Jaguar at the Bistro

Was great food and experience. It was worth the drive for something so unique. Portions are perfect size.

Service was great but food not so much. It was just me and my mother and we spent close to $ 60 and we still left hungry. The portions are very small and wasn’t that good. Dessert was the only thing I liked and the sweet butter served with the complementary bread. Other than that, I probably won’t be back.

I wrote a review for this place before but I love it so much I felt compelled to write a new one.
We went here for Thanksgiving and made reservations for Christmas.
I can’t say enough good things about the food. Chef Victor had a set menu for Thanksgiving. It was Cornish Game Hens, baby squash, and pureed sweet potatoes, plus cornbread.
Where do I begin?
Oh…the soup. He had squash soup… not completely butternut… fabulous. Just really great. Perfect.
The main course… perfect. Game Hens are hard to eat but I’m not going to hold that against the chef. They tasted fantastic and loved the stuffing.
I hate getting mashed sweet potatoes out because they’re always too sweet. Nope. They were perfect. Just the slightest hint of maple and I could taste orange in there too. Complimented the flavor of the potatoes perfectly.
Cornbread? Awesome.
I had flan for dessert because I never had it. It was absolutely fantastic.
Then came the bill…
OK, we had 2 cocktails, I had an appetizer, we had two main courses, and two desserts.
It was about 113 $.
That is an incredible value.
We paid almost the exact same amount for much less food and WAY lower quality at a place in Lewiston. They should be glad this place is in Youngstown and we’re too lazy to get in the car and drive there more.
If you haven’t been here do yourself a favor and go. You won’t be disappointed. Every time we go, whatever I eat there has been the best I’ve ever had.

Fantastic dinner from start to finish. Classic Mexican flavors and ingredients with a modern flair and presentation. Chef Victor and his sister (I’m sorry, I can’t remember her name) are true artists in their craft.

It may be easy to be pretentious when one is clearly gifted. But when the experience and cuisine is superb without the affectation, it is unique. Jaguar at the Bistro is uncommon for its elegant & creative menu delivered by a modest chef and gracious staff.
We had a specially prepared Cornish game hen with roasted heirloom vegetables, cornbread and a squash purée. Everything was made perfectly. We finished with Mexican coffee, chocolate crème brûlée and flan (and ignored any hint of personal guilt associated with our gluttony). Excellent.
By the way, if you’ve ever had flan, it wasn’t this flan. You will be pleasantly surprised. Also, try the jalapeño margarita; even if you aren’t a margarita drinker, you will likely enjoy the very mild heat attached to this cool drink.
We will be back. Thanks to Victor, Diana, Jess and the rest of the staff at Jaguar for providing a wonderful evening.

Western NY’s best kept secret in quaint Youngstown. Food, service, and piano player all top notch! Still talking about the food a week later!

Amazing dinner and service! We received a welcome beverage from the chef that was mouth watering. Definitely 5 stars and highly recommend everyone to come here.

Buffalo has a fantastic food scene. I’ve got 20 favorite restaurants in the immediate Buffalo area. HOWEVER, the best meal I’ve eaten in WNY (so far!) was at the Bistro. Do yourself a favor and drive north to check it out. Use your City Dining Card for a $ 10 discount.
The dining experience was NOT flawless. I honestly am not sure what the name of the restaurant is (Jaguar?). The parking lot is poorly organized and includes massive potholes. The décor is awkward and not consistent with the prices or the restaurant’s theme. Plastic table cloths and odd table flowers didn’t give a good initial impression. The menu has typos (and so does their website). Service was good… hard to complain about anything other than being a little bit slow (they may have been down one server during my visit), but it just wasn’t quite what you’d expect from a place with $ 30 entrees.
But the food and drinks made up for everything.
My cocktail was perfect for the start of fall… Apple Cider + Champagne + Tequila. Unique, creative, and delicious… never tasted anything like it. Great start! A (free!) ceviche sampling was then brought out as a thank you for coming in. Best ceviche I’ve tasted, with lots of fish and not overly acidic. I ordered the Barbacoa entrée. Short rib is a «safe» order for a new restaurant (my wife had the beef tongue!), but this was out of this world. Perfectly cooked and seasoned and served with delicious veggies and mashed potatoes. Correct sized portion, and plating that is on par with the best restaurants in NYC (or maybe «slating» as the dish was served on warmed slate). Everything tasted perfect, but the plating really puts the food over-the-top…great to see a chef passionate enough about their work to put in that amount of effort. The chocolate crème brûlée, torched table-​side, wrapped up a perfect meal. It was rich (best shared by two) and a notch or two below the entrees, but still tasted great.
We will be back (perhaps for the prawns, which everyone else seemed to be ordering), and hope that others make the drive too! It is a crime that the restaurant was more than half empty on a Friday night.

Had the pleasure of a second visit to the jaguar this past Saturday. My dining experience with friends was exceptional.
Put this restaurant in Erie County-​Amherst-​Elmwood or Downtown and You would have to get in line for a table.
Every ingredient on every plate we saw was treated with respect by skilled hands. This family has a mission and great spirit and it translated to my dining experience.
My best advice is make reservations-​get in your car and take the lovely drive to Youngstown. Experience this place–
Asked for Jessica-​she is the front of the house compliment to the master in the kitchen.
Thanks for another great night out with friends.
Good luck tonight at the Lafayette

Took a bike ride through Fort Niagara and stopped in for dinner — fantastic! Food was great as were the service & drinks,
My two new favorite margaritas are the «El Jaguar» — great tequila, watermelon purée ice cubes & thyme and the Jalepeno & Cilantro — yes jalepeno & cilantro — trust me.
Our group sampled half the menu — fish tacos, ceviche, caesar salad & corn soup app were a great start. Followed these up with skate wing, octopus, and a couple of the pork dishes.
Can’t wait to go back and try the other half!

I wish I could give more stars. Not only is the food amazing so is the chef and staff. Have gone multiple times and do not have one complaint. Well maybe one… longer hours. :)

Classic. Very enjoyable meal of Snapper with wild rice. Bride had an amazing hamburger. Merlot was her beverage of choice, mine was a unique Blackberry and Sage Margarita. Our server, Jessica was excellent, knew her job beyond well. Victor the owner and chef came over and introduced himself. His Mom, Olivia was cheerful and gracious. Highly recommend this wonderful restaurant to all.

I have been looking forward to trying Jaguar at the bistro for some time. This visit did not disappoint. The hospitality, drinks and food were impeccable. Chef was serving atole, I think I spelled that correct, as a pre dinner drink. If I didn’t have to drive home I would have drank way more of that. So good. The food was amazing. Too much to type so I will sum it up as flavors on flavors. I really enjoyed this dinner. It was pricier but as always you get what you pay for and when you look at that way this was a tremendous bargain. What an experience.

Was there this past weekend (8÷9÷14) prior to the BPO at Fort Niagara. Friendly reception and wait staff. Seated immediately (had reservations) but waited more than one hour for salad and bread to be served. Main course came 25 minutes later. Presentations and flavors were excellent — portions were meager. Atmosphere, drinks and music were terrific. Almost late for the concert.

We went for an early dinner on Friday, March 13^th… we couldn’t have been more pleased with the food, the service, and the atmosphere! The owners, staff and cozy fireplace welcomed us with open arms! Impeccable service from our waitress… the food was amazing! We had appetizers, entrees and desserts… all so delicious! The owner explained the origin of our food, and we felt so special the entire time there! Thank you for a wonderful evening… we will come back for music! Pam and Joe Yax

I don’t post very many reviews but sometimes a business comes by that does everything so well that I feel like I am obligated to write about it.
This restaurant was a big gamble for new years eve dinner and turned out better than my expectations by a huge margin. I rate places on following criteria and I have added my score from 1 – 5 5 being the best.
1)taste of the food. — 5
2)service and friendliness — 5
3)ambiance and cleanliness — 3
4)price to quality and quantity ratio of food — 5
5)wow factor — 4

This place is amazing! Excellent service, really good food and the cook comes out and explains the dishes and the culture behind every dish.

Went here for New Years Eve. All I can say is this place was amazing! Our waitress was awesome! The chef comes out to the table and explains everything. All I can say is wow! This place does not disappoint. Food was by far the best I have ever had! Will be back again!

Would definitely recommend this place. The staff was very nice. Very clean & comfy atmosphere. Had a mushroom quesadilla for an appetizer that was delicious. Can’t wait to go back!!!

On a whim we tried this place. The tapas were great. I tried the fish thing fried taco, barbacoa taco, and the chicken tamale. I like my first two choices the best. The waitress Katie suggested, and also her favorite, the watermelon margarita. I second that and recommend that as well. It even comes with homemade watermelon ice cubes!

We were pleasantly surprised at the quality of the food here. We started with Coconut Margaritas which were incredible. So happy we ordered them. We had 2 each!
I had the Scallops appetizer and they were spectacular. Perfectly cooked with excellent seasoning. For entrees I had a Rib-​Eye and my wife had the chicken. Her dish was extremely tasteful, while my steak was very good. I ordered it rare and I should have ordered it a bit more medium, but it was still very tasty.
The best part of the meal was the Chocolate Crème Brulee, with an Acho Pepper seasoning for a tang. Divine! I can’t recommend this dessert enough. You must order it!!!
I highly recommend this restaurant to anyone visiting the area!!!