Metro Bis Restaurant — Restaurant in Simsbury

Well, first of all, your Google page shows at your old location. When I got there and realized you were no longer there, I called your number for directions and got vague directions at best. The young woman did not appear to know north from south and sent me in the wrong direction on Rt 10. I finally turned around and was looking for a "gray house on a hill." This young woman was unable to tell me which side of Rt 10 this "gray house" was on. I finally ambled on to your place. It was a challenge as there is no sign on Rt 10 to direct one to your place. I finally found it and your tiny sign faced your parking lot not the street, whatever that street was. I was to meet my friend at Metro Bis at 7:00. It was now 7:30 and all he has is a cell phone that is just that. When I went to Metro Bis and stated how difficult it was to get there, I was told, that yes, they had other complaints. I resisted saying that this could be corrected by updating their google page, and placing a sign on Rt 10 designating their location. Finally, my friend called me and asked where the hell Metro Bis was. I gave him directions and he finally got there at 8:00. We had planned to meet at 7:00. So, finally we ordered dinmer. To begin with I ordered a Marker's Mark and he a glass of Chardonnay. I ordered the Tenderloin Beef with Fingerling Potatoes in a something sauce. Rare. My friend ordered the salmon dish. Medium rare. My beef arrived in a glop on the plate, with a "sauce" that resembled gravey out of can, and the potatoes and beef were indistinguishable from each other. Rare? Who could tell? My friend's salmon was dry and over cooked. I ate about 1/4 of my "tenderloin" and took home the rest for my dogs. We ordered, with no great expectations, the Creme brulee for dessert. It was just ok. This meal was nothing compared to the Metro Bis dinners I had come to expect. Wonderful food, beautiful presentation, excellent service. So no stars for you. I hope this was just an off night for you (March 14th). The best part of the meal was the Marker's Mark. That can't be screwed up. After this experience, I questioned other "foodies" in the area who had long been positive about Metro Bis in the past, and most of them felt the same way as I and...

We had an event with 25 people for lunch on Friday. I called a week in advance and talked to Courtney who I believe is one of the owners and chef. The restaurant is an amazing place in an older mansion with 5-6 rooms of varying size. It is well decorated, a refreshing atmosphere, lots of open space, and well done. Truly a bistro. Their luncheon is the best. They feature a 3 course luncheon with 4-5 picks per course, something pleasing for everyone. This is an upscale menu so the price was reasonable at $25 per person plus tax and tip. The food was bistro gourmet, elegantly done, pleasing to the eye and the palate. Everyone was excited with the beautiful presentations. We did not order ahead and the service was fast. The staff was very professional, friendly, and accommodating. My first course was a beet salad. It was creative, very tasty, attractive presentation. Many had the cut calamari steak - very flavorful. My swordfish was overdone, they agreed with me and served up a nice rare piece in a matter of minutes. My wife had the Caesar salad with grilled shrimp, others had the very large gourmet burgers, Pad Thai, and flat iron steak. I would avoid the flat iron steak -- not my idea of a steak. I was conservative on my dessert selection. I chose the raspberry and blackberry sorbets which were excellent. Others chose far more creative desserts and everyone was pleased. Drinks were OK and reasonably priced. If you tell the waitress how you want your drink poured they readily accommodate your request. I have written some tough reviews but I cannot say enough about Metro Bis. Unfortunately we live out of state, but I would love to return for dinner and we will definitely be back. Well...

Dinner at Metro Bis was an excellent experience in many ways, but it fell short of what I'd expect for the very high price tag, comperable to more expensive than a Max Oyster Bar or Treva dinner, but with less flexibility (due to the $60/pp prix fixe menu).

Pros --

Service: incredibly accommodating and friendly, from the moment we arrived every interaction was welcoming and professional. Couldn't have asked for more.

Setting: sat outside on the deck under a wide pergola. It was beautiful, comfortable and we'll laid out.

Drinks: beer, mixed drink and wine lists had a lot of excellent excellent options at reasonable prices.

(Some) food: Many of the dishes were executed well, including the crab cake appetiser, beet salad and halibut. But ...

Con --

Food prep: This really undercut the whole experience. Two of our dishes were really disappointing in their preparation.

The cauliflower tempura was soggy, not at all crispy like you'd expect tempura to be. The flavors were good but the texture was really off as a result.

I also got the beef tenderloin. It was exactly medium rare and a great looking cut of beef, but I was cold. Like, actually cool to the touch relative to my finger. Maybe I should have sent it back, but I really hate doing that unless something is undercooked, and my wife already had her entree. (She had the halibut and loved it.)

At five star/special event prices ($250 for two), I think customers should expect -- and get -- more. I wanted to love Metro Bis, but unfortunately the experience didn't...