The Euro Bistro — Restaurant in Cascade Charter Township

It's our last night in Grand Rapids, looking for one last culinary adventure. Tonight it's Euro Bistro, a deceptively large place at one end of a strip mall. It's packed at 6:30 pm so we take advantage of the parking lot behind.

Of all the places we've seen, this has the most appropriately well-dressed patrons (except for me, coming as I am from an apple orchard). Everyone is loud and boisterous; the sound of locals having a very good time.

The baguette (piping hot) & butter (very satisfyingly cold) was a great pair; everyone agreed the baguette was a tasty piece of work.

The entrees (appetizers) began with the bisque de homard (lobster bisque), the soup du jour: a mild flavor, safe for all, not assertively marine. Others liked the bits of lobster meat.

Next up was soupe à l'oignon gratinée (onion soup with cheese), the first dish that I prepared from scratch for others. Rather than the expected baked shell of cheese covering the entire bowl, this had a floating island of bread with a bit of cheese atop. The onion was nicely cooked down but had an unexpected acidic finish, as though some vinegar had been added too late.

Moving into the plats principaux (main courses) with the boeuf bourguignon, which was well-received. The meat was very tender, soft enough to break apart with a fork. It was more BBQ-y than I anticipated but somehow appropriate to an area with great brisket burnt ends. Liked by all in our party.

The coq au vin (rooster with wine), that staple of my mom's (learned during her time at La Sorbonne), was also fork-tender and tasty, albeit with less cooked-down red wine taste and somehow sweeter, a bit distractingly so.

The risotto aux asperges grillées (charred asparagus risotto) was spot-on, with nicely-cooked Arborio and tender, tasty bits of asparagus. Mild, soothing, and a good counterpart to the more assertive meat dishes.

For the cours de desserts we went with the gâteau au chocolat sans farine (flourless chocolate cake), a dish with very few ingredients that's often an unintentional test of the baker's skill. This was the star of the meal, an absolutely perfect rendition. Served very cold, it was a rewardingly dense dark chocolate slab of joy that produced just the right calming close to an evening spent out.

Paired with the gratifyingly hot, strong coffee, this was the right note on which to end our evenings in Grand Rapids with a fond memory.

Date night? Celebration night? You might consider coming over to the...

WARNING…DO NOT ORDER ADD ON SHRIMP…bad service/ok food/outrageous add on shrimp!! For the last 10 years, my friends and I have been "touring" the Grand Rapids restaurants and this is my first ever review. I know there is a major staffing struggle in the restaurant industry and supply issues so I was willing to forgive/forget the bad service/ok food until I received my bill.

To make a long story short, we waited for an extended period of time to place our order. After already making our selections, the waitress (Kayla) told us the two "favorite" menu items (beef bouguignon and cog au vin) were not available. Alternatively, I chose the homemade egg noodles ($21 on the menu). Kayla offered add on shrimp. It sounded good so I added six shrimp. I received six shrimp in garlic butter. When I received my bill, the homemade eggs noodles were $25, not $21 as reflected on the menu, and my six add on shrimp were $30 (full shrimp scampi meal with noodles is $23). I paid more for my add on shrimp than my entire meal!

I complained to Kayla and she reached out to the manager who was willing to discount my bill $6. I asked to speak to the manager and he/she refused to talk to me. I can't say I've ever heard of a restaurant manager refusing to talk to a customer before. I wasn't flailing my arms, raising my voice, or acting like a jerk. I was just upset over my bill and wanted to discuss it. The manager relayed through Kayla that he/she spoke to the owner and they refused to discount my bill more than $6. Kayla's explanation was the menu prices went up.

Comparatively, six add on shrimp at Ruth Chris is $17.50 and Chophouse's shrimp appetizer is $19.95. I'm expecting those prices because their meals are $50+. This is a strip mall restaurant!! I'll never go back or recommend...

Last evening I attended a private event at this restaurant the owner was Beyond Rude lacked professionalism and customer service he earned a -0 (Negative 0) and he refused to service many of the customers. Claiming it was over capacity But he had an empty restaurant with the exception of 2-3 people that were already there. You would think he's in business to make money and he shunned and evicted a lot of professional people that would have continued to patronize him and increase his bottom line Profit. But anyway the Bottom Line is. A ) your restaurant was Empty u clearly benefited from the event so you basically disrespected our entire group and our guest and u still made a healthy bill plus tips. So this is the thing the world will be out not to patronize you now check this out "You may not miss our patronage But u won't be getting it and at the end of the year when your books are in the Red Remember Last night Jan 16, 2025 the night you had an empty restaurant and didn't want to be a business person instead you "bit your nose to spite your face". YOU Are Hard to Like sitting up in that Empty Restaurant trying to be High Class learn some professionalism and customer...