Bloomsbury Bistro — Restaurant in Raleigh

I'll give Bloomsbury Bistro 5 stars as I've visited on numerous occasions and have never had a bad experience. The place has also become a bit more special and warrants a few Bonus points, as the wife and I have made it an anniversary tradition ... The staff, service, atmosphere, and food are all top notch and we love how the menu changes to offer a broader range of the chef's wonderful skills and flavor building.

I do hate to admit however that my last visit recently did underwhelm and slight disappoint a bit .. again not enough to change my 5 star rating ... but for once the menu was not as "exciting" as it usually is and as such I was stuck to just ordering appetizers ... (the goat cheese "loaf" and beets salad, which I've had before and it was divine and also the Crabcakes, which I tried for the first time) ... the wife tried the Quail ...

Disclaimer: Due to dietary restrictions of beef and pork, I may have been more excited about the menu as there were pork and beef items that I am sure were delicious (or at least sounded delicious) ... As for the crabcakes, this is something that I've have been trying as of late to offer myself a bit more variety than just chicken and turkey, etc ... however, what I have realized is that maybe I am not a big crabcake fan as I have a very hard time with the texture ... I would think the cakes would be more "firm" yet the last three times I've tried and three different establishments, they all have been very soft and "mushy" ... not to my liking ... hey maybe that's how they are made ... but that's not for me ... and the one's here on this night seemed extremely mushy ... Lastly the wife was not very enthusiastic about her dish, but it was a presentation issue that completely threw here off her game ...

But this visit will not deter us whatsoever, as our server Laurie was phenomenal and we know we couldn't possibly have back-to-back "not so great" food experiences...

We were excited to finally come here after moving to Raleigh in 2020, but it was such a disappointment. We dined there on a Friday night, so we assumed the A Team would be in the kitchen, but the food was a series of missteps. The croquettes had good flavor but came out at just above room temperature. The menu said the whipped feta came with crudite, but it was missing when served, and we were told they were out of crudite. The server later brought us some, but it was stale. The Chicken Pot Pie came out undercooked and cool in the center, so it had to be sent back. The shrimp pasta didn’t have enough seasoning and too much cheese and, again, lukewarm - just general problems overall with food temperature on all the dishes. The beef short rib was the only highlight of the experience. The waitstaff was polite and responded to the problems, but for the prices charged on the menu we just expected a little more attentiveness. If something has to be sent back to the kitchen for being undercooked (especially chicken), maybe the manager should come back out and deliver it? With two beers and a Manhattan, no dessert, three entrees and two appetizers, our party of three got out of there for about $185, including a 20% tip because it’s hard to punish the waitstaff when the food is crummy. But that’s what it was - just a crummy, underwhelming experience. Too many other great restaurants in Raleigh to...

First I want to say this.

I read about this place through the reviews on this site.

it appeared from all marketing material and reviews that this was a upscale French cuisine restaurant with a dynamic menu.

So I made reservations for a second date.

The dish we ordered was the most horrid thing I have ever experienced. Not to mention the place was filled with people (I kid you not) from some sort of SNL skit. Wigs, men and women belching out some sort of kackle or extreme loud laugh. The food we ordered now hold on now.

Pork loin fried in olive oil, with hummus, that's right hummus as the starch. I cannot stress enough the absolute rediculess idea this is. Hummus which is seen as a middle eastern dish paired with pork. A meat not usually eaten in the Middle East. Not only that the pork was so dry on my plate but almost raw on my dates.

Check please! And we were out of there.

Thank goodness my date was good enough to understand and give me a mullegan (do over) for the date. Whew.

Im giving this one a one star, i have never given a single star for a restaurant before. Wow, im sorry guys but that was just awful.

Maybe try Mexican and Chinese together...