Buena Vista caught me completely by surprise. Â Claudia J. invited my boyfriend and I to eat there , and it was absolutely delicious. Â The prices, albeit on the higher end, were very reasonable for the portions and quality. Â As an app, we ordered the escargot ($9) and the octopus special. Â Let me just say that their escargot was the absolute best that I've had, and I've had some wonderful escargot. Â The size of the escargot app was way larger than any I've ever had. Â Normally you get maybe 6, but this was like a whole boat of escargot in sauce. Â The sauce was divine--delicious garlic, herb, and tomato concoction that tasted of sweet-scented rosemary. The octopus, which I have also had done many different ways in many different places, was the best I have had by far! Â Octopus is very easy to mess up. Â I've had good, I've had bad, but never excellent. Â This was the most tender octopus I have ever even been able to conceive of. Â I did not know octopus could ever be this tender. The sauce was a very bold garlic sauce with a touch of herby goodness. Â
As an entree, Claudia and I ordered the bouillabaisse ($22 or $24), or seafood stew, which was a special that day. Â We were sold once we heard the name, so I only barely glanced at the menu after that, more as a formality than to actually see if I wanted to order something else instead. Â The portion was perfect. Â There was tons of seafood that was nicely cooked. Â The mussels were not in the least bit chewy. Â The tomato-based sauce was very rich and flavorful with the perfect bite of spiciness. My one qualm is that I am picky about having very fresh seafood, and I did taste a slight air of that flavor you get from either freezing or improperly storing seafood, and it doesn't taste as fresh as it should. Â It wasn't to the point of interrupting my enjoyment, but it was enough to notice. Â
My boyfriend ordered the grouper with mashed potatoes. Â Holy delicious mashed potatoes, Batman! Â These aren't your mama's mashed potatoes, and my Mommy makes some killer mashed potatoes. Â These potatoes were rich, creamy, and surrounded by a delectable light, yet creamy sauce. Â Oh em bageezers! Â The potatoes were like eating a rich and creamy, yet light and fluffy cloud. Â My boyfriend said the fish was perfectly cooked and the best grouper he's had. Â Mind you, this is a guy who orders grouper anytime he sees it on the menu.
Overall, I would love to return to this place, and I would highly recommend it. Â My boyfriend and I couldn't stop talking about how good it was. Â It was quaint, elegant, quality food, great portions, good service, and very much fair prices. Â I'm so glad that Buena Vista was my first Miami French restaurant. Â Thanks again to Claudia J. for another great recommendation! Â
My one minor annoyance is that it was just too dark in there. Â Miami has a real problem with equating darkness with elegance. Â There is a big difference between dim and dark, and this place was too dark for me. Â Also, I am from Richmond, and chalk board menus, as played out as they may be, are our thing, but the chalkboard menu here was a bit over-filled and chaotic. Â It was difficult to read. Â It wasn't until the end of our meal and the long conversation that followed that I finally found the soup du jour on the chalkboard menu. Â In short, 4.5 stars, minus a bit for the seafood freshness and the darkenss. Â If you aren't sure where all of this is going, the short story is go and go now. Â You can thank me later :).
I really wanted to LOVE this place. Unfortunately, it just wasn't meant to be.
One of the first places I discovered when I moved to Edgewater was Buena Vista Deli. It quickly became my go-to spot for weekend breakfast. So of course, I was expecting to be as blown away by their restaurant the way I had been by their quiche.
First, the good. The atmosphere is great - both inside and out it definitely captures that feeling of a french cafe. Just like their sister deli, the owners are also hanging around making sure everything is running smoothly and on that particular night entertaining a group of friends that had come to dine in their restaurant. I'm a sucker for that homey feel.
Now, the meh. The food. I know we ordered a steak and a seafood pasta...and because I have no manners I usually make sure to try everything at the table. Neither dish was very exciting. The steak was ok, but i've definitely had much better. And the pasta was ok, but i've definitely had much better.
Maybe if we'd stuck to french classics (beef bourgignon anyone?) we would have been more impressed. I'd give it another shot - but I would also definitely be ordering something else.
Just realized that although I posted my review of BVD long ago, I left the Bistro alone in the cold. I must correct this glaring oversight.
1. best pancakes.
2. best french toast.
3. great service (very un-French, yes I know. It's ok. This is the only area in which they gain points for inauthenticity)
4. great bread (duh, BVD is next door)
5. great prices.
Area for improvement: do brunch on Saturday too!!!
We are obsessive.- period, end of story. We had dinner after my daughter's graduation on Thursday June 27 and went back to BVB today for Sunday brunch.
The service for dinner was excellent. Thank you Jonas! I wish we would have sat with you for brunch today. However, the service at brunch was sub-par at best. I would have given them five stars but the brunch service just killed that extra star. We love to eat and explore. BVB did not disappoint. Highly recommend.
We enjoyed the following menu items for Dinner on Thursday.
Escargot Provençale - Excellent, non-traditional almost like a bruchetta.
Lobster Bisque.- Very strong taste. Very good, but not for everyone.
Pumpkin Soup.- Very thick and spicy. Good if you like spicy foods.
Steak Tartare.- Excellent, better than other tartares I've had.
Onglet Steak.- Very buttery and loved the onion taste.
Filet Mignon Green Peppercorn.- Extremely tender. Very good quality meat.
Roast Salmon.- Perfectly cooked and beautifully presented.
Basmati Rice.- good.
Mashed Potatoes.- Excellent, some of the best I have every had.
Ratatouille.- good.
Hand-cut Fries.- Excellent.
Rice Pudding.- Excellent.
Crème Brulée.- One of the best EVER.
Profiteroles.- good. Â
Homemade Apple Tart w/Ice Cream.- Excellent.
Chocolate Mousse.- good.
We enjoyed the following menu items for Brunch on Sunday
2 Eggs w/Toast/Bacon/Tomato Slices.- The eggs were supposed to be sunnyside up and were a bit overcooked, not sunny. :) Â
Eggs Brouillé aux Crab.- This was excellent. The tastes worked well together.
Eggs Benedict.- Excellent as well.
Bagel, Cream Cheese & Smoked Salmon.- Very good and fresh. Served with capers which is always a plus.
Bagel w/Cream Cheese.- Good.
Bacon.- The bacon was very good. Thin and crispy, non-greasy. Delicious.
Croissant.- THE BEST croissant I have ever had.
Homemade Jelly.- EXCELLENT. This was a wonderful surprise. So good we walked into the bakery to take some home. Very different, not a traditional jelly but the taste was great.
Upon leaving brunch today, we stopped by the bakery in the corner next to the restaurant to buy some croissants for home. Man, those croissants are just delicious. I look forward to going back to the bakery - deli and trying out their menu.
I usually couldn't care less about service. I go to restaurants to enjoy the company of friends not the staff, all the waiters have to do is take my order and give me my food. Buena Vista failed at both of those. First, I waited 15min before a server attended to us and that's only after I walked over and reminded them. For my wait, there was no apology. I had to remind them to give us water and they never once asked if we needed anything. We had to remind them to do their job every step of the way.
The place gets two stars because the food was pretty decent, I had the chicken panini with pesto, which was very savory and affordable at $8. Who knows they may just have been understaffed that day...
Delightful and authentic French neighborhood cafe.
BVB is my go to Saturday night casual date night with the husband. When you don't feel like putting on the high heels and doing the Midtown/Beach scene, but still want good food and service....BVB is the place.
We both really enjoy French food...several of the dishes surprised us...unexpectedly good. BVB serves its escargot with tomatoes and garlic. I have never had escargot this way...but, its the only way now. The tomatoes help highlight the richness of the escargot without being overkill. Sometime the traditional butter preparation can be too much. I also appreciated that our waitress reminded us about the tomato preparation before finalizing our order, since it was fairly unexpected. I think that is the sign of good service...
We also enjoyed the country pate and bouillabaisse. Both were well prepared and very fresh tasting.
The service was very accommodating. The waitress allowed us to try the wine before buying the bottle. It was a varietal offered by the glass. Its those small things that makes an experience at a new restaurant even more enjoyable.
Bottomline: If you like casual, yet delicious, French food BVB is the place.
On December 19, 2010 I was taken out on a date by a young man who has been my boyfriend ever since that day and the place he chose for dinner was this one. Such a quaint and lovely place! The food is exceptionally good and the service was great. I ordered the Chicken Curry and he ordered a tuna dish that unfortunately, is not on the menu anymore (it was goooood!)
Fast forward to Valentines day 2013 and the place is just as good with equally great service. This time I had lamb which was great but I have a personal preference of more flavor (Not their fault!) and my boyfriend had the Chicken Curry which was better than 2 years ago. We love it here and will continue to visit this place. There is a corkage fee of $20 which is a little steep but worth it if you really want to bring a wine you love.
PS: there is only street parking that we know of and it can be a little bit of a pain to park here but at least you can drink away your frustration with some wine!
Went here for brunch and figured it was better for brunch than the deli. The food was good, nothing insane to rave about, but good. Typical brunch. The service however, was horrible. It was like everyone was stoned or in another world. Things took forever and there was no one even there. They forgot things that were so simple. (Ketchup please...that never came) It was honestly weird at certain points and awkward at others.
I will say the food was good, if you are looking for brunch food...but be prepared to take a hit on time.
My favorite Sunday brunch goes to BVB. Mostly, the french toast alone makes the menu (and brunch) as amazing as it is. Simply put, there's no other restaurant in the world that can make french toast as good as the BVB version.
The photo I snapped of the meal only begins to suggest what's in store for your senses, but with each bite of sheer decadence, it's total bliss. The other breakfast favorite is their Spanish Omelet. As far as eggy creations go, this simple and veggie packed item is perfect as your savory counterpart to that sparkling mimosa.
Out with your dog? You can enjoy brunch from their outdoor covered patio, it's completely shaded and you'll likely find most diners enjoying their fare from one of the many tables. So yeah, if you're heading to BVB, wait for a Sunday afternoon to pick from the best brunch (you won't be able to catch the french toast on any other day).
This is a well priced gem in mid town miami. I've taken my mom, my girl, and my friends here. Everything on the menu is great and they have a very intelligent beer & wine list. It comes highly recommended for a quick lunch or dinner. Best place to goto with a friend to catch up over a good meal. The service is usually good to average. The only reason why it isn't 5 stars.
Review Source:Three stars because they have a great deal for lunch but unfortunately the food was not good today.
Special for lunch $10 and it includes the soup of the day, choice between the daily specials and dessert of the day. Today was a spinach soup (it was ok), I chose the pork tenderloin (very dry and overcooked) and the dessert was rice pudding. Two of my friends got the breaded chicken and one of them got uncooked chicken (very bad for poultry meat!). My other friend got the brandade de morue and it had a moldy cheesy taste...
The dessert was good and they didn't charge us the four combos so it was nice.
I'll give it another shot at dinner maybe
WOWWWWW what a complete fail. i came here with my wife, and parents in law.
First: we get in and the place was empty and dirty, there was 4 servers not even one said hi or anything not even a sign of being happy to have a costumer. AND WE WERE THE ONLY ONES!!!!
After 5 minutes of  my father in law went to the bathroom that's when the first server said hello from far but not even brought menus. when my father in law came back he said the bathroom was all dirty. and since we never receive menus we walked out.
This happened 2 months ago but the experience was so bad  don't plan to go back again.
Buena Vista Bistro, a french bistro, is one of my favorite restaurants in Miami/S. Fl.!!
it has a small but charming interior w/ a small bar, but the out side seating
is quite extensive.
they have daily specials on the blackboard as well as their menu.
the fish, duck, steak, lamb are all good choices. the bread is fresh
and made by their deli next store which besides having great deserts
is also a very good restaurant.
the service is usually very good. the only caviat is that when the
restaurant is extremely busy, the service can suffer, and when the the chef is not
there the food will go down a notch, but this is rarely the case.
I used to work in the midtown area and I am so sad that i didnt know of this place then and go sooner. Â If you venture past the Midtown/Target block there are so many yummy places to eat that are full of good food and frequented by locals.
I went and had just a regular tuna sandwich (which was more than just regular) and an awesome creme brulee. Â
Stop on in for casual dining, good food, great weather and quiet atmosphere. Â I like that its a bit hidden and not in the middle of everything, feels more homey and reclusive.
This neighborhood French bistro is casually sexy -- like all my favorite French men.  The food speaks for itself, capturing the flavors of France without ambient gimmicks like berets, French flags and other trite accouterments. My recommendation: sit outside in the alley garden over a glass of Côtes du Rhône and some traditional moules-frites, toast to good friends and good food, and enjoy the laid-back satisfaction of knowing you have nowhere to be ... but right where you are.
Review Source:This little bistro is fantastic! Â I have come here on numerous occasions with my family and have never been disappointed. Â I love the feel of the restaurant and the fact that you can eat inside or out. Â Some of my favorites on the menu include the crabcake appetizer, the curry chicken, scallops, or salmon mains and the french fries are awesome. Â They also have a wonderful apple tart if you have room for dessert :)
Can't wait to come back!
In the grand scheme of things - my one review won't change the overall positive vibes people seem to give this place. Buena Vista definitely was a memorable one, but not in a good way.
This will be a long post, so be warned....
We got to BV at 9:00 on the dot for our reservation. The place was full, but there were open tables, yet it took them about 15 minute to even get us seated. Â Once seated, I think we waited another 15 before we even got waters, let alone ordered our meals.
I feel strongly that our experience would have been much better if we had a different server, but i think that would bump it up to 3 stars max.
So once we finally got our drinks ordered, everyone got excited look at the (extremely dirty...) menus talking about how good the food had been in the past ( i was a rookie).
The Waiter (whom felt it was necessary to tell us that he is a Chef and not a waiter) pretty much talked down to us asking if we know what things like a "demi glaze" is...
We placed our orders and waited some more. At this point we noticed that every other table was getting bread. So we asked for some bread, only to get a response of "we're out of bread". WTF?! Who runs out of bread. Â So then...about 3 minutes later we see a table sit down and immediately there was a bread basket on the table.
SO we said something, again. And were told that it was the last basket that went to them because they had a reservation. Seriously?! We had a reservation and had been sitting for over 30 minutes. BS.
So then our apps finally arrive, a mixture of some plates and the foie gras that we ordered. We heard it was good so we ordered 3 for the table. When it came, it came out looking like a stick of butter. No bread / biscuits anything to eat it with. So we sent it back. Â And our waiter ( i mean..the chef..) was like you need bread with that. again...WTF
So anyways, our food finally came and it was good...but nothing spectacular. there are too many places that are amazing in Miami.
So we finally got our check which seemed high and included tip (and tipped on tax for that matter..).
We paid and grudgingly paid the undeserved tip and were on our way out...when we passed by the kitchen and saw some loaves of Publix Bread.
I will never step foot in this place again. Â The food may have been OK, but service like that is completely unacceptable in my book.
I bring everyone I know here- who hasnt  tried it before. I've had business lunches, dates, and late night munchie fests.
Food is always consistently good!
One issue I would say is the service...I would suggest some smiley female servers. The guy servers always seem unable to multi-task and handle the rush.
I'll tell you this much. My review will have very little to do with the food, and you'll soon find out why..
As a huge fan of Buena Vista Deli (freaking huge), I've been dying to try Buena Vista Bistro for some time, and truly, as a whole, the place did not disappoint. The interior is chic, modern, minimalistic, which gives the place as a whole the kind of feel that you'd expect in France at a place where the locals eat.
Emphasis on LOCALS.
And you know exactly what I mean. We see the same thing here in Miami: tourists head directly to South Beach, but we insiders know that, by and large, the best eateries are scattered and hidden away in the Magic City's dark and seedy corners...
To bolster my "locals" argument, a group of lively and boisterous Frenchmen chose to satisfy their hunger pangs at BVB the night that I patronized it, and I feel like that's a very good sign. I mean, the same way you don't really expect an Italian tourist to frequent the Olive Garden (don't get me wrong: I LOVE the Olive Garden), you don't expect a Frenchman to seek out French food at just any old place. Very good sign.
Also, side note: the owner is a CHARACTER. He pulled up in an old timey car with a blaring klaxon (not a horn; a KLAXON), and sat down for wine with his countrymen (and women). Seemed like a really cool dude.
I elected to sit outside in the patio area, which is made very charming by a number of French posters and a particularly charming clock that you would expect to see affixed to a lamppost in the early twentieth century. I could not take my eyes off of it.
Really, you get a total sensory experience. And the service is absolutely spectacular.
Now, I can't give it a five because I didn't really like my dish. THIS IS NOT A REFLECTION OF THE CHEF OR THE RESTAURANT. A little back story: I'm just now getting into seafood. I'm a seafood rookie. However, the night I went to BVB, I swung for the fences: ordered the seafood pasta, which came with scallops, shrimp, and mussels. To top it all off, much to my chagrin (though really, this is customary with seafood pastas), the pasta lacked a sauce of any kind. It hinged greatly on the flavors of the seafood.
Like I said. I got a little too... man, I can't use the word I want to use. Maybe you can figure it out on your own. (Think of a bulls HORNS.)
Either way, I'd totally go back to BVB. Absolutely. And I suggest you carve out some time in your busy schedule to make the trip to Buena Vista for a lovely French dinner.
Next time, I think I'll have the Beef Bourguignon...
This review is for brunch only.
First of all, the service was so painfully slow that we nearly walked out just before a server asked us if anyone had taken our order yet.
The answer was no.
Several members of the wait staff walked by us several times and made eye contact but never took our order.
The brunch was MEGA MEH. Honestly, had I known how mediocre it would have been, I would have gone to Publix and made breakfast at home.
My dining companion ordered a simple eggs, bacon, potato and toast entree. His food was cold. I assume this happened as they were waiting for my french toast to be ready as my dish was still warm.
My french toast was "ok," but not a single berry even for garnish? Pretty bland on delivery IMO.
Will I ever be back for brunch? No way.
Dinner? Perhaps, seeing that folks seem to dig it. Hopefully they speed up their service or interest in their customers a bit later in the day too.
15 words or less: Great balance of authentic bistro cuisine and ambiance at a relatively reasonable price.
15 words or more: This is as close to the feel and taste of a Parisian bistro in Miami as there is. If you for some reason have a hump against French food or long for good bistro fare, go to this place, stat. Â For the former, you will get over the hump that you have, which is likely based on from myths and misconceptions. For the latter, you will be visiting this place every other week.
The food is top notch. For starters, we had the country pate, fish soup, snails, and crab cake. Â The pate was excellent, rich as all get out, but nicely cut with mustard and the little vinegary French pickles. Â The soup was dense and rich in fish flavor. Â The sleeper was the crab cake. With so many great choices on the menu, this seemed like a boring choice. But it was really good. Â A tremendous crusty exterior broke through to a crab festival with no filler.
For mains, we had the steak onglet, monk fish special, corvino special, and bouillabaisse. Â What I like about this place is just how many fish options were on the menu. Â It was a deep roster of fish heavy hitters and all were great. The bouillabaisse was a stand out as I found myself dunking bread into the rich an dense broth.
The evening ended with a well-rounded selection of four cheeses.
This was a truly wonderful meal served in a very causal and enjoyable setting. Â While I wish corkage was a little cheaper, you can find some delicious wine choices on the menu at affordable prices. Â I am just sorry it took so long to go here but now that I have gone, I know I will be coming back a lot.
There's a hole in the wall, where the menu says it all... !!
This off-the-grid (ok, ok, on-the-grid now-a-days) bistro offers a select menu of French Inspired South Florida cuisine. Â The ambiance is more reminiscent of the LES (in my not-so-humble opinion) than SoFL, but don't let the seemingly uncomfortable chairs and eclectic wall hangings stop you from enjoying some truly fresh fare.
The grouper I ordered was fabulously French - a la prepared in a classic style. Â Yum! Â In truth, it was a bit heavy for lunch, but I'd certainly veer towards it for dinner. Â The mussels were great - my manfriend is stuck on auto-repeat with "those were the best mussels I had in Miami" (although I wasn't in heaven with their pommes frites). Â
What's more, one of my dining companions is of the vegetarian faith  (I do not believe!).  The meat-lovers dream stop of a restaurant was nevertheless delighted to prepare a custom dish for him. He much enjoyed it.
In a city full of overrated locales, this one truly deserves all the kudos a child can hide in his pockets. And, did I mention it's reasonably priced? ;)
I really enjoy the BVB. It's on an off beat road next door to the Buena Vista Deli. The bread they start you off with is dreamy. Crab cake is the 2nd best one I've ever had. I tried the scallops and they didn't disappoint but the shining star of the evening was my sisters Grouper dish. I don't know how many sticks of butter are in the sauce that comes on that plate but they're well worth every last one.
My only frowny moment was the glass of wine I ordered was listed on the mirrored wall for $7 and I was charged $8. I asked and our server explained that it was because they were out and had a different brand. Yo! Then update your wall!
This spot is one of my "go to" restaurants. Â It's close to where I live, the food is always good (and in fact I think it has gotten better), it's a good value, and the service is always excellent. Â After three or four years, I'm glad that this place is still around. Â What's changed is that the crowd has gotten a little more varied. Where once it was just a younger design district/wynwood crowd, that demographic has given way to older couples who know where the good food is! Â Also makes me think that this place's future is somewhat secured, which makes me feel good.
While the prices have gone up slightly in the last year, and this place isn't the tremendous value it once was, it's still a great value. Â The regular menu is fairly small (in a good way), and the usuals include the Ribeye and Fries, red silk fish, lamb chops, onglet steak, and curry chicken. Â There are usually a couple of fish specials (have the monkfish whenever it's available!) and meat specials. Â They also seem to have an offal special too. Â A couple of visits ago I had braised veal kidneys and it was one of the best dishes I've had at BVB. Just awesome.
Wine prices are great, and the desserts always solid. Â Try the profiteroles. Â This is the epitome of a neighborhood joint. Â Glad it's here.
We've visited this lovely establishment literally since the second week it opened, when everything on the brunch menu was $5.00! Â
As amazing now as it was almost two years ago. The pancakes are the absolute best bar none! The crispy edges are to die for on a Sunday morning. Come back for lunch and dinner, everything is always fresh ans consistently fab!
Excellent French cuisine. Own by French guys with a casual environment. All entrees and appetizers were great: escargots, Fillet Mignon, Veal Chop (woooaa!), etc. It is my second time there and they seem very consistent.
Don't forget to try their next door French Bakery for breakfast, is one of my favorites in Miami.
This is a very low key place, it's not surrounded by a crap load of different restaurants which attracts hundreds of peoples. Don't expect a 10 star Gordon Ramsey type of look, its a small restaurant but the owner and employees keep it nice and cozy for the customers. This is a french restaurant which comes with its own french style of dishes, they don't have LIQUOR but they do have wine and beer. I recommend to everyone if you like beer to get "Le Fin Dumont" which means end of the world it has 9% alcohol ..and .. yea one drink will you get you nice and typsy. The food is amazing, the cooks in the back know exactly what they're doing, the food comes out nice and fresh, and the plate size isn't gargantuan. The environment is very calm nothing crazy like south beach, its perfect for a date, for friends, anything you want.
I recommend this place to anyone who wants to try something new.
Heard a lot about this place, even read a few mixed reviews about BVB, naturally, it was on my list of places to try.
And try I have, in fact, it is sort of my go to place in the area now, and so far, neither myself nor my guests have yet to be disappointed.
The creations here are simply fantastic, from a simple croissant to a napoleon or an Escargot a la Provençale... the word is wow!
This place is open from Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner everyday of the week and no matter what time you come by, you get good service with a smile and a wonderful sample of good french cuisine.
Now in all fairness, this may not be a good place for large groups so break it up !!!
I gotta hope that BVB was just having an off day when 8 of us came here following the Yelp Elite event this week. While I see that most other reviewers have given this restaurant 4 and 5 stars, on this night it was only really worthy of two, mostly due to the lack of service.
We arrived, went inside and the server told us that the only place he could accommodate us was at one of the outside tables. Not a big deal, but we went outside and stood around for several minutes and no one came out to tell us where to sit, or to pull a few tables together for us to use. Finally we grabbed 2 tables on our own and put them together with 2 other tables that were already at the far end of the seating area out in front of this place and voila!
After several minutes of waiting, the server came out and asked if he could get us something to drink. At that point were were hot and thirsty, so we asked for a round of waters. When we asked for menus, he explained that their menu was written on a board on the wall inside, but they didn't have proper menus here. Again, not a big deal. Someone from our party went inside, took a photo of the menu board with her trusty Blackberry and we passed that around so we could order.
After another wait of several minutes, the waters arrived and we asked the server to clean the tables off, as they still had spills on them from the last group of people who'd sat at them to dine.
Anyway, you get the point...Service was slow all night, and frankly it got to the point where a few were a bit frustrated because we had to wait so long for everything, it was getting quite late and we still hadn't received our meals. Â We were nearly ready to leave $$ to cover the cost of the beers we'd had and find another place to eat. Later one of the servers blamed our experience on the fact that it was the Bastille Day holiday??
The food itself was quite good! The bread they brought to the table was soft and really hit the spot as we were hungry when we arrived. For dinner I ordered the curry chicken (recommended by Maria). It was very good, had the perfect amount of spice and was a large plate of curry chicken and rice for $10.
If the service had been on par with the quality of the food, they'd have easily earned more stars. Â After reading some other reviews, I don't think our experience was typical (at least I hope it wasn't). Â I would come back and give this place another try on another night.
Buena Vista Bistro, a poem.
After finding that Pizza Volante was out
We hopped in Rony's car (clown style) with a shout.
Suggestions were made, our mind was made up,
Buena Vista Bistro would fill our bellies and cups.
We sat down outside, a meal for mosquitoes
Luckily this place serves more than Tostitos.
But sadly for us, the service was slow-
Before they took our orders we were ready to go.
Finally they brought to our table some beer,
At least those little glass bottles brought us some cheer!
When our food did arrive, it was quite good and tasty
Just not worth the hour wait to fill out our waisties.
Maybe next time when it's not 11 at night
And folks don't have to get up early to put up a fight
This food will put more of a smile on my face-
Until then it's just A-OK, but not a disgrace!
Still one of my favorite place for an easy like Sunday morning feel.
News to report:
I guess you heard it through the Yelpvine:
$5 French toast is still the same but now the standard is with raisin so be aware
Time out:
brunch now goes until 3pm
Done and Doner:
You can get brunch to go!
Well, I'll be... I didn't think this quaint and lovable bistro (which I truly hold dear to my heart, staff, decor, openness, food and all of the above) would also provide me an adventurous culinary trip. I saw "skate" in the specials menu and I was puzzled... I knew they were not going to serve me a shoe with wheels!
Upon asking, I learned it was like a ray, and I'd get a wing of a ray if I ordered that. So, trusting the lovable and consistent Buena Vista, I decided to take a gamble and ordered skate ($15) - and they scored! I don't know how many restaurants can offer skate, and even better yet - make a good skate!
And the crab cakes is consistent here as well - still in my opinion one of the best in Miami.
And this restaurant is almost always easy to go to, even on holidays. I've been here on Mother's Day and now Valentine's Day - and there was always a table for me - so this is truly a neighborhood joint I know I can truly be coming back, no matter what may be going on in my life and in anybody else's.
In other words, it has become home.
I feel like I'm the last one in Miami to finally make it over to Buena Vista Bistro! Â I've had it under my bookmarks for months and only now decided to stop in while I was in the area.
It's exactly how I would picture a French bistro to be: intimate, casual, and tasty. Â I can tell from the other patrons that this place is both frequented and adored by the surrounding community. Â There was a steady flow of locals all night. Â Our waitress was super fast and very attentive even though every table was full.
I will admit that, though the food was super cheap ($8 & 10$ entrees), I'll be coming back for lunch, brunch, or a late night snack rather than dinner. Â Definitely lunch/brunch oriented space.
And although I enjoyed the food, I have to mention just how equally impressed I was with how tidy and organized the restaurant was run; I can tell there aren't any (or at least a whole lot) of cockroaches running around in the back. Â Even the sugars were correctly categorized by type and color - something that makes that obsessive-compulsive fiend inside jump for joy.
Now, if only I could one closer to home I'd have a place to grab my morning coffee... Â :)
Good food at cheap enough prices.
Everyone else loves the location, but it isn't convient for me.
I really liked how they did Escargot. Different, like in a beef sauce with tomatoes. I'm used to it swimming in garlic oil with bread on the side.
I also liked their ratatouille, lamb, and mashed potatoes.