Bistro Rylo

WoW!!! So the location is not the best and the décor could use a few minor updates– but it isn’t ugly by any means (subjective of course).
But the FOOD and SERVICE are stellar!
We had the octopus app– most delicious otco we have every tasted! And everywhere we go, we try it. We have been to most mid to high priced restaurants in Monmouth county, and beyond, and I must tell you– this was the best Octopus we have ever had!
Second was the sea bass with putanesca– ok a little pricey– BUT you pay for what you get and what I got was delicious to the point that I thought about moving tables to my BF couldn’t keep eating it from my plate! BTW, I am a putanesca lover– my favorite sauce to make and eat– and Bistro’s was the best I have had out. The BF had halibut and lemon caper sauce– outta this world. The sides were not an afterthought– they were HUGE, and we were so happy that we would have something to take home (the octopus and fish didn’t have a chance against our forks) We had Forest Mushroom Ragu, Haricots Verts, Truffle Frite and the Potato Gratin– all were perfect! We will definitely be back– but… maybe… Bistro Rylo would like to come to us in Red Bank? Just a thought :)

Called just now (it’s FRIDAY) for an 8:00 reservation and they ask if I can come earlier??! Hostess claims it will be a slow night and that they want to close the kitchen at 8:00!
My husband has wanted to try so we headed in anyway (at 8). When we got there someone was just being seated and there were 2 other tables.
I think they must be going under because they kept talking about their bad location… And how it’s hit or miss.
They started by saying they were out of shellfish, halibut, and filet because of the storm? What storm that was, I missed… LOL
We had the Spanish Octopus to start which was really good and done with fresh corn and chopped chorizo. We also had a beet salad which came with 3 beets, an entire bag of arugula, and no taste.
Dinner was just okay and everything was very salty. They talked us up about their fries made in rendered duck fat (sound divine) but were dry and very much like a French fry. The rib-​eye was massive and well cooked. I got Sea Bass which is $ 40 and was a tiny filet. It was cold and salty. Sides were decent besides the fries and the creamed spinach was tasty.
Service was way below par and very intrusive. This place is a shame because has potential but in a bad spot with inexperienced service. To make it, they would have to be a well oiled customer service machine so people make the trip…

After a great dinner at Rylo earlier this year, we decided to host a birthday celebtation for 22 people at Rylo this past weekend. Anita worked very closely with us to accommodate us. They set up the bar area with glasses and mixers for our BYO and even printed menus without prices for our guests. Many places ask guests to limit choices for large parties, but not at Rylo. The entire menu was available. There was lots of shaing of salads and starters (all great!!) and almost everyone had meat (only one fish — tuna was outstanding — and one pasta (also terrific) and all the meat was served hot and correctly. Meredith was a wonderful server and made sure that everyone was taken care of. All (and I mean ALL) of the sides were served family style and again were hot and perfectly prepared.
Sam baked a special carrot cake and red velvet cake for the birthday celebration and delicious family style berries in panne cotta were served as well.
As we were the last guests there, we were able to choose our music choices and some of our guests even danced.
It was a wondefful delicious evening and we look forward to returning to Bistro Rylo again soon.

Overall: Terrible experience, aside from the service.
First of all, the décor is so dated, and the ambiance is so old and stale. The flowers within the restaurant were half dead. What’s with the chef’s table with a TV playing in the background, when there is nothing going on? Instead the waiters & waitresses filled the to-​go boxes right in front of everyone. In addition, I don’t really understand the servers with trays like at a diner. Either don’t call yourself a fine dining establishment, or start acting like it.
Secondly, let’s talk about the food. In all honesty, if the food was great, I wouldn’t let my criticism in my first point matter. We had a Living Social voucher for a 5-​course chef’s tasting menu. Now, I get that since I bought this for a fraction of the valued price, I’m not going to be getting Lobster or Filet Mignon, but one would think that the purpose for doing this would be to whet our appetite and have us wanting to come back for more. Sorry– we won’t be coming back and will tell our friends about the travesty.
Course 1 was a Caesar Salad with roasted tomatoes. There were 2 roasted cherry tomatoes in the salad. Also, the lettuce was so sandy, after a few bites, I was done. C’mon– wash your lettuce! Besides that, a caesar salad is what I would expect from a diner, nothing to wow me for a first course.
Course 2 was a scallop ceviche on a fried pita chip. The ceviche was decent, but the pita chip was soaked in oil making it very soggy. I was hungry at this point, so I ate it.
Course 3 was 2 oysters. They were not very chilled… not alarmingly warm, but not as chilled as I would have liked them to be. Again, I was hungry, so I slurped them down.
Course 4 was Chillean Sea Bass over hericot verts & topped with capers. The sear on the fish was great, but HOLY SALT! I think in combination with the capers, it was just too salty.
Course 5 (dessert) was a (cold) muddled berry concoction with some sort of crème on top. Again, nothing to wow me. The best part was that it was served on a hot plate, really? (I’m assuming right out of the dishwasher).
Added Cappuccinos — terrible… made from a machine per our server and topped with so much cinnamon, you couldn’t taste the coffee.
Finally, the service was decent. I can’t say there was anything wrong with it… they did their job and made sure we were «happy.»
The crazy part is that if you look on their website, the pictures of the food make it look like a fine dining establishment. Our experience was far from this.

Kicked out of restaurant for posting bad Unilocal review! If you can’t take the truth don’t open a restaurant. Service and food both awful. Avoid like the plague

fantastic place. we had great service, and love the food. I started with the mussels which were great, and served with an amazing sauce, and my friend had the shrimp which were quite honestly, amazing. we shared the porterhouse for 2, and it was cooked perfectly. for sides we had the truffle fries (standard), creamed spinach (amazing), and mushrooms (not a huge mushroom fan, and they were actually really really good).
On a side note, there was this awful table next to us, where one of the guests was obnoxious from the start. he was actively reviewing the experience online as well as vocally through the entire experience. we felt bad for his family, because clearly they were embarrassed to be with him, and kept apologizing to the staff about his behavior. before writing my review, i happened to notice he posted as well (Steven M.), and it’s clear from every other one of his posts, he just enjoys complaining and being negative.
I hope this post helps maintain the restaurant’s reputation, because we really enjoyed our experience, and we’re already talking about coming back soon.

Just great. We saw a review in the local paper so we decided to venture outside of asbury park to try this restaurant out. To be honest we were looking for a decent steak which seemed to be missing at our local choices. So we ventured out and were not disappointed The steak was amazing and cooked perfectly. And the sides are huge so go hungry. Though the restaurant was not to busy, we ate late The service was spot on. And everyone there was really friendly and accommodating (btw we got our steak knifes right away) even though it’s away from the beach if your visiting its worth the drive for the food

Dinner was very good, large portions and excellent quality food. Loved the family style side dishes. I will return to his restaurant very soon.

Had dinner there tonight with my mom and really enjoyed it. The food was excellent. The 3 course tasting menu is a great deal. For $ 40 you get to pick one appetizer, an entrée and a dessert. The entrée comes with two sides. The portions are really big and I think it’s a great value. The roasted potatoes were amazing. The scallops were some of the best I’ve had. The bread came out warm with a delicious truffle butter. I do not eat meat and I am usually limited to 2 fish entrees. It was a great surprise to see 7 different fish choices being offered. Props to the chef who came out of the kitchen to talk to my mom when he noticed her watching him cook. He just made himself a customer for life. We plan on going back just to sit at the bar and watch the open kitchen. I’ve been reading the reviews and I to say, I have been a Food Service Manager for the past 20 years and I had no problem with the service. Our waitstaff was attentive without being annoying. They kept our drinks refilled and offered us seconds (and thirds) on the bread. The coffee was brewed fresh when we ordered it and they also came out and refilled it without being asked. I loved the china they served the meals on. I am looking forward to going back and trying different menu items.

Do not be deceived by the surprisingly low Unilocal rating. This is the best new restaurant in Monmouth county. Time has not yet allowed for the whiny reviews of snooty patrons like the douche complaining about his knife for 3 straight pages to be buried by the rest of us that enjoy creativity and spectacularly cooked food. Spearheaded by Sam and Ryan, two young, well-​traveled chefs with palates and cooking skill that sing with the experience of far more seasoned chefs like Thomas Keller or David Chang. These kids are just warming up, believe me. The food is superb and refined. From the Dover sole to the Icelandic hake the dishes at this charming restaurant offer unique choices with French and Spanish influences that will satisfy even the most cynical foodie. Even the truffle chicken that will make you say «chicken…really…how good can chicken be» is terrific. Don’t believe me? Try it. It’s superb, and offers a relatively inexpensive option for those not looking to spend too much. Add in the fact that it’s byob and you have a terrific little spot with a wide range of options to satisfy everyone. 5 stars is probably overkill since it isn’t «Daniel» or «per se» in NYC, but compared to every other restaurant in Monmouth with the exception of «Fresh,» it’s a cut above the rest. Try it!!!

We ate here once and though it was pretty good, but expensive. They put out an Easter menu, so we thought we would bring my parents on Easter. Today is the day before Easter and they called and confirmed the reservation and then called an hour later saying that they were going to close because they were a new business and didn’t have enough reservations. Shouldn’t they have known that before 4:30pm the day before a major holiday? Will take a lot to get me back and because they are a new restaurant they should think about the long term effects of canceling on a major holiday. Zero stars for customer service and caring about the customer experience.

I am giving 3 stars for effort. I am local in Ocean and this spot has been tough for restaurants. When I saw Bistro Rylo open I was very happy and could not wait to try it. Plus I love BYOB’s. They are definitely trying hard to be different then the restaurants of the past at this site. The atmosphere is more upscale and they are definitely paying attention to detail when it comes to presentation. Every dish is presented like a work of art. There is a glass window by the bar area so you can watch them in action. This is a nice approach which is refreshingly different. The food itself, was a bit disappointing. It looks better than it tastes. It is fine, but for the price being charged I think they need to improve some here. For example, the steak I had was a little salty and for desert we had the chocolate cake which looked dreamy but was dry. Also, if they want to get people coming back and not always heading to Asbury Park for fine dining, they should expand the menu. There are no real pasta entries at all, and I don’t understand this. Based on the limited menu, there isn’t much more I would like to go back and try and there is very little for my wife who is not a beef or fish eater. She can order the Roasted Chicken, but that is about it. So… they are trying to be different and they may be on to something here… but I believe they have some work to do on flavor and quality (presentation is fine!), and they need to expand the menu for diners to want to return. Add some great pasta dishes! I am rooting for Bistro Rylo to get it right!

This is my hometown, and as an avid diner, I was beyond excited to try this place out, as we have no fine dining options in the immediate area besides the local hibachi bar.
I came by myself and was told that the only place to sit was the bar. I noticed that there was not a welcoming feeling here, but it’s a fine restaurant and sometimes they’re like that. Whatever. I don’t mind snootiness as long as the food is GOOD. I also noticed that there were in fact open tables, but I didn’t mind going to the bar, especially since at that spot there was a large window to look into the goings-​on of the kitchen.
I figured I’d start with the French onion soup, a good, reliable staple for any restaurant claiming to be, well, French. If I liked it, I’d try dessert.
It took a while to come out, so as I patiently waited I watched the «movie» in front of me of the kitchen happenings. I was a bit in shock at what I saw next.
The pastry chef was the closest to the window, so I saw pretty much every move he made. When he started scooping out of a Breyer’s ice cream carton of chocolate, I thought I was going crazy. I realized that the Bistro offered an assortment of «seasonal gelatos, ice creams, and sorbets» I also saw that the scoop of Breyer’s chocolate was placed on a nicely decorated plate containing other dessert-​type looking foods.
Interesting conundrum here, with a restaurant that allows diners to see the «truth» behind the scenes, and seeing that the fine-​dining establishment offers the same stuff sold at any 7 – 11 ice cream freezer section. There is nothing «seasonal» about Breyer’s and I refuse to spend $ 5 for a scoop of it!
They gave me a mini-​portion of their chopped salad. A kind gesture to offer it complimentary, but there was no flavor. Only thing I could taste was the blue cheese.
Finally, the French onion soup… came out looking nice and piping hot, but it was VERY SWEET! It was like they added a bunch of sugar, which effectively killed the flavor of the beef broth and the onions. Disappointing. I was also looking forward to the garlic toasts but it was either masked in flavor in the soup, or it wasn’t included in the dish at all. No dessert for me after all.
The waiter graciously asked what I thought, I told him the truth about the soup, and he said he could give me something else. I didn’t take him up on it because I already knew they wouldn’t be able to meet my expectations.
It’s a shame that a place with such promise won’t deliver that promise of high-​quality dining to my town.

This place will not last 6 months! I had a 21 day dry aged steak, that tasted like my shoe… Appetizers were ok. Best part of the meal were the French Fries!

Great potential. I’ll try to keep this short and concise. The food and service were superb. The the french fries deserve special mention — amazingly tasty. Also worthy of special mention was the dessert — called «Chocolate Chocolate» — unique in my experience & just very, very good. Having praised the food and service I do have to mention that the dining room feels unfinished and lacks anything that could be called «style». You have food (and price) worthy of ‘fine dining’ served in a room that isn’t. They need to find a designer as talented as the kitchen staff to make the place whole. Hang in there.

Will definitely return!
The service was really great and attentive without being overbearing. The food presentation is gorgeous and everything was delicious. Hope this place sticks around and can’t wait to see how the menu evolves in the future!
Check out the OpenTable reviews. Interestingly, they’re overwhelmingly more positive than those here.

When it comes to Bistro Rylo the food, service and atmosphere were all outstanding! My friends and I dined there during their first week open and had a fabulous time. I was shocked when I saw the review from «K.S.» because my experience at the restaurant was memorable for all wonderful things. Not to mention, their hostess who greets people at the front door is a woman, and is very welcoming. They have a coat check too which is a great service.
The portions are well sized for the price, taste and presentation. The food is picture perfect, and came delivered to the table looking exactly as it does on their website and Instagram account. Not to mention, the food was delivered hot at the table. If we wanted all you can eat food, we would have gone to a chain restaurant. I sent a couple of my friends to Bistro Rylo and they too had a wonderful dining experience and plan to go back. The executive chef and owner even came out to introduce himself and check on all of the tables in the dining room to make sure everyone was happy with their meal and experience. The servers were attentive, knowledgeable about the food and very personable.
Everyone is entitled to his or her own opinion, but I will say after listening to the tables around me, it seemed like everyone else enjoyed their meals as well. It is a new restaurant that I believe will do very well, and I encourage people to give it a try themselves.
I will be back for sure!