Bistro 33

THIS RESTAURANT IS CLOSED.
The brunch was great, but the restaurant is now closed.
Update: Bistro 33 is still closed, but Bowery Bay has opened in the same location with the same executive chef, and a similar great brunch.

We dined here for New Year’s Eve. They had a special menu and we had made reservations. It was a very cold night and as is the case with many small NY restaurants we were very cold and there was nowhere to put our coats except hang them on our chair. Ordinarily I wouldnt complain about that but it was a special evening and I had a difficult time keeping my beautiful long coat off the floor.
I was a bit put off by the wait staff, it took 25 minutes before I was finally given my glass of wine. That’s a long time to wait at a restaurant for something. It took 40 minutes before food came out. My first course was lobster bisque and it was very tasty. It had a beautiful little de-​shelled lobster claw on toast served with it and I decided to save that little treat for last. Bad choice, it was nearly raw! It would’ve been ok if I had let it sit inside the soup for a bit but wasn’t instructed to do that so I ended up with a treat I couldn’t enjoy. Hubby had a scotched duck egg with foie gras and it was cooked perfectly!
Second course I had butter poached lobster with sea urchin. It came in a tiny cup with hardly any lobster at all. The texture was so weird and all I could taste was miso (which wasn’t mentioned on the menu) and there was no lobster flavor at all. Hubby had the sweetbreads and enjoyed it very much.
Last course I had venison Wellington with blueberry compote and sautéed mushrooms. It was excellent. The blueberries were surprising and really complimented the gamey meat. Hubby had the roasted squab and loved it.
There were hits and misses but overall the food was interesting but the waiters didnt seem experienced enough to serve this kind of food. You can’t leave a person dry for 25 min on New Year’s Eve! The faster you get me my drink the faster I can order another one my friends.

The food is good but the portions are tiny. I ordered the lobster mac and cheese and it was literally like 6 spoonfuls for $ 13. Normally I wouldn’t mind paying for quality, but it’s just not worth it in this case. I actually kind of felt taken advantage of, and I never feel that way about food. LOL.

I came here for brunch once and didn’t really enjoy it as much as I thought I would. I got the grill cheese sandwich. The bread was too hard for my liking and the cheese should have been shaper to tie the flavors together but wasn’t. I basically paid $ 15 too much for a sandwich I could get for half that price at Belaire and they would have made it much better.

Awful customer service, rude waiter during Saturday brunch. This place is always empty, not surprised!
Had a lovely brunch down the street at Fatty’s.

This is long & sordid bc after a long love affair, I am breaking up with Bistro33. We used to really like this place, bringing friends in from out of town for brunch and occasionally treating ourselves to a date night with a bottle of wine & a stroll in the park after. This place has definitely started to slide as a heavier emphasis on the New American stuff has taken over the former French-​Japanese fusion-​y vibe. The dishes are heavy handed and gross, lacking the former finesse, and on a recent visit there was a Game of Thrones viewing party set up. What the what? It’s a restaurant that charges $ 24 a plate, I’m not here to watch fucking tv!
We decided to sit outside to avoid the scene inside since we had walked so far & were darn hungry, and as soon as the show started THE LIGHTS WENT OUT. All of them! Even outside because they’re on the same switches. So we were sitting outside getting eaten by mosquitos, trying to eat meh food in the damn dark… and within minutes the majority of the diners inside also filtered out to get away from this misguided attempt of a viewing party. One guy took to cursing and stormed off, the manager (who had been drinking it seemed) looked utterly unfazed & shrugged his shoulders.
The poor waitress was very professional and apologetic/​doing the best she could, but she was the only server on and the inside was crammed with people nursing drinks and ordering waters so they could hang around for the show & she was clearly exasperated. They were lured in by the promise of free shots anytime a character had sex or got killed (because apparently the previous week’s episode was a shagariffic bloodbath & peoople were hammered on free shots.) That kind of thing reeks of frat pub, and is tacky in a place that considers itself «fine dining» in Queens and feels entitled to Manhattan prices accordingly.
Meanwhile, with several tables of actual diners in various stages of ordering, eating, and swearing, complete chaos was quickly taking over. Cherry on top? After we had ordered, we looked closer at the menu thinking we’d pick up a side or something & realized they’ve jumped on that awful hipster foodie bandwagon and began serving FOIE GRAS, which is a vile «food» & an incredibly cruel and unnecessary one. That alone was enough to put me off from ever returning there. How many chances does a place get when their food starts to slip, followed by their ethics, service, and then just sense?! Coupled with the GoT experiment I felt moved to write this review and warn others to AVOID this place! They have gone down the tubes!

I think this is a 3.5 review in all honesty. I think.
The thing is, Bistro 33 kinda confuses me. Firstly, our waiter was delightful. Very sweet and helpful. But for a small period of time we were served by the bartender, who seemed to be talking down to my boyfriend and I. Maybe I’m paranoid, but he questioned everything we ordered.
Me: We’ll start with the hamachi tartare.
Bartender: And… you know that fish is served raw?
Me: Well, yes. That’s what tartare means. We’ll also have the salmon crudo.
Bartender: Great. And you know that’s going to be cold?
Me: Yup. That’s what crudo means. It also says that on the menu.
Also, when he told us the appetizer special was a carpaccio of mushroom, he asked yet again «do you know what carpaccio means?» Maybe they have a problem with customers understanding the menu, but it felt like I was being treated with kid gloves. Never mind that I could probably school that kid ten ways to Sunday in the world of food.
Anyway, the hamachi appetizer was absolutely sensational. My only problem with it was that I had to share with my boy. And I greedily wanted more hamachi and less avocado.
The salmon crudo was poached in duck fat and served with a medium boiled duck egg. Alongside was a rolled potato pancake filled with dandelion greens and some bacon. The dish was tasty, but a little strange. Yes, the salmon was cold, but so was the egg. As in, fridge cold. It was just strange, eating cold runny yolk with cold salmon. The salmon was ok, the flavor of the duck fat coming through, but overcooked. The potato pancake was a tad bit greasy, and I felt the bacon was an afterthought. But still, it’s bacon, so it was good.
For dessert we got a chocolate soufflé, which surprisingly was a true soufflé, not a heavy cake. A nice finish to dinner.
Oh! And for those of you who like a drink with a meal: their happy hour special is pretty great. $ 2 for any draft beer. Not sure if that’s just on Sunday or every day, but it’s quite a decent price.
Other than the happy hour beer, however, I’m inclined to agree with everyone else: the dishes are perhaps a tad overcomplicated, and over priced. I’d take an editing pen and excise at least one or two ingredients from every dish. Except the hamachi tartare. Just add more fish.

Unfortunately, this place has gone downhill in a massive way. We’ve been twice in the past six months, hoping for a better experience, but the service and food were, frankly, terrible. This used to be one of our go-​to places, but not anymore. The service was so bad the last time we went that we waited 30 minutes for a cocktail and our entrée was cooked improperly (overcooked steak, like shoe leather). I brought it to the waiter’s attention and was completely blown off. We would have sent it back, but there was no one even close to our table to give it to. We didn’t even eat half of it.
The things that were good are still good — lobster mac, hamachi tartare, crawfish tempura — but the rest of the food we got ranged from mediocre to terrible. I’m very sad to report we will not be returning.

Ah, Bistro 33. I tried to love you. I really did. So many visits, so many chances. But the food just isn’t good and the one item on the menu that was amazing — the Root Beer Float cocktail — was pulled. Tried brunch and was left with over cooked eggs. Tried dinner and had was underwhelmed by runny mac and cheese and odd flavor combinations, and overcooked meat. Tried dessert and had a runny soufflé and a «beer-​a-​misu» that was like battery acid in my mouth. No matter how convenient the location, you won’t see me again
.

There are not a ton of options right by Astoria Park but Bistro 33 does nothing to make it a go to place. I’m writing this after a couple of visits. The first we sat down for a few beers and took out the lobster sandwich and a burger and split both. The burger was pretty good but the lobster was pathetic. Barely any meat and otherwise the sandwich was nothing.
Tonight I took out another burger and had a beer while waiting. $ 17 for a burger with bacon and cheese? Please — I didn’t even get the cheese. The burger was ok, fries were ok. The price — ridiculous.
Pass on Bistro 33. Order burgers from Bareburger or Fatty’s.

The first time I came here it was a really good experience, decent food, good portions, wine and cocktails at a reasonable price. The server was laid back, yet helpful.
The second time I came here, it looked as though the cut their portions in almost half. Our server spilt not one, but two and a half glasses of wine on me and my boyfriend’s mother. We were both drenched in wine, our clothes and purses ruined. We were very gracious, told him it’s no big deal, accidents happen and cleaned up the majority of the spill ourselves.
Not a single thing was deducted from the bill. Not even the 1 glass of wine he set down even though half of it was spilt. I wasn’t looking for some «deal», but come on that’s just common courtesy/​knowledge to at least comp the glass of puddled wine now in purse. The bill still would have come out to be $ 65 (which is still completely over priced for the amount of food we got).
I don’t like going to restaurants where they’d rather squeeze every penny out of you as opposed to giving you a nice experience, my money would be better spent somewhere else. Never coming here again, they definitely ruined a good thing they originally had going.

Came here with friends who are regulars. I understand why there are such mixed reviews about this place.
You probably can’t go wrong with any of the selections on the menu. Personally I wasn’t a die hard fan of the lobster mac but the other 3 at the table devoured theirs.
I had the short rib. It was very tender and the gravy was very tasty. I wasn’t a fan of the strange root vegetable and would have preferred the garlic mashed (which I picked off my boyfriend’s plate). We also shared a side of french fries which were perfect!
The pork porterhouse looked good and came with a nice helping of mashed potatoes and caramelized onions. The steak frites was a huge plate.
The drink menu seemed a bit limited but the beer selection is great.
We had the dessert and we enjoyed the cherry bread pudding.
For the price I don’t think I would make a big deal about coming back unless I ordered a burger, fries, and beer during happy hour. We didn’t really look at prices while ordering and our bill was very high.
Our other disappointment was that they don’t have any energy drink (which I understand) but also don’t have espresso. Only regular coffee.
Driving back to NJ after eating a huge meal — we were pretty drowsy.

Came here for dinner on a Thursday night and was surprised to only see 2 occupied tables despite it being a pretty small venue with around 10 tables and a bar. So I guess this is your spot for a pretty intimate setting on a weeknight.
Split the lobster macaroni and cheese as an app. Cheesy goodness with ACTUAL lobster chunks in it!
I got the sobaccini which had mussels, shrimp, and scallops in uni butter sauce. There were a lot of mussels (at least 10), and scallops (4 big pieces) were soft and buttery. My only qualm about it was I was expecting something in texture like soba, but it was more like linguini.
My friend got the Pork porterhouse. The pork was a little too dry in my opinion, but the mash potato was smooth– although it lacked the garlic it claims to have in the menu.
The only letdown: DO NOT ORDER THE APPLETINI CIDER (?) MIXED DRINK. I overheard that it was the bartender’s first day but it tasted like alcoholic ROBITUSSIN COUGH MEDICINE!!! I couldn’t even attempt to chug it.
However, the waitress (who came off as having a judging eye the whole time) was kind enough to take it off the bill when she saw that I didn’t touch it (I had politely brushed it off that it wasn’t my cup of tea — no pun intended).

A friend and I came here on a friday night after eyeing this place for several years. We were excited to try the menu especially the burger and the lobster mac and cheese. Unfortunately both of those dishes, along with about half of their menu, were unavailable.
The place was not busy, and we only got there around 8:30 pm. We were not offered any substitutions. We ended up just splitting an appetizer (the foie gras and pork belly) which was all right, but we were hungry and the appetizer we shared was not enough for two people.
Considering the following:
1. This place doesn’t even open for dinner until 5 p.m.
2. It has a very small menu
3. It is Friday night
and
4. It was not very busy,
they should have had at least 90% of their menu available (not just the most expensive/​bizarre entrees. How can you have quail but no beef??)
We were disappointed because the reviews of this place seemed great and it had a nice atmosphere as well as good service, and I’m sure if my friend and I were able to eat any of the food on the menu that we wanted we would have enjoyed it very much.
Disappointed and reluctant to return.

I had dinner at Bistro 33 a few years back and was pleasantly surprised with the creative French-​Asian fare. With that in mind, I decided to grab a couple friends and see if it was just as I remembered.
We shared the Fois Gras & Pork Belly, the Bone Marrow, the Pork Porterhouse and the Short Rib.
The fois gras was perfectly seared and melted in my mouth. The pork belly was disappointing and unlike any pork belly I’d ever eaten. It was stringy and almost devoid of all that fatty goodness. The fois gras and pork belly were neither heightened nor complimented by the heaping portion of lukewarm chestnut bread pudding on the plate. The dish desperately needed a sauce and certainly not the pasty carrot purée or olive tapenade. These should have been two separate appetizers.
The bone marrow appetizer also suffered from too many competing flavors. The texture of the marrow itself was lost in heaps of escargots, sauteed onions, sprigs of thyme, and cinnamon tomato jam. Though, the escargots were surprisingly more tender than ones i’ve had in both the States and in France.
The ginormous Pork Porterhouse was cooked to medium, seasoned well, and accompanied by a pile of garlic mashed potatoes, a half roasted but underdone apple, caramelized onions and a thin horseradish sauce.
The short rib was average. Too much sauce in the bowl made it reminiscent of a stew. In any case, I wished for another root or starchy vegetable with which to soak up the broth.
I appreciate the use of interesting and extravagant ingredients, but overall, the plates were just too busy.

Not too shabby!
2 apps for $ 10 bucks ~ moules frites and french onion soup, pretty good deal if you ask me!
Lobster Mac ~ pretty awesome! nice and creamy unlike its traditionally oily and chewey counterparts
Shrimp and Grits ~ even MORE awesome! So delicious in every way possible. It was perfection.

I recently went to a Sunday brunch with my boyfriend at Bistro 33. I didn’t realize that there was a $ 14 price fix menu until we already sat down, and even though that is usually out of my price range we decided to go for it anyway. The brunch comes with coffee or tea, plus a mimosa, tokyo sunrise, or juice, and one entrée.
I had the Vegetable Frittata and it was so delicious! Full of fresh vegetables. The side salad was pretty good as well, with an interesting peanut-​based dressing. My boyfriend had the Frog in a Bun which he really enjoyed. And my cranberry mimosa was delicious.
BUT even though the food was good I give this place 3 stars because (a) the service wasn’t great, (b) the place was a little blah on the inside, and © I felt it was a little overpriced for Astoria. I would go back again if a friend wanted to check it out, and would recommend it as a decent place for brunch.

I returned here Saturday for brunch again. The very same problems that caused me to write it off the first time reared their very same heads; namely, glacier like service, or rather, assuming glaciers are moving faster these days because of global warming (a fact I just invented), service the speed glaciers used to move when ice was ice and cold-​weather Yetis roamed the earth. Seriously, all I ordered was some grits (tasty) topped with eggs (also tasty). Why did this take 40 minutes from order to delivery?
Plus, no refills of coffee in that 40 minutes makes me grumpy.

There is a serious lack in impressive food in this part of Astoria. It’s a bit off the beaten path, several blocks from the subway, but not too far from the park. I’d say that Bistro 33 probably has the best food in a several block radius. Because of this, it lacks competition, so they can get away with not being perfect. With that said, I found the prices to be very reasonable for the food offered (I’m sure the lower rent in this area helps make this possible), and overall the food was a nice modern interpretation of bistro cuisine.
We started with the goat cheese croquette, which had a nice sweetness from the apricot purée, as well as a bit of a kick from fresh black pepper cracked over the plate.
The steak frites had a lovely crust, but was slightly overcooked for me. The fries reminded me of the ones my grandma use to make, very old-​school and homemade tasting, but they would not compete with the fries from popular bistros and brasseries in the city.
The duck duo was a wonderful alternative to a typical French duck a l’orange. It offered a breast and a leg, served over polenta and summer squash with a cherry sauce. The cherry sauce brightened up the dish and was a great compliment to the duck. The duck leg was fall-​off-​the-​bone-​tender, but the breast was overcooked. Should have been far more pink/​red in order to stay tender (they never actually asked how I would like it cooked, so I hoped the chef would know better). The polenta was a lovely base. Overall, with the exception of the slightly overcooked and chewy duck breast, I was a fan of the dish.
Service was good. Patience is practiced here, and the staff doesn’t really get in your face in order to push you to make decisions or vacate your table. The soundtrack was great as well. They utilize Pandora, which kept the good music flowing. Overall, this would be my pick for a nicer meal in the area. Especially if you live in the neighborhood, I suggest you consider Bistro 33 as your watering hole.

I can eat Salmon & Tuna Tower ($ 13) everyday. Very filling and comfortable for my stomach. The beautiful dressing is delicious. I wiped it off with sushi. My waitress even offer more dressing for me. She’s very nice.
However, I don’t really like crawfish tempura that many reviews here give it thumbs up. I guess it’s a good compliment with alcoholic drink only.