Bistro West

Omg, I rarely give 5 starts but I have to do it for this restaurant. I had a super pleasant dining experience at this place. The food was awesome and delicious! The environment was nice and the staff was friendly and helpful. It was less than 5 minutes from Hyatt house hotel which is 5 mins away from legoland. This restaurant is right off 5 freeway exit so it’s very easy to locate. I can’t wait to go back and try more items next time.

Spent our anniversary here for the first time. Visiting Carlsbad.
Brandon started our night out and did a wonderful job with hospitality and wine recommendation. Our server Kristin made some food recommendations that were delicious. We had the beef stroganoff that was yummy and the pear pizza.
They ended our dinner with a dessert and made us feel special.
Thanks for a good night!

Great place !! Just don’t get the French dip. It sucked and the au jus was like water. It was so sloppy and soggy because all the horse radish on it and the meat was so fatty. I had them take it away and ordered the chicken pot pie. That was great ! My mom had the beef stroganoff and it was amazing.

Sat on the patio for happy hour. Patio is nice only 3 – 4 tables. Service was prompt and she was honest with her opinions which I can very much appreciate and didn’t feel up sold (Thanks Leah!). Endless summer drink was great, husband got the Kentucky mule which was strong and we both enjoyed it very much. Loved the Ahi Tartare and Calamari. Calamari was a little chewy but good. Ahi was amazing. Wished we got two of those. Spinach and artichoke dip was yuck. Way too much artichoke and the bread they served with it was more like a croûton or crisp. Not my fav. Pricey-​ish for happy hour but overall left happy.

I started coming to this place a year or two ago. My wife and I were looking for a good place to get a drink and maybe have some dessert. We saw a couple good reviews on Bistro West and though, «Why not?» We have been regulars since.
With a menu that won’t disappoint, Bistro West offers many different dishes that you will enjoy. I personally love the Margarita Pizza (I’m pretty sure I spelled that wrong) and the Chicken Lettuce Wraps. The restaurant includes a full bar so you can order whatever you’d like to drink.
This is a perfect place to bring your out-​of-​town friends or family for a nice, upscale meal that will leave them wanting to come back. Comfortable seating in booths or tables are available with larger sections if you have a private party. The seating outside is nice with heaters (for winter).

GO!!! (FOR THE MUD PIE AT LEAST!)
You won’t be disappointed, this place will earn your business the moment you step in the door. We were traveling and decided to try Bistro West after a friend of mine who is a local suggested it.
We have a young child who can be a picky eater and at first I was hesitant try a nice restaurant and have the experience and what I thought was going to be a pricey meal go to waste. I am so thrilled we tried it. It really added to our vacation in my opinion.
The landscaping and exterior are beautifully kept and welcomes you upon arrival. The moment we stepped in the door we were treated like family. After a warm greeting by each person at the host stand we were ushered back to a big comfortable booth in a grand yet warm lounge. The décor was beautiful and unique with a variety of color and texture that was fun and intriguing yet not overdone. The interior dining area even features a bubble wall which my son especially loved. Not only does it look like the biggest glowing tank full of bubbles you’ve ever seen but it changes colors. Sure to entrance kids of any age.
We ate off on all that day on our adventure at Legoland so we were hungry for a substantial meal but we weren’t starving. I was also ready for real food, we’d had enough kid, concession and fast food on this trip although they do have a kids options available. It just so happened that we were there during happy hour and we’re were able to take advantage of the seven for $ 7 menu which featured several «appetizers» that were large enough to feed all of us on a family budget. The menu had plenty to offer and I appreciate that the Bistro adds their own unique spin on many well known dishes, a new way to love traditional dishes. For dessert we split the biggest, most decadent, most delicious mud pie dessert I ever had. It’ll be hard to find a dessert that can beat this one in show and taste.
Thank you Bistro for treating our family to a great experience. We’re 800+ miles away but can’t wait for a chance to dine with you again when we come back.

On the Nite of my arrival to Cali (³⁄₂₀₁₅) and we settled in from our flight — girlfriends Nite started here… the ambiance was awesome, service was exceptional and food was on point… I will definitely rtn… this is a Kewl spot for dinner…
#siriusfoodie

This place was great! It was the perfect place to grab lunch with my friend! There was so may yummy foods on the menu. Since it was lunchtime we both got their lunch special. I ordered the chicken noodle soup and a half sandwich and it was a BLT. It was super filling and they bring bread to your table for free. It was also warm, so spreading butter was easy! I will for sure come back to try this place out for dinner! The service was wonderful and the resturant was beautiful.

I had lunch with my friend here today and was very happy with our meal. However, everything was a-​ok. There was really nothing special about the service or the food. I ordered the lunch special lasagne which came with a small piece of lasagne and a pretty decent sized Caesar salad. The salad was really good but you can’t really mess up Caesar salad. However, the lasagne was over-​cooked for my taste and the pasta totally fell apart. The flavors weren’t that memorable either.
Their bread was really delicious though! We mostly munched on that because of how warm and soft it was!
The service was okay– our server was nice but I asked for some more bread and she forgot about it so I had to ask another server for it.
I think I would come with a group of friends but I wouldn’t come back on my own again.

Used to love their happy hour but it has all changed for the worse in my opinion. They used to have a great selection over a 2 page menu and now they have 7 items that none are in my taste wheelhouse. No more slider trio, no more mini filet burgers, no more pizzas and no more white bean soup. I would rate this place two stars for HH, but I still like this place and the workers are friendly, but there is no reason for me to return.

While I did very much appreciate the service from management, the food itself was seriously lacking.
I value service almost just as much as i do the food, but since we really did not enjoy one item they brought out, I just cannot justify giving more than 2 stars.
Free rolls a nice touch and while they were tasty, the butter completely frozen and low quality, if you serve butter it should be of good quality and maybe at least lightly salted, this did not enhance the flavor of the rolls and can be left out.
The menu is simple but does have great options, the pizzas sounded and looked good, I would consider getting one if I did return here.
We were in the mood for burgers and while I do appreciate that they have several different options, all of them were lacking.
Kids meals are insanely expensive at $ 7-​$ 15 each and very small in size, really not made for a child older than 6 or so.
My son went with the sliders and fries, fries were cold and lacking flavor, I didn’t have a chance to try or ask about his burgers, they were gone in two bites, so must have not been that bad.
My husband had the bistro burger, it looked good with swiss, mushrooms and onions loaded on it, but the meat was cooked well done, not medium as requested and hard as a rock, no flavor left, also the aioli horrible, glad we requested it on the side.
The mac and cheese clearly velveeta, very off putting, so we requested fries instead, those again cold.
My veggie burger a disaster, raw, cold, mushy and inedible.
The veggie side, also raw and cold, no seasoning.
The kitchen has some obvious issues going on and really needs to work on proper execution of their foods.
At the prices that they charge you expect quality and care put into the food and we saw neither.
Not worth bothering to return.

All I can truly remember from last night’s meal was HOW PEPPERY my seared ahi tuna steak was– gah! So over peppered, my palette almost couldn’t handle it… And how the «shawarma» on my «chicken shawarma» salad… Wasn’t shawarma AT ALL! Don’t claim to be something you’re not because this SHAWARMA LOVER will call you out on it!
The food at Bistro West was good, but for me and I’m sure a few others at the table, it wasn’t life changing… I know my fiancé was blown out of the water by it, but I stayed IN the water, and sort of just treaded water.
After eating at 6 different restaurants in the area, my fiancé and his parents landed on this one as the restaurant we will probably use as our rehearsal dinner spot. That being the case, my side of the family had to go and try it out… To see what all my fiancé’s «hype» was over.
Well, we found out… But honestly, I wasn’t insanely impressed. It will get the job done at the rehearsal dinner, and I am sure it specializes in creating the best of certain dishes (apparently the Crème brûlée is «heart stoppingly good»)… But what I ordered wasn’t all that wonderful. I got the «Greek Salad» to start, and asked if they could specially top it with chicken shawarma… However, when it came to me, it looked like a simple side salad with dry grilled chicken breast on top. My fiancé even judged the chicken saying, «they must have gotten it wrong.» Our server insisted that this was in fact what I asked for but alas, it was simply just grilled chicken with the tiniest amount of flavor… Very bland and super boring. At least if they gave me the Greek Salad instead of the side, I could have at least enjoyed the flavors of the olives…
Next up, the seared tuna. I always eat salmon when I go out to eat (and honestly wished that I ordered it to top my salad instead of the chicken), so I opted for the seared ahi. Well… It would have been decent if it wasn’t so damn peppery!!! We JUST got over talking about how much we hate spicy food (my sister and I) and I guess the chef overheard wrong because he was EXTREMELY liberal with the pepper shaker. Yikes! There was so much pepper that they need to call this tuna entrée PEPPER TUNA, just to warn people! I scraped off a bunch of the pepper, which my fiancé actually loved, and it was manageable… But it was a tad hard at times to get it down. I didn’t hear anyone else exclaim «this is really good» either (aside from my F), so I know no one else was overly impressed.
After our meals, the dessert chef came out and said he was to present our table with a sampling of desserts so we could decide which one we would like to have at our RD party… Well, with all the food allergies sitting at the table, only 1.5 people would eat the offerings. I was told the Crème Brûlée and the Bread Pudding were PHENOMENAL (as was the jam for the bread pudding) but the churros and chocolate cake– not so much.
Sure, I have no problem with this place hosting our RD… The ambiance is great and the water wall is captivating… It just affirms with me that the food won’t overshadow the offerings at my actual wedding… I’ll be sure to NOT include the seared tuna on the menu of offerings that night.

Great, great, greattt restaurant. It’s right on the property of the West Inn Hotel and I’m so glad we came here for our last night in Carlsbad.
Service was phenomenal, our server Amber went out of her way to help my sister in law find the perfect meal due to her dietary issues of gluten free/​vegan. She kept going back and forth and talking to the chef to make sure everything was the way she wanted it.
We had the Ahi Tuna Tartar, the chicken lettuce cups, the Mary’s chicken, salad, filet mijon, kid’s chicken strips and fries and the Chicken Shwarma wrap. Everything here was really good!!! The chicken lettuce cups had to be my least favorite though, I’m not a fan of mushrooms and I feel there were so many mushrooms and it wasn’t that good.
I absolutely loved the ambience of the restaurant with the color changing bubble wall. Every single person in our party loved the food even the kids. They even offer complimentary bread and butter which was a great starter. Lastly, our server brought us a Birthday dessert for my son and even sang Happy Birthday for him. She brought us a bread pudding and personally not a fan of bread pudding but it was sooo yummy, so soft, so warm and just really really really good! The vanilla ice cream on top paired with the bread pudding so nicely!
I’m glad we came here, great spot to dine at!
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I’ve only been in here for celebrations, so I’m a bit biased. Regardless, Bistro West is plenty enjoyable. The ambiance is lovely and the menu offers something for everyone. Pizza, pasta, seafood, steak, you name it. They also have a nice bar area if you don’t want to go all in. Happy hour options, too!
Only reason for minus a star is the service. It’s really hit or miss. We were in last night and while our waiter was plenty friendly, service was beyond slow. Drinks came almost 30 minutes after ordering.
Food tips: short rib is really yummy, as is the stroganoff. Go hungry, leave full :-)

–1 star: Mushrooms ravioli with haikado scallops was too too salty.
–1 star: Kobe burger meat patty was completely burned and black.
–1 star: French fries was super crispy, hard and crunchy (kinda like the well done fries you can get at In-&-Out). They put way too much salt on the fries that it still taste super salty even after tapping the fries on the plate (to make the salts fall off the fries).
+1 star: chicken pot pie was delicious and the flavoring was perfect.
+1 star: friendly staffs and décor was cute.
I might give this place a second chance next time and hopefully the food won’t be so salty. I like to think the chef might have a bad day when we were there. So, maybe next time the food will taste better and I can update the review.

I always enjoy coming here when I’m in town. The food is delicious and the service is pretty good.
I’ve come here twice to meet family from out of town and both times have been a bit disappointed that even with a reservation, I’ve been seated at least 15 minutes after our reservation time.
All of their food is great and I look forward to coming again!

Came to this place for dinner for a friends birthday.
We found this place on Unilocal since we’re not from the area and it was a good choice.
Starting with calamari. It was perfectly battered and crispy. Wasn’t too much or too little batter and it was a light batter. The dipping sauce that came with it was really good too.
Beet salad was good. I love beets so this was an instant pleasure. They served it with fried goat cheese balls on the side. It was excellent. I think beets and goat cheese are a match made in heaven. YUM!
Pear and Gorgonzola pizza was very good too. Decent dough and good amount of toppings. It was salty enough but I wish it would have been a little sweeter. Couldn’t really taste the pear much.
Ordered the ribeye for my entrée. It came out slightly over cooked but it still tasted good. Came with potatoes and asparagus in a sauce. Pretty good. Can’t say it was amazing but it’ll work if you’re craving steak.
Also tried the chicken cordon bleu. This dish always brings me back to childhood. It was well done. Crispy chicken with creamy cheese inside. I think it came with a side of cream spinach which needed some work. It definitely took away from the dish.
The charcuterie plate was a hot mess. Definitely not the best I’ve seen and was definitely disappointing especially for what they charged for it. There was nothing special about. It almost seemed like I could just go to the deli and recreate it with cold cuts and cheap cheese. Presentation was also really messy.
We were told the mac and cheese was really good by the bar tender. It was okay. It was definitely creamy and cheesy it just didn’t really have that much flavor. It just tasted like melted cheese and cream and pasta. I feel like if you’re going to serve that in a restaurant, something should pop.
Didn’t try the short rib but was told it was good.
Didn’t try the avocado and bacon burger but it looked like a regular burger. with bacon and avocado.
Service was excellent! Everyone working there was very sincere and welcoming. Service definitely bumped this review from 3 to 4 stars. It was my friends birthday and they gave a free apple pie a la mode type dessert which was good.
Overall, this place is really nice with modern décor. Seems like a fine dining restaurant without having to pay the price. Good for groups. I definitely want to try the steakhouse restaurant that’s connected with bistro west.

BEST veggie burger I have had! they make homemade veggie burgers with super fresh ingredients since they even grow all of their own vegetables. when I worked nearby my coworker and I would order the veggie burgers every once in a while when we wanted to treat ourselves (I say this because it’s not the most affordable lunch at about $ 15!) but it is worth it.
one of myfavorite parts of the restaurant itself is their little herb wall next to the entrance. there they grow fresh herbs that they can use in their dishes.
I also came here recently for a friend’s rehearsal dinner and they have a private room for big parties that was perfect for the size of our group. There was a pre-​set menu but a few options and everyone seemed pretty happy with their choices

My girlfriend and I came here for a dinner date and had such a great experience. After you are seated, the waiter greets your with warm bread and butter. Actually, not warm but HOT. It was really soft and pillowy bread. Looking around I noticed how nice the place was. Dimly lit with an upscale look — very romantic. Not the place to take your kids.
Now onto the appetizer — the chicken pesto pizza. One of the best chicken pesto pizzas I’ve had! Taking my first slice, the mozzarella was stringy and oozing — a very good sign. The crust was light and soft. The saltiness of the pesto and the moist chicken was great. For our entrees we ordered the seafood cannelloni and the mushroom ravioli with scallops in a mushroom ragout sauce. Everything was cooked well and packed tons of flavor. Decadence really.
From the service to the ambiance to the food — everything was perfection. And it doesn’t hurt that they have their own private lot for parking.

Colleagues and I sat in the private room that’s off to the side. The room was gorgeous and spacious. The cabinet where they house the wines is worth writing about. We all wanted to take it home with us.
We ordered a bunch of appetizers. The portions were huge and the quality was great. I think my favorite though was the calamari, which was cooked to perfection, it wasn’t rubbery.
I ordered the lasagna cause I love myself some pasta. So yummy. I would have eaten more but I was getting full from the appetizers and had to make room for the dessert.
Get the mud pie, you won’t be disappointed.
The staff was on point. From the moment I walked in, the hostess was friendly. I met lots of staff and the owner, probably because we were in the private room. Servers were an A+++. The best though was the older gentleman, I think his name was Oscar? He made the whole experience even better.
We were all stuffed, had boxes of food to take home with us, and as happy as we could be.
I should also mention that their happy hour is fantastic.