Le Central is one of our favorite restaurants in RI; we travel over 3 bridges to get there! The menu is well curated with something for all tastes. The wine list has great choices with helpful descriptions. The staff is always friendly and helpful in pairing wines with dinner options. Highly recommend this little gem!
Frances
Food and service always very good. Could be a bit more generous on the wine pourings. I ordered lobster on grilled country bread...unfortunately the bread wasn't grilled and arrived soggy. Otherwise, good dining experience.
Susan
Lovely bistro with a wonderful wine list and delicious cocktails. Food is always outstanding. The duck liver mousse appetizer was the star of the meal. Coq au vin delicious slightly heavy on salt pork but worthy of trying. Hard when you compare to the oldest restaurant in Paris. The ambiance is lovely.
Christine
We had a lovely meal. The duck was outstanding. The drinks were delicious. The service was great and we enjoyed the casual atmosphere
Sara
We have always enjoyed the fine service and the interesting and excellent dining choices. The food is always delicious.
Judy
Fabulous, delicious, innovative food. Cocktails were also wonderful. We loved every bite. Highly recommend!
Kathleen Marini
After walking around we decided on Le Central for late lunch. We were not disappointed. Delicious! The corn chowder was the best we have ever tasted. The lobster sliders perfect. It was a great choice. Thank you for making our visit perfect.
ziya
Very predictable! Food is great! Very warm and welcoming staff. Great wine! Our server, Ellie has been wonderful as usual.
Charity MacLean
I’d heard whispers about Le Central’s “charm,” so I stopped in on a quiet evening expecting classic French bistro fare with a touch of New England polish. What I experienced instead was a masterclass in culinary complacency and managerial absence.
The dining room was mostly empty, but you wouldn’t know it from how long it took to be seated. The host (I believe also our server?) greeted us with all the warmth of a damp sponge and deposited us at a table directly next to the swinging kitchen door. The smell of scorched butter and fryer oil wafted through with every pass. Très authentique, if the goal is to evoke a strip mall brasserie in decline.
The wine list leaned heavily on markup and nostalgia, offering middling bottles priced like collector’s vintages. I chose a chenin blanc that arrived room temperature and tasting suspiciously oxidized. When I politely asked if it had perhaps been left open too long, I was informed, without irony, that “it’s supposed to taste like that.”
My entrée, the duck confit, was presented with all the flair of a microwave dinner. The skin was flabby. The interior was dry. The plate was ringed with an inscrutable smear of something orange that I was informed to be sweet potato puree. It might as well have been squirted out of a Gerber pouch for all the flavor it lacked.
The side of pommes frites arrived limp and pale, with all the texture of cafeteria hash browns left under a heat lamp. I left most of them on the plate, though our server didn’t notice or didn’t care.
Dessert? A crème brûlée that had clearly been torched in a rush. The top was patchy and barely crisp, while the custard underneath was ice-cold in the center. Charming.
When the check arrived, it felt like the final insult: $70 before tip for one person, one disappointing meal, and one long drive home wondering how anyone in charge here feels pride in this experience.
I’ve eaten at bistros in Paris, Boston, and even tiny Vermont towns where the food is plated with love and served with presence. Le Central seems content to ride on its past reputation, and it shows.
Would I return? Non. Would I recommend it to anyone who actually enjoys food? Absolutely not.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
David
Excellent dining experience. The ingredients in the Negroni were a pleasant change from the usual. The Moroccan chicken and steak frites were delicious. A pleasure to eat at a restaurant that knows how to grill beef rare. Will return soon with guests from out of town.
Our experiences at Le Central are always excellent, whether it is lunch or dinner. It is one of our favorite places in Rhode Island. Well worth the drive.
Stephen
We were a party of 7 and it was a first visit to Le Central. We were very pleased with the range and quality of offerings on the menu. Service was also excellent! We highly recommend this establishment, located conveniently in the heart of the town of Bristol!
Elizabeth
Food was quite good. Oyster very fresh. Lamb good. Steak frites ok but could have been better seasoned. Moroccan chicken excellent. Spinach salad with goat cheese wonderful. Service excellent. Sadly the place was empty at 7pm on a Friday night. Why????
Stephan
Always excellent in service and food, but not happy with choice of pricey mediocre French only wines. Try having some quality Italian wines of good value and pricing.
Kevin
Food good, service good, but a pet peeve of mine. We had a party of 3 and the waitress adds a 20 percent tip to the bill. A tip is discretionary and up to the customer. Honestly everything was good and i would have left 25 percent, but not after that. Quite frankly I wont go back. So if the food sucked or service was terrible what's the next step for the customer?
Le Central is one of our favorite restaurants in RI; we travel over 3 bridges to get there! The menu is well curated with something for all tastes. The wine list has great choices with helpful descriptions. The staff is always friendly and helpful in pairing wines with dinner options. Highly recommend this little gem!
Food and service always very good. Could be a bit more generous on the wine pourings. I ordered lobster on grilled country bread...unfortunately the bread wasn't grilled and arrived soggy. Otherwise, good dining experience.
Lovely bistro with a wonderful wine list and delicious cocktails. Food is always outstanding. The duck liver mousse appetizer was the star of the meal. Coq au vin delicious slightly heavy on salt pork but worthy of trying. Hard when you compare to the oldest restaurant in Paris. The ambiance is lovely.
We had a lovely meal. The duck was outstanding. The drinks were delicious. The service was great and we enjoyed the casual atmosphere
We have always enjoyed the fine service and the interesting and excellent dining choices. The food is always delicious.
Fabulous, delicious, innovative food. Cocktails were also wonderful. We loved every bite. Highly recommend!
After walking around we decided on Le Central for late lunch. We were not disappointed. Delicious! The corn chowder was the best we have ever tasted. The lobster sliders perfect. It was a great choice. Thank you for making our visit perfect.
Very predictable! Food is great! Very warm and welcoming staff. Great wine! Our server, Ellie has been wonderful as usual.
I’d heard whispers about Le Central’s “charm,” so I stopped in on a quiet evening expecting classic French bistro fare with a touch of New England polish. What I experienced instead was a masterclass in culinary complacency and managerial absence.
The dining room was mostly empty, but you wouldn’t know it from how long it took to be seated. The host (I believe also our server?) greeted us with all the warmth of a damp sponge and deposited us at a table directly next to the swinging kitchen door. The smell of scorched butter and fryer oil wafted through with every pass. Très authentique, if the goal is to evoke a strip mall brasserie in decline.
The wine list leaned heavily on markup and nostalgia, offering middling bottles priced like collector’s vintages. I chose a chenin blanc that arrived room temperature and tasting suspiciously oxidized. When I politely asked if it had perhaps been left open too long, I was informed, without irony, that “it’s supposed to taste like that.”
My entrée, the duck confit, was presented with all the flair of a microwave dinner. The skin was flabby. The interior was dry. The plate was ringed with an inscrutable smear of something orange that I was informed to be sweet potato puree. It might as well have been squirted out of a Gerber pouch for all the flavor it lacked.
The side of pommes frites arrived limp and pale, with all the texture of cafeteria hash browns left under a heat lamp. I left most of them on the plate, though our server didn’t notice or didn’t care.
Dessert? A crème brûlée that had clearly been torched in a rush. The top was patchy and barely crisp, while the custard underneath was ice-cold in the center. Charming.
When the check arrived, it felt like the final insult: $70 before tip for one person, one disappointing meal, and one long drive home wondering how anyone in charge here feels pride in this experience.
I’ve eaten at bistros in Paris, Boston, and even tiny Vermont towns where the food is plated with love and served with presence. Le Central seems content to ride on its past reputation, and it shows.
Would I return? Non.
Would I recommend it to anyone who actually enjoys food? Absolutely not.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
Excellent dining experience. The ingredients in the Negroni were a pleasant change from the usual. The Moroccan chicken and steak frites were delicious. A pleasure to eat at a restaurant that knows how to grill beef rare. Will return soon with guests from out of town.
Restaurantji Recommends
Our experiences at Le Central are always excellent, whether it is lunch or dinner. It is one of our favorite places in Rhode Island. Well worth the drive.
We were a party of 7 and it was a first visit to Le Central. We were very pleased with the range and quality of offerings on the menu. Service was also excellent! We highly recommend this establishment, located conveniently in the heart of the town of Bristol!
Food was quite good. Oyster very fresh. Lamb good. Steak frites ok but could have been better seasoned. Moroccan chicken excellent. Spinach salad with goat cheese wonderful. Service excellent. Sadly the place was empty at 7pm on a Friday night. Why????
Always excellent in service and food, but not happy with choice of pricey mediocre French only wines. Try having some quality Italian wines of good value and pricing.
Food good, service good, but a pet peeve of mine. We had a party of 3 and the waitress adds a 20 percent tip to the bill. A tip is discretionary and up to the customer. Honestly everything was good and i would have left 25 percent, but not after that. Quite frankly I wont go back. So if the food sucked or service was terrible what's the next step for the customer?
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