Bistro 44

After years of trying, we finally made it to the Northport Theater for a show and made reservation to come to Bistro 44 based on what we saw on line and reviews we read on Unilocal.
We had early reservations and came in at 5:15 to a very quiet restaurant, by the time we left at 6:45, the place was packed, and there were many groups sitting out back on the patio. We were immediately greeted at the door with a welcoming smile and brought to a table in the back of the restaurant. The restaurant is covered in dark wood with a bit of an old French motif. It is a dim establishment but bright enough to be able to see your food. The busboy came to the table quickly and brought water and bread which included a plain white rustic bread, sliced along and plain Italian bread. The table is given caramelized garlic, olives and whipped butter.
After the waiter brought the menu, my wife asked about the Price Fixe, which is only from 5 to 6. As it was 5:20, he then brought us that menu too. My wife opted for that dinner while I ordered off of the regular menu.
She had the Onion Soup, Skirt Steak, and Molten chocolate cake, I had the Fried Calamari and Kobe Burger.
Onion Soup: This was a nice rich broth and you could taste the addition of the sherry. She asked for the Gruyère gratin to be a bit more crispy and it certainly came out perfect.
Fried Calamari: was a little disappointing… While it seemed to be perfectly cooked to the eye, it was not crispy and the calamari was a little chewy.
Skirt State: is served with roasted garlic mashed potatoes, haricot vert and hoisin emulsion. I thought the steak was both cooked perfectly and had a very savory flavor. A nice crispy outside and tender inside. The garlic mashed potatoes were flavorful with a nice consistency.
Kobe Beef and Short Rib Burger: with Stilton bleu cheese, applewood bacon, frizzled onions, shredded lettuce brioche bun and fries was O.K. I was hoping for a more savory, richly flavored burger. The short rib, and blue cheese definitely added to both the presentation and topping but to me, it never really hit the mark. There was way more bun that I cared for, so I removed it and ate the burger as a mini meat-​loaf. Fries were perfectly cook and you could really taste the potato… (for real, I have eaten so many fries that are just a vehicle for salt and oil.)
Warm Chocolate Lava Cake withFresh whipped cream, raspberry compote: was delicious though I must say, there was way more ‘lava than cake.“
Through the whole dinner we were constantly visited by both the bus girl for water and the waiter to check on our meal. I was definitely happy with that attention. The pricing for the food was fair but I though that 11 and 12 dollars for a glass of Chard or Merlot was a little pricy. (I would have been happier with an 8 – 10) I really must say that I was completely taken back that i did not see any Long Island Wine (or any NY wine) on the menu. If I missed it, I am sorry, if it was truly not part of their wine list I am very disappointed.
I would like to go back and try some other I items I saw on the menu, but it will be after I go to some of the other eateries in Northport. Once I return, I will definitely update my review and add more stars if warranted.

I ordered a pasta dish and as I have allergies they were very friendly and accommodating to my needs. The food came out fast (only about 15 minutes) there were 4 people in my party and the service was fast, the servers were very friendly. We got to sit out on the patio which was lovely! Highly recommend!!!

Went for brunch Easter Sunday and the menu seemed perfect. Our men all had burgers which they loved!!! My daughter and I had meals that included what sounded like a terrific salad but we were very disappointed. We were looking for the ingredients listed in the salad and lettuce was the only one consistent with the menu. There was no dressing to speak of and it was warm and limp. My Crogue Madame was mediocre as was her soup of the day. Not a great experience for the amount of money spent. Won’t at all go again.

I don’t often post on Unilocal but when I found myself driven to gripe about another Northport restaurant, it occurred to me that I had never taken the time to praise this, my favorite Northport spot.
Bistro44 is consistently the best dining experience in Northport. It is also has the best service, and the prettiest room. Kevin runs a tight ship, the staff is all friendly and courteous, and Jeremy is the kind of bartender you go out of your way to have a drink with. Which inevitably leads to appetizers at the bar, because there are so many good ones to choose from.
The food is consistently good. They start you off with amazing bread and a spread of tapenade, butter, garlic, and other inspirations that are so good, you could make that your meal and go home. But how can you, with so many great choices on the menu.
I’m not a «foodie» so I won’t drone on about the specifics, just know that I’ve never had a bad meal, and I’ve tried most things. Most important is that, unlike some other Northport hot spots who think they deserve Manhattan prices for truck-​stop seafood, Bistro44’s menu is reasonably priced. A real pleasure.

My boyfriend and I came to Northport for the day and decided to have lunch here. We looked up the reviews on Unilocal and it seemed pretty good. I was pleasantly surprised how nice the outdoor seating was. It’s pretty spacious. The staff was very attentive and kind to us. Our food was brought out in a reasonable amount of time. The drinks were delish! They have an open bar and can pretty much make anything. The food was tasty as well. It was a nice relaxing time. The only problem was the parking. It was tough to find a spot.

Had brunch for the second time here today and it was even better than the first! The quality of food is excellent! The drinks are well made and the ambience is first rate. An overall fantastic experience!

The restraunt is very loud due to the roof being reflective to sound. The bathrooms are also really skinny like like a akwardly small hallway. Otherwise amazing food. (The mozzarella dish was amazing!) and when I asked for tea they brought me a amazing selection. I reccomened you try it and you could even watch a performance at the northport theater before!

Once again, we are Very impressed with our dining experience. Gina, our waitress, and Jen, the BEST Mixologist on the North Shore were wonderful! Very inviting atmosphere, as always! Jen even made one of our favorite cocktails that wasn’t on the menu… The Singapore Sling! I WILL be back for a cocktail again very soon.

We had a very nice meal. The food was all prepared well and very good quality. Everything looked and tasted great Service was excellent. Will definitely return

We took the family here for my daughter’s B-​day. We tried almost every appetizer and dessert. It was a blast. Our entrees was awesome. I had boneless short ribs that feel apart when my fork touched it. For the money I can think of a better place to go. The staff did an amazing job and were extremely helpful. We can’t wait to go back and do it all over.

We decided to come here after reading other good reviews. We were not disappointed. Because we came around 5:30 there was a three course special for $ 32. The French onion soup had wonderful flavor and the beef skirt steak was so delicious and perfectly cooked. My friend thought her lobster ravioli needed a little salt but overall was happy. The tres leches crème brûlée was the perfect ending. Will definitely return.

A random drive to northport… A random drive to Northport led me to a spot down the road from bistro 44, glancing at the menu my stomach yearned for something a bit more upscale; I was dying inside asking what my girlfriend was going to order, I couldn’t help myself I rudely said get up let’s go down the road, «quick.» Thank goodness I did, Bistro 44 set a much better mood with outdoor seating and a tasty sounding menu.
Started with lemon crusted calamari that lacked much lemony «zest» but really came through on the crisp and delicate texture. Two petite crab cakes were just that, petite; bite size in fact but, quite delicious at that. The meals would tell a different story, my chicken, although exciting on paper, was dry and bland; however the spinach and cheese ravioli with a cream sauce was packed with flavor and excited every taste bud. Good amount of beer and wine choices, and a few tasty desserts. Service… Eh. Alright.

Went on a Tuesday and it was family night in town, big mistake right there.
Bartender had an attitude n were not giving the drinks away and plus the bar area smelled of cesspool. Would have left but was meeting friends for dinner and we would be sitting in the back. By the time we sat down and drink order was taken, it took another 25 minutes to get drinks. Food was good but service could have been a little more attentive. Probably would not go back.

Excellent selections. I had the lobster risotto that had generous portions of lobster claw meat. For dessert, the coffee & cigar… very tasty. Great service, although they forgot the cigars on our dessert :(

Tremendous Meal!!! Soup to nuts great atmosphere great service!!! I had the short ribs with goat cheese mashed potatoes!!’ And my wife had the lobster risotto!!! Then we had the coffee and cigar desert!!! You all need to eat here if you’re going in Northport!!!

A little overpriced and cramped, but my dinner and appetizer was to die for. I ordered shrimp ravioli with lobster, and then sauteed calamari. I felt like the quality of my
food was worth the price, but the atmosphere really just kind of screwed it up. Also I thought it was odd they had a full bar but no drink menu? Only beer and wine was on the menu? Who know, just kind of weird. Dinner was definitely great though.

Some of the best food I have ever had the pleasure of tasting. I’ve eaten at much more expensive restaurants with fantastic food and bistro 44 was a step above the rest. We had the crab cakes, skirt steak, lobster ravioli and French apple tart, all were delicious.

I really wanted to like this place. And if my review were only based on the visual aesthetics, I would rate this restaurant much higher. Unfortunately, waiter and food were not so great. Kind of important methinks.
Outdoor seating area is superb. Great vibe. Indoors is dark and pub like which is cool but vastly different from outdoor area.
Waiter was really not very friendly. Seemed to have a bit of an ego or something on display. We couldn’t quite place it, and we are easy going and friendly so we couldn’t figure out why he was giving this odd, somewhat unfriendly vibe. Maybe a bad day? I like to give the benefit of doubt.
Appetizers were pretty good. Crab cakes were ok and baked clams were (according to hubs) «amazing».
I had the macadamia crusted salmon special with Brussels sprouts and mashed potatoes. I have a habit of ordering salmon way too much. I love it. It’s hard to ruin it in my opinion, unless you over or under cook it. In this case, the salmon was actually cooked to perfection. It was the soggy, stale macadamia «crust» that turned this dinner south. This was also served with a strawberry «glaze» that was runny and I’m sure with the right ingredients, and a thicker glaze or reduction, this could have soared, but… No. I love mixing fruit with main courses but this did not work. Also, the brussels sprouts, which are my favorite vegetable of all time, were so al dente, they were still bitter.
My husband had the lamb chops. Cooked to «chefs discretion»…they were medium rare which would have been perfection, but they were super tough and «tendony».
We did not choose to stay for dessert. I hate giving poor reviews to restaurants. I do. It’s someone’s livelihood and thus, real lives are affected. But the husband feels that positive change can’t be made unless honest reviews are given. So, here’s to honesty.

Wow, what a fantastic little gem. First of all, the street that this restaurant is located on is gorgeous enough. All of the shops are unique and provide plenty of time to peruse and find nostalgic items (candy from your childhood? fun toys…). There’s plenty going on in this area and then the there is a stunning harbor with sailboats at the end of the block. Needless to say, great area.
But on to the restaurant. The inside is dark wood and feels fancy, but the outdoor patio is pretty and surrounded by ivy. Great spot to have a casual lunch or dinner. If it’s a little bit chilly, they have plenty of outdoor heating. The outdoor spot is a little cramped, but in some ways it’s also very charming and feels intimate. Definitely a great date spot or place to meet with your best friend and enjoy wine and secrets. I would call this place intimate, classy and casual.
So the food:
Bread Basket: The bread is a rustic roll and comes with three condiments: olive tapenade, roasted garlic in olive oil or butter. Very good. The only thing is that you can’t ask for more… they won’t give it to you even if they say yes.
Appetizers: We had the Thai Fried Calamari special which was OUTSTANDING. There were bits of plantain, pineapples and mangos mixed in with a sweet chile sauce, yet the sauce wasn’t overpowering and the calamari was cooked to perfection. 2 people can share or 4 people if you are getting another app. Then we had the arugula and beet salad — also, very good. The cheese did not overpower the dish and the beets and arugula were fresh. Perfect light salad. The portion is very generous so again, 2 — 4 people can share.
Entrée: Lobster over spinach ravioli. AMAZING. I’m not a pasta fan, nor am I usually a fan of cream sauce but my boyfriend wanted to share and we settled on this entrée. The ravioli itself was soft and pillowy under a mild but rich cream sauce. The shocker was the amount of claw lobster meat that we go. We split the dish and they put it into two plates, but it was plentiful with lobster meat. Really delicious and satisfying.
We wanted to try one of the surrounding ice cream shops, so we skipped the dessert but I can only imagine based on the first two entrees that it would have been great.
Service: The service was pretty good at our table. The waitress and the other staff seemed on top of their game (but I like my service a little slow). I could see that other tables were not happy with how quickly they were being served, but we got top notch service and we were nice to the staff. So I’ll just say that a smile goes a long way with this staff.
For the surrounding area, the inside and outside and the delicious level of food, I will definitely be back to this spot. I didn’t expect something so great, but sometimes walking in with lower expectations will get you a true reading. Check it out if you are in the area, but not really worth going out of your way for.

We’ve now had a late breakfast twice at Bistro 44 and it was great both times. Being a restaurant, the quality and presentation of the food, as well the service, blows away the diner next door while the prices are about the same or just a slight bit higher. If you find yourself standing outside waiting for a table for breakfast at the diner (which I know happens every weekend), just go next door to Bistro 44. They do open a bit later then the diner however. They also take credit cards, which the diner next door does not.
At our table we had eggs Florentine (two poached eggs over a bed of spinach) which came with sausage, potatoes, and toast. We also had a nice French toast and bacon dish and good coffee. Prior to our meals coming out, they brought us corn muffins (right out of the oven) topped with chocolate chips and served with a tray of butter, jam and marmelade. Nice.
The décor and atmosphere in the room are really nice too. Tin ceilings, interesting framed photography, nice lighting, … I’m looking forward to the next visit.