Bistro 1491

The waiter didn’t ask us for drinks neither acknowledged that we were thirsty and it took an hour to cook and no waiters went by our table for 20mins

Very good restaurant! My family comes here once a week and today we walked in and there weren’t enough tables but since we are regulars they made it work! I would totally recommend the buttermilk fried chicken. All the food is very fresh and they have very good servers (:

Came here with a Groupon in hand. Glad I had it because I would not pay full price for the food I received. It happened to be the night when they were short staffed in the kitchen so the wait was long. Brussels sprouts started my meal — it was very plain with 2 tiny pieces of bacon. I think the sprouts were boiled and salted and that’s it. Had the burger with jalapeño and some other peppers but I couldn’t taste or see any of the peppers. Overall, it was an average burger after an extremely long wait. The restaurant was also cold.

I have been in this place for over 3times now already. Love their food and their service is great as well. Overall very satisfied with this place but I wish they would add more space so you don’t have to wait for a quite long specially on Sundays.
I am definitely coming back here again and oh yeah the server there Grishma is great as well.

Went on a groupon… the food was well prepared and tasty. The service was attentive and pleasant. My husband and I will return again, maybe for brunch.

Ever wonder why it’s called Bistro 1491? Well. it’s because their address number is 1491… who would of thought?
Service:
The service here is alway pretty friendly and professional. But it’s also pretty slow as well. I think there might only be one or two waitress for the restaurant.
Food:
Fried chicken with macaroni and cheese — The chicken was delicious! The only negative comment I have about the chicken is that it is slightly too salty, but the creamy mac and cheese made it all better. I would definitely recommend this dish.
Fish and Chip — The fish was fried well, but was not seasoned well. The cold slaw was decent, very refreshing. Not too much of a wow.
Prime rib — The prime rib was decent for the price. Tender and juicy. And it was a huge piece of meat! My favorite part was actually the seasoned curly fries.
Duck hash — One of their unique breakfast dishes. The duck was slightly overcooked, but still tasty. They actually put this dish together very well. The sweet hoisin sauce complimented the potatoes and duck meat very well.
Overall:
I would recommend this place for breakfast.

Pleasantly surprising for breakfast. At first, it seems a little «off» for a breakfast setting.
But, a generous helping for the price, child friendly, spacious, decent ingredients and better execution than I’ve experienced at the other local breakfast joints all point to a five star review. Sweet staff, but not staffed enough to deal with a packed house. Good thing it hasn’t been packed during my visits … yet.
The classical music is a nice touch.

$ 6 Cesar salad to go. No dressing, 2 croutons, about half a slice of baccon.
$ 13 turkey sandwich, could have gotten better at a grocery store deli.

I came here for dinner with a party of nine for a friend’s birthday. They accommodated us pretty easily despite not having large tables. We shared a myriad of appetizers including tempura avocado with bacon strips, seafood quesadilla, Brussel sprouts, and sticky ribs. The clear winner here were the ribs. They were cooked perfectly and I pulled the meat off the bone with a light twist of my fork.
What really stood out to me was my entrée, the pork belly sandwich. The sandwich included two of the fattest strips of pork belly you will ever see topped with bacon bits and caramelized onions on a soft bun. I would highly recommend ordering it.

Someone in the kitchen seriously gets the details right. One of the very best hollandaise sauces I’ve ever had the pleasure of growing fat from… The hash browns were better than 80% of the ones I have had.
Salad was great … The fish n chips were nice. Though batters are difficult to get perfect, this one was not sogged up. Fries were quite nice.
Overall, v memorable luncheon experienced. First time here too! Would def return to the erstwhile Walkers pie shop of the 80’s!
Booths and bistro 2 – 4 tops, 2 rooms, connected.

Heard about a nice neighborhood bistro on Solano Ave, so we decided to check it out for dinner. Located at the former Walker’s Restaurant, Bistro 1491 retains some of the past, such as the counter area. But the restaurant now includes many modern touches giving it a nice quaint, intimate ambiance.
The menu is simple with small plates, salads, burgers and sandwiches and entrees.
Our orders:
Bacon Avocado Cheeseburger — The burger is a ½ pound patty of short rib, brisket and sirloin and it was very juicy. It was served on a brioche bun with lettuce, caramelized balsamic onions and a house sauce. You also get a choice of French fries, cole slaw, fruit or organic greens.
Buttermilk Fried Chicken with Mac & Cheese — The chicken were deboned chicken thighs that were nicely seasoned on a crispy lightly battered skin. The mac and cheese looked plain but it was creamy and tasty.
Overall, food was well made, service was friendly and ambiance was modern and quaint. A nice neighborhood bistro on Solano.

With so many choices of delicious restaurants to eat on Solano Ave, my brother and I wandered into this one. It was a Friday night and the restaurant wasn’t busy. The ambience is nice, it’s intimate. But let’s get down to business.
Food
–Calamari appetizer
Always a sucker for calamari and maybe it’s time to start getting picky. The calamari wasn’t crispy and was soggy. Every piece was coated in grease and was bland. It would seem like it wasn’t fried long enough and wasn’t really seasoned. The waitress asked us how we felt about the food and when we told her we didn’t like the calamari, it seemed as if she wasn’t surprised.
–Fried Chicken and Mac & Cheese
When the plate was served I was skeptical on the Mac and cheese. I didn’t think it would taste good but surprisedly that was good. It was creamy and it reminded me of a good home cooked mac. The fried chicken on the other hand was cooked properly but was under seasoned, which seems to be a theme of this place.
–Prime Rib Special
The saving grace of the evening. The Prime Rib was A1, and only for $ 22. The cook on the steak was great. Memorable and would recommend it. Maybe pair the Mac and cheese with the prime rib and that would be a home run.
Anyways the biggest issue I had dinning here was the food being under seasoned. It’s competitive to get people to choose your restaurant over another. And I don’t think I would choose to eat here again with all the great choices and experiences on Solano Ave.

I ordered the fish and chips. The fish and chips they claim is «best on salano» While it wasn’t worth the 13 bucks for three pieces of fish and small amount frys, the food wasn’t bad. I liked the tartar sauce and the fish itself was not too greasy and cooked nicely. I would order again if the price went down to ooooh say 8 – 10 $ the lady who took our order was suuuuper nice and had a smile so she earned them the extra star. I am looking forward to see what other dishes they have here…

I’m so happy to see this place has great reviews. I have been going here for years now, mostly for breakfast. The duck hash is RIDONCULOUS! Soooo dayum good. With a side of sriracha, I’m in heaven. The staff is great (except that one time a weirdo waiter started yelling at me because I went up to the chef to clarify that the sriracha was not right, in my 15 years of waiting tables, I have never seen anyone do this, but alas, he isn’t working there anymore. I think I saw him at Farm Burger on Gilman, but I digress).
Their dinner menu is not pretentious. Very simply and consistently good. My wife (a budding designer) and I always talked about how the place needed a makeover and they finally did, but they kinda missed the mark. Aw who cares, the food is good and reasonably priced.

This brunch is legit. I had a big appetite and a groupon deal to try out lots of food on a free Friday morning. Got the salmon eggs benedict and duck confit hash. Both were great.
Started with the eggs benedict and everything was cooked to perfection and everything was so well harmonized on the plate. I was able to even get sweet potatoe fries on the side. Nice, light, and crispy and seasoned perfectly. I plan to go back just for this dish!
Moved onto the duck confit hash. Halfway through, stomach was starting to feel super full, so I decided to eat the only thing that mattered. The duck which was cooked perfectly again. All the food just seemed really fresh and was all very well seasoned.
Topped off a good brunch with a mimosa!
Definitely coming back here agan.

Caution: Eating at this restaurant may raise your food standards to unreasonable levels. You have been warned.
My girlfriend and I have come here for breakfast/​brunch several times, and have not been disappointed. The food is good. In particular, we LOVE their Acme Pain de Mie french toast. We’ve also had their poached pear salad with brunch and that was great.
After a couple good experiences, we bought a Groupon for this place but discovered it was only good for weekdays or weekend dinners, so we resolved to come for dinner. Good heavens will we be coming back.
We started with their Duck Confit salad. Ohhhh lordy. The duck was incredibly tender and moist, and the greens had an excellent orange vinaigrette which paired nicely. The apples and feta cheese were icing on the cake. But we’ll talk about the cake later…(so good.)
For our entrees we both went with sandwiches.
I was disappointed to not see the corned beef sandwich listed on their menu when I saw it online, and decided to settle for the roasted pork belly sandwich. So. Glad. I. Settled. The pork belly had a large stripe of fat (usual with the dish) which didn’t appeal to me, but the flavor was superb. Topped with thick-​cut bacon, grilled onions, and a rich sweet sriracha aioli, this marvelous piece of gastronomical art was in my fat-​striped belly in under 4 minutes. It only took that long because I was pausing to eat the sweet potato fries.
My girlfriend got the Hobbs’ Turkey sandwich. Thick sliced turkey breast, large wedges of brie cheese, shaved apples and a cranberry aioli created a subtle blend of flavors that, while not as rich as my pork belly, still made my mouth water for more. I also ate all of her regular fries…
Now the cake. We first ordered the fresh peach tart, but sadly they were all out of those. So we settled for the Grandmother’s Cake. Again: So. Glad. I. Settled. This cake was like a subtle lemon bar, with both a delectable (not too sweet, not too tart) gooey filling and a crumbly (yet not too dry) pastry crust, which had a mild flavor of its own.
Oh my have I rambled. HEED MY WORDS: this place is awesome. Fin.

WHY WE WENT HERE:
— brunch
— I was craving eggs Benedict like no other
THE LOOK (FROM THE OUTSIDE):
— has a small town feel as you walk to this establishment; like when you go to any of the eateries in the Piedmont area of Oakland, but not as busy
THE LOOK (FROM THE INSIDE):
— 2 somewhat separate eating areas divided by a wall
— quaint
— clean
THE MENU (BRUNCH):
— pancakes & French toast
— breakfast
— breakfast specialties
— small plates & salads
WHAT WE ORDERED:
— Eggs Benedict
— mimosas
THE TASTE:
— the chive Hollandaise sauce is what REALLY makes this dish
CUSTOMER SERVICE:
— SO nice but SO slow!

The service and food was great again! Can’t say how many times I appreciate the coffee top offs. Additionally, the booth seating makes for perfect kid containment. I kept my promise to myself and ordered the Smoked Salmon Benedict. As expected, the Benedict was on the rich side, so I glad fully opted for the fruit cup. My Hubbie chose the fresh greens. The greens were organic with a very well balanced dressing, there’s no stopping me from hitting that next time. My son ordered the smiley pancake. Instead of a smiley face, our server turned it into a Super Villain. Way cool! The fruit cup was shared… blueberries & strawberries for me, pineapple & cantaloupe for Daddy, and honey dew for Lil Mikey. LM has now declared honey dew as his fav melon. We also ordered a yummy looking side of hash browns, but that had to go home. Now, we are ready to conquer Sunday!

This place was amazing for brunch!
They serve breakfast until 3pm, which is an hour later than most brunch spots in the hood. We missed Sam’s Log Cabin by ten minutes, then went to Fat Apples for eggs and they stopped serving at 2pm! We were desperate for a Sunday brunch and the Bistro is exactly what the doctor ordered.
It’s affordable, organic, and free-​range. Wow. Plus so gourmet. I had the Benedict with poached fried eggs. Yes! Amazing! The perfect texture of crispy and runny was like crunching a delicate shell with a warm gooey filling covered in the fluffiest richest hollandaise sauce I have ever tasted.
Our waitress was from Bulgaria and entertained all of our sweet questions about her exotic accent. Plus she gave me extra hollandaise sauce, which got her and the restaurant major major bonus points.
Loved it. Going back!

Looking for a special night alone with your loved ones? This location might be an option during dinner time. It’s quiet, less people, and packed with some interesting dishes.
Location (3.5÷5): The location is very easy to find. It looks pretty light-​down if you just drive by. There are limited parking spaces on Solano Blvd, so you may have to walk for awhile during peak dinner time.
Services (⁵⁄₅): The host/​waitress was very very VERY nice!!! After sitting us down, she brought us a cute little candle to put on our table to make the whole atmosphere feel so romantic. If you don’t know what to eat, ask the waitress. She’s a great resource! *thumbs up* While introducing the menu, she also encouraged us come back for breakfast everyday (breakfast service ends at 3pm).
Food (⁴⁄₅): We ordered the famous tofu fries, pork belly sandwich with coleslaw and fried chicken. I LOVE THE TOFU FRIES, and I’m not even a tofu lover. They are extremely crispy on the outside, and soft inside. The saltiness is right on point! Goshhhh, writing about them makes me drool… The two entrees were okay. I wish the buns for the pork belly a little bit more toasted and a little bit more salt on the fried chicken.