American Bistro

Came to the American Bistro on Center st tonight for the first time and wow was it delicious! We sat down instantly for a party of 4 and were given a choice of booth or table. Upon sitting our waiter, Tom brought us a wine list as well as a list of specials ranging from beet salad to various oysters to other entrees.

We ordered a bottle of wine and a couple winter lagers as well as some appetizers. The pizza is a flatbred that changes daily and ours was excellent.  Oysters could be made one of many ways and ate more than a few, the details of which escape me now. On top of that the shrimp and grits was unique and very tasty as well.

For entrees I was not feeling especially fancy so I chose the open faced steak sandwich that had some of the most flavorful sautéed onions and mushrooms I've had in recent memory on top. The dish was simple with fries as a side, but the steak was cooked perfectly and left me with no complaints. I also ordered a side of the lobster potato pancakes which tasted as good as they sound (think crab cakes only larger).

Other dishes at our table were the scallops, duck salad (great!), and pasta with a Cajun feel. Everything looked and from what I tried, tasted just as good. Everything was $15-$25 or so and thee portion sizes were more than enough. For a group that can ring up a bill of almost $400 after all is said and done, ours didn't even get past $170. Definitely recommend trying if in Lewiston!

Favorites: Service was very friendly and prompt, live music was killer, and food was very reasonably priced. Also sat near some revolutionary war reenactors so you never know who you'll run into!

Not-so-favorites: No soups! My girlfriend noticed this and while it wasn't on our list of things to get tonight, the winters around Buffalo sometimes demand a nice soup to set up the meal.

I was excited to see a new place opening up in Lewiston in what was the location of the now demised Steelhead Irish pub on Center St. The place has been overhauled and looks and feels like it has the makings of a place that could be successful.

1st experience:
We booked a table for 4 and had virtually no wait, but then it turned a bit sour. We ordered a G&T, cola, ginger ale and water, the drinks arrived but the G&T and soda's were flat, lacking carbonation. It took three replacements before they managed to provide drinks with some sparkle...I assume the CO2 had needed replacing or at the very least adjusting on their fountain system at the bar, but to have to return drinks via the waitress three times just made little sense.

The olive bread served while waiting for appetizers was very good, and the scallops served on pork belly were really superb!

Then came the steaks, ordered medium rare, which turned up medium-well done. The steaks were returned and eventually after quite a wait, replacements arrived that were much better, but by the time they arrived, the other folks in our party had finished their meal already.

All in all we left a little disappointed, but with a sense that the place had promise.
They had only recently opened, so figured they may have been suffering a few teething problems while things were settling down. Fairly pricey at about $200 for the 4 of us. Especially since the food and service didn't live up to the prices charged.

2nd experience:
We thought we'd try this place out again a few weeks later (last week) on Friday evening in the hope that the hiccups of the previous time would have been resolved...

My partner and I figured we would try the scallops on pork belly again, as in all honesty this was the main thing that had us coming back again after the first visit, sadly the excellent dish served on the previous occasion was not repeated, this time the scallops smelled very fishy, and the pork belly was way overcooked. It was unpleasant and very disappointing. We returned the dishes and opted to change to a house salad, which was equally disappointing.  The bread served prior to the starters this time around was nowhere near as good as the first time we were there. The owner walks around the place looking to see how things are going, but appears a little pretentious, e.g. when it was clear that our scallops were not good, he walked past the table and stared at the food laid to the side as we waited for our server to return, but he said nothing and looked away from us as he walked past. Then we saw him call over the waitress on the other side of the restaurant and shortly thereafter she appeared asking us if everything was OK. This felt somewhat cowardly of the owner who only seems interested in talking with people who are going to offer compliments, but avoid those that clearly are not completely happy. While the cost of the poorly prepared scallops was removed from the bill, they did see fit to charge us $18.00 for the two replacement starter salads, which is not what you'd typically expect from a restaurant trying to portray themselves as a step up in quality from your everyday eatery. It was all done without explanation and/or a sense of apology too, so we really had no idea what was or wasn't going to show up on the bill. While the owner was walking around talking to people at other tables, he very obviously avoided speaking with us, and totally avoided eye contact with any of our party. A lesson in the difference between being a good restaurateur, and a shabby one, could be learned from this. We all know that things sometimes go wrong, but it's the way in which you put them right that counts. At least the drinks were not flat this time around.

All in all I would expect a lot better than the quality and service delivered during these two visits. We left wishing that we had driven the 30 minutes down to Buffalo and booked a table at "Seabar on Ellicott St" where we have yet to leave without being anything other than absolutely delighted with anything on their menu. The owner of American Bistro could do himself a favor and take a trip to Seabar, experience the difference, then reflect on what he needs to do to bring his restaurant up to par, because for now at least, I would sadly say things are far from good, and once the novelty of a newly opened place has worn off, then they may find themselves wondering where the customers are if they don't take things up a notch or two...I hope they read this and make appropriate changes, as I am pretty sure that I will not be alone in my feelings about not planning to return anytime soon.