Bistro 112 — Restaurant in Shepherdstown

I’m still in shock as I write this. As a white veteran married to a Black woman, with a beautiful mixed family, I take extra care in researching where we dine to make sure we’re going somewhere we’ll be treated with kindness and respect. I was really excited about supporting this Black-owned business, but I never expected to walk away feeling hurt and unwelcome.

Our evening started off with endless waiting. Our food took forever to arrive, We were told “ the patio is busy today “

Yea we made the reservation a week in advance…why does what’s going on in the patio? Have to interfere with our reservation? The other white families around us ordered their food ate their food paid their bill and left, they came in AFTER US. we did not have a complicated order. French toast, breakfast platter, couple lattes, some French onion soup, one eggs Benedict breakfast burritos… I would understand if we were a party of 12 and we all had appetizers and drinks, this was a small family brunch. Reservation was at 12. We sat down at 12:02. it wasn’t until well after 1 PM that we were eating… it was 140pm when we finished.

We asked to speak to a manager, it took over 15 minutes for anyone to even come to our table. We tried to keep things positive, but my mother-in-law kept telling me people were staring at us. At first, I didn’t want to believe her—I thought it was just in her head. But then I turned around and saw it for myself. Multiple staff members kept glancing at us, and when we made eye contact, they would quickly look away. It was subtle, but it stung.

I couldn’t believe we were being treated this way, especially in a place I thought would embrace us. My family is everything to me, and watching them feel uncomfortable was enraging. When the manager finally came over, it was like adding insult to injury. She just stood there, silent, with a stern look on her face—no greeting, no explanation, nothing. It felt like she was annoyed with us just for being there. My heart sank. Jay who I assume was the owner a ( black female ) was in front of her on her day off! She apologized, and comped our meal. Jay tried to salvage the day, and I’ll never forget her act of kindness, but the damage had already been done.

The only bright spot was Jay and the espresso crème brûlée—it was perfect, easily a 10/10. But even the best dessert can’t erase the way we were made to feel.

I never imagined we’d experience this kind of subtle racism, especially from a Black-owned business. My heart is broken, and my family deserves better. We won’t be returning.

Allow me to share the predictable response that’s already on here as we are the 2nd family to have this problem… and we received a very similar apology in person

Here’s what you’re most most likely to read under this review.

“First off, I would like to apologize that your Birthday experience, it did not live up to the standards we have set for ourselves. It is a day for you to enjoy with your family and I am sorry that we fell short and left a mark on your day”

Upon leaving there was no goodbye no smile no words from the staff

It takes more then ONE person to be kind, it has to be ingrained into the entire staff, and if it was me running a restaurant, there’s a 0% chance that I would hire anyone that didn’t have a pure heart, it’s the most important part of the experience is the interaction with the staff.

Hire loving people , train them and have standards, and timestamps that...

This place was suggested by the owners of the inn where we stayed. We made a 530 reservation on a Saturday evening. We arrived on time and were promptly seated. Ordered cocktails and let the waitress know we were in no hurry. We waited for nearly 15 minutes for our cocktails, during which time the waitress asked if we were ready to order. We reiterated that this was a date night, and we were taking our time. We drank our cocktails and decided what to order. When asked again if we were ready to order, we instead let the waitress know we would like to have a $100+ bottle of champagne with our meal. After serving our champagne, we were unable to catch our waitress' attention to order our meal. A manager approached and asked if she could help us. We let her know we wanted to order our meal. Instead of facilitating this request, she told us they would actually need to have our table for a guest with mobility issues? I showed her my husband's cane and asked, "Oh, kind of like my husband?" As the manager began to explain further, I simply asked, "What's in it for us?" She offered desserts. At this point we were extremely irritated, but decided to just move to the bar. After moving, we were able to order from the thoroughly delightful bartender (she is the only reason we would consider returning). Our original table and the empty one next to it now had reserved signs on them. While my husband and I enjoyed our champagne and excellent carpaggio and escargot, those tables were seated with two different couples who appeared to have no mobility issues at all. Sadly, I sent back my extremely oversalted steak au poivre while my husband silently ate his overcooked trout. We declined dessert, so the bartender comped our appetizers and my entre. Yes, we did take 45 minutes to wait for drinks, enjoy them, peruse the menu, and have some champagne. No, we were not told that there was any kind of limit on the amount of time we could take to enjoy our meal. Yes, the space is very tight and as it filled the waitress had difficulty moving among tables. No, this was not our fault for being seated where they put us. Yes, there is a great menu and bartender, but unfortunately, the waitstaff/manager handled this badly, and the kitchen didn't execute our entrees very well. Our hosts at the inn were shocked at this description of the place, and wondered if they should continue to suggest the bistro to guests. As former industry people, we would have actually been more willing to help out if we'd gotten the truth from the manager about why they wanted our table. They might also want to consider how they use their space to accommodate guests or let guests know that on a busy night, there is a 2 hour...

I would love to give 5 stars, as Bistro 112 generally has everything you would expect from a good, small town upscale restaurant. The atmosphere is just lovely. The paint colors are warm and inviting, the artwork is pretty and fits the theme of the restaurant, linens are very nice, including the drapery divider in their upper floor dining room. Staff are friendly, polite, and professional, providing just the right amount of attention to guests. One can easily converse with table mates, as thankfully there is no loud music making it difficult to hear one another. Such a genuinely pleasant experience. Last fall, my son and I had brunch and it was exquisite. I can’t recall exactly what we ordered, but we both left with a good feeling of contentment. We both decided to go back for dinner with another family member recently. Two out of three of us were disappointed with our choices. My son had the vegetarian curry and I had the mushroom asparagus tart. The vegetarian curry was mushy and the flavor was unrecognizable and unremarkable. The curry would have been greatly improved if it were served with jasmine rice rather than riced cauliflower. I am sorry to say it was way overpriced at $28. I ordered the whole mushroom asparagus tartlet, which was vegan. Unfortunately, without the butter, the pastry was hard and virtually tasteless. In place of butter, a good extra virgin olive oil would have given it some depth. Instead it was stiff and dry. The mushroom and asparagus combination was very nice and flavorful. The tart was surrounded by a cashew sauce which added to the presentation but not to the taste. The tart was served as an entree but would be better described as an appetizer. Finally, my Brussels sprouts were surprisingly burned to a crisp and not recognizable as Brussels sprouts. The leaves seemed to have all been removed from the sprouts, and were over salted and oily. I should have sent them back, but at the time it didn’t occur to me to do so. I imagine it’s not a priority to have vegan or vegetarian options in a French Bistro, and appreciated the effort. However, it seems that perhaps offering a large beet salad with fennel, goat cheese, and walnuts, or a stuffed portobello mushroom, would be an improvement over the current vegetarian options. Highly recommend the brunch and definitely will be returning again to experience the very charming atmosphere of Bistro 112 in...