Blue Jay Bistro

My wife and I were really looking forward to dining here. Unfortunately we were both pretty ‘meh’ about our experience.

We arrived and were promptly checked in. My wife was wearing a nice dress and I was wearing nice jeans, dress shoes, and a polo shirt. I was also wearing a clean/dark baseball-style hat.

After being seated for maybe five minutes, the same person that seated us came back to ask me to “please remove your hat while dining with us.” I promptly complied - but it bugged me afterwards, and my wife thought it was a very rude request. Sure, we get it. It’s a nice establishment, and it even says in their website’s FAQ that men please remove their hats.

I just feel that this was handled poorly - the lady that seated us could have asked me “do you have a health reason or other concern for leaving your hat on?” or something of that nature. What if I had horrible scars or other deformity that I didn’t want to put on display to other patrons? I shouldn’t have to retort to a blunt request with what may have been just that. It would also have been better to let me know this information at the front desk instead of after being seated.

What made it more frustrating was the fact that seated three tables down were other patrons with noisy kids whom weren’t dressed “smart casual” at all - but my hat was obviously the bigger problem for this establishment.

The food was ok - granted we had the burger - but aside from being cooked to our specification (medium) it was pretty bland for a $28 burger.

Their cocktails were also generally overpriced. $13+ for a cocktail is a bit much.

My wife and I are from South Florida, so maybe our experiences from other ‘nice’ restaurants in that area are just generally better; but I believe if this restaurant was in South Florida it wouldn’t be in business long.

If you live locally and want a ‘fine’ dining experience without having to drive quite a distance, this restaurant is about all you’re...

What an incredible disappointment! The evening started out fantastic but went down hill quickly. We were vacationing at Lake Gaston with siblings and spouses and decided to try this restaurant on our last night. We were seated and ordered drinks from our server, Taylor. A gentleman came to our table and was very pleasant. He was the food and beverage manager. Asked him questions about the restaurant. He told us the owner is from Lake Gaston and had traveled to Napa Valley. He came back to NC and decided to open an upscale restaurant in Littleton, NC due to the extreme wealth on the lake. And planning to revitalize the community including a private school and a community center. Sounds ok. Taylor, our server, took our orders. The Caesar salad was devine! The entrees were delivered by runners. These people had no clue as to who ordered what...they had to ask "who gets the pork chop"? OK I can get beyond this except 3 entrees were delivered. My sister and I sat there with nothing. Totally Unacceptable! 5 minutes later my husband sees our server and asked about the remaining meals. She explained that they are not allowed to bring out more than 2 plates at a time. Taylor said she would check on our meals. Now this food and beverage manager is chatting up the table of 8 beside us. He does nothing. 5 minutes later my sister and I get our overcooked Taquitos and Grouper. The manager came to our table came to our table and told me the reason my dinner was late was due to my plate was chipped. Have no idea about my sister's meal. All of the meals were mediocre. Absolutely does NOT compare to Lemaire at the Jefferson in RVA! Overpriced mediocre food. I felt horrible for our server, Taylor. After speaking with her before we left I think whoever owns this beautiful restaurant should consider putting her in management. Runners shouldn't be used in upscale restaurants. I don't see this venture lasting very long. And what fool pays $62.00...

I wanted to follow up on our recent dining experience. I originally chose not to post this publicly, as the restaurant has a great ambiance, appears well-loved by many customers, and our experience wasn’t entirely disappointing. However, it also didn’t quite meet our expectations given the price point.

My wife and I had dinner there on Saturday nightlat weekend and left feeling indifferent about both the service and the quality of the experience relative to the cost.

To start, I ordered the mezcal cocktail from the menu. As someone who genuinely enjoys mezcal, I found it disappointingly diluted—likely due to excessive shaking—leaving it tasting more like water with just a hint of mezcal.

Regarding the service, while it wasn’t bad in an absolute sense, it felt underwhelming given the restaurant’s positioning. We happened to be seated next to a table where it seemed a family member of an employee was dining. Management stopped by their table multiple times to check in, chat, and ensure they had everything they needed, which highlighted the contrast in service we received.

Additionally, while we noticed the table beside us receiving frequent water refills, drink check-ins, and even a dessert (despite us being told it was unavailable), our own service experience felt lackluster. While none of this was overtly negative, it simply didn’t align with the expectations set by the pricing.

Overall, while the restaurant has a lot going for it, our experience left us feeling underwhelmed rather...