Centro Bar & Kitchen — Restaurant in Reno

Centro Kitchen is just what we were looking for after a night of hunting whiskey around midtown. With small plate offerings for my husband and I to share with flavors that were instantly gratifying and begging us to try the next wonderful plate on their enticing menu. We found this gem as we searched for somewhere to go that was open late and wasn't going to break the bank so with cellphone in hand my husband said let's try here!

So after circling the block to find some parking we walked in to find there was a bit of a wait, seems others had the same great idea. The hostess suggested we could go next door for a cocktail then she would call when our table was ready, what she couldn't have known was we couldn't bare another hour of drinking lol. So we walked the neighborhood looking at other options, nice but not fitting the bill and even contemplated driving back home (Carson City), my husband was so hungry and he tried suggesting (queue scary music) fast food lol. We got closer to the time took our chances to see if a table was opening up and WAHOO we were in!! BTW totally worth the wait - server was friendly and quickly helped us settle in for a wonderful, culinary delight.

Our first small plate to share was the Salmon Poke in a light, crispy wonton cup with a sesame ponzu that was perfectly balanced and yep OMTASTY! We're used to tuna poke but I'm a huge fan of salmon nigri - glad we went for it! Next up the Beef Short Rib Sliders that were open faced, shredded with a delectable sauce on top of bread (sorry type is eluding me) - these were definitely filling and made the beef lover in my hubby happy. On to the third tapa - Buffalo Shrimp Po Boy, piled high with coleslaw and covered in garlic, dill vinaigrette there are four of these FANTABULOUS housemade buffalo sauce covered shrimp to share - this gal was wondering if she could even partake in the final dish we had already put in. Final tasty dish - Filthy Fries these fingerling cut potatoes covered with chorizo, bacon, cheeeeeesssseee, plus extra yummy goodness and yesss looking absolutely flithy was OMGood!!! No room for dessert on this visit and I have sooo many other dishes on the menu I want to go back to try and absolutely will!

Overall experience, small and cozy place so expect a wait, but well worth it! GREAT service and flavorful, small dishes that will fulfill your appetite and allow you to try different types of delicious foods. Enjoy -...

Third or fourth visit to this establishment in the last 2+ years. I was here for a dinner meeting with a sales rep and walked in with out reservations on a Monday evening around 6. We were offered table seating or bar seating and opted for the table. I recognized the server from previous visits which is usually a good sign that the management is taking care of its people and that the server isn't afraid to work.

I think this place has some of, if not the best cocktails in Reno. I ordered the toasted pecan manhattan for starters and later refreshed with a Sake blossom. This drink has a unique blend of sake and gin in sour mix that offsets the sweetness of the sake. Tasty to say the least.

We ordered the grilled octopus which is one of my favorite dishes but it was a disappointment. 3 maybe 4 small bites of octopus that was a bit salty and overcooked amongst a bunch of bite sized chopped fingerling potatoes. Probably more appropriate to call this dish Potato & Octopus as the potatoes were the prevalent ingredient. The salmon and sticky ribs were incredible and definitely did not disappoint. The cold roasted beet salad is flavorful and presented like it came out of a 5 star restaurant. The Brussels are perfectly roasted and not overly seasoned. Delicious.

Overall, a good experience. I think (as written in previous reviews) that the portion sizes are small for the prices they get. That's just my personal opinion. This is an expensive restaurant and probably I won't go here when I'm footing the bill but when a rep asks where to go, Centro is on the top five...

Centro Bar & Kitchen in Reno… If you like paying a lot for small plates of food or small drinks, you may like this place. I don’t. Mind you, my complaint is NOT the size of the portions – it’s the quality of the food and the slow service.

My wife and I were there for a group dinner. Despite their limited menu, it took some people nearly 40 minutes to get their plates.

The staff were friendly and most people thought the food was OK. Everyone’s plates were served with so many potatoes, we joked that they must have had 100 pounds of potatoes in the back they were trying to get rid of! Mission accomplished.

I ordered the “Fingerlings a la Centro”. What they gave me was a bowl full of small potatoes drowning in crumbled cheese. Once I got to the bottom of the bowl, I discovered about three bites of shredded lamb. That’s an $8.00 dish.

I complained about how LITTLE lamb was in a LAMB dish. They said that was normal. To their credit, they brought me another bowl with about 5 bites of nothing but steaming, shredded lamb. Turns out the lamb had NO flavor at all. Maybe they boiled it. No wonder they hid it.

To top it all off, my wife (who ordered a beef dish) developed horrible food poisoning on our way to a comedy show.

Date night...