Noosa Bistro — Restaurant in Mentor

We stopped in on a sleepy weekday afternoon, headed for the nearby Menard's. The service was just two servers and some busing and cleaning staff, and the bar booths were full of ladies who lunch (probably with a couple of cocktails knocked back). We enjoyed the Noosa burger and the chicken Marsala. The Noosa burger being their signature was interesting, as the meat is blended in house from Angus ground beef, rib meat, and such, to make a fine patty of relatively lean beef, then is topped with gruyere, sliced radish, and sriracha aioli. It's definitely an experience as food goes, and settles well for all the spice & grease, but this was done to order perfectly. (I prefer my meat medium well.) The fries were nice. The chicken marsala was raved about from my companion, who savored the wine sauce, the tender chicken, the freshly-made mashed potatoes, and the tender-cooked fresh green beans. It was well presented, and tasted well worth the price. This is a place to really have a top notch plate of vittles. You'll pay some extra, but no more than at a chain restaurant. The owners also have daily specials on such dishes as sushi, prime rib, and so much more, just to keep customers interested. The place is family owned and feels like the owners really care. Servers are chosen well, and know the menu, having tried many of the dishes. Decor is soft in its color palette, opting for various complimentary shades mixed with neutrals. Lighting is nice in the different parts of the restaurant. Bathrooms are clean and well appointed with tasteful, atypical fixtures in some places. Parking is ample, and the neighborhood is nice. For lunch, there wasn't a line that day, but for dinner, I might call to try and reserve a table. This is definitely a hidden gem for the area. The menu varies from burgers to steaks, and is concise, so you will not spend hours combing through and negotiating. Everything can be made to order, if you have an issue with a particular food. I would NOT recommend this place for kids under 12-13, as the menu is more adult and the dining experience is rather more to the adult end of things. And if you want just something simple & satisfying, they can do that for you, too. Expect to see people in suits & ties dining here, so don't be afraid to dress up a little for dining here. You won't walk away hungry though, so nothing...

*See update below My 65th birthday and this was my wife’s and mine first visit to this restaurant. It was within 30 minutes from our house and heard it was good, so we tried it. Let me tell you it was one of our better decisions. The calamari appetizer was done just right. I had the Chilean sea bass and it was done to perfection. My wife had the Ahi Tuna and she was in love with it. Geez, my mouth is watering thinking about it. The one criticism I had was that the Noosa salad (also very good), came out first followed shortly by the appetizer. I did get over it after my first bite of the food😉 We will return!

Update 8/13/19: went for my wife's birthday last night and had to downgrade my opinion from 5 stars to 2 stars. The booth we were assigned had a well worn area where you sank. Had to move, very uncomfortable. Told the server about it, and then ten minutes later they sat another party into that booth, they were not happy! The table we had, had spots on the table cloth, but at least the paper placed over it was clean. The menu has been reduced and they removed our favorites and raised prices. We were thinking of just leaving, but we were hungry. Ordered calamari, very oily. French onion soup was good and the reason this didn't go to one star. Ahi tuna appetizer was way too salty. The server told us that she would hold off with the rest of our food until we caught up - nice touch. But wait, 2 minutes later the runner shows up with our food for an over crowded table. Communication people!! Will I go back, not very likely. We asked the server why the menu change/reduction, no credible answer. Asked if there was a new chef, no the same one. I wonder if the place is going under? Now they have burger Mondays, sushi Tuesday, steak...

My husband and I were there for dinner yesterday evening, and I wanted to share our experience. I'll start with the positive, the food we received was really good, particularly the shrimp and grits. The seafood pasta wasn't my favorite, but it wasn't bad by any means. We ordered 2 appetizers, the brussel sprouts and the small charcuterie board, but unfortunately our server completely forgot about them and never put them in. When he brought our entrees, we reminded him and he didn't really even offer an apology, or seem to even care at all. He offered to bring them boxed to us, but we told him not to bother, we didn't want them to go, we wanted them ahead of our main course. We were celebrating our 7th wedding anniversary, and had planned on making it a leisurely dinner with appetizers, entrees, and likely dessert...but instead we just ate our dinner and left. The thing about it that was particularly disappointing was that there wasn't even a reasonable explanation for the lack of attention. The restaurant was practically empty. There were a couple of other tables in the large dining area that were finishing up when we arrived, but by the time we ordered we were completely alone in that portion of the restaurant. We remained the only table back there for the rest of our meal. The bar area and outside patio were also not at all busy. Some more background, we actually had our wedding reception dinner at the old location, and everything went perfectly. We couldn't have been happier. Noosa Bistro holds some special significance for us, but after last night we felt really let down and are reconsidering if we'll return,...