Bistro 45 — Restaurant in Pasadena

I don't know what happened to this restaurant, but the quality has plummeted. My wife and I went there to celebrate my birthday dinner yesterday, and the entire experience was a disappointment.

First, the maitre d' just assumed we wanted to sit outside, which I thought was odd. He was friendly, but it seemed somewhat amateurish. I didn't think much of it at the time, however.

After being sat we ordered the calamari as an appetizer, and while it was OK, it was nothing special; the calamari itself was greasy and the sauce was a mixture of mayonnaise, ketchup, and chili pepper--nothing you couldn't get at a much cheaper restaurant. Again, this by itself was not a big deal.

After this things really went south though. We went exclusively for the bouillabaisse, which we'd had several years ago, before the remodeling. We ordered our entree when the appetizer arrived, yet 10 minutes or so later, the server returned to the table and informed us the bouillabaisse was unavailable because the sauce would not be ready for several hours. This in and of itself ruined the experience, since this was the reason we chose this restaurant.

I didn't want to spoil the entire experience, however, so I chose the house special which was a Virginian bass, and my wife ordered the all natural hanger steak.

These entrees were also disappointing, however. First, the bass was served on a flat sushi-style plate, yet it was covered with a very runny and thin red fruit sauce, which promptly ran all over the table and made a horrible mess, even as the server set it in front of me. What kind of quality chef overlooks such a flaw in presentation? Then my wife's steak was overcooked, thin, and unimpressive to say the least. She'd ordered it medium, but it came out med-well, and parts of it were well done. Honestly, it tasted like something you could order at a Sizzler. In addition, the polenta that was served with it was completely tasteless.

My bass was equally unimpressive; the sauce was unmemorable, the presentation was ghastly, and the pieces of melon that littered the plate were an unnecessary distraction.

Finally, although superficially friendly, the service was also inadequate. After we expressed our disappointment that the bouillabaisse was unavailable, I sensed a dismissive attitude from the server, and his attention to our table afterwards was minimal. By the end of the meal, the intervals between his taking our plates, bringing the desert menu, and presenting the check were glacially slow. Also, the water server splashed water on the table by overfilling the water glasses. How much serving experience is required to know you don't fill a water glass to the brim? Lastly, while they brought us copious helpings of bread, it was thoroughly unimpressive--just cold, white bread with butter.

In closing, I'll just point out that I overheard the man sitting behind me complain about his meal as well. My overall impression was that it was amateur hour at this restaurant. Too much attention was given to personality and decor--every single employee said hello and greeted us--and not enough on actual quality.

The only way I'd come back is if someone else were paying, and I couldn't talk them into going...

I've been to Bistro 45 a handful of times over the years. I'd consider it a treat for a special occasion or a nice evening out. Typically a 5-star meal and matching service. I really value that the chef uses fresh, organic ingredients in their dishes.

Recently, we were celebrating a birthday and came to Bistro 45. We arrived early and were seated prior to our actual reservation, which was great. Very accommodating.

We started with the beet salad, which was quite good. The warm, tempura artichokes in the salad were unique and delicious. For our mains, we both ordered the ribeye special. I understand Bistro 45 is not a steakhouse, but I was pretty displeased with what was served. Each steak was about the thickness of one of my fingers, with small fat cap and zero marbling. And, even though we ordered the same temperature, mine was grey throughout and the other was more pink. (Mine was also super salty.) We remembered they had a hanger steak on the menu and asked the server if she could confirm we received the right cuts. She said she'd check but never returned with an answer.

After the steaks, we thought about getting dessert elsewhere, but a different server sold us on the chocolate soup, which is a deconstructed lava cake–a ramekin of milk chocolate syrup, another of ice cream, and another with a flourless chocolate cake/soufflé. I'm not a milk chocolate fan, so a cup of syrup was a lot for my tastebuds.

Since this is the only subpar meal I've had a Bistro 45, I want to be fair. Its not that I wouldn't return, I just won't be returning for a steak. I think when you drop $250 on dinner, you shouldn't leave feeling like you should've just stayed home.

And, while not a disruption to our meal, we also got the impression the staff might be making pit stops at...

I was looking forward to go to Bistro 45. First of all we seated for about 10 minutes just to get the bar menu. Then after that, we were very happy about our drinks: very knowledgeable mixologist person which was very nice with us. After a little while, we couldn't miss the way some of the staff was talking to the bartender and in particular the person which I think was the owner. This guy, first of all wasn't looking into his staff eyes to communicate with them. Then as the bartender was making some mistakes of service, he was non respectful and very tough on him right there in front of all of us that were seated at the bar. You should have seen the bartender, how hard he was working at the bar, busy with drinks and even taking care of the dishwasher. I started to feel very uncomfortable and feeling very bad about the way the owner was talking to his staff. Even if persons make mistakes and even if the clientele looked very wealthy, giving respect to human people wouldn't hurt! The poor bartender didn't stop since 6pm and it was after 6:45pm. It's hard to believe that the same owner is been running this business for over 40 years and still keeps his clientele with the way he treats staff! Hopefully it was one of those stressful and bad day for the owner but anyway it wouldn't justify this rude behavior. Bravo to the hostess who was desperately trying to give a good atmosphere to the entrance of the restaurant. I wanted to congratulate the staff for still being...