Bistro 1501

We have only eaten here for the Sunday brunch. It has a huge selection of dozens of items. Breakfast with made to order omelets, waffles, bacon, sausage, eggs benedict, pastries, fruit and more. There are several salads to choose from, smoked salmon, cheeses, peel and eat shrimp, some sushi, and a carving station. There are usually some type of chicken dish, a fish dish, a beef dish and a pork dish for the hot entrees along with some type of vegetables and potatoes as well. It changes every week, so it’s not possible to know what they are serving. Some past dishes have been salmon in dill sauce, beef tips with mushroom gravy, meatloaf, coq au vin, and BBQ ribs. I wish they would post their menu on Facebook again, as it can be rather hit or miss at times.

Stayed here last week. ended up having breakfast here. Good stuff. Nice omelet center and all kinds of food to choose from. The staff is on top of it here. Very attentive.

One of my favorite spots for a business lunch. Always excellent service!

My Review is only of Maria the «restaurant Supervisor»
Had a company outing to celebrate with 15 professionals that works across the street but never heard of Bistro 1501. I thought it would be a nice change of pace to go somewhere other then the usual Fish Bones or Ruth Chris. In a nutshell called there to get happy hour pricing on drinks and appetizers. Maria barely knew anything that was on the Happy hour menu or the pricing. She was able to tell me that beer and wine was 3 – 4 dollars. Anything else I asked her she answered with «I think or let me check» and even told me «let me go to my office» which prompted me to ask her what her title there was. Long pause… Maria what is your title there? «I am the restaurant supervisor» Maria how long have you worked there. «One year» Really? you have worked there a year and dont know whats on the menu or what the drink pricing is or what is on the happy hour menu? Who gives someone a supervisor position to someone that doesnt know anything about the place where they work? I guess the Hotel supports the restaurant so they dont have to try as hard.
Fail!

Our experience this time was again, very good. Since it was during the holiday weekend and perhaps the hotel wasn’t super busy it was a lot less hectic and we made our reservation a little later than last time to avoid the «changeover» from breakfast to brunch which was a bit hectic last time. Food again good with solid, enjoyable selections. mimosas delicious and most everything quite good. Sandra our server (again!) is a pleasant lady who we will ask for going back. Everyone though was quick to pick up dishes and check on us. I like that they have silverware out in the middle of the table so if you want a fresh fork/​knife it’s right there vs. having to ask. Solid brunch, nice setting, close to our home and very much more affordable for what you get (remember, mimosas included). Still will go down to the resorts from time to time especially when we go with friends from further down that way, but for the «local scene» here in Heathrow/​Lake Mary it’s wonderful.

Had dinner here while staying at hotel. The beet salad is excellent. Perfect red beets on a bed or arugula and sprinkled candied pecans. Had a delish lamb chop dish and an exquisite Kim Crawford Pinot Noir. Dining alone is terrible but great good is excellent company.
Oh yeah, service was outstanding!

Living in this general neighborhood, I’ve eaten here a number of times, lunch and dinner. I must say I’ve never had a bad meal here. The service is always unostentatious and good, and the food really decent.
Our most recent meal was on Valentine’s Day. Interesting situation at the reception. My wife and I arrived just after a couple ahead of us. They asked if we had a reservation (we did) and seated us first. But when they seated the two ahead of us, they got a booth — clearly a better table. The only way I could rationalize was that the booth was set up for four, and taking us there would make it look like they were unprepared for us. But they could easily get around that by taking us to the booth, saying they had the OTHER table ready, but that they were giving us the better table. Yeah — trust me to be anal about something as «mundane» as seating in a dining room.
They had a special menu which was really good value: 4-​course featuring filet and lobster tail for $ 45. Filet was kind of skinny (4 oz. maybe) but the lobster looked decent. In any case, we opted to order a la carte, since my wife had her eye on the wild scallops. I can’t tell you what I had (grouper, I think), but her scallops, punctuated with out-​of-​this-​world lardons, was outstanding. I didn’t even begrudge the value of 6 no– very-​large scallps. That was worth the price of admission. We wanted the special feature crème brûlée cheese cake for dessert, but waitress Anjelica brought a regular CB instead. Not very good — tasted like it was made with artificial «cream» rather than the real thing. I’m giving it 4 stars not because it’s the best restaurant I’ve ever been to, but to pump up the volume. Give them a try. Sure beats Applebee’s next door!
p. s. KNOW THY WINES when you come here, or to any place for that matter. I’ve noticed that mark-​ups are far from uniform. We contemplated either the Rosenblum viognier or the Buehler Chardonnay, both of which were only $ 30 (the viognier I’ve seen at retail outlets for close to $ 20, but at least $ 15, and the Buehler just a bit less), but then they had the Meridian pinot noir at $ 32, when I’ve bought it for $ 7 just recently (regular retail may be around 9 or 10 max). In general, wine mark-​ups at restaurant of 3x and up are outrageous.