Trio’s American Bistro

Well… what can I say? It seems the Valentine’s curse was upon Trio again last night. Went for my birthday dinner with friends.
–no host to seat us
–waited 15 minutes for water or even a greeting
–had to share one menu among whole party
–bus boy had to be our waiter and had clearly never waited tables before. Took almost 30 minutes to get asked for our appetizer orders
–another large table, watching what was happening with our table left and went elsewhere without even ordering food
–appetizers took 30+ minutes to arrive
–was told they were out of one of the ordered apps when all others were served
–lamb dish came out raw… literally cold inside. One piece was raw on the outside. Sent back twice before it was cooked
–only got one out of three items in the «trio» sampler
–half the sides for entrees were missing
–filet was served nearly raw, cold again
–mussels were chewy and barely warm
–sea bass and snapper were very bland
–risotto was completely undercooked and crunchy
–from sit down to the time we left after returning half the entrees was 2 hours
–they apparently had no waitstaff, the chef couldn’t have possibly been the one who turned out anything in the photos on Unilocal
The one star came from the fact that the bus boy did try his hardest to take a crash course in wait-​staffing and they made right on our bill in the end. Otherwise this place is doomed if a night like last night is repeated again… and quickly. They should have never opened their doors yesterday as I would have come back another time. Instead they tried to make it work with a skeleton crew who was clearly overwhelmed at the basics of operating a restaurant.
Disappointing to say the least given the other reviews on here. I may go back just to see if perhaps there was some black cloud of doom over the place last night as no restaurant could survive a month with an experience like last night. We ended up eating at IHOP at the end of the night.

I visited with my wife and we shared the trios appetizer, snapper, and beef stew dish. Everything was lackluster and not very good. On the trios app the shrimp were fishy, the steak pieces were bland and not of an elegant/​tasteful profile that I expect at the price they charge, and the lamb two chops were tiny and TOTALLY different in size… which is another NO NO. Her snapper dish was nothing special, it was alright but IMO not worth the price for the small filet of fish. Last my beef stew dish was NOT good. it lacked salt and some pieces of beef were soft and tender (what you want) and some were firm and rubbery as well as large pieces of fat attached. My wife also thought the rolls were those Hawaiian ones you buy in the store. The positive was we did enjoy the wine and the service. I will not be heading back and would be wary of all these positive reviews I see everywhere. If you have been to any Mortons etc you will be heavily disappointed with what you get for the money.

Loved this place. Food was delicious, waiter was constantly checking up on us, clean atmosphere. 5 stars all the way.

If I could give four ½ stars, I would, but I can’t quite bring myself to give five stars – yet. Why? Well, because they are new and they have room to improve. That said, where it counts most – THE FOOD – they are spot on. The food is amazing.
Let’s start with the bad: We were part of what the restaurant now lovingly calls the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre at Trios. Boy, was it! It made for a memorable and wonderful evening as we joked and visited with other patrons and got to know the staff. By the end, we had sympathy for the staff and a funny story to share!
So we had to give them a 2^nd chance, and I’m so glad we did!
The best way to test a new restaurant is let the chef do a tasting menu. This is a small-​plate, 5 – 9 courses or so, that lets you try several chef’s dishes, usually including an appetizer, a salad and/​or soup, a fish course, a main entrée course and a dessert, with an intermezzo at some places. Every chef does it differently, but ask for a chef’s tasting menu if you want to sample multiple dishes from a new place/​chef.
The chef’s tasting menu was amazing at Trios. We brought our own wine and paid a reasonable cork/​bottle fee. We had requested the chef’s tasting menu on our reservation (Look on Open Table – they give points!), so they were prepared for us!
Trios served smoked alligator and andouille sausage gumbo. I seriously could have eaten a bowl of this and walked away completely satisfied. That’s how GOOD this gumbo was. I’ve found alligator can be chewy or tough if not cooked right, and this one was so perfect and tender, it melted. The spices were the perfect amount – hot, but not overwhelming. Very flavorful.
The crab cakes had SO MUCH crab in them! I don’t usually like crab cakes, but love crab. These were so good! you have to try them!
Next we were served mussels in a white wine lemon and garlic sauce. The aroma of garlic hits the moment they are set one the table. The mussels were tender and easily removed from the shell, not too fishy, whole and clean. The sauce was the star. Seriously – the little toast points served with it soaked the sauce right up, and I, uncouth as can be, picked up the little plate and drank the sauce.
The wilted warm spinach salad with bleu cheese and walnuts was good, but nothing spectacular: advice to Trios, consider candying the walnuts – it would be a good contrast with the bleu.
The fish course was the best. Literally, the BEST. SEA BASS. EVER! I’ve never had a sea bass as good as this at any restaurant. It had a light potato crust that was perfectly browned, golden and seared. The fish was moist but not wet, flaky, but not dry. It was simply perfect, and for a tasting course, it was a huge portion. It was served on a bed of couscous that was a bit bland. Maybe needs to be made with a broth? It needed something and it was a tiny bit sticky. But it didn’t matter. The fish made me forget any minor imperfections in the couscous.
The main entrée was an elk chop. Wow. This was so good, served with a blackberry wine reduction over fried Brussels sprouts and a sweet potato whip. They were whipped so light, so fluffy, they disappeared on your tongue. This wasn’t my favorite course (did I mention, Best. Sea Bass. Ever! ?) but it was a solid dish, that was unique and interesting as well as tasty.
Dessert was a doughnut bread pudding. Every restaurant has a bread pudding version that is different, and some I love and others are questionable. Trios doughnut bread pudding is quite interesting and lovely. It’s light, with a doughnut dough, and a crème anglaise to go with it. It was like a vanilla cream doughnut, in a dish. I can’t even explain it. I am not a big sweets eater and I rarely finish desserts at a restaurant, but I ate all of this, happily! I would order it again if it were on the menu.
We had a casual evening on a week night. The restaurant had a few patrons, but was slow (which is a shame – they deserve more customers!), but it was nice to have a laid back evening. We enjoyed the company of one of the owners and got to meet the sous chef who prepared our meal – you rock, Elvin! All in all, a pleasant evening. I’m so glad we went back and experienced what Trios is capable of when they aren’t having a cursed night!
The patio is a gold mine, and I can see in the future they will be able to put that patio to great use. Already, they have live music some nights, and a fire pit that’s awesome The décor is a little… homey. It could be better, like the chairs are simple and the tables are simple, and it’s a converted house and looks it. But it’s cute. A little kitchy, but cute. The entryway is awkward, the wheelchair ramps are steep (scary!), but it’s pretty accessible for me in my chair. The wait staff really tries hard to please, and the buss staff work their tails off. Everyone is upbeat and friendly and open to anything you ask for.
We’ll be back. We’ll probably be back often, because I was that impressed with the food and enjoy the staff

I give it five stars simply because I can’t find anything at all not to be happy about. The food, wine and service were all impeccable!
A personal sit down conversation at our table from Chef Knowles was a great experience as well.
Just s hint… The crab cakes are the best my wife and I ever had!

My sweet hubby took me here for Valentine’s Day. He hadn’t realized how far in advance reservations had to be made at many of the nicer restaurants, I think, but was able to get a reservation here.
The food was amazing. Not perhaps as fabulous as Perry’s, but some very nice flavors and all was nicely prepared and presented. I particularly liked the scallop appetizer and lemony dessert (I forget what they called it– sort of a custard– I could have eaten about 5 more of those!) The main course was fish with a delicious sauce. Also got to try a bite of the venison and it was out of this world!
The downside is that the atmosphere just doesn’t rise to the level of the food, or justify the price. I love that my husband was willing to drop the cash to take me out on valentine’s, but wish he had gotten more for his money. The place just feels shoddy. Cigarette burn in our tablecloth, another tablecloth askew, cheap decorations, odd lighting, awkward and unwelcoming entry, and the lights kept dimming periodically like something was pulling too much power elsewhere…
The service we received (as almost the first to arrive for dinner) was decent, but again… Not what you’d expect for a nearly $ 200 meal (that is with tip, no wine). We fared better than others in the service department: Our waiter brought out the neighboring table’s entrees before their first or second course. He took it back after they complained, then the other waiter brought it right out again! Decent service if it was a PF Changs or Chilis…
The food alone shows real potential. Here’s hoping they invest a little more and hire a decorator, and get someone in management who can train first-​class waiters. Otherwise I predict Trio’s will soon go Adio’s.

My wife and I made reservations for dinner at 5:30 yesterday for our first and most likely last visit. The service was slow to begin with and only got slower. The first surprise was that no wine list was available. We almost ordered a bottle of the waiters suggestion until he warned us it was $ 100. We settled for glasses from what seemed to be a very limited selection of unexceptional house wines. Our first course arrived after what seemed like a long wait. The clam and oyster dish was okay but had very few very small oysters and no bread to sop up the broth. The «colossal» crab cakes were half-​dollar size and just okay. Next, again after a long wait, we were presented with our third course. We politely pointed out we hadn’t gotten our second course. When it came, after a long wait, we found the potato soup good but the salmon unexceptional. (Seem to be using that word a lot.) Finally, after a two hour wait from when we arrived, we informed the staff we were tired of waiting and would pay for what we’d eaten and drank. Oddly, we were informed that our entrees were being plated and would be right out. At that point, we were no longer in the mood to stay any longer and paid for the wine while the restaurant did not charge for the food. At no time during the two hours we spent did any one from management come to our table and apologize for the confusion and delays and offer a glass of wine or anything else. We were not the only ones who suffered from confusion. A couple was seated behind us and presented with entrees as soon as they sat down.

HORRIBLE SERVICE. 7 pm reservation. At 845 still no food served. Tables all around us were getting incorrect orders. The menu was fixed for Valentines Day and they still couldn’t figure it out. HORRIBLE. Maybe the food is good but how would we know?

Better things to come