Colby Ale House

We decided to try to new bistro 920 and I really wish we we hadn’t. Half of us thought the food was inedible, it may have the chef from La Perla but don’t expect to eat La Perla quality dishes! The artichoke dip had zero flavor, it was like eating mush, my friend told the waitress she could take it away it wasn’t good and she didn’t even ask her if she wanted something else, or that she was sorry she didn’t like it, no acknowledgement at all (in the end she gave her 50% off, any other restaurant would refund it in full when there is 2 bites taken out of it) The lemon caper haddock had too much sauce and was overpowering, the pizza looked like it fell on the ground and then they served it, and my friends stomach was not right even the next morning. The entire time we were there the waitress never came to ask how the food was, only if we wanted more drinks so maybe they are aware the food is terrible. Also the wine menu said glasses were 5oz but we only got 3oz in our glasses, overall the service was terrible, the food was either terrible or average so we would not go here again.

Recently they changed their name to Bistro 920 and I was told it has gotten better since it’s opening. I decided to give it another try but that was a mistake. As other reviewer have pointed out they’ve tried to make an upscale restaurant but their staff and even food is lacking. The menu is very small which isn’t unusual for a higher tier restaurant, their calamari unfortunately was seriously lacking and is pretty much what you get at any pub. For entrees we ordered the Manicotti and I ordered the pepper steak and fries. I must admit that while he steak wasn’t cooked to my liking the fries and steak were good. Sadly my girlfriends meal wasn’t edible and her night was further ruined by one of the staff blaring some TV show on his phone and laughing loudly. If you want an upscale bar atmosphere go to Baton Rouge in Halifax.

This restaurant is currently known as the Colby Wine Bar and Bistro. We went for an early dinner here on a Friday. The dinning area is smaller than usual, however, it has a nice atmosphere, clean and tidy (they have done some renovations here and it really shows). There are two tv’s above the bar area, however, other than that, there is no music, etc that can be heard at the tables/​booths which would be nice so that you wouldn’t hear all of the conversations taking place at the bar. Servers were very friendly, and attentive. We ordered stuffed mushrooms, and each a pasta dish; scallop/​bacon carbonara, and chicken parm. The bread we received as an appetizer was still a bit frozen in the middle and very dry. The stuffed mushrooms had a filling that included lobster, however, the pieces were so small in most that it looked like the meat from the tips of legs or the lobsters antenna except for one of them that had a larger piece from a claw. Needs to have better quality control. Loved the bacon wrapped scallop on top of the carbonara, nice touch. Chicken parm was okay, nice amount of cheese, moist chicken. For the price of the main dishes (approx $ 20 each), there should have been perhaps a slice of garlic toast. All in all, the food was good.

I have been to the Colby Wine Bar & Bistro twice this year with co-​workers for lunch. It has been top notch each time.
There were ~10 of us and we had called just 1 day ahead to see if they would have their delicious Clams & Chips on their daily special listing for today and they said they would try. Much to our delight it was offered! They were so delightfully good. The chips are a bit too big a cut for me but they are very tasty. The service was with the same lady as before and once again she was perfectly attentive.
One of our co-​workers was the one that recommended this place initially and he goes often (evening mostly) and he has not been disappointed yet.
I don’t know why the poor/​mediocre reviews but I’d suggest you give them a try!!!

I went here for my mom’s birthday and have to admit I was underwhelmed. This place just doesn’t seem to know what it wants to be yet. The décor was lovely, but what really detracted from it was the VLT room on the other side of wall. There were several menu selections, something for everyone, but I found the prices on many of the main entrees highly overpriced. Service was ok, a little slow, but friendly and courteous. It was ladies night and there were 2 for 1 drinks of which there appeared to be a good selection. I had calamari and was not impressed by what I was sure was Dave’s Hot sauce that was served with it. The other sauce tasted like pure Helman’s mayo. The caesar salad was pretty drenched in run of the mill dressing and nothing to get excited about. The other people dining with me enjoyed their entrees for the most part, but overall the experience was only so so. I would not go back. I have to say, the VLT section really rubbed me the wrong way. It just didn’t mesh with the Bistro atmosphere they were going for.

Decided to stop by the Colby Ale House the other night to check out their revamped look and menu.
Although it isn’t obvious from the outside, they have done a nice job with the interior décor. The menu is a bit of a mixed bag, but with everything from burgers to higher-​end entrees, there should be something for most tastes.
Our food was hit and miss. The calamari was serviceable and had some enjoyable sauces, a nice mix of creamy and tangy. I found the Moroccan chicken to be cloyingly sweet, something I wasn’t expecting in an entrée. The side was bland: basically red peppers on spaghetti noodles. One of my dining companions found her pasta a bit on the sweet side as well, but did enjoy it. My other companion found her pork burger very good.
The service was friendly enough and the food was served promptly, but it would certainly have been appreciated if they had stopped by to check on the drink situation a bit more often. Given that we were one of a handful of tables in the place, the staff were definitely not too busy to do so.
The Colby Ale House has real potential, and with some tweaks to the menu and some improved service, it might live up to that potential. I’d be willing to try again in a few months time, but it remains to be seen whether it can make it into the regular rotation.

A friend and I went there on the weekend by happenstance; the new Big Leagues a couple of doors down was full with an auction event, and we didn’t want to travel much further in the rain.
The new Colby Ale House, now billing itself as a «bistro and wine bar,» did a good job with its new interior design. The deep, rich colours and finishing touches like the (faux) marbled table tops and deep black booths definitely class up the joint. The frosted glass helps you forget that you’re in a restaurant in a chintzy strip mall. However, a somewhat jarring and possibly tell-​tale sign that this new place isn’t quite yet as classy as it’s trying to be, the almost too-​small dining room is divided to allow for its new VLT space and its loyal brewski clientele. As someone pointed out to me, the owner is very revenue-​conscious; not necessarily a bad thing, but in my opinion, not the step in direction I would have gambled on.
While the atmosphere is nice, the rest of the place just wasn’t quite… anything. It is trying to be a higher calibre restaurant, its wait staff weren’t quite up to the task. I am not sure if management retained its wait staff from its original Ale House days, but they weren’t experienced enough for finer dining serving. Our waitress fumbled with the specials, the menus, and even taking our order. While nice, she was a little too casual for our liking.
While I’m not a wine drinker, I took a look at its wine menu anyway. I was surprised that, for a wine bar, it lacked the variety I would have expected, particularly in local options.
The food also wasn’t quite up to snuff. Our first hint should have been that when we both ordered steak, including one medium-​well, and our meals were at our table in less than fifteen minutes, and actually overcooked. This led us to believe that maybe our dishes weren’t made to order. Our second hint should have been when the waitress came to check in on us; instead of asking, «How is everything?» she asked, «Are your steaks overcooked?» This led my friend to comment that maybe overdone steaks are a regular occurence if it’s her main concern.
The side of ‘seasonal vegetables’ comprised of a mashed orange veggie; we couldn’t decide if it was sugared carrots or sweet potatoes. Either way, it contained large bits of un-​mashed «peel» that was too bitter to eat. The savoury mashed potatoes also had shallots or something similar tasting that added a raw, bitter flavour to the potatoes. We finished our meals, but agreed that we wouldn’t quite call it an overly enjoyable culinary experience.
Dartmouth needs more fine dining options, but I don’t think that the new Colby Ale House is coming to the rescue yet. It still needs some tweaking so that it focuses more on quality food to attract a crowd that not’s just going there to play the slots.