The Bistro — Restaurant in Hayward

I can't say much about the food because I didn't eat anything. However I come here weekly because I have another commitment in the area on Mondays and found that the bistro has open mic night on monday. This was a welcomed surprise as I play guitar and enjoy listening to local talent sing, play and perform spoken word. They do have a TV for sports fans but the artists/music and a small stage are the focal point of this small, local venue. I will add this, merely my opinion, the level of talent that I witness on a weekly basis is above average if not very good on the whole. There is a delightfully spacious patio out front which is a place to congregate. And I shant forget that they have one of my favorite beers on tap, generally highly allocated, Russian River Brewings' Pliny the Elder. What more...

This place has a great selection of local beers! They serve finger food like chips and salsa or some kind of guacamole dip! But... Every time I walk in there it's like somebody mopped the place with that dirty mop or those moldy rags laying some place perhaps it's just dirty behind the bar but there's a stench smell that I do not like! If we sit outside on a warm afternoon it's okay but the few times we stop by there in the evening to listen to a band that's always the first thing, that gets me when I walk in ...that terrible smell and it just turns my stomach every time I've been in there!! I wish they would fix that, have somebody professional come in and do a clean for them teach them how to keep them up clean not sure what they need but they need some help in...

I was supposed to play music here 2/11. It was scheduled over 2 months in advance. The owner canceled the show (via email so something most people don't watch so I normally wouldn't have seen it) 1.5 hours before due to something running late...so nothing crazy. Extremely rude owner. He also refused to pay me and still hasn't responded to my emails. Very condescending owner. Also he is very unprofessional and unorganized if he cannot use time management skills and schedules an event that ends up going 4 hours over time. He will waste your time as a musician and does not care about you. I've been playing for over 20 years and 15 professionally and I've never been so disrespected. :( Very unfortunate since it could be a...