Last week, I met up with a couple friends to try the much
talked about Grove Square Bistro. I’d been watching this place be built out for
months and was genuinely curious and excited to see what it would turn into. Even
when I started seeing some mixed reactions online, I held out
hope that the Bistro would be a wonderful addition to the neighborhood. The first week it was open, it seemed packed even
with the limited menu and what I’m sure was slightly disorganized service as
the restaurant got its bearings. I'd hoped
by waiting a bit until the opening kinks were
worked out and the full menu was being served, I’d have a better chance of getting a feel for the place.
My friends arrived before me and when I joined them, I ended
up waiting at least 10 minutes before someone came by to take my drink order
which is a pretty long time considering the restaurant was fairly empty. I know it’s still early days and I understand
it can take a while for a staff to find its rhythm so while it wasn’t that big
a deal, I was also frustrated by the fact that the glass of water the server
told me he’d bring without me even asking didn’t show up until the end of our
meal. Other than the timing being off,
the server we had was very nice, checked in with us a few times, and did seem
anxious to make sure we had everything we needed.
Drinks wise, we all had something different off their
cocktails menu. There was red sangria, a
margarita, and I chose a mojito. None of
these were terribly successful although the red sangria was decent. I wouldn’t go out of my way for it but nor
would I turn it down. My mojito tasted like…well, like nothing. I got a bit of sugar and occasional taste of
mint…but that was it. The margarita was weird.
All of us agreed that was the best description as we weren't able to put our
finger on exactly what was off, just that something was. I will say it didn’t
taste like it was made from a mix, so that’s a plus. I couldn’t discern much alcohol
in either one which is a disappointment at $8-$10 a cocktail.