Beaujolais Bistro — Restaurant in Reno

Well, to quote one of our dinner companions, "Playing French music and serving courses slowly does not make a French Bistro". Neither do price pretensions of fine dining. With nearly all main courses in the high $40s to $65 range, separate appetizer and soup/salad courses priced to match, and our server's, "Our menu changes daily" (presumably to ensure unique quality and freshness) we had high hopes for an excellent meal and service with our visiting French friends. Mais non!

Service was decent, American friendly, but abysmally slow. We waited a full hour after our appetizer and salad courses for our main course, with nary a word nor glance from our server until we finally and hungrily asked for an explanation; to be told, "Sorry, there was a kitchen drop". What, our meals? A fainting chef? A small sinkhole? No further explanation, estimate nor offer of a compensatory glass of wine or amuse-bouche was provided. And that, particularly given the prices and pretensions, is simply unacceptable. But, worse was yet to come.

Our main courses were seared scallops, a vegetarian baked stuffed Phyllo dough dish and a sort of seafood stew, featuring "fresh"monkfish, along with shellfish (2 clams, 2 mussels, 2 small scallops) and potatoes in a Dijon Soubise sauce.

The stuffed phyllo was quite good, with nice flavors and textures of squash, cheese and herbs. The scallops were seared properly and decent, but not beyond that. Their sauce tried, but was overly salty. Their accompanying "seasonal" vegetables were limp and indecipherable. The "changing menu" touted Monkfish stew, however, would likely have been snubbed even by our ever hungry Chocolate Lab. Its seafood was over-cooked, especially the monkfish, which somehow managed to be tasteless, rubbery and mushy at the same time. It was clearly old and had the texture of shredded cardboard and rubber bands. Perhaps to disguise all that, the sauce was harshly pungent and unbearably salty. We are talking salty as if perhaps the top fell off the shaker.

Overall? Dashed expectations and an annoying and very disappointing evening out. When asked the usual "how was everything?" We were candid, reasonable, and truthful. Apologies were made but with no real explanations. The $55 monkfish disaster was, as it should have been, removed from the bill. We declined desert as we were unwilling to wait another hour for what may well have been something we wished we had never ordered.

This unfortunate experience occurred on a Friday evening. Even so, other than folks having drinks in the bar area, it was not busy and there were many empty tables. We now understand why. We have no plans to return...

A fabulous restaurant for fine dining in the downtown Reno area. This place sets the standard for high end restaurants in the entire area. Quaint and dimly lit, the dining room is romantic and inviting. Although one big room, you feel tucked away at each table in your own little area. Walking in, one may feel as if they are eating at a quaint little European town restaurant. The menu has something for everyone from wild game to seafood to steaks and more. Soups and salads are creative and sizeable. They are never boring or mundane. Appetizers are also unique but let's not forget, delicious. I was with a group of seven guests and we were dining for a dinner meeting. We ordered an array of appetizers including the Brussels sprouts, duck and mushroom cigars, escargot, bacon wrapped dates and the foie gras. I thought they were all very tasty. Truly each was delicious. My only complaint would be with the foie gras. It was not seared but served cool and was not my absolute favorite but I'd have another bite again at any time. The table each had a salad. The frisée' salad came with a perfectly cooked poached egg, the Caesar salad was not on the menu but if you ask they will bring it. I had the pear and watercress salad which was surprisingly delightful. One guest had the onion soup which looked absolutely amazing with melty cheese about the entire steamy top. I ordered the venison chops with a berry reduction. The sweet and gently tart sauce paired well with the medium-rare cooked and very mild gaminess of the meat giving an excellent overall taste. The scalloped potatoes were melt-in-your-mouth delicious. I tasted some of my colleagues meals as well. The filet mignon had a little truffle added to the sauce which added well to the perfectly cooked beef. The sea bass was easy on the eyes and the mouth as well. Very tasty. I also was able to get a bite of one of my friends scallop dish. Perfectly cooked with flavor that just popped; it is one of their signature dishes. They offer an extensive wine list and a very unique menu of cocktails able to be stirred up by their mixologist. The desert menu followed suit with delectable sounding offerings but I was stuffed and had no room to order. I cannot...

I've been twice now and had roughly the same experience both times. The atmosphere is charming and intimate although the split space of the restaurant seems like it leaves the servers harried and gives the impression they are barging into their own dining rooms.

The service itself is attentive, polite, and professional enough. However, both times I've been here, the wait between ordering and dining has been significant and accompanied only by appeasing refills of bread (which was appreciated) and nervous glances at the table by the servers with no communication to address it (which would have been more appreciated). So was it worth the wait?

Yes and no. On both visits, I found the drinks and diverse offerings of appetizers to be tasty and timely. The same can't be said for the entrees. The meat never seems to be cooked just properly and the meals have come out cold. I suspect this is related to those aforementioned wait times. Even this is forgivable, but more concerningly, whether it was duck, steak, or lamb, I found the meat tough (It would have been a mercy for them to provide a SAWZALL for my most recent meal) and downright flavorless. This was only highlighted by the humble entree accoutrements which were very flavorful but didn't seem to be working in balance with as much as attempting to mask an underwhelming main dish. On dessert, I have to frankly say that between the high price points and the wait, by the time it was offered there wasn't enough good faith on the table to indulge.

Beaujolais Bistro could be in consideration as a nice spot for a refreshment or light dining, but it's a tough sell to recommend a full experience here. I can't help but feel there is a disconnect at Beaujolais. I'm not sure if it is something physical; a small kitchen struggling to keep up with two dining rooms, or maybe the strain of a menu that I was told shifts daily, but I think there is a change that could be made at this bistro for the better. It sincerely was surprising to me that my experiences were not only consistent between my two visits, but that my specific detractions seem be consistent with other diners over time after reading similar (and...