Reno Bar and Grill — Restaurant in Reno

We've been looking forward to dining at Reno Bar & Grill since they opened. We saw many wonderful reviews & pictures. Last night was finally our opportunity to go. There were 3 of us. We walked in to live music, which I always love, & the atmosphere was modern & put together. Our server Reina was very pleasant. I ordered their lemon drop which was very tasty, & the others just went with water. We ordered the sticky ribs, wings, wedge salad, & cajun pasta. If you look at the pictures attached the food presentation is beautiful. My eyes were very excited to try these dishes, but this is where my review falls short. Where was the flavor?? We had to overly salt everything. The sticky ribs, were definitely missing something, they just tasted sweet, almost like a simple syrup reduction. Super disappointed since that was what I was looking fwd to. Maybe I was hoping for the flavors of a Korean sticky rib. My wedge salad was huge & the pork belly was plentiful, the dressing being homemade is also a bonus, but again lacking flavor. I had to put an abundant amount of salt & pepper on the salad to enhance it. Maybe since it want actual salty bacon & pork belly instead it changed the flavor. The wings were good, with a crispy exterior, we did half dry rub & half Louisiana. Onto our last dish the Cajun Pasta. This was filled with plenty of shrimp, chicken, & sausage, but the noodles were beyond al dente (which I love an al dente noodle) the were so toothy that I had to send this dish back so that the noodles could be cooked more. They were very accommodating with this request. Once the dish was returned, the noodles were a tad softer, but still very firm. Maybe the noodles for this dish are supposed to be on the harder side, not sure, but I wasn't going to send it back again. The sauce looked rich & flavorful, we were wanting a bold spice, but after trying it, once again we had to add salt. Once the noodles sat in the hot sauce they did soften some & with adding the salt it was much better. These dishes will be going home with us, so that I can Dr. them up a bit. The ideas are wonderful, the presentation is wonderful, the service was wonderful, the ambiance was wonderful, but something was missing...

Decided to try out a new place and don't think we'll give it a second try. We arrived just before the dinner rush on a Thursday and were seated right away. I ordered the lasagna, and my wife ordered the double cut pork chop. When our food finally arrived, my wife ordered a second drink. It went downhill from there. The lasagna was on a very hot plate, but cold inside. It's like it came out of the fridge and into an oven to warm it. The flavors were wonderful, and if you like cold lasagna, give it a go! The double cut pork chop was accompanied by cooked zucchini and oven roasted potatoes, not green beans and crispy potato hash listed on the menu. The veggies were cooked perfectly, but with no seasoning. The potatoes had nothing on them either and were soggy. The pork chop was overdone and had a glaze on it that was supposed to cover as flavor. To top it off, all of it was cold! This dish belongs in a retirement home! Not knowing that we had to request salt and pepper for the table, we confronted our server and even had her try the potatoes. She offered to have everything reheated. Really? Choosing not to make a fuss, we consumed our meals and then waited 20 minutes for the opportunity to ask for our check. Our waters were kept full, and our table cleared long before we could even pay for our meal. Oh, and remember that second drink we ordered when the food arrived? Yep, 30 minutes later, it arrived with the bill. We paid and left. Two other tables that were sat and served before us were still trying to pay their tab when we left. On the way out, some of the issues became evident. A full kitchen was turning out food, and there were at least fifteen plates sitting on the counter getting cold. More staff may be the answer to that, or better time management for who is already there. I don't have that answer.

The burgers looked good, and many of the tables that ordered them were raving about them. But to be a nicer scale restaurant in Reno, on 4th street, they'll have to be better than a burger joint.

If we're in the area again, and nothing else is available, it may be worth another try, but Reno Bar and Grill is not a destination based on...

Reno Bar and Grill — First Impressions Review (3 Weeks In)

Stopped by the newly opened Reno Bar and Grill today and was pleasantly surprised. It’s about three weeks since they’ve opened, and for a place this new, they’re already hitting some solid notes.

We ordered the Caesar salad with grilled chicken and a side of French fries. The Caesar was well done — crisp romaine, a dressing that wasn’t overbearing, and nicely shaved parmesan. The grilled chicken was cooked perfectly; a little chewy in spots but overall quite good and flavorful.

The fries, though, were the standout. Perfectly cooked, crisp, and not greasy. You can actually see in the before and after photos — the paper container stayed dry, no greasy puddles. That’s a sign of a good fry job. They also weren’t over-salted, which I appreciated.

One small thing — the ketchup served was standard Heinz with high fructose corn syrup. I’d recommend they consider switching to Heinz’s non-HFCS option to keep it in line with the quality of the food.

As for service — our server was a Reno local and started off very warm, engaging, and personal. As it started to get busier, the vibe shifted a little towards something more corporate and less personal, kind of like a CPK (California Pizza Kitchen) feel. Not bad, but it lost a little of that local charm. I’d suggest to the owners to keep encouraging that personal, Reno-local touch — it makes a difference.

Overall, the food was genuinely good, and the pace of service was great. We didn’t feel rushed, though a couple of check-ins between the main dishes and the final check would have been nice. Not a complaint, just constructive feedback.

We’ll definitely be back — solid first impression...