Bistro d’Asia

Decided on this place by searching for hot and sour soup in the 92 116 area. It could have been a lot more sour, a lot more hot and a lot less salty. We’re talking thick soy sauce with some great mushrooms in it. I’ll probably give them another shot, but I’m done with their soup.

Ambiance = warm & interesting. a bit loud hip-​hop, followed by the Clash! ***
Food = Panda Express just before closing (cold, partially reheated) negative ***
Waiter = acts like your new best friend within first 2 Min’s., btw. absolutely butch *

I decided to re-​review this place strictly based on my bf’s bday. We had a party of about 12 – 15 on a Thursday night. Granted, it was not busy in there, but the service was great and the food was better than it’s ever been there. They seemed really appreciative to have us there and it was a really fun night.

I was sooooo excited when this place opened so close to home. We are somewhat regulars at the place in Coronado. We tried it and were so disappointed… UGH! The server was very nice, however forgot our waters… did I happen to mention we were the ONLY table??? The rolls were a skinny as a roll of dimes. what…talk about skinny. Flavors… just OK. We will continue to drive over the bridge to visit the «real» Bistro d’Asia!!!

So after walking by this place and noticing the cool architecture and décor, My girlfriend and I decided to give this place a try. Luckily we had a 2 for 1 entrée coupon otherwise this would have been an even bigger waste of money.
1) The service was terrible. We saw the waiter for the neighboring table 3 times the amount of our waiter.
2) We had to ask for napkins and chopsticks after our food was served
3) The quality of the food was poor. The breading on both dishes (sweet and sour pork and orange peel chicken) were soggy.
4) Even the fortunes in the fortune cookie sucked (that’s a joke by the way)
f you’re thinking of going… save your time and money… You’d get better service and better tasting food at Panda Exprss

Went out here on a Friday night with my boyfriend and I must say not too shabby. Our waiter was extremely nice and very attentive. We ended up ordering the curry noodles and moo gai pan (my fave) and the portions were filling and quite tasty. Definitely worth trying out if you feel like grabbing some asian grub.

Sorry, folks. I’m going against the pack, it seems. My husband and I went here with another couple wanting to try the «new place in town», and we wished we hadn’t. Service was ok. Started off well, but then:
(1) Kept having to ask for water refills, which was necessary, as:
(2) All food was really salty
(3) Waiter forgot 2 orders — went back and put in the order for one, then brought that dish, then we asked where the 2^nd forgotten order was, and he hadn’t even put that order in yet. What the hell? So now some of us are nearly done with our entrée while other appetizers/​sushi rolls haven’t even come out yet — not cool.
(4) With the above mentions, nothing was comped on our bill. Not that I ever expect a free lunch, but I do expect to get what I pay for, and that didn’t happen.
Food was just ok. Definitely NOT a good deal for the price. Good luck.

Another case of half-​star heartbreak :(This would be a 3.5, for sure.
Me and the lady came here last night for the first time, can you believe that??? I’ve been in the hood for a ages, but somehow, this was the inaugural voyage. I was excited!
Right off the bat, we were greeted with the friendliest hospitality. I don’t remember the name of our server, but he was awesome! Such a great chap, I wanted to pinch his bubbly little cheeks. He wasn’t annoyed that it took my girlfriend FOREVER to order her food… he just floated around with a smile on his face while cracking jokes. It made us feel welcome and comfortable.
From what I’ve heard about this place, the sushi is pretty great, but the stuff that comes from the kitchen is hit-​or-​miss. I’d say our meals collectively leaned more on the «miss» side of that teeter-​totter.
Wasn’t BAD, just wasn’t anything to write home to Santa Claus about either. I got the Monk’s Curry. Again, not bad… but it just didn’t get there. A nice amount of heat, but I didn’t like the tofu one bit. Veggies were fine, but the tofu definitely didn’t make my taste buds climax. The brunette babe sitting to my right got the sesame chicken. It was kinda chewy, and on par with my entrée. Just OK.
I did like that you can opt for brown rice in your curry though. That was dope. White rice ain’t always my bag.
Friendly, comfortable atmosphere… but the food was iiiite. Not good or great, just iiiiite. Next time, I’m gonna hit up the sushi bar.

short walk to the restaurant from my house.
i placed the order over the phone and they were on top of it.
them menu may be overwhelming as it has a ton of items, but that’s cool.
i got the Orange Chicken. Yummy! I even had leftovers and they were good the next day. I wasn’t a fan of the Broccoli as I thought it was a little undercooked. My roommate had some noodle dish and she loved it as well.
I love knowing that I can place my order, walk there and the food will be ready on time for me to grub when i get home!

Surprisingly good,
large non-​sushi menu and
great fish, rolls, service
— — — — — — — — — –
small place — make resie

We looked forward to trying this place since we had been to the location in Coronado and had enjoyed it and this one is on our hood. We had a gift certificate that we had purchased from
…thankfully.
First of all, getting into the place was interesting. The front main entrance was locked. It looked like it was closed from the exterior, but a hand written letter said to use the side entrance. It was kinda weird, but they said it was to keep the cool air in the main dining room, which it had helped. The interior is very nice. Kinda looks like you are eating in a Pier One Imports or Cost Plus, but is done very well. Service was excellent. Our waiter was very attentive, drinks were always full. Food came really fast.
Onto the food… the presentation and selection was good. I had ordered a volcano beef dish. It came with a carrot filled with 151 and rock salt aflame! Nice touch. My wife ordered a mixed seafood dish. Both dishes were a bit bland, not what I expected from a dish called «volcano» beef.
Minus a star for the taste of the food. Minus a star for the parking situation in University Heights. 3 stars given that maybe we caught them on an off day.

Good place to go when in need of your sushi fix. The service was good and so was the food. The prices were okay but I have had cheaper sushi. But its a nice place to go to if you are looking for a change in scenery the inside is kind of a Moroccan theme. They have both indoor and outside seating as well as a full bar. A nice place to just hang out and chill with some friends
What I Ordered was:
Nigiri Sushi Unagi (Eel) It was about $ 4.75 but you only get two little ones. Was good but wasn’t happy about the quantity.
I also ordered the Mandarin Steak Salad which ran about 10 – 11 bux (House greens, mandarin oranges, candied walnut and vegetables tossed with ginger lime vinaigrette)-The steak was very tender and salad was a good mix on the palate except I would of cared for a little more vinaigrette salad dressing would of topped that off. It was light but filling.
Also go the Dirty Vegas Roll– (spicy tuna, soft shell crab, and cucumber inside topped with pepper-​seared tuna, avocado, green onions, and chipotle cream sauce) Ran about $ 12 bux for 6 – 8 pieces. This was very spicy and had a little crunch to it the chipotle cream sauce was a nice addition as well.
Over all we walked out paying about less than $ 40 bux for the above plus two drinks. Was pleased with service and quality of food I would hit it up again but on the pricey side for my wallet

This Place is Great. Went there yesterday with my Sister for dinner, after work. First Time there and Hope to go back soon. We had a coupon from the Uptown Community Pages which made Dinner a Deal. We Splurged and ordered some Sushi to go with our entre’s. The Hawaiin Roll (California Roll with Spicy Tuna on Top) was great. The Rainbow Roll was so Pretty and Yummy to boot. Our Entre’s came with rice I Had Orange Chicken and it was really good. Nice Orange zest with a bit of Spice. I am going to be enjoying the left overs later today for lunch. The Orange chicken also came with a side of Broccoli. I hope to try more of the Sushi on the next visit.

Ok, so I remembered seeing this place somewhere before. I remembered it was in Coronado. I saw a coupon in The Uptown Community Magazine. Sometimes this is the best way for my husband and I to figure out where to eat, so once again, we flipped through the pages. We came across the ad and realized they opened in University Heights where D’Mood used to be.
We headed over and found parking right out front. The place still looked almost the same as it did before. Same furniture and some of the same décor. I like the space a lot so it was good.
It took a few minutes to get some drinks but the waiter was very friendly. We looked over the menu and since Asian food is my favorite, I was excited to order. I got the vegetarian hot and sour soup and Temple Style Eggplant. I LOVE eggplant! I also ordered a glass of Le Terre Cabernet Sauvignon to wash down my meal.
My husband got Dancing Scallops and a Shiraz to go with it. We were both excited to dig in and see what we had in store. My soup was ok. I am not a huge fan of Hot and Sour Soup but I have found it at one restaurant where I love it. I always try to give things a chance so I ordered it here. I didn’t love it. It was not as flavorful as I like but it was not bad.
I tried the entrée I had ordered and that had a nice flavor and a little spice. I love spicy foods so it was nice to have a little somethin’ somethin’ there. My dish was good except one piece of the eggplant was hard on the end. I would say I was satisfied but I didn’t think the price of the food matched the quality. It was a good meal, but a little pricey for what it was. My husband agreed. He said his food was good but he didn’t feel it was worth the 18.95 price tag.
Overall, our meal was tasty and the service was good. I would try something else there or just go back for appetizers and drinks.

I’ve only had their sushi, but this place is good. The atmosphere is romantic, dimly lit and comfortable. The service is friendly. The rolls were good and fish was fresh. The sunset roll was one of the best I’ve had. I’ll be back.

Blah Blah Blah this is me adopting the same attitude towards San Diego sushi that I’ve learned to use when dining out on salmon (not *on* salmon — it’s not like some guy named Salmon is buying me dinner, nor am I using a ginormous fillet for a table. oh you know what I mean). I just have to accept it for what it is, and try and appreciate it appropriately.
Ergo, that is the zen I am bringing to this review of Bistro D’asia. Last night I popped in to check out the happy hour with the boyfriend and another Unilocaler. The happy hour menu only applies if you sit at the bar, which I found to be strange, since it’s not a big space, and (though maybe this is different on other nights) the room was not crowded enough to warrant the limitation. The menu is also fairly limited, but we all found selections to satisfy.
I had the vegetarian lettuce wraps; both the quantities and the flavours were good, though not mind blowing. The same thing went for the salmon skin hand roll I ordered — I found myself putting the sauce for the lettuce wrap on it, which actually made it super delicious — I’d totally recommend doing that if you order that particular roll.
My only real complaint is the mandatory bar seating. Because we were in a group of three, it makes conversation a bit awkward. The person in the middle has to either turn their back on one person to talk to the other, or push their stool way back to create a ‘common area’ in which to talk. I wish they’d include a couple of tables in their happy hour zone.
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March 16, 2008 — Added a Star:
We returned to the Bistro for some late night munchies and cocktails, and the Bar Manager let us know that they would be opening up their happy hour seating to include the tables. Great news, and great job on the part of the restaurant for making this an even cooler happy hour hangout.

Maybe we went on an off night but it as a stretch giving 3 stars. First of all it was confusing to find the front door. The entrance is between two buildings! So after kinda looking stupid pulling on their emergency exit door that looks like the front door because it is actually at the front of the building… But that is just a technicality. Service sucked! Whoever the hostess was, then the person who called themselves our server. The sushi chef tried to make up for it by being cool at first but then he forgot our order. So after sitting there for too long, we then
waited toooo long for our server to bring our check, then we waited for our credit card. Oh and the food was just o.k. I know other people blasted the Coronado location but I’ve been there a few times and liked it! The food was better, the service was fine and who can beat hanging out in Coronado for dinner!

I only had the sushi here, so i can’t say anything about the Asian Fusion section of the menu…
The food here was good, but not great. I had the Dirty Vegas roll — spicy tuna, softshell crab, and seared ahi — that combination should have been GREAT considering the ingredients. The only thing i could really taste though was the tempura on the softshell crab — which was good (how could tempura not be good?), but I couldn’t taste the seared ahi or spicy tuna… I almost started crying. Also, the rolls were not wrapped very well (not just mine, but my friend’s rolls as well), so they kind of fell apart, which made the sushi chef seem like an amateur, or careless. On the brightside though, the roll was cut into 10 pieces instead of 8, which was nice… I hate having my bites so big that I have to cover my mouth with my napkin in order to not create an awkward situation at the table. I also had Yellowtail Nigiri, which was REALLY good — very fresh, and tasted amazing.
The edimame was too watery (I wanted to dry each piece off with my napkin, but refrained), and the plum wine tasted like cough syrup.
The service was good, and i LOVED the atmosphere, décor, and neighborhood. They also have a full bar, unlike many sushi places. It’s a fun, trendy place that I would go back to, but it wouldn’t be my first choice if i was craving amazing sushi. I would give this place 3.5 stars, but it is closer to 3 stars than 4.

Check this place out Unilocalers, cool people, good food and good sushi.
FULL BAR
Yes I work at the Coronado location so I’m a bit biased, but its actually a very nice place and worth the time.
Gus, if you’re reading this, tell Alaa that I want to transfer to Park Blvd !
I’m sick and tired of serving the same old geriatric retirees and tourists !

Bistro d’Asia opened up a new branch in University Heights and, after a nice lady handed me a $ 25 gift card w/​purchase of one entre, the roomie and I promptly went for some absolutely delicious sushi and pad thai. The menu is asian fusion, so they’ve got everything from curry to sushi, all with their own not-​so-​asian flair.
On the way there my roomie informed me that we had actually eaten at the other Bistro d’Asia on Coronado when we were out there the first week we were here, which I’d completely forgotten. The one on Coronado has the feel of an upscale restaurant, whereas this iteration is trying more for the hip sushi bar motif with the long narrow arrangement and the low open-​view sushi bar along one wall.
After some initial confusion when we walked up (there’s a hostess stand that’s set off to the left of the front patio area, which looks like it could go to the Lei Lounge, Bistro, or somewhere else that’s between and behind the two, so we just passed right by and walked on in until someone noticed us), we were seated in a secluded back patio. I was a bit worried that this meant we’d get forgotten about, but being able to smoke while waiting is always a fair trade off. Luckily, after a very teensy wait (but a wait nonetheless), the waitress came back to take our drink orders. After that and for the rest of the meal, the waitress was prompt and attentive, the perfect balance of checking when needed without being obnoxiously over-​bearing.
We ended up splitting the Pad Thai for an entre and ordering the Peppered Seared Snapper sashimi and Volcano specialty maki with a glass of white wine each. All of it was absolutely, deliciously top notch. I’ve not had much sashimi, but this was very tasty, and the Volcano (Crab, cucumber, avocado, cream cheese, smoked salmon topped with red snapper and baked with a garlic cream sauce and served with sweet soy, bonito, and green onions) was just unbelievably good. The Pad Thai was also pretty tasty, but I’ve only had Pad Thai once or twice before so I can’t say I’m knowledgeable enough to explain how different it was. Let it suffice to say that we ate all of it.
Overall, the entire experience was fantastic, and getting a $ 55 meal for $ 30 was of course a plus (not to mention they gave us another of the $ 25 off post-​cards on the way out!). I highly recommend Bistro d’Asia if you’re looking for something a little out of the ordinary but undoubtedly worth the risk. Plus, the feel of this location is a little less old-​money and a little more intimate and trendy (in a good way) than what I saw of the Coronado branch (which may be an entirely incorrect picture, as we ate there mid-​afternoon). Anyway, go check out the new location.