Bistro On The Park

REQUIEM FOR A GEM This restaurant is gone… killed by neighborhood apathy. A circle of a dozen «friends,» met there regularly to enjoy the culinary delights in a home-​like atmosphere, we brought our own wine and even Darren’s home-​made whiskey! yes true the owners were eccentric and we loved them for it. but the food was the best Italian food I have ever had! No less an authority than my mother-​in-​law, the best Italian cook in Brooklyn, attested to this when she turned to me and said, «I hate this place, their meatballs are better than mine!» I never ordered from the menu. In fact Laura and Sal should have dumped the menu and served family style every night, like they do on Arthur Avenue in the Bronx. The veal Milanese, veal parmigiana was the best I have ever had and i have travelled all over Italy. As said, the meatballs were to die for… their mixed, «kitchen sink» salad still makes my mouth water. if this restaurant had been in Soho in Manhattan or the Village, they would have been in the New York Times or the front cover of New York Magazine… good bye dear Bistro… we miss you and shed a tear for a lost gem… :(

Don’t expect to dine off the Menu! This is like Mom’s kitchen, so to say. If it is in the fridge we can cook it… and I am OK with that. … what Mom had in the Kitchen fridge, she cook up like a King’s meal. Sal, the owner, cook, waiter, greeter, and nice guy… does everything. His wife, Laura, is a charm, but a little odd, but in a NICE way! She has a lovely personality, warm and that Italian embrace, followed by a smile and maybe, if you a lucky, a good night kiss on the cheek. These people are down to earth. Now, the food… well cooked, Italian, home meals. I had the chicken Piccata, in a light rich sauce with the standard spaghetti. It was very good and the pasta a’dente. Try also the great veal Marsala, rich, and tasty. They substitute off the menu, but just as good. The food was way better than that described by a prior reviewer. Maybe it was a bad night for that reviewer, I would them to revisit.

I never write reviews on these type of sites, that said after tonights experience I had to write and give my 2cents. After telling us they cannot take our
coupon we decided to stay anyway. Then we asked for the Lamb which was on the Menu and was told they no longer serve it (but it was still on the menu). We asked for a few other items and the waitress has to check if they had it. My wife received her glass of water with lipstick one it. The food was not the greatest either, I believe that i could make better food and all we had was shrimp entrees.

Why, oh, why did I not heed the other reviews?
voucher holders, beware. They really do not want your business. I called ahead of time to make sure they were accepting said vouchers, and the woman on the phone confirmed that indeed they were. Upon entering the restaurant, a sign prominently displayed said customers must present their certificates before ordering food. Fair enough. The hostess – and presumably proprietor – asked if I had called and brusquely informed me that the vouchers were putting her out of business and that she was now asking a higher minimum than
had listed: $ 40 vs. the advertised $ 35. Whatever.
With or without a gift certificate, this place isn’t worth the money. The cabernet was pretty bad – definitely not worth $ 9 per glass. The seafood risotto was bland, the veal francese lackluster at best, and the side dish of penne was slightly overcooked, sitting in watery marinara sauce.
After tax and an automatically added 20% gratuity, our meal came to $ 76. Overpriced for such disappointing fare. I will not be returning.

We made a reservation for early Sunday evening for a family occasion, 3 generations, 8 people. Just making the reservation apparently required several phone calls. The restaurant is a couple of blocks in from the park, near the West end of the Ft. Hamilton F station. The side awnings have a different name on them, while the front one says Bistro on the Park, so it may be relatively new.
The menu is a pretty standard Italian selection, with slim pickings for those avoiding wheat and dairy. I think most of us liked our meals (see below). We had one bottle of wine, which was just okay.
Unfortunately, the service was erratic, if not downright weird. First, we had a coupon where we prepaid $ 100 online for $ 200 worth of restaurant bill. There was some difficulty over whether they would accept it, although obviously they must have enrolled themselves in the program. In the end they did accept it. Our server said the owner was not there, although his conversation with the people who arrived first led them to believe he was the owner.
One reason we chose it was that my children love meat-​filled ravioli, and the menu featured ravioli with bolognese sauce, listing «salmon, cheese, meat, spinach» ravioli. Both kids ordered «meat ravioli» which the server repeated back as «ravioli with meat sauce» and they were served cheese ravioli bolognese. When questioned, the server then said they had only shrimp, cheese, or spinach ravioli.
After dinner, we were told that no desserts were available, although several were on the menu. A few of us ordered coffee, decaf. The server repeated back «decaf espresso». When another server brought the espresso (which was not what was ordered) she said they did not even have decaf. Then the original server brought the espresso back saying that they did have decaf. It seems obvious that it was the exact same cups.
In short, you can get a decent, standard NYC Italian restaurant meal here, but if you have a large party or any special requests, go somewhere else. (This was not a case of the customers being difficult, no one so much as asked for dressing on the side.)

It was difficult to make the reservation and changing it was even more of a mess up. Staff was not the best you would order one thing and then the water word repeat back something different and even if you corrected them it would still come all wrong. Not on the park either.