Bistro 27

Lovely place for brunch. Very fancy and crisp white décor inside. I had the seasonal waffle and it was good, nothing out-​of-​this-​world but definitely good.
I’ll be back, maybe for lunch or dinner next time.

After having been here several times now, I hold true to my words, this is the best place is Richmond to wine and dine!!! The service, the food, and the drinks are top quality. To the owner William, you totally rock! Thank you for making our experience an exclusive one. By the way, we loved the Mississippi Punch and the Bordeaux wine

I give this place 4 Stars for the service alone but the food was good too. Seriously I haven’t met a nicer group of people. The bartenders were both amazing and super friendly and I ordered a drink she hadn’t made in a while so she told me to taste it and make sure it was how I wanted it. Then I spoke with the owner about the art pieces. I was here for a large work dinner but will definitely be coming back to try more of the menu!

My wife and I made reservations for ²⁄₁₃ at 6:15pm at Bistro 27 well over 2 weeks in advance. This would be our first time at the restaurant. We arrived promptly. The restaurant was not busy at that time. We were seated in a corner table by the bar near the large front window. NOT in the main dining area. It was a frigid night and we were unable to take our coats off as a result of being near the window and front door. In addition, our server was the bartender who was quite good, but since she was also tending bar, was less than responsive.
Needless to say, we were very disappointed with our experience and will likely not be returning in the future.

We brought a large party — ten people. Pretty lame. Food was fine but nothing special. Took forever. And when we got the check, the waitress had added a $ 100 bottle of wine to our bill, in addition to the two much less expensive bottles that we actually ordered. And didn’t point out that gratuity was added already. Caveat emptor, folks.

Went with a large party. Took over an hour for food to come out. Food, when it did arrive was fine, but cold. Also, I’m pretty sure they gave me the wrong dish and tried to pass it off.
Waitress added a $ 95 bottle of wine to the tab, which is a little suspicious. Sounds like there have been some people who had strange charges from Groupon, too.
The place wasn’t busy, so no idea why things were off.

Went with a group of nine. Entrees took over an hour despite the place being empty. Worse, our server tried to add a $ 100 bottle of wine we never ordered to the bill. Very suspicious considering there was an automatic 20% gratuity, and the two bottles we did order were less than $ 40.
Food was solid, but very ordinary, nothing remotely exciting.

Stopped in since this was close to our hotel. Sort of a fringe area, between ok and sketchy with some questionable characters in the area. Maitre’d came out on the street to welcome us. Service was great, as was the food. Prices are a little high but then again this is downtown Richmond. Menu was not large but there should be something for everyone. My steak was perfectly cooked and my wife raved about her osso buco.

Had a delightful dinner. The lamb is so bucco was very lightly prepared and fell off the bones. The zucchini was perfectly prepared. My husband has the rockfish which was very good as well. William. The owner spoke at length with us and was very pleasant bee really enjoyed ourselves

All-​around wonderful dining experience! Menu is reasonably priced and varied. Pay attention to the specials! Friendly owner William and staff have made us feel very welcome each time we visited, including a busy Thanksgiving. My go-​to place for occasions big and small.

Bistro 27 nailed it tonight. Right when you walk in you are greeted with a warm welcome and a cozy atmosphere. The Christmas decorations added to the ambiance as well of course. Our Server, Kaitlyn, was superb! Very knowledgeable, and even more helpful. The menu was just the right mix between adventurous and familiar, and was executed beautifully. Compliments to the chef!

Do yourself a favor… If you walk or drive by this place and are thinking, «Well, it looks kind of dead… Or too fancy with the white tablecloths» and your about to keep trucking to some other place_​STOP!!! Don’t do it! You have got to come here!
While it may look a bit stuffy or quiet from the street; his place is truly a great little secret in RVA.
If your looking for a quiet meal or want a more lively experience; they will make sure you get exactly what your looking for.
As for the food… Just check out some of he pics…

I think I have just finally gotten to the point where I could give or take Bistro 27. When we first moved to Richmond, my husband’s company provided him with several $ 25 coupons, and I have noticed as we gone over the past couple years that my overall experience gets just a little bit worse. The culmination was during our last trip there for my husbands birthday, which was also the last coupon we had (possibly a blessing is disguise). I had a reservation through Open Table for 4 at 7pm, and still had to wait 5+ min after arriving (on time) to be seated, even though the restaurant was barely half full. I typically like to try their specials (as is normal for me at a lot of restaurants), but was immediately greeted with «We have no specials today, no soup of the day, and we are out of scallops so that dish will be served with shrimp instead». It was obvious that they hadn’t hit some major Friday night rush that caused them to be out of everything, so it just made them seem ill prepared. Then my husband and I picked out a bottle of wine, which they also were out of! In my experience when this happens, usually the manager offers you an alternate, similar wine for the same price, but we instead had to pick a different wine which also happened to cost more. Not a huge deal, but at that point, I just wanted to say «So what DO you have?».
Moving on, we ordered our food, my husband got one of the chicken dishes that he has gotten in the past, and I got the lamb shank. The lamb was huge but it was deceiving because it was also really fatty.
I will say the silver lining was the waiter we had. I don’t remember his name, but he was hilarious and very personable. He even brought my husband’s tirimisu with birthday candles. This was the one thing that was a step up for us because, in the past, it seems we have has waiters that would rather be getting oral surgery than working in a restaurant.
I did also just want to point out one other previous experience we had that is worth noting. We had made a reservation to go here for Valentine’s day last year. When we arrived, we realized they had a special dinner planned for VDay, but you had to request it in advance of the meal so they ordered enough. Even though we called in the reservation, we were never told of this dinner. If this was something they decided to do AFTER we made the reservation, then I think they should have called to ask if we wanted the special. It looked like a much better option than what we got. Then we were also told we couldn’t use the coupon on that day because it was a holiday, even though it doesn’t have any exclusions regarding holidays on the coupon.
Now will admit, maybe its the fact that we are using these coupons that peeves them off and in turn deters our experience, but to put it in perspective, after buying bottle (s) of wine, two dinners, appetizers, and a dessert, we are still spending plenty of money, and should be treated equally. I really liked Bistro the first few times we went, but I don’t think I will go back. At this point, there just really isn’t anything left to draw me in.

So… This was not what we expected, and wasn’t one of our best experiences, in fact it was one of our worst experiences! First off, we ordered the caprese salad and it barely came with any mozzarella, anyone knows that is what makes a caprese salad?!! The mussels didn’t have any mussels in them??! I think we found 2 out of the whole order. The flounder (my main course) was described in the menu as being pan seared served with a dill sauce, the flounder was battered and fried, and extremely over done! Tasteless!!! No seasonings and overwhelming taste of old oil. My husband ordered the beef ravioli that pretty much tasted as good as if it came straight from a can of chef boyardee. Highly disappointed!!!

The service and terismoue (sp?) are BOMB ASS!!!
There are many restaurants on Broad street that are good. However the atmosphere and service here go above and beyond average your typical dining experience! The manager, william, is very genuine, relatable, funny and will happily give you a rva parking tips! I would highly recommend for lunch & dinner!!!

WARNING: If you use a Groupon they will add a 20% service charge to the BEFORE discount total. This is stated on their website, but not on the Groupon and I wish I had known this before purchasing.
The bread and tomato bisque dipping sauce were a nice starter. My boyfriend then got two standard crab cakes for $ 28 and I had the chicken ravioli for $ 18. We both enjoyed our meals, but the portions are incredibly small for the price. My 9 ravioli were smothered in a brown buttery sauce which covered most of the plate making the dish appear larger, but the rich sauce was only good in moderation.
I pushed what I thought was a sun dried tomato around on my plate while eating my ravioli, only to discover it was a piece of plastic packaging. I am a non-​confrontational person and I did not report the plastic as I had finished my meal by this point and was using a Groupon so figured I was getting a deal (which I did not).
I’d spent $ 15 on a $ 30 Groupon. With the 20% gratuity added pre-​discount, I ended up spending another $ 29.94 at the restaurant. I would barely consider our meal a $ 59.94 value. Oddly enough, I would have spent basically the same amount out of pocket WITHOUT the Groupon. (Probably less since there was plastic in my food)
Bottom line, my boyfriends’s birthday dinner was more or less a disappointment and we ordered pizza later that night as we left hungry!

I went on a weekday with my mom, who had a Groupon. It wasn’t busy, we had a reservation but that didn’t really matter, and were seated promptly. Good wine and beer selection (I’m an out of towner beer snob and was pleased with my local options) and service was prompt and attentive.
The menu lacked any creativity or direction though. It was all very 2003. I had the Italian chicken, my mom had the seared duck. Both stated they were served with «a starch and seasonal vegetables.» That apparently meant mashed potatoes and green beans almondine. While the food was surface-​level good, it was doused in butter. And I mean drooooowning. I’m not a skinny girl, I love me some buttery creamy potatoes, but good lord!
Richmond is stepping up its game in the culinary department, and this place will be playing catch up for far too long to last. Or, they will start offering early bird specials.

I have not been to Bistro 27 in years. Last time I went it was good at best, but it’s been here so long, I thought it must be much better now. The wait staff was nice and helpful. We order calamari, it was over cooked (chewy) and needed some seasoning. The sauce that was served with it was directly out of a can!
I had the sea bass and it was actually really good, cooked perfect with the right sides. If that was all I order, they would have received four stars. But one person I was with order shrimp Fra Diablo with home made pasta. The home made pasta was really over cooked, there was no where near enough sauce and a creamy Fra Diablo sauce did not work. That dish was a total failure. Also, I was with one other person who is allergic to cheese and after we told the waiter three times, her dish still had cheese on it!
I will never go back!

I would be remiss if I did not take some time to post a review of a wonderful evening.
My brother got married this past weekend and we held his rehearsal dinner at Bistro 27. William, the owner, sat down with us ahead of time to talk about the menu. He responded to all of questions via email and even had a special menu printed with our own quote and picture of the bride and groom.
William recently hired a young woman named Alicia who also helped out with adding on an extra guest the day before and helping to decorate the tables with flower arrangements we left at the restaurant.
We had a party of 25. A lively bunch. I would like to send a special thank you to our server Nick, who put up with one of the guests rudely calling him Pablo over and over. He continued to stay professional and never lost his cool. That kind of service is truly appreciated. All of the staff was phenomenal. There was another sever, whose name I never got, who was so helpful and continued to ask us if there was anything that we needed.
William had our tables positioned by the window, which was just perfect. We got the backdrop of the city. I was able to capture some wonderful pictures of the party by the glorious front window.
The food was great! There were a variety of dishes that our guests could choose. Everything looked amazing and tasted delicious.
William worked with our budget and gave us plenty of options. If you are looking for a venue to host an event or gathering, look no further. I will definitely be coming back without the group of 25, but if I need to host a party in Richmond again, I won’t hesitate to book at Bistro 27.
Thanks so much for kicking off a magical weekend!
–Dwann Cutler

You need a reservation.
We were there at the very start of dinner service on an early Saturday evening. It was totally empty, but because we didn’t have a reservation we were relegated to the bar. And while we enjoyed a great dinner at the bar, the restaurant with high ceilings and industrial lighting stayed empty… for the next hour. Except the other patrons who also failed to make reservations and joined us at the bar. But at the bar, we got to see the chef cook… so there’s a slight perk, if that’s something you’re interested in.
Upon leaving, the restaurant was still only half full. They take the reservation thing very seriously. I suppose they can afford to.