Bistro Bar & Grill

I went to Ross Medical right next door to this bar and we’d always celebrate the end of a difficult Mod with a night out here. It was pretty large on the inside, nice décor, decent food but a little overpriced. The only things I really ever enjoyed were the Caesar salad – good chicken, and the quesadillas which were great. Good shot options too, which was nice for us because a few in our group were underage and carding people seemed to always be low on their priority list. But there was one instance during NBA play-​offs last year where two guys started fighting at the bar and it carried on outside… one guy was injured so bad he blacked out and 911 was called. I never went back after that and within weeks or so, they had closed. Coincidence? Apparently not, since I guess things like this happened quite frequently there. The owner/​manager there was also racist! He told me and my friend (also African American) that he no longer plays any type of rap, hip/​hop, r&b or ‘hood’ music in his bar because it ‘attracted the wrong crowd.’ He proceeded to mention over and over «no offense to you but… no offense but.» while continuing to talk out of his ass. Seeing as how Ypsilanti (or that part of Ann Arbor so close to Ypsi) is very diverse and on any given night, there were quite a few African Americans that visited that bar and put money into his pockets, I’m confused as to what type of ‘crowd’ he was trying to avoid, since all races and demographics are capable of causing trouble. Either way, I’m glad they’re now closed.

My husband & I have been here several times now, & the food has been consistently great– we have tried several of their salads (my fav is the salmon harvest salad!), burgers, & a chicken pasta dish that was oh so tasty! The portions are generous– enough to either split, or easily provide 1 – 2 extra meals (depending on how your appetite runs). The service has been very good– attentive without being intrusive. We have only been there when it was relatively slow, so it has been quiet enough to be able to carry on conversation. There are lots of TVs with the games on, & pool tables, if that’s your thing.

Ahhh, the Bistro. This is a pretty convenient bar seeing as it is about 100 feet from my doorsteps.
I wouldn’t really choose this place to come to on any regular basis. However, the drink prices are right. And who could beat the location near home? The food is pretty good for bar food, but a little over priced. Happy hour is weekly and all apps are half off! It makes it well worth the trip. I would consider this a neighborhood favorite! :)

I spotted this place last evening and decided to stop in for a burger and brewski. I was surprised once inside as to how big it is. On the outside it appears to be rather small but that’s not the case. As the other posts state there are many pool tables on one side. Many TV’s that surround the entire bar with a couple of Club Keno monitors thrown in.
I ended up ordering a calzone that was surprizingly very good. It had a very thin and flakey crust. Made me think that it may be madeup fresh versus frozen. My dining companion was equally surprized with his hamburger and fries. Stated it was the best ever. They also have a very good selection of beer on draft. The pricing per person for food is under $ 10.
The staff was very freindly and accomodating. We’ll be back.

The food was fine for what was being offered… once we got it. We had a large group and only two servers. It was a challenge for them as we spread out all over the place.
Nothing special and not a real downer either. They did have Bells White on tap, which is a real high point!

Great place to go watch sports or listen to a DJ. The place has a ton of TVs, Keno, a few pool tables, and a jukebox. The food is typical bar food with a few surprise extras. They have drink specials now (woohoo!). DJs and a band on certain nights during the weekend.

This place is fairly close to me, So being new to the area we go down there from time to time. Blah is my feeling about this place. It’s usually pretty ghetto in there and the food/​drinks are very expensive for what you get. The food is good however, just not worth the price. They do have a nice selection of pool tables if that is your thing.

I used to go to Bistro quite a bit as my old office was just down the street and I live nearby but rarely ever go anymore as the crowd has changed quite a bit. This place could be a much better place but they need to clean up the crowd and the ruffians they allow in to the place.
Most of the food is fairly decent, the rueben is awesome, and the pizza is great, everything else is just standard pub food. I used to love the nachos back when they melted real cheese on them, but now they use a processed melted cheese spread on the nachos which is really gross.
When you first walk into the place you notice nice woodwork throughout and a nice black granite bar in the middle of the room. It seems like they are shooting for the upscale look which they achieve, but they are sorely lacking in an upscale feel due to lack of training of the serving staff and some of the clientele they attract — especially later on in the evening.
The happy hour crowd isn’t bad, a nice diverse mix of professionals, blue collar folks, and a few college kids here and there. They have a nice mix of people until about 10 or 11 pm. After that time of night the place changes into a gangster ghetto bar. The crowd that comes in is often rude, loud, obnoxious, and prone to starting fights.
I remember a few months ago I was there on a Thursday evening for karaōke when all of a sudden I saw 12 – 15 young gentlemen all dressed in red walk into the front door of the place — a few minutes later there was a massive fight, every single one of the aforementioned gentlemen were involved in the fight along with another 12 – 15 young men. The fight was pretty brutal and was only broken up by the police arriving. I spoke with a couple of the police officers that evening and was told they get called to Bistro on a regular basis to break up fights late at night, especially on the weekends — not exactly a comforting thought.
I’ve had this discussion with several people, friends and co-​workers as well as other patrons at the bar and the recurring thought seems to be that of «I’ll come here during the week for happy hour and may stay up until 10 or so but refuse to come here later at night or on the weekends because the crowd often gets scary and full of thugs.» That’s pretty sad when you consider these comments come from a diverse mix of professionals, blue collar workers, and even some college students, many of these people would be happy to come in and spend money providing they can do so safely, but won’t because the establishment fails to look out for their customers.
Service is hit or miss if you sit at a table, it used to be quite good when sitting at the bar, though they lost the two bartenders who had been there awhile, knew what they were doing, and knew all the regulars. One of the bartenders was the owners sister and she got married, the other guy who was there a while was a hell of a great bartender and in grad school, I always felt he was too classy to work at this place, I know he is graduating soon and I’m sure he deservingly moved on to bigger and better things.
Bistro does have a serious problem with keeping staff. Now every place in town to an extent has this problem and I believe it has something to do with the transient nature of students in a college town, but this place always has new employees training every time I go in there. It speaks to the overall management of the place. The owner tends to sit at the end of the bar, chain smoke cigars, play keno, drink, and bark at his employees non-​stop throughout the night. I’ve seen him be pretty rude to employees and make more than one employee cry before — it’s no wonder they can’t keep staff. Perhaps if the owner realized the cost of training staff is expensive and can eat a business alive as opposed to retaining staff he wouldn’t act in such a childish, non-​businesslike manner. I believe how an owner treats his employees speaks volumes about the overall quality and ultimately the profitability of a business.
All in all, I am now swearing this place off. I hate to do it because I have spent many a night there, live nearby, and have spent untold thousands of dollars there over the past few years but feel avoiding this place is the right thing to do due to the declining nature of the crowd and because I have repeatedly witnessed employees being treated very poorly. I’m voting with my wallet as countless other former regulars have likely done and am moving on to spend my money elsewhere.
Farewell Bistro, and I hope someday the owner may actually learn how to treat his employees like humans. Like I said, it speaks volumes about a business when the owner treats his employees badly.

I’ve been here once to catch a basketball game and having a drink with my husband and it was pretty good for just that. The TVs are large and perfect for watching sports. The service was good. We didn’t try the food but other patrons seemed to enjoy the typical fried bar food.

I worked right across the street from the Bistro, so we would have team lunches over here at least once a week. We would come sit at the same place every day, because around 1pm the place is usually empty. I enjoyed the ambiance at the Bistro. Around happy hour, you get the working crowd who just wants to sit back and watch ESPN. Later on in the evening around 8pm, college kids may come by to shoot pool or play bar games. It’s in a prime location on Washtenaw (between Eastern and University of Michigan), so it was common ground to socialize. Everything I tried on the menu, I loved. Especially the nachos, I definitely recommend checking Bistro out.

Bistro Bar and Grill is fairly new to the area. I believe it’s only been in business a couple of years at most.
You can come here to drink and play pool on one of their many tables. You can also watch sports on the many large TVs around the bar.
Or, you can come here to have a meal. Most of the menu offerings are pretty standard. Offerings include pizza and burgers and pasta and fries. They do have a few surprises, though. The Harvest Salmon Salad salad with walnuts and dried fruit is interesting, and not something you’d expect on the menu at the average pool hall.
On my most recent trip, I thought $ 6.99 was a bit pricey for my tuna melt. But it was good, as were the fries that came with it.