Fuel Bistro & Wine

We moved to Ridgefield, WA from the Seattle area a few months ago. We’ve tried every restaurant in town and by far this is our favorite place.
Fuel Bistro is a quaint place with fabulous décor. They offer a great selection of wine, and their sandwiches are delicious. I also tried the pureed tomato soup and it was fresh and tasty without being too salty. I usually skip the soup at restaurants since most are filled with sodium but I’m glad I gave their soup a try.
The service we received was top notch! Our waiter Derek was knowlegable, professional and he had a great personality. The manager was also attentive. He checked on us a few times to make sure all of our needs were being met, which we appreciated. We highly recommend this place.

They have amazing sandwiches! I recommend the Hitman. One of my favorite places to go on a date with my hubby.

This place is so great! The food and wine was really good! Great place to stop on the way back to Seattle.

The elk chili was sublime. Each bite is the has an initial sweetness, followed by a wave of savory and bold, with just the right amount of heat. We also had the meat board, as well as the pickle plate. Fantastic food, all topped by a post modern, eclectic atmosphere. The staff are knowledgeable, professional, and friendly. I would recommend this place to anyone with a discerning palate. You won’t be disappointed.

I love the menu. I like the hot dog with kim chee. The baby greens salads are delicious and light. They have many wines to choose from. Their menu is really up-​scale.

Totally in love with this little Gem in a pocket of deliciousness in this particular part of Washington. Cold cuts and sandwiches lovers delight! Wine selection is overwhelming of superb rarities and local treasures from Confluence Winery! Service is very professional but friendly. Everyone in this establishment has the wine bug with libation and food recommendations to live by. The food is rustic but still original and elegant. The presentation is exquisite. A huge slab of maple wood is your dinner/​lunch plate! A great passion for food and wine is very evident and overwhelmingly comforting in this establishment. You will not be disappointed but rather surprised and delighted to discover this marvelous bistro. The experience will stay with you and you will not be able to control yourself to recommend your family and close friends! Go ahead, make the trip, a fantastic food experience is waiting for you!

I’ve been here several times, always hoping for a different result. Let me first say that the food is excellent. I’ve ordered many different meals here and they are all top notch. HOWEVER, the service has been horrible every time I’ve been. Last time, I ordered a couple items and our server repeated the order back to me and even wrote it down. I never received one of the items. She brought our check and when I asked about the missing item, she apologized and rang it in. I wasn’t charged for it, but this is just one of many examples of the horrible service I’ve received here. It seems that just by being in this bistro is a pain in the butt for the employees… now they have to actually work :(I would have given this a one star rating because of the service, but I figured it deserves another star because of the food.

Love the décor. A lot of wines to chose from I have found a few had turned from a bottle open too long. Most food good, need a better selection on the cheese board.

I do not drink Wine but I love their food and Americanos! Great Salad, Soup and GF Prime Rib Sandwich!
I was very impressed with our server even though she started working there on Monday. The setting has a great ambiance too.

So, I’ve eaten at this place twice now and both visits have been underwhelming, mostly from a customer service perspective as the food is pretty tasty. The thing I enjoyed the most during my first two visits is their lemon vinaigrette. At the end of my last visit (about 3 months ago), I asked if I could purchase some extra dressing to take home and was met with a stern «no». Apparently people ask to purchase this dressing all the time and they’re working on making it available for retail. I’ve called in and stopped by periodically over the past few months to see if it was available and the answer has always been «no». Fast forward to this evening. As I’m driving home from work, I decide to call them to see if I can purchase some of the dressing and surprise! I was told yes! As I went in to pick it up, I had some questions about the ingredients because my wife has severe allergies to corn and gluten. This is where it gets awkward, you would have thought that I asked for the keys to the chef’s brand new car along with his SSN and his first born! When all I was really wondering is if my wife could consume it, as most restaurants will say «oh yeah, that’s gluten free and corn free» without really understanding what’s in the ingredients. Every time I asked a question, the response was literally «it’s a top secret recipe», «can’t tell you», but, chef, most vinegar in salad dressing is derived from corn? «Not this one» are you sure? «Yes, there are over 1,300 kinds of vinegar and rarely are they derived from corn.» Wow, 1,300 kinds of vinegar?! That’s amazing. Not even Siri knew that, I checked. To sum it all up, my experience is very consistent with most everyone else’s in that the food is pretty tasty but the service, and specifically the chef’s attitude leaves a lot to be desired. He should stay behind the scenes and keep pumping the production of that vinaigrette as that’s obviously what’s he’s best at.

I read both the positive and negative reviews before we went here. I wanted to think the negative ones were somebody having a ‘bad day’. But there was certainly an odd vibe at this location the evening we visited.
The food is 4 star. Our sandwiches were excellent and I loved the fresh tomato soup. Really really delicious. But… here are the reasons for the 1 star review.
The worst thing first — At the end of our meal, I signed the ticket which the server ran against my debit card for $ 32.00 and I added a $ 6.00 tip., total $ 38.00. A week later I checked my online bank account and saw I had been charged $ 63.00 — a $ 25.00 difference in their favor. What the what??? In all the years of using my debit card, I’ve never had this happen. The bank can’t tell me anything other than «a charge for $ 63.00 cleared and you’ll have to address it with the restaurant»… Not noticing it until a week later (and of course now I can’t find my copy of the check), I have no expectation that it would be resolved favorably. So if you dine here, please double-​check what your ticket says versus what you end up being charged. I’d like to hope this was some sort of honest mistake somewhere, but seriously — that’s a big freeking mi$take.
Our initial introduction to this place was on a Sunday late afternoon/​early evening. Only one other couple in the place. It’s a really nice little venue, even though it’s in a strip mall. We were dining with another couple. It was wet and cold and we opted to move away from the door and when the owner heard us discussing possibly asking about moving two small tables together, he came (literally) running to (literally) point to where the menu says «no moving furniture» — which we totally get and would not have done without asking, but then he launched into an agitated TMI dissertation about «akidwhogothurtwhenhisparentspinchedhisfingersinth­etablemovingthefurnitureandtheparentstriedtosuehim­buttheyhavenoideawhoheisandhowmanyhighdollarlawyer­shehasathisdisposalyadayadayada…»
It was a very weird one-​sided conversation.
He offered us the end of the larger table away from the door which was just great and then after a few more odd outbursts on his part about «howimportantheisandhowmanyfamouspeopleheknowspers­onallyandhowmanyrestaurantshe’sownedandhowmuchfina­ncialbackinghehasandyadayadayada…» My husband looked and me and mouthed «let’s get the hell outta here…» but I mouthed back «let’s stick it out and see what happens…»
My husband is not a wine drinker, and the owner offered him a few options for bottled beer after discovering (from one of the excitable odd conversations with the owner) that the menu/​beer list on their website is only an «example» and they didn’t have the beer my husband initially asked for.
On the upside — Our server was pleasant although seemed unsure of herself.
And — Our food was seriously delish. But not $ 63.00 worth of delish for two sandwiches, one beer and two cups of soup.
We might come back for a second try some day. But probably not anytime soon… Place needs some serious customer-​service lessons.

My friends and I are are always appreciative when a great restaurant with tasty food opens in our area, and that’s how we felt about Fuel Bistro in Ridgefield — until yesterday. Our group of 5 arrived about noon and the place was not busy, although as we waited (and waited) business picked up. Service was extremely slow and our orders incomplete when they finally arrived.
I noticed the manager arrived so I went up to him as we were leaving to describe our disappointing experience. His response was startling: both angry and rude. I told him we had been happy and loyal customers but his rude behavior and the poor service were changing us into unhappy non-​returning customers. His reply was, «Isn’t that too bad.»

What a cool little place. Clean and beautifully decorated atmosphere with the coolest furniture (think restoration hardware). Really pleasant staff that is attentive and clearly hardworking. We went at an odd hour so it wasn’t real busy but none of the staff was standing around, they all kept busy. We had olives, bread and fat, the Lewis &Clark, and I had the roast beef sandwich (can’t remember the name right now) everything was delicious! All of our food was super fresh, bread was crispy outside and soft and fluffy inside meat was thinly sliced but piled high with fresh crisp greens, and my little side salad with the lemonade dressing was one of the best flavor combos I have ever had! If I could have brought a gallon of that dressing home I would have. They also had a killer wine selection with something for everybody. I can’t wait to come back! This place rocks!

So first off, I love the food here. It’s exactly what the area needs. That being said, I am trying to understand how it is acceptable to start closing down at 7:45PM when the restaurant’s posted hours say open until 9pm. We were rushed out of there so quickly and barely thanked for our service at 8:00– we tried to thank our waitress twice and she barely looked up to say goodbye. As we left the restaurant, the gentleman waiting for her was smoking in the chair next to the front door and all four of us exited into his huge plume of second hand smoke. Not impressed at all. Not sure if I would bother going back a third time. Bummer.

After reading a really nice article in the local paper about the farm to table Fuel and the owner I decided to give this place a try.
I have been here a couple of times now. I have had the fresh mess salad, the elk chili, and the hitman sandwich. All are very good.
I’m not a wine drinker, but I have noticed it seems like quite a few people come here for the wine as well as the food.
Yes, the owner seems to be a bit different, but I have found him and his staff to be very friendly and attentive.
Yes, the place is kinda trendy. It seems really out of place for the area, but I like it.
Yes, the food is fresh and very good.
Yes, I will be back again.
If you want a good sandwich this is a great place to go.

PROS: Interior is trendy, feels like a Portland bistro. Food is served on neat wood rounds, bathroom is very trendy. My friend and I ordered and shared the Lewis + Clark and the roast beef sandwich. The Lewis + Clark with the double crème brie, apple and pepper maple mayo was fabulous. The server gal was nice and chatty.
I heard around that the chef is a bit eccentric and a little rough, so I was worried when he came to our table. He quickly bends over, looks at our sandwiches to identify what we ordered («You got the Lewis + Clark, ok…») and rushed back to the kitchen… not a bad thing, but struck me as a little odd. Didn’t ask if we were enjoying them, just came out to look at them?
CONS: I was calling to make an order for a business and was told to call an hour the day it was needed (about a dozen sandwiches). Someone else called about the same inquiry for the same amount of sandwiches and was told in a not-​so-​nice tone by the owner that a WEEK was needed in advance and emailed. Two very opposing directions.
OVERALL: While the food was delicious and priced fairly, the chef would probably fit better in Portland or a trendy part of Vancouver. Us simple folks north of Vancouver aren’t quite as accustomed to these fancy places and the ego behind it.

I so wanted to like this place. I met a gal pal last night for drinks and an appetizer and I was really disappointed all around. The wine glasses had lots of soap spots which were unsightly. Then we ordered the large cheese platter because our waitress pointed out the next table has ordered the small. I could not physically tell a difference between the two except that ours was more expensive.
When I asked which cheese was which our waiter didn’t know and didn’t follow up. The same problem occurred with the meat platter — she didn’t know what anything was. I could recognize the pâté which looked and tasted like baked cat food with pistachios. There was not a lot of bread brought out with the meat and cheese platter and when we asked for more we got charged without being informed that there was a cost.
The service was terrible because if we needed anything we had to walk to the front to get help. My friend ordered soup and utensils were not provided. She had to walk to the front to get a spoon.
On top of the bad service and mediocre food the bill was really expensive.
I have no desire to ever return.

Really liked this place
We had both soups and the kale salad
All were excellent
Then got the hit man sandwich and the albacore, both very good

Elk chili was great! Nice chatty wait staff. I guess if rush hour was now it might be tougher to have conversation with them. I found it to be trendy, open and enjoyable.
I will be back to try other meals!
Now open 9 – 9 and great selection of wine!

I don’t write about every place I visit… But I can’t help but right about this amazing restaurant! Relying on local farmers to produce responsibly grown and organic foods, this restaurant and wine bar is the most pleasant find in Southwest Washington.
The staff are friendly and fast, in the atmosphere is cool, but the food is absolutely the focal point of this place.
Everything we ordered, and we ordered a lot, was top notch. The wines were delicious and my entire family was pleased (including our child). We look forward to coming here again and so should you.