Bistro 36 Drinkery & Eatery — Restaurant in Littleton

I’m not sure what’s going on here, I wanted to like this place so badly — but was beyond disappointed.

The food was seriously bad - I’m not sure how the reviews are so high unless we just caught this on a REALLY bad night? I had the salmon, and it was flavorless beyond the fact it was seemingly dipped in butter, and then inexplicably smothered in capers. Broccolini wasn’t cooked and had a lazy drizzle of balsamic vinegar to make it look fancy?

My father ordered the ribeye - no char, overcooked, bland. Also had undercooked broccolini.

Appetizer (blue cheese bacon thing) was beyond salty, the bread was way too soft, the dish didn’t work.

Waitress couldn’t answer “are there any specials tonight?”…. Just wild paying $70 a person.

Can’t stress enough I wanted this place to work… its location is great and close, but I sadly can’t see it getting repeat business. The food couldn’t justify half the price, let alone the sky high prices they demanded. Not a single dish was even mediocre, and none of us are snobby foodies.

Atmosphere was really nice, but I fear it’s going to be a sunk investment they never get back with food that awful

EDIT: in response to the owner, yes the staff were very attentive. Per the review above, I never said the staff service attentiveness was an issue.

To address management approaching our table and asking how things were, please don’t conflate us being polite and not wanting to cause any issues with the food being good.

My father has cancer and was not feeling well from chemo, so our primary concern was getting him home — so we politely finished, tipped, and left.

Very odd (but also very telling) that you chose to respond the way you did, effectively claiming that because we chose to not say anything in the restaurant, that I’m somehow now lying.

Most people who have a bad experience at a restaurant don’t complain there, let alone even write a review. Most often they just never come back — something you might explore a bit before choosing to go...

The service is great, the wine is delicious, and the atmosphere is very nice — but unfortunately, the food completely misses the mark.

Their Caesar salad feels more like a deconstructed experiment than an actual Caesar salad. It comes with sardines, pickled onions and boiled eggs on top, which just doesn’t work. I understand they’re trying to be creative, but it’s pretentious and honestly terrible.

The brie and onion dip also sounded amazing on paper, but what arrived at the table was cold, soupy, and served with lays chips. Absolutely disappointing.

The Parmesan truffle fries were just okay — lacking flavor and nothing to get excited about.

Overall, I don’t think I’ll be back unless it’s just for the charcuterie board and wine, which seem like the safest (and best) options on the menu.

Thank you for taking the time to respond — I truly appreciated the service that evening, which is why I made sure to mention how wonderful and attentive your staff was. The wine was excellent, and the overall atmosphere made for a very pleasant dining experience.

That said, my comments about the food still stand. While I understand and appreciate your creative and modern approach, the dishes unfortunately didn’t work for me. The Caesar salad ingredients, even if clearly listed, felt disjointed and didn’t come together as a cohesive dish. The brie and onion dip also sounded great in theory but arrived cold and soupy, which made it difficult to enjoy.

I was grateful for the substitution and compensation offered, and I understand that not every dish will suit every palate — but I still felt it was important to share honest feedback about the execution and balance of flavors. I hope this helps as constructive input for future menu...

We have been looking forward to something tasty moving into this spot! SO different from its previous tenant and so chic. Comfortable and cute set-up. Loved the cozy green chairs sprinkled throughout.

We enjoyed the fried calamari while waiting on dinner and I appreciated the addition of the asparagus in its mix. My husband’s steak frites were tender and arrived at his requested temperature- really good! I ordered the bolognese and definitely got the sausage flavor - but wasn’t too sure about the ham (?) maybe it was cured…a little harder to chew through. But had good flavor otherwise. Prices seemed competitively priced and what you would expect. Nice wine, cocktail and even non-alcoholic options available.

Randy was great, friendly and engaging! Perfect guy for your front man and bar guy! My only constructive comment would be (and I hope this doesn’t sound overly picky) was there was a man that came out to help behind the bar…he was wearing his lounge shorts…is it too much to ask that he wear some jeans or a pair of slacks? If I am going to spend a nice chunk of change on two dinners - I want something more appropriate and that speaks to ‘this is a nice operation’.

We have already discussed going again - want to try the ‘build your own charcuterie’ options, and my husband is anxious to try the Salmon dinner choices. We look forward to...