Belle’s Bistro

I didn’t have many choices in the area for a dinner while on business. I saw Belle’s on Unilocal and based on the reviews, I picked it. They did not disappoint! Great meal with many gluten free options. I had a crab cake and the short ribs and both were fantastic. It was very flavorful and fresh.
In a location with mostly strip malls, choose the local Belle’s!

Revisited this place and actually was able to have a full meal and it was pretty good. Service was a bit slow but attentive and the food was not bad at all. Still a cramped place with little room to move but draws in the crowds and people seem to like it. However found out that at the end of June 2015 this place will be history. The owners are tired and will shut down the place for good which actually is a shame since it seems to be a hot spot for this area and a big draw. Glad I was able to sample their cuisine and I wish them well.

I love Belle’s. My latest favorite was the lamb shank — so good. My husband always goes for the steak because he loves the ever so thin onion rings.

Close to Nashoba valley ski area. Found this place online, and we were not disappointed.
Everything is homemade and so they can run out of things. In our case, the chili was all gone, but good thing they had plenty of Clam chowder on hand. Delicious. Fresh clams and great flavor.
Had their wedge salad, which was also amazing. Others on our party got the gumbo, which was full of large shrimp. They really don’t skimp on ingredients here.
The place is quaint with ample parking. Staff is super friendly. This is a hidden gem.

Awesome food thanks Unilocal.Down the road from nashoba valley dropped the kids off at witches woods and had a fantastic meal.

Like others say, it is a bit cramped and can be loud at Bella’s bit the stop is well worth it! Pineapple upside down cake cocktail is wonderful, oysters were delicious and fresh. Not too kid friendly, however my daughter enjoyed the chicken tenders (pricy for sure). The menu changes often based on local fresh ingredients and the wait staff is suburb.

My colleagues P-​Cac, P Bizzle and I went here for dinner yesterday and we all thought the food was pretty good!
This is a cute little restaurant in a somewhat residential area. We had made a reservation and so were seated promptly by a friendly waitress.
For our starters, we ordered the crabcake and the calamari. Both were pretty good! I would have liked the calamari to be less battered and fried, though! I ordered the blackened catfish for my main course. It was served on a bed of rice with andouille sausage and some lemon-​butter glaze (I think). It was very tasty! The glaze was a bit overpowering and overshadowed the flavour fo the fish, I thought. But overall, pretty good!
P-​Cac had the steak and P Bizzle got the salmon. Both said they enjoyed their dishes like I did. Overall, this is a solid 3.5 star restaurant. maybe even 4! I will return to confirm!

Delicious every time!
Have been here multiple times and never had a bad experience. It’s a very small place, great atmosphere. Bar only has about 6 chairs, but there are high top tables in the bar area too.
The scallop risotto is so good I want to lick the plate when I’m done. Try the firecracker shrimp… And my wife swears by the beet salad, which I won’t try because I hate beets!

I would have given 2−½.
Pros —
— Nice ambiance
— Great service (I wasn’t sure about the wine and they gave me a couple to try).
Cons —
— Had the smoked pork chops and they were overcooked. I have had great ones before — and these were hard to cut and too dry
My friends had salmon and scallops and both said they were great.
Maybe they do seafood better.
Anyway — just ok from my perspective. Will have to try something else next time!

This place is a joke. They can’t seat you because you need reservations. Rude people, crappy attitudes and their prices suck. Don’t go!

I have been here several times since I started working nearby (2011). Truly delicious dishes that really are executed with style and consistency. I have never been disappointed with their food or service. Their lunch service is just a few months old, but perfect! The atmosphere is always comfortable, quiet, and intimate. Lastly, the wine list is very nice.

This was my first visit to Belle’s and it was fantastic! We weren’t planning on going here but I’m glad we did! Other local restaurants either had too long of a wait, or we were trying to avoid them (sorry chilli’s). So we walked in and thankfully since it was still early (about 5:30) we were able to get a table without a reservation. Our waitress was very funny/​sweet and helpful. We each started with soup and liked it. The bread (3 – 4 different kinds!) was delicious! I then had the salmon and my friend had a duck pasta dish. We both really enjoyed our meals. Later, we split the pinapple cheesecake and it was amazing! I will be visiting again (next time with a reservation) as the food was delicious and everyone who worked there were very nice! Only reason why they don’t get 5 stars is because the place is very small and it can get a bit loud.

My husband and I came here for dinner while on vacation in the area. We chose it due to the great reviews on Unilocal and because there aren’t a lot of restaurants in the area.
Our service was really good, as was our food. We split the chicken pasta dish, which was delicious. It was also plenty of food for both of us. Side note: It doesn’t reheat well, but we won’t hold that against them. The crème brûlée we had for dessert was delicious as well.
The restaurant it self is tiny and a bit cramped. We were seated in one of the alcoves (I’m not actually sure there are others, but go with me) and found that the other customers were rather loud. I wish it had been a bit quieter, but it can’t really be helped because the place is so small.
Also, the place is a bit expensive in my opinion.

I find it so amusing that people keep writing that this is their «favorite restaurant in the area» when there are no other restaurants in the area. I think it’s important to keep that in mind, because in my opinion, there is a stronger than average possibility that it may be overrated simply because there’s not much else to compare it to. Kind of like «the Emperor has no clothes» of restaurants.
I was disappointed by a lot of things at Belle’s. It is very small and oddly «decorated.» It seems like it’s aiming to be an upscale, fine-​dining restaurant, but little touches like the glass over the tablecloths make it seem like a barely upscale diner. The architecture and tight seating also lend themselves to a more casual feel. It’s almost like the owners have kind of cheap taste or they can’t afford nicer touches, or both. In any case, the overall vibe makes the place feel like they should be selling fancy burgers or gourmet flatbread pizzas and small plates.
Instead, Belle’s sells comfort food — big plates of comfort food — and since I was there in October, big plates of autumnal comfort food. I ordered the lamb and it was very good, but the side dishes were heavy and suffered from some flaws. The mashed butternut squash had too much spice in it (nutmeg, anyone?), and the parmesan beans, while tasty, were strangely inconsistent in texture. Most of the beans ranged from al dente to downright uncooked, then occasionally, there would be one or two very overcooked, mushy beans. Who would have thought eating beans would be so disconcerting? Maybe cooking beans «very al dente» is a choice, and they certainly weren’t bad, but I’ve just never had beens that were that toothy and inconsistent. I wondered if perhaps two batches of beans had been combined, which when you think about it, is kind of gross depending on how old the first batch was. My friends split a spinach salad which was way overdressed. Unfortunately, no one raved about anything. The bread and my wine were also run-​of-​the-​mill — no creativity, no uniqueness to any of it. Again, the wine was served in small, kind of «grandma’s kitchen» looking glasses, too, which again gave the restaurant away as decidedly non-​fancy.
Belle’s is fine and reasonably priced, but I think if it were located closer to Boston, it wouldn’t be as big a hit.

Second time here… first review.
This is an intimate restaurant with superior service. The menu is limited but very intriguing. Do not go with a fussy eater, do go with someone who appreciates fine dining because that is what you get here.
Do not understand the bad reviews. My visits were at least four years apart and both times food was exceptional. I can understand disappointment if a favorite item is no longer on the menu but the food is good.

Yikes Belle’s. what happened?
Had previously visited Belle’s frequently, and it used to be awesome! It is cozy, and the staff is always so welcoming and friendly. The chef made amazing food, and always had new creative, as well as delicious specials.
They now have a new chef, bad move Belle’s.
Recently our visit was no so pleasant. There were so many things wrong with the visit. First we got seated by the restroom, and at the end of the meal some poor guy was getting sick in the bathroom. Nothing spoils an appetite quite like that… thankfully we had already eaten our sub-​par meal.
First off, we ordered the firecracker shrimp and a special flatbread as appetizers for the table. The firecracker shrimp used to be amazing, now the batter to shrimp ratio is crazy. The batter is so thick it just falls off the shrimps, leaving them bare and almost flavorless. Then, worse, the flatbread came out cold. Not just it sat for a while before it came to the table kind of cold, like it just came out of the refrigerator kind of cold. We sent it back, and it came back over cooked and gooey. Like it was stuck in the microwave for 5 minutes. Yuck.
Two of us then ordered a Cesar salad to start. Oh my god. Holy SALT. I have never tasted something so salty in my life. It was so salty it was completely inedible. We both took maybe three bites before we needed another ice water, and couldn’t eat anymore. Another disappointing dish.
Finally our main entrees arrived, two of our parties ordered the same dish. From the description sounded amazing, and previously we would have expected nothing less than the best from Belle’s… this time, not so much. The bean purée that came with the pork was bland and flavorless, the veggies were also overly salty and the meat over cooked. My entrée came, I had ordered steak, it came very well done. The kicker. it was also cold. My veggies and potatoes were piping hot, but my meat, cold. When complaining to the waitress, it also came back chewy, hot. but chewy. like it also had been put in the microwave. really Belle’s?
At this point every course was disappointing, nobody bothered to order dessert.
Get your old Chef back, or hire a new one… If this is the kind of food you are going to be producing from now on, you all are going to lose a lot of loyal customers.
Very disappointed Belle’s…

My husband and I just ate here on ⁸⁄₂₂. The food was delicious – he had the Seafood Étouffée and I had the Duck in Black Raspberry reduction. Oh my! Such lovely food. However, as it was a Thursday night, I guess they weren’t expecting to be packed out with guests because they were VERY short of waitstaff. The folks at the table next to us waited 20 minutes for their drink order after waiting 10 minutes to be greeted! We were greeted within 5 – 10 minutes but then waited for our order to be taken and never got a refill of water until we’d paid our bill. We’ll probably visit again, but for the price, I’d rather go elsewhere for better service.

Ok, let me start by saying that our food was wonderful (my wife got her staple, the scallops and risotto, which tasted divine and my swordfish special tasted very fresh and was perfectly done — our friends has the sirloin and ribs, and both enjoyed them) and at least that aspect of Belle’s hasn’t changed over the years — but something is changing, and for the worst, and that is Belle’s service (and atmosphere).
First, we got there on time and Belle’s had its usual crowded space and bar. We had booked one of the high tables to mix in that fun — and the people watching did not disappoint; however, from that point, things started to go downhill.
As we sat there we (and we overheard others as well) noticed that it was getting warmer and warmer. When we asked about it, the wait staff said the air conditioning was on «full blast.» Well, I can accept with a large crowd in a small space with a hot kitchen during a pretty nasty New England heat wave can make it difficult to cool down a space, but I was sitting right under the vent and I could feel the air shutting off so unless the system was failing (which I will grant is possible), it was not on «full blast.»
That said, once we told our wait staff we were hot you would think that they would be watching our drinks and water glasses to make sure we were getting plenty to drink. Not only could I not find our waitress for long stretches of time, when I did get her to get us water, what she poured was room temperature and with no ice. Did I mention that it was very hot in the restaurant? At one point my wife asked for a glass of ice so we could chill our drinks. I then finished my drink, a Plymouth Gin martini, and was looking for a new one, but could not find our waitress (as it turned out I am glad I didn’t get a second drink).
So we struggled on with the heat, getting our appetizers (no water refills); finishing our appetizers (a promise to bring more water after clearing the plates); having the main entrees served (finally the next fill of water, but warm water); began enjoying the food (but needed to get more water).
In the middle of the meal, I got up to go to the restroom to splash water on my face and cooled down. That helped a bunch and I was able to go back to the table and finish my dinner (which was wonderful — I do hate to have to write this review when the food tastes so wonderful, but…)
We did finish dinner and all agreed the food still hit the mark, but decided that we needed to cool off before dessert (which we decided would be Kimball ice cream), so we just asked the waitress to please get the check.
She did and that is when the next part of the story happens. Normally, I just glance at the check and then share it with my friend (he and I split it when we all go out), but the overall bill seemed to be much more than I was expecting. So I started going down the itemized list to see what was there.
The first thing I noticed was the cost of my Plymouth Gin martini (remember I noted that I was glad I did not order a second) — it was $ 9.50 for the martini and an $ 8.50 upcharge for the Plymouth Gin. Now, I know that Plymouth is going to cost more than a house gin like Beefeater, but you can buy a fifth for around $ 45, so it isn’t a «super-​premium» and an upcharge of $ 8.50 is outrageous.
Then examining the check further, I found two premium Cosmos and two premium draft beers (~$ 50) that we definitely did not have that were added to our bill. I waited quite some time for our waitress, who again has disappeared, and eventually had another wait staff take the bill and my complaint. A little while later, the manager came over to explain that the bartender thought that we had been at the bar earlier and had confused us with another group — that seems all plausible, except that we never sat at the bar and were immediately seated — but the weird part was when the restaurant team asked our waitress whether we were that group, she said that she didn’t think so. Why then wouldn’t you double check — just ask me before putting it on the bill.
Anyway, got a new bill, paid and left.
So, in the end…
Well, still love the food — the taste is still as good as when we first went in 2009. But, between the inattentiveness of the waitstaff and getting stiffed on the drinks (BTW the glass size of the martinis has gotten smaller as well), not likely we will be going back anytime soon.
Oh, and it was cooler outside when we left and the Kimball ice cream hit the spot.

Really want to like this place but it’s just OK for what it is. Better than your average chain restaurant in the area but priced like its in Boston and for that it falls short. Drinks were meh… long time to serve and got them wrong (this at place that touts its martini’s etc)
One of the appetizer specials (grilled watermelon) was very good and inventive.
The short ribs were just… ok. At $ 26 I expected better. Flavor was good but beef was a little fatty and was a small entre.

THUMBS UP = Warm, friendly atmosphere but a little small inside making it somewhat cozy and intimate. Staff was very friendly and service was wonderful. Appetizers (black bean soup, endive salad with Roquefort cheese and sliced apples) were amazing! Entrees (porterhouse pork chop with apple and sweet potato hash, grilled duck breast and pomegranate sauce with pecan red rice, roasted brussel sprouts) were out-​of-​this-​world! Desserts (butterscotch pudding with whipped cream and toffee bits, ice cream bon-​bon) were yummy — we loved that there was a petite option for dessert, the ice cream bon-​bons were just the right size and delicious.
A little pricey, but good for a night out for a special celebration or occasion. We thoroughly enjoyed our meal and will definitely be going back, maybe to split a meal to cut the price of the total bill.
DOUBLE THUMBS UP = Eco friendly «doggie bag» containers — no styrofoam!!!