly the price. Blue Moon has it all. Ambiance; located in Historic Beaufort, one of my favorite cities in Eastern NC, it’s convenient to the waterfront and all Beaufort has to offer. The noise is at a level that makes conversation easy. Seating is spaced so you don’t get that crammed in a can feeling. Quite enjoyable. The service; the service was top notch. Everything was brought out in a reasonable time by a server that actually looked like they enjoyed their job. Courteous, just enough personal to make you feel like friends, and very informative about the menu and personal recommendations. Food taste/appearance; I’ve been to numerous Michelin star restaurants and Blue Moon is at the same level. The food was absolutely beautiful (see pics)!I wish I had taken my pic before I took a bite but I got a bit impatient. The taste will blow your socks off so make sure you bring another pair. It was cooked to absolute perfection! Hats off to the chef. Price; I’ve never had an issue paying top dollar for my meal but if I do, I expect it to be perfect. A meal that you talk to your friends about. Blue Moon did not let me down here. It was a little pricey but you get what you pay for. All in all it was a beautiful dining experience enjoyed with our close friends. If you have not tried Blue Moon Bistro, you should. I feel confident that...

My wife and I had dinner here in early May. This place ranks among our most memorable restaurant experiences…and we’ve been around. We have to give them top marks in all categories…specialty drinks, wine, wait staff, super service, and exceptionally good food. Based on our experience, they are clearly world class, good enough to rival best restaurants in major metropolitan areas. Definitely not a tourist-oriented restaurant. The overall atmosphere seemed to be what you would expect for fine dining, but at the same time unassuming, casual, and family friendly. Wait staff was particularly attentive and engaging, but always professional. We both had the fish Du Jour which was grouper and loved it. The food was exceptionally well flavored and the portions were perfectly sized. We’re usually not into desserts, but since the entrée was so good, we gave the carrot cake and the mocha chocolate chip cake a try. Both were fantastic, especially the carrot cake. We learned that our server, Kimberly J, made both desserts. After dessert, the Manager and owning partner, Ashley Amaral, spoke with us to ask if we enjoyed the food. We came to Beaufort for the fishing with dinner as an afterthought. On our next visit, we’ll focus on dinner at the Blue Moon Bistro and try to squeeze in a day or two of fishing. Can’t...