Bistro 5

Outstanding restaurant, everything is fresh. The homemade focaccia was amazing, appetizers were delicious and the salmon I had was perfectly prepared. Beautiful atmosphere is casual chic.

For years I was not interested in trying this place. It looks from the street like it’s gonna be the typical bland, overpriced restaurant maybe catering to an older crowd. But my friends tried it & raved, then I tried it and now I owe them an apology! Bistro 5 is as good as any fine restaurant in Boston; Impeccable cooking and presentation, friendly and informed waitstaff, varied and reasonably priced wine and beer menus. I ordered a veal dish, which came tender and perfectly cooked. Everything we had felt like it was the special creation of a master chef, with sauces and garnishes perfectly chosen to balance the dish.
Bistro 5 is in East Medford, just across from the commuter rail stop (so there’s plenty of nearby street parking at typical dinner times). While only a short drive from Medford Sq, Tufts, or Arlington Ctr., if one were to choose to walk from Arlington Ctr. it’d make for a pleasant ~ ½ hour stroll.

Excellent salmon entrée and my wife had a steak special that was also very good. The soup and the salad appetizers were great. The dessert cherry goat cheese ice cream was delightfully rich.
Portions were the right size meaning they are not big. Not the place for all you can eat fans!
The ambiance was quiet and generally the diners were dressed more than casually.
The service was excellent even though we turned up without a reservation. They said they had a table for two which wasn’t placed nicely sort of near the corner that has access to the WC… But since we didn’t have any desire to go look for another place to eat we agreed to take the table which isn’t too bad and beats sitting at the bar on stools. They did have plenty of room at the bar.
So a great evening spoiled by my wife getting irritated at me about something we were discussing and resulting in rather a subdued departure after a great meal. Not the first time she got upset with me and certainly not the last. :-)

Loved this place! Classy atmosphere, romantic ambience, and to-​die-​for food. We ordered the duck prosciutto ($ 14) and calamari ($ 12) as appetizers and both were phenomenal. The Veal Milanese ($ 29) and the steak ($ 32) were also both incredible. I loved the chocolate panna cotta ($ 10) and also enjoyed the dessert crêpe special ($ 13). I will definitely return next time I want another special evening.

Delicious! Can’t wait to come back-​I got the scallops with a pea risotto and my boyfriend got the skirt steak– both were cooked to perfection and SO TASTY (and reasonably priced too)! I can’t remember our waitress’ name but she was really friendly and personable, made a terrific wine selection, and didn’t rush us through dinner. It was a really enjoyable experience!

Interesting, delicious food — and the best gluten free pasta we’ve had!
Such a lovely restaurant, with good food, attentive and friendly staff, and the best gluten free pasta we’ve found. We highly recommend Bistro 5, and will definitely be back the next time we are in town. It was especially terrific for the newly gluten free person in our family!

The food at Bisto 5 is good, if not small in portion size. If you didn’t get bread (which is delicious), you could easily leave here hungry. That said, we recently had a terrible service experience and because of this, none in our party of 6 will be going back.
One of the entrees was brought to our table a full 15 minutes before the rest of the meals arrived. When I called this out to our server, Conor, he became argumentative. He insisted that my friend’s meal was not getting cold (it wasn’t getting warmer!!!) and that if he noticed that it was getting cold, he would handle the situation. Another 5 minutes went by, and my friend’s husband now got involved, asking for the meal to be removed from the table, and offering to buy a new, hot meal for his wife when the other meals were ready.
Conor complied and removed the plate, and then, as luck would have it, the rest of our meals came out, My friend’s «new» meal came out right afterward, cold and congealed from sitting on a plate for so long. It was the same food on a different plate. We spent over $ 650 and one person in our party wasn’t old enough to drink alcohol — this is over $ 100 per person for a meal with less than average service. We will never be back; there are plenty of other restaurants with great food and service to match. If you decide to go, you may want to ask for a server other than Conor.

How did I not know about this place? Its such a hidden little gem in the most unsuspecting place! Great for groups and intimate dates.
Dollar oyster night on Tuesdays is a big hit for my crew (party of 6 – 10). Everything we had on the menu was amazing! They oysters are probably the best I’ve ever had, and I have had my share!
The service was awesome every time. Friendly and accommodating. It’s now a ritual to go for oysters drinks and maybe a meal every Tuesday.

A nice neighborhood jewel. Reserved for my husband 50^th birthday and received high class service and cuisine. The menu is creative, the presentation is beautiful and the food exquisite. Another plus: the menu can be adapted to any food allergies. Thanks to the whole team of Bistro 5! Will come back soon!

Consistently one of the best, if not the best restaurant we go to in the Boston area. Their scallops on risotto (whichever one’s in season – we’ve had the fall butternut squash/​pumpkin and spring lemon/​pea) is one of the most delicious dishes ever. other dishes are amazing as well, but I keep going back to the scallops/​risotto

wow! went there for valentines day last night. prix fixe menu only. again… wow. great food. friendly stuff. not too fast service but not too slow either, just right. the décor was relaxed and warm.
i’m looking forward to going back for a regular meal. well i’m sure there’s nothing «regular» about this place.

Awesome! Bartender James is great. Staff is friendly. Great local place to be! $ 1 oysters on Tuesdays are my absolute favorite

On a business trip from the foodie land of Portland, OR. Found this place down from our hotel and gave it a shot, so glad we did.
Wonderful duck proscuitto — never had anything like it before. The calamari was light and tasty. Sea scallops were superb as was the service.
Ordered a cuvee wine and thought it tasted a little off, they were super accomodating and brought us another bottle — appreciate that they did not hassle us & agreed the bottle was off.
Great food!

Superb appetizers (Quail was crisp outside and rare inside; and lovely, crispy tuna starter)– a fabulous flat iron steak and great spaghetti Chirara and Veal Milanese with spinach salad– Delish!
Dessert simple biscotti with chocolate dipping sauce with a delightful double cappuccino — good crowd for day after New Year too!

One of the best dining experiences we have had in a looooong time! From the food to the service to the cocktail/​craft beer, everything was impeccable. In the words of my five year old «this place is champion!»
Our server was Cal– he was friendly, informative, and even a bit funny! He had great insight on the menu and was able to give guidance on our preferences.
For food
— warm beets– I love beets and goat cheese everywhere I go, so I am a bit biased. However the seasoning in the goat cheese and the truffle and salt was really something special. Even my husband who is not a beet fan was impressed
— ricotta with honey truffle– this was good and one of the first things I had. While I would order it again, if it was ordered elsewhere, I would double up my appetite on the gnocchi or beets instead of this
— calamari: this was the first use of my daughter shouting «this is champion». Tender and lightly breaded
— mushroom with squash nightly special appetizer– this was good hearty vegetables. My husband was surprised that he liked the squash– the seasoning and prep was a perfect combo. My only wish was there was MORE mushrooms — amazing flavor
— gnocchi with truffle and mushrooms– this was probably the highlight of our experience. My husband audibly groaned. After we devoured this we even took my daughters angel hair pasta and sopped up the oil and flavor from the bowl
Scallops– we did half serving– also very scrumptious! Super tender
— kids menu– our daughter will eat adult good but I love to have the fall back option of kids menu. It’s simple but also good. The chicken fingers is fresh pan fried breaded chicken– very good!

I had one of the best meals I’ve ever had in Boston here. Period. The service was 5 star, the food, 10 star. We just got married the previous Sat, and his Mom was still here from Russia. So I wanted something special. I live in Medford, so was skeptical at first, until the first set of apps appeared. And I was hooked.
We ordered the marinated olives, white anchovies, and warm beet salad. Heaven!
I had the Veal Milanese, they had the strip steak, everything stunningly delicious. For desert we got the Chocolate Mouse and the cheese plate.
We had the house red wine pour.
Personally, I thought the meal was absolute perfection. In Medford, no less! I can’t wait to return. We’re in NYC a this week (business). But I have a little wedding money left. I think we’ll go there Sat or Sunday when we get back, and I’ve NEVER returned to a restaurant within a week of dining there.

had a reception there! The location was a perfect fit considering my guests coming from chelmsford, winchester, hartford and boston. We had a four course for a group of 19, but our server provided excellent service in taking order, filling up wine and caring for the young kids. We were trying not to interrupt other ppl dining there. They had heavy curtain to separate the space and we really appreciate this semi-​private space. And the food was terrific! We got a lot of compliments from the guests about choosing this restaurants. A little other information: Appetizer: Calamari came in with large sharable size; Duck Prosciutto was a little salty for me but tasted really good; the Handmade Pastas might be the best pastas I’ve ever tasted in US (i dont go to Italian restaurants frequently though); the sea scallops were also my favorite, fresh, tender and tasty! The dessert Profiteroles was too much for me and less impressive than others.
During off-​hours, use the parking space of the bank if you cant find any spots by the restaurants.

I had a very unpleasant experience at Bistro 5. The staff did not greet my and my dinner date when we came in. The food took a while and wasn’t warm. I would like to try again because I heard goo things but my experience was awful.

Errors without leaving an impression of wishing to do better.
Biscotti dessert included a chocolate sauce that was served in a small dish that sat on a square of paper that sat in a larger plate. On looking at the square more closely, it was a scrap of a used customer comment card, with the signature of a diner clearly visible. This was a piece of paper that was handled by a previous customer and then cut into a smaller piece and placed on our dessert plate!!! To make it worse the server manger’s explanation was that it was because the restaurant likes to recycle! The apology was far less than profuse and the dessert was removed from our bill. Our waiter remained disconnected from the entire experience and while pleasant, didn’t demonstrate the enthusiasm in the restaurant that we had come to expect.
The missing birthday candle may be a trivial failure to deliver on a small favor that was not advertised in the first place, but for many it’s an avoidable disappointment that leaves a bad taste. In this case I requested it at the time of reservation and on day-​of confirmation call from restaurant, received confirmation that it would be there simply upon ordering any dessert and that I would not need to mention it on arrival.
Our meals were otherwise quite delicious. They just deserved more support.
Even though I’m a believer in a rating system that weights recent reviews more heavily, it’s no fun to update an older review with a recent negative experience.
Two stars because of the performance in light of the expectation.

Delicious.
Antonio was our server and he was so helpful and spot on!
We were celebrating my fiancé’s 35^th birthday and we are Medford residents (on the South side) and decided to go to the West Side!
We had a great night and spent over TWO hours dining here — normally we gobble our food down like hungry wolves.
Last night we dined like royalty. Take. Your. Time.
Bistro 5 is a small restaurant with a bar that takes up a good amount of space, we sat in the back of the restaurant — near the bathroom door which normally grosses me out but it is just a door that leads you to the bathroom, plus there is a scrim there so you don’t have to stare at the Toilette sign as you dine.
We decided to get whatever we wanted and we did just that. My fiancé got a martini to start and Carne Salada which had a whole host of things in it: Lightly Cured Wagyu Beef, Pecorino, Black Pepper Dressing, Grilled Onion Jam, Smoked Salt, and Sourdough Croutons and… HE DEVOURED IT. Looked like a clean plate after he finished. I got a ½ portion of the scallop risotto with corn and Arugula Risotto, Pancetta, Pattypan Squash (they were out but used zucchini instead and it was good, Corn Crema, and Lemon Zest. And my dish matched his when I was done. We both became members of the CLEAN PLATE CLUB!
Another martini was ordered for he and water with lemon was consumed for me. Then the main course came, he got the rabbit. Now, I can’t say what it tasted like because I wasn’t offered a taste but he ended up eating it beast mode style. Actually, he was quite refined in eating such a delicate rabbit, but that doesn’t mean he didn’t enjoy the hell out of it. He got a glass of Rose with it.
I went with the veal milanese with pisistachio-​Panko Bread Crumbs, Garlic Mashed Potatoes, Porcini Mushroom Sauce and Zucchini (ok they ended up running out of zucchini by then and gave me broccoli rabe). I don’t love rabe but ate most of it and gave the rest to my fiancé and ended up taking the other piece of veal home. They give you two pieces of veal. I liked my appetizer and dinner. The veal milanese according to Antonio, has been a staple on the menu since day one. Very popular dish. Saw the couple next me get it when we were finishing dinner and when we arrived another couple ordered the veal.
I have been here one other time and had the chicken — which I shouldn’t order in restaurants because anyone can roast a chicken, but I felt like my body wanted to eat chicken. It was ok… still this place is getting five stars.
I am going onto dessert now. I NEVER get desserts unless I really have a craving for something and I was craving custard and sugar. Yes, Crème Brulee it would be for me and the tiramisu it would be for he. Vanilla-​Mascarpone Custard with Mixed Berries was my crème brûlée.AND. IT. WAS. DELICIOUS. Totally hit the dessert sweet spot. I love a cheese plate but the kinds of cheese they had were not for me (goat, gorgonzola and pecorino romano). I am a Parmesan and cheddar type gal, so I skipped that. Maybe one day, Bistro 5 would do a cheesecake with strawberries, that is my favorite dessert. Oh, the tiramisu — which my fiancé decided to get a Frangelico with was amazing according to him, it had strawberry and basil in it.
When we sat down for dinner, the hostess heard me say «it’s your birthday» to my fiancé and must have told Antonio because when the dessert was brought out, it had a candle on the plate. Very good attention to detail. Very observant. Excellent staff! Excellent food! Excellent night!
Definitely go here for a nice night out, you might balk at the prices since this is Medford and not Boston, but you are getting a great meal and service.