Bistro City — Restaurant in National City

Rarely do I write reviews if at all for a restaurant.. if I could give this zero stars I would. I am sure they are paying people for goos reviews or they simply have low standards of living and cleanliness. My husband and I walked in and the first thing I saw was a BLACK DIRTY FISH TANK. I thought whatever weird decor let’s give it a go. Only to realize later that thar is where they had one or two live lobsters that were clinging on to the last thread of their life in the most likely mold covered tank. We ordered sweet and sour chicken, orange chicken and honey walnut shrimp. I refused to eat it and in hindsight should have taken a photo but there was a chickens foot in the otherwise bland thin strips of sweet/sour chicken. Gross. We ordered crab rangoons which were slightly burnt but otherwise fine. We weren’t even finished before they brought out all three entrees and steamed rice. Were they hot? No. They tasted like they came out a frozen bag from the back of the refrigerator of grocery outlet. It is most definitely not fresh given that all three plates were taken out within five minutes of us sitting down. The older woman although attentive shook my husband’s beer asking if he needed another one. He cooly told her no. She insisted on upselling us pork even though I mentioned I did not eat pork. They had pieces of (unknown meat) hanging (just hanging there) in the dining area and some sesame balls were chilling underneath the mystery meat. We didn’t finish our food needless to say. I lost my appetite the second I walked in and after tasting the mystery chicken so did my husband. My husband is not a picky eater, i have never seen him not finish his food in our lifetime together. The service was friendly enough but cleanliness and customs should be inspected. Please if you all have not, look through the photo reviews and observe the photo of the drying fish on a wooden makeshift pole in the outside parking lot. You should all question your standards for your health and the food you ingest. The only good thing was the packaged and highly processed fortune cookie at the end that said “don’t panic” . That was...

recently visited bistro city restaurant and had a very disappointing experience. From the moment I walked in, the server filled my glass completely with ice, leaving almost no room for my drink. When I took the first sip of my soda, it was practically gone. One thing that really caught my attention was that almost every table had empty soda glasses filled with ice. I thought it was strange at first 🤔 but later I realized why — they serve mostly ice and barely any soda, just like what happened to me. Of course, if you ask for a refill, they charge you again. The food portions were extremely small, with very little rice, and if you wanted anything extra, they would charge you even more. I even asked if I could swap the rice for noodles, not minding any price difference, but the server rudely told me I had to buy the noodles separately for $15.99 — almost $16 just for a side of noodles! When it came time to pay, the total was $55 for just two tiny plates, which felt outrageous for what we got. On top of that, when I was about to pay with my card (intending to leave a cash tip), the server aggressively demanded to know how much tip I was going to leave, making me feel extremely uncomfortable and pressured. Honestly, it wasn’t even about the price — it was the uncomfortable feeling that everything was a trick to get more money out of you. You can’t even enjoy a simple drink without feeling like you’re being taken advantage of. To make things worse, after the experience, I checked the restaurant’s online reviews and realized that most of them seem fake, almost like ghost reviews meant to scam new customers. I do not recommend this place at all. From the moment you walk in, you feel like they are trying to scam you. A total...

BLUF: 2 stars for ease of finding and generous of food. However, there is no substitute for quality and taste. Will not return. Would not recommend.

Food ordered: Dumplings, chicken skewers, kung pao chicken and house special chow fun. About $40 plus a tip.

Food: While the portions where quite generous the taste was very subpar and bland. Appetizers where the overall highlight if you will. The steamed dumplings had some pop and a bit of taste but the overall flavor lacked. The chicken skewers where crunchy dry exterior, okay internal moisture but very little flavor. The main courses where very bland and not easily enhanced with items such as salt, pepper or soy sauce. Overall the talking point should always be food and flavor which missed the mark. They also forgot an order of rice which was included in the meal which I did not catch before departure.

Price point: For what we paid I expected much better. While the generous portions did make up for the cost, that is no substitute for taste. Panda Express, Star Express or equivalent would be a fair better option for the price point.

Location: The location was easy to spot and parking was ample. The difficulty was leaving if your headed east. The inherent busy area and the need to cross Plaza made for increased risks of accidents coupled with poor drivers resulted in a near miss just leaving the parki g lot. This is enough for me to avoid this location alone but that is also subjective.

Atmosphere: Due to COVID we didn't dine in but nothing really stood out in my brief...