Bistro By The Sea

My husband and I had a fantastic experience at Bistro tonight! The hostess, our server, and food runner were all delightful. Joelle, our server, was cheerful and attentive. The food was absolutely delicious: the fried Brussels sprouts appetizer was generous and perfectly seasoned, my cioppino was amazing and I especially loved the mussels and sea bass, and my husband thoroughly enjoyed his beef brisket grilled cheese. We will definitely be returning to Bistro! Kudos to the management and chef!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

August 3rd, just left the bistro worst experience ever, never got to the meal, had shrimp cocktail at $4.00 a peice over cooked and not cleaned, when I sent them back I received the same shrimp rinsed. My friend and myself also ordered stuffed quahaugs which weren't bad except the hot sauce had no cover and poured all over the plate. When we told the waitress we were allset and would like the check we were acousted by an angry manager who said we made the waitress cry and told us we would be comped for a meal we never had, then asked to leave. The so called chef even felt the need to meet us outside, and thought he would intimate us, not happening. We then left and went to another restaurant and saw people who were there to witness this encounter and were dumbfounded by the total rudeness of the worst manager in history of theater by the sea bistro, what an embarrassment she is to this establishment.

Every summer we have enjoyed dining at the Theater by the Sea prior to attending performances there. Last night we had the worst dining experience we have ever experienced in RI since we have owned our home here. It was also an embarrassing evening for us as we entertaining guests who were staying at our home.
Food options were limited in variety, there were no specials for the evening, no bread/rolls available tho bread plates were on the table. All this may seem minor and it is compared to the highlights of the meal. Placed our orders at 6:00 pm. Forty minutes later two roasted chicken dinners arrived of the four dinners ordered and they were cold. Not just not hot, but cold. Fifteen minutes later a third chicken dinner arrived. This dinner was warm. The waitress said she would need to check with the manager to see what could be done about the cold chicken dinners. (?). By the time the manager arrived, now one hour after our initial order was placed, the fourth member of our group was STILL waiting on her pasta dish. The manager indicated she would have to have the two cold dinners made new and would check on the whereabouts of the pasta. My husband inadvertently called the pasta linguine rather than fettuccini which was what was ordered. Seventy minutes after initial order, the replacement dinners arrived. The fourth member, still waiting for the pasta dish, was incorrectly served a large platter of Brussels sprouts. That platter made its way to a couple of other tables, returned to kitchen, and then found its way to correct table. 75 mins after ordering the manager brought a linguine and clam dish to our fourth member whose original order was a roasted vegetables and fettuccine. When she told the manager that it was not what she ordered the manager was less than pleasant. She indicated that it was my husband’s fault that it was incorrect. No apology for the fact that it took 75 mins to get a pasta dish to the table.
The waitress verified that she did in fact place the correct pasta dish with the kitchen but was unsure of what happened. Other joys of the Bistro dining experience: diluted iced tea, no butter is available at table, only one dessert option available last night, tasteless mashed potatoes, and roasted chicken which had an indescribable funky after taste which made us think that something was wrong with the poultry. We left with our fourth member never eating a meal and three of us feeling queasy from the chicken. Add on a second attempt by my husband to explain the totality of our miserable experience to the manager, only to be met with some unpleasant and unreceptive nonsense on her part will ensure we never return or recommend. If the manager truly believes “ that the customer is always right” as she snapped at my husband, I think her actions and demeanor would have been quite different. We were not the only unhappy diners at Bistro by the Sea last evening.

Atmosphere: 2

Food: 1

Service: 1

Service, atmosphere and food superb, I had the special - Tuna … so delicious , tender .. cooked to perfection.
Brussels sprouts delicious; pork belly delicious as well .
Desserts were an added bonus .
We were so pleased after having an Ok meal last year when vendor was different.
I would come here even if we weren’t seeing a play .

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

I seldom write negative reviews, but this was an utterly abysmal experience. We had a 315P reservation before a 5 PM show on 9/3/23, but the restaurant was closed when we arrived. While I had made the original reservation months before, I called the week prior to add one person to the reservation, and the hostess confirmed our reservation. There was no phone call, nor anything on social media or their website alerting their guests that they had decided to close that day.We were a total of 8, half of whom were coming in from out of state. 2 of our guests are in their 90's. Parking in the grass lot and walking down the long outdoor corridor only to do it again after learning the restaurant was closed was an ordeal, to say the least, for our elderly guests. Trying to find a nearby restaurant that could seat eight immediately, which would give us a chance at possibly getting back in time for the 5 PM show, added a layer of stress that ruined the entire experience for most of our guests. Perhaps a last minute staff shortage over the holiday weekend prevented their opening, but why couldn't they call the people with reservations to let them know? Why couldn't they put it on their website or social media? They don't care. I suspect someone will feign that they do and reply to this post asking me to call them, as they have done with their numerous other poor reviews. But, I've called twice over the last two weeks and left messages, yet I am still waiting for someone to return my call. They just do not care. Theater by the Sea is a fantastic institution that has entertained RI and beyond for generations. My advice is to not ruin your Theater by the Sea experience by combining it with Bravo by the Sea.

Service: 1

Time to fire the cooks. This place is not worth your time. We are in Rhode Island, and near the ocean? Why offer fish and chips if you can't prepare a decent plate. First of all, My wife's plate came with curled slabs of fish? probaly frozen. No crunchy batter covered the fish, the fries were lukewarm. Tasteless. My dish was an insult, not worth calling it Calamari. No batter either, I found little ringlets of squid sprinkled on a big pile of pepperocini, and pickles. Wow! not worth eating. I tasted my friend's risotto, no taste, not creamy; where was the umami from pecorino?or garlic? or shallots? Totally bland!! When I complained, a young man came over, supposedly a restaurant consultant; he listened to my complaints and did refund the price of the fish and the calamari. Wel could not wait to leave. We did leave a decent tip for the waitress, after all it was not her fault for the terrible food. ~tiaotse~

Wonderful performance of Jersey Boys. We left the theatre smiling and lighthearted!Abby said that it was the best Reuben she ever had and my scallops were delicious. Menu items and drinks were fairly priced.But the best thing was that we ENJOYED dinner because we knew that we were already at Matunuck Theatre by the Sea. Last year we ate at a local oyster bar, service was delayed, we got caught in traffic and both the dinner and the show were compromised for us. You should advertise more the comfort that comes with eating at Bravo before the show!Greg and Abby

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

From the minute you walk in you are greeted with smiles and made to feel like an old friend. The food is fantastic with healthy portions, made fresh and with lots of thought and care. As I understand it, Bravo is under new management by Ryan and Ryan and they are very involved, attentive and eager to please. Connected to Theater by the Sea, we went to dinner before all four shows this season and it was wonderful each time! The only negative thing I can say is that they are only open when the Theater is open… but I hear they are working on that!!!! A great find!

I ordered fish and chips. I hardly could find the fish among the chips. I f there was 2 oz of fish I would be shocked. The fish was so thin 16th of an inch . Friends I was with ordered mushroom risotto it had no taste they all boxed it up to see if they could fix it at home. Fish was $22 risotto was $24. Never have I been so disappointed in a restaurant.

Atmosphere: 3

Food: 1

Service: 5

Fish chips was not worth the cost. Chips were good. Fish very small , thin slices. Flat bread was also not worth the cost. Dough dry and over cooked. The server didn't ask how the meal was. The manager showed up too late.

Atmosphere: 3

Food: 1

Service: 5

After reading all the previous reviews I was pleasantly surprised by my meal. We had three different meals at our table and they were all good. The drinks were fine, not outstanding. The service was attentive and pleasant.

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 4

Service: 4

I must have eaten at a different restaurant than the previous reviewer. We had lunch Sun July 1 before the matinee and dinner Fri July 7 prior to the evening performance. Both times, the service and wait staff couldn't be more attentive, with information about the cocktails, checking in with us to let us know the status of our meal (Friday night, as I'm sure you can imagine was very busy), and stopping by our table to see if there was anything else we would like or need. I'm so bad with names otherwise I would give a shout out to each individually. As for the food, fish and chips ordered by my friend and granddaughter were the best. So eye appealing, I just had to reach over and grab a bite with my fork. Loved the chips. My daughter ordered the amazing fried artichokes, with a great crisp / tender going on there. My Caesar salad was very light which allowed me to finish the whole thing. There was a touch of lemon in the dressing that you tasted in each bite. Not the heavy creamy parm that weighs you down (which left room for dessert). Do try the strawberry short cake. The sponge cake was deliciously light, soaking up the fresh whipped cream, which by its own merit, could stand alone. The strawberries were plenty and fresh. Blendy tunes playing in the background. Great dinner only to be surpassed by the musical "Beautiful." So nice to be able to do dinner and theater in one stop. I'll be back for more !

I had such high hopes for this restaurant as we were visiting prior to a show. We walked into the newly renovated restaurant and it looks fabulous. I order the New England clam chowder and the seafood fra Diablo my girlfriend ordered the fish and chips. Now mind you this is a restaurant near the water and fresh seafood is plentiful. The chowder came to my table lukewarm at best and had a yellow color to it. It was almost inedible not even worth sending back as I did not want a replacement. The seafood fra Diablo had a sufficient amount of seafood however the pasta was not cooked properly and the sauce was not tasteful. It seemed like a marinara sauce with red pepper flakes and sriracha sauce to achieve the heat. My girlfriends meal was worse. The fish and chips came out and looked like the had taken frozen fish and fried it. The batter was terrible like a bad fish stick the fish was so thin you could barely believe it was fish. The coleslaw was bad and the chips were not hot. There is absolutely no reason to spend your time or money at this restaurant. There are so many good ones in South County. Don’t do it. There is a

Awful!!!! We ordered burgers and my friend ordered his well done. It came out rare. The waitress took it back to the kitchen where after waiting an hour for these lousy burgers. She took it with a fork and left the bloody bun. She brought it back 15 mins later and placed it on the bloody bun
What a dirty place. We waited an hour for burgers. No one was organized and the hostess was extremely rude. She's lucky that I was outside when she was rude to my friend because he's nice. I am not!!!!! Never again

Not a great experience. Basically, a slow kitchen and short staffing were the main problem areas at this place. We had lunch before the matinee on a smoke filled windy day. The dining area was jammed. There was one hard working waiter and one hustling wait person getting drinks and helping with bussing. The service was painfully slow. The kitchen is I’ll equipped to handle large groups. All the entrees were cold and unappetizing. None of the dishes were covered to retain the heat on plates. The food was what you expect. Overpriced and underwhelming. Different groups of people were being seated while others were having salads and still others were eating their main courses. The meal was so rushed that many orders were wrong and towards the end a whole group didn’t get their desserts because the show was about to begin. Quite a few people were still eating when everyone was herded out of the dining room not to be late for show time. Food service was a complete disaster. BTW. The show was enjoyable. The singers were professional and the production was fine.