Bistro781 — Restaurant in Waltham

Unfortunately, Bistro 781 provided by far the worst dining experience in a restaurant that I've ever had. Before I get to the review, I do want to point out that they comped the entire bill for our party of 7 (the only time I've ever had 100% of a bill comped for a party of more than 2). The waitress who comped our bill was the only person who apologized, and she said that there was no excuse for the poor service.

REVIEW: My sister and I brought our parents here for Mother's Day. We were seated in the parking lot patio, about a 5 min walk from the restaurant front door. It was 20+ minutes before the waitress took our drink order and another 25 min (45 min total) before a different waitress took our food order (she brought our drinks at the same time) , and then promptly disappeared.

When I complained to one of the busboys after an hour of radio silence from anyone, and said that we were ready to just leave, he curtly responded, "then just go!" without even looking at me. He should remember that there are many area restaurants to choose from, and frankly, the food here is not good enough for customers to put up with that attitude. If not for the rest of my party, I would have left...and I wouldn't have been the only one because I did see at least one other party leave without getting their food.

We complained to a different staff member about the wait, and 5 of the 7 dishes arrived sans silverware after 15 min (almost 2 hours after our reservation). The 6th dish came out about 10 minutes later, and my mother's dish didn't arrive until 30 minutes after the first batch. We asked to have her dish boxed before they brought it out, because we had already been there for 2 1/2 hours.

My opinion is that they have way too many tables and not enough staff. They should probably shut down the patio seating if they can't make sure that there is enough staff to properly look after these tables in an acceptable manner. At the least, they need to take a good look at their operations and figure out how to make the patio dining experience a better one...because right now, it is very disorganized with poor customer service and not at all worth the time or money.

I most likely would not...

walked in one weekday lunch time and found the place empty, but welcoming. server seemed a bit...overloaded with tasks, but was very pleasant and attentive. shout out to the very kind server who went out of her way to make pink lemonade for the toddler diner!

blueprint of the space is long and deep. one side at the bar with multiple TVs, the other side with tables decorated with pictures of the town, partitioned by a short wall. some tall tables out by the front give a cocktail hour chilling the perfect setup.

husband found this place on an app that searches for gluten-free dining. kudos to them for having enough offerings that are naturally gluten free, along with some that can be made as such with accommodations.

food is delicious and well made; we all enjoyed the apps and our respective meal. could just be us with small stomach; there was enough leftover to make another person's meal.

only thing that baffles me is the pricing. for example, "small plates" range from $13 to $17 -- that's the range of an entree at any other place with the same calibre! even our lunch dishes were in the same price range. so...what exactly is the idea of "small plates"? for time being, i also thought that meant "apps for sharing", but the offerings within that category don't seem to suggest so. maybe they meant a slightly smaller portion or lighter meal choices.

another pricing baffle: kids meal pasta, $6. add shrimp +$8, add chicken +$5. what's with doubling the base price just by adding protein??? lucky our kid likes it plain anyway, so i didn't have to begrudgingly shell out $14 for a kid's meal.

pricing aside, it was a great meal. may return for the $1 oysters or brunch (starting in March, boo).

free one-hour street parking on the main road, or pull into Spruce St lot to park a couple hours ($1/2hr) to a day...I think there is...

Atmosphere was not great and I'll start with that right off the bat. There was a table next to us who was incredibly loud and obnoxious, and probably intoxicated. There was a lot of f___ this and f___ that and discussions about genitalia. I don't know if this restaurant would pass as a kid friendly joint, but I wouldn't bring kids here just for the experience of rude fellow customers attributing to a nauseating and dimly lit atmosphere.

The service was slow all three times I've been there, but this is noted on the menu. Sort of a Parisian style of service. Slow enough and comfortable for you to relax and really appreciate what you are being served, theoretically. When you are waiting and listening to the most obnoxious customers drown out your own conversation it can be brutal, or when you sit outdoors at a Lifetime picnic table (the ones made out of plastic and have benches with no back support, which made for what was seriously one of the longest and most physically exhausting dinners of my life).

The food was phenomenal and quite consistent in quality. As far as pricing is concerned, it's moderate. Where if you'd like to spend a fortune, you most certainly can, and the food will be passing. But if you're looking for an affordable burger that is reasonably well plated, look no further. I'd like to note though that when I had the bistro burger I asked for it medium rare and it came out nearly perfect.

I guess if you can land a good outdoor table that is a genuine table with proper seating, on a cool spring day when Moody St. has been blocked off, you can close your eyes and almost imagine yourself at a bistro placed in a far and distant land (just not indoors with a loud nextdoor party of four).

Listed are some dishes I'd recommend from previous...