Bistro 218

9 Reviews on “Bistro 218”

• KristiC

  Went to Bistro 218 for a work dinner tonight and could not have been more surprised at the amazing food. I had only been here once before for lunch right after they opened and it was fine. Tonight however was such a pleasant surprise!! We tried the appetizers of crab cakes and chanterelle mushrooms. I must say the mushrooms may have one of my all time favorite dishes. The waiter told us they were foraged by a former employee in Mt Vernon Alabama. Wherever they were from, they were amazing. For the entree I chose the tenderloin medallions. Ordered medium and it couldn’t have been cooked more perfectly! It was delicious and I actually brought half of my steak home. The potatoes and the kale side were absolutely perfect. I love it when I’m completely proven wrong about my impressions!

  October 21, 2017, 8:38 am

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• Sam Vogt

  I hate writing a bad review, but we gave Bistro 218 a try three weeks ago. The service was spotty in the dining room with waitstaff running around, but not really seemingly doing anything other than trying to deliver our drinks and food to other tables. My wife’s veal chop was so grossly underdone we had to return it(and she likes it rare). Last night we went back and ate in the bar area. First, the restaurant is really nice looking and its location to the Alabama and the Lyric theaters is tremendous. That said: We had trouble getting served. Our waitress did finally show, she was very nice and tried to be very attentive, but another waitress tried to give us crab cakes that we had not ordered.I ordered the steak frite (medium). It came out very rare (muscly), and I was assuming by ordering medium it would be medium-rare. I had to ask for ketchup for the fries (there wasn’t even mayo) and there was no dressing on the salad. I ate it anyway because we had to make a show, but our friends chicken was so over-salted that they couldn’t finish it (and they were splitting the dish!). I don’t know what has happened since they bought and furbished the bar area, but it seems like they would have had the kinks worked out in the three weeks since our prior visit. I hate to write this because I really want to like the place, but if this is the standard for the restaurant, we will not be back.

  March 30, 2017, 2:19 am

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• Rana Atieh

  When I went to the place, they had just opened for dinner so I was the only person in the house. A little awkward but I didnt mind it. The server was attentive and nice, the dessert was DELICIOUS. The only drawback is the parking you cannot find a spot easily and be prepared to walk a little.

  December 10, 2016, 5:14 pm

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• Curej

  We had Valentine’s Day Dinner at Bistro 218 this evening. The restaurant is a nice location in a nicely renovated old downtown building with exposed brick walls. It’s not too loud. This is complimentary valet parking.The menu tonight was Prix Fixe, $75pp. We started with the crab cake which were quite good, with plenty of lump crab meat plated on beurre blanc sauce. Next came (for me) a gumbo that was light on rice and very flavorful, not too spicy, quite good. There was far more andouille in the gumbo than crawfish or shrimp, though. My wife had a chopped salad that she liked very much. For entrees we had the NY Strip steaks. Half of my steak was inedible gristle. What remained was tasty, though, and cooked as requested. My wife’s was a better cut and she enjoyed it very much. For dessert we had the molten lava cake which came out cool (not warm) in the center and was a little disappointing.Service was mixed. Our waitress was also staffing the upper tier upstairs and was less attentive than we’d have hoped, though very friendly/pleasant, as were all of the staff. We had to ask for our car to be brought up by the valet…something that I think should have been anticipated after we had been given the check.We had a nice bottle of Jordan Cabernet with the meal that was served a little cool, but a good bottle and priced reasonably (for a restaurant) at around $100.Overall, the experience was good, but not as good as our previous meal here. With all of the competition in town, we won’t be in a hurry to return. Still, worth a shot if you haven’t tried this spot yet. We really liked our last visit, and tonight was hopefully not a sign of a slide in the quality here…

  May 15, 2016, 8:08 am

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• Breanna Rae Schlage

  Went out for Valentine’s dinner tonight and had the most wonderful meal. They put us on the second floor where it was warm and quiet and the waiter was perfect. He recommended the crab cakes as an appetizer and boy, was he right…they were the best crab cakes we’ve ever had….no exaggeration. We also got the BLT salad and the chop salad (this might be the wrong name?)…both delicious….And we got the duck with potatoes and haricot verts and the shrimp and vegetable risotto….both were melt in your mouth. Couldn’t have had a better meal…So glad we’ve found this gem in Birmingham. It was recommended by Wolfgang Poe the Birmingham ghost tour guide…thank you so much for recommending it to us! <333

  May 14, 2016, 11:09 am

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• Cat

  I came here with a small group. The food is extremely expensive. I don’t mind spending lots of money on food if it’s worth it. However, these dishes were very mediocre. The flavors were muddled and bland, and the textures were lacking. The fish was overcooked and tasted old. I was very disappointed to spend so much money on this quality of food.

  October 20, 2015, 5:47 am

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• Tampauro

  Had a Little Savannah feel to it, but I didn’t feel packed in like a can of Sardines. Being too crowded seems to be a big problem with Birmingham’s best ( hot and hot, oceans, highlands, etc). This was small but open. The upper level where the bar is is the best. We had crab cakes, octopus, tomato salad, veal, and snapper all of which was excellent. Not the best sazerac, but the watermelon whiskey sour was good.

  September 28, 2015, 2:42 am

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