Bistro 39 Restaurant and Bar — Restaurant in San Diego

What a perfectly whelming American dining experience. The sole purpose of eating here was convenience. The manager at the hotel I stayed at right next door likened it to being "better than Chili's" so imagine how low that bar was. The server was kind and polite, and the atmosphere is literally a hotel lobby so not really expecting much there.

I had the linguine alfredo with salmon and asked the server about the quality of the salmon. I asked if it was fresh salmon, she assured me it was wild caught with a delicious cajun rub. Dear reader...this salmon was DEAD DEAD DEAD. It had been cooked, rubbed, and cooked again and had the consistency of shoe leather, which one would think would be challenging to do with salmon - rest assured, dear reader, this place rose to that challenge.

Prepare...

We showed up here two minutes before 9:30 pm kitchen close, freshly released from the Emergency Room following a traumatic accident, and the waitress was generous enough to greet, seat, and serve us despite the poor timing. She was incredibly gracious and we enjoyed a shockingly good meal. I deeply appreciate the consideration displayed by staff after an incredibly difficult evening and OMG the short rib sliders were amazing.

I had no idea that Hilton Garden Inn had a restaurant and the food massively exceeded my expectations. I expect to return for another round of sliders at some later time. Our positive experience was a testament to the hard work of the hotel and restaurant staff. I did not get a chance to thank you that evening but you really helped us through a...

A bit a stretch to call it a Bistro. First off, the restaurant is merely an extension of the hotel lobby as in it feels like you are eating in a hotel lobby. I went on a week night, so the food is likely different on the weekends if that makes any sense. The food choices are not good. The chicken sandwich is the exact same chicken sandwich from the other restaurant attached to the hotel (NY deli), but more expensive. I opted for the NY-style pizza. It was not NY-style, and frankly not very good either. The crust was burnt and the ingredients were quite bland. I'd like to try their full menu, but it...