Aperitif Bistro Wine Bar

came here on Saturday night for some drinks with another couple. super cute décor and a spacious bar. my girlfriend and I each ordered one of their wine fights which were great especially for the price. the men stuck with beer and a dirty martini.
about an hour into our evening we decided to take a look at the menu since none of us had eaten dinner yet. I didn’t even get past the appetizers, but it was a tough menu… nothing stood out to me as «YUM!»
I would say stick to the bar scene here and skip the food… there are plenty of other options nearby.
(parking is a nightmare — better off using the valet)

The food was fair, bar was lovely. The valet situation was atrocious and I got a $ 75 ticket because I waited for 20 minutes for my car to be parked. Finally, I pulled against a curb (in the lot) into a spot that the valet was pulling out of. I asked the hostess to come get my key when they could finally move my car. No one came and I assumed my car was safe where it was. I brought the ticket to Peter, manager, who barely responded. He looked at me rather blankly and offered no apology. Paying that ticket would have been good customer relations but his mean spirited attitude as a rep of this restaurant means no returning for me. There are many wonderful restaurants in Rockville Centre. He also should have offered SOME consideration: drink, dessert, etc. He needs some training!

My best friend and I came in for lunch Tuesday afternoon. Metered parking everywhere so bring your change otherwise you’ll end up sticking your hand into the crevices of your car that you did not know existed or you’ll have to pay with your card. The service was polite and attentive but not overbearing. The atmosphere was very nice, it reminded me of my Nonas house in that cozy European way. We sat at the bar and ordered the grilled calamari and hummus, steak tartare, fig and prosciutto and 2 glasses of vouvray. The fig and procuitto was the least wow, yet still awesome served with blue cheese that was sharp but creamy. The calamari and hummus were amazing, esp paired with the subtle sweetness of the vouvray. Not chewy at all and the pita was warm. Now I have never had steak tartare and I kind of panicked at the thought of eating raw chopped meat, but it ended up being my favorite. Perfectly seasoned w herbs and garlic and served w toasted rounds. I ended up finishing it off myself. Will be back until I have tried everything and then probably forever after that.

Wow, the waiters were very good, comes by the table in good timing to fill up water, and offer warm bread. i was very happy with service. I had Apéritif salad, and it was very tasty. It was kind of small potion but it filled me up, not like over loaded afterward. I am very satisfied with this experience. I will come back again.

Disappointing is an understatement. Came for Sunday brunch. Made reservations for a party of 9 well in advance. First, the table was not set up in the area of the restaurant discussed. Second, the heat wasn’t on in the restaurant. Third, drink order was not taken until asked. Fourth, wait staff had to be told to remove the dishes that were piling up on the table. Fifth, didn’t get guest order correct. Sixth… Shall I go on or do you get the picture? Won’t go back — neither will the party of 9.

I am a huge fan of a casual French bistro fare, having had a fair share (excuse the pun) of this cuisine in Manhattan (my favorite one is Marseilles in the Theater district), I was looking forward to having the experience close to home. Aperetif was just OK, nothing spectacular about the food, the ambiance, or the service stood out, it was not bad, but nothing was so amazing that it would make me want to go back and repeat the experience.
We ordered the petit plateau of chilled and raw seafood, the foie gras and chicken mousse and the risotto balls. The plateau was a generous portion with oysters, clams, mussels, shrimps and seafood salad. The foie gras and chicken mousse was very dry, and normally, this dish comes accompanied with cornichons and mustard, here, it was just a sorry puck which looked, tasted and smelled like something that comes out of one’s body after they ate. The risotto balls were good, but for the price, we received 3 super small ones. For the mains, hubby had lamb and I had duck l’orange. The sauce tasted very starchy, I understand that sometimes, adding flour or cornstarch to a recipe is necessary to thicken the sauce, however, in such high-​class establishment (Manhattan prices), I would have expected certain subtlety. For the dessert, we had raspberry panna cotta, again, nothing amazing about it.
Another aspect of the meal, and I cannot really hold it against the restaurant, just want to offer it here as an advice if you are looking for a certain vibe on a weekend night, it’s definitely not a hub of RVC’s nightlife as the place calls itself on its website. Let me put it bluntly-​I am 41, and I was probably the youngest person there, not counting two college-​age kids who came to dine with their parents. It’s definitely very polite and civilized, but on the rare occasions when I go out after a long week of working with civilized adults, I want a place where I can get loose to a certain degree, definitely, not a bar filled with drunk kids, but something where it’s both sophisticated in terms of food and drink, yet has an atmosphere that lets you remember what it’s like to be young and carefree, to step away from the everyday routine of the responsible adult life filled with work, errands, chores, and kids.

Received a gift certificate and met friends for dinner Saturday night. I had called for a 7pm reservation a week in advance and someone apparently wrote it in for 5pm but they called me at 5:30 thinking I was late and we straightened it out. And we were glad we did! Dinner was delicious! I had the Apéritif salad, duck and chocolate mousse and couldn’t have been happier! Service was attentive, the atmosphere was busy but not too loud and we all enjoyed the food!

The atmosphere, service, food and wine is excellent. Do yourself a favor and have the chocolate mousse. You’re welcome.

Went to this place on a date and it was really nice! The wine selection is impressive and the menu is interesting. We ordered the risotto mushroom balls and just wish there were more. So yummy! The beet salad was also amazing.
We decided to go with a sirloin stew that was on the specials menu and it couldn’t have been a better choice. It was so flavorful and the ultimate comfort food for a chilly, rainy night.
I would’ve given this place a 4 but the portions are just so tinny and I did feel like the service was a bit rushed, despite not being a busy night. I think I’ll be back multiple apps and wine!

Of the 15+ times I have been there, most times is at the bar, which is Huge and always fun. It’s all good at Apéritif, they try hard and it always comes through. Put it on your Restaurant Bucket List. And they have a Cheese Platter!!!

Underwhelmed by their brunch. Heard they were amazing for dinner, so I thought I’d give it a try for brunch. They should clearly stick to the main meals.
Food was reasonably priced, but nothing was amazing. The eggs benedict were average. Everyone else in my party was disappointed by their meal. The only thing that stood out was the venue. The outdoor area was beautiful and even the inside was cute.
Would never go back for bunch, but would try it again for lunch or dinner.

First time patron. Mothers Day, 4:00 P.M., half full restaurant.
If timeliness is next to godliness, Apéritif is somewhere in limbo. Staff seem to occasionally remember they were waiting on our table. An inordinate amount of time from seating to water, then from water to drink orders, and so on and so forth for a piece of baguette and cocktail delivery. The restaurant ran out of duck, understandably but unusual if they were prepared for the Mothers Day crowd, but they also ran out of bread, hm.
Appetizers were quite good and unique. Side note: it would be nice to have staff knowledgeable about wines and suggest pairings, but staff were hard to come by and didn’t talk much. Also, they don’t enforce no smoking in front of the restaurant so if you sit up by Sunrise Hwy., expect to be blasted every time the front door opens.
5:30 P.M. and empty app plates are cleared 60 seconds before entrees arrive, some minutes after we finished eating the app course. At this point staff are slow to respond to request like a salt and pepper shakers for the table or refresh our water — no luck if you want a second round of cocktails. Comparing my risotto app to another’s entrée was akin to comparing cream of wheat to stroganoff. The app lacked any seasoning and there was complete inconsistency between courses of the same dish.
As we wait for dessert orders I should say that dinner was cleared in a reasonable amount of time and the dessert menus were given shortly thereafter. Another problem plaguing what I’ve noticed is most patrons here is the inability to balance the environmental controls. On what was decidedly a warm and humid day from the morning, the restaurant chose to keep front windows open and have the patrons suffer. By apps, I requested A/​C which began to work by mid-​dessert but never really made anyone comfortable. As after dinner drinks arrived (and spilled down the stem and all over, as did every other cocktail tonight) I noticed the pot of oyster shells and juice had not been bussed — mmmm crème brûlée and shellfish. Dessert was pleasant. The bill was large.

The Quick: Underwhelmed and disappointed by the brunch. You feel as if you are in a Parisian café, the staff was good, and the outside is adorable, but the food was extremely under seasoned and mediocre.
The Details: The venue is extremely nice, and we had high hopes for Apertif. I have been told dinner is incredible, and maybe someday I’ll give them another try, but brunch was outright bad.
I had the seafood salad ($ 18) which was a good portion of lobster, calamari, and scallops– but it was flavorless. The calamari was chewy and bland, the scallops needed a heavy hand of salt– overall disappointing and I just didn’t enjoy it.
My group also ordered the pancakes (thick and not fluffy or flavorful), the Gruyère omelette (strangely also a disappointment with cheap ham), the sliders (overcooked when asked for rare), and the eggs Benedict (unimpressive).
The absolute worst was the Croque Monsier which was honestly an embarrassment — warm (not melted) cheese ham and soggy bread. Two people in our group ordered that and barely ate it, just devouring the French fries.
The service was good, the place was very nice, they let us stay without rushing us out– overall a nice experience but the food was… Lackluster. It was Mother’s Day and it was not overly crowded, plus it was a fixed menu with no substitutions … Overall a disappointment.
The Damage: The brunch came to about $ 40/​person with a drink and coffee… I do not recommend brunch but apparently dinner is very good.

I came in with a friend for dinner tonight… food was great & décor was very relaxing. I gave our waiter cash to pay our check & asked for change but instead, he returned the black folder empty. A tip should be up to the customer, not the waiter.
Disrespectful behavior, I wont return as there are many restaurants in RVC to choose from with great food as well as excellent service.

Enjoyable!
A friend and I stopped by Apéritif for dinner on Saturday. We arrived around 6:30; it wasn’t crowded then, but it got crowded as the night went on. I thought the inside was lovely, reminiscent of little French bistros; my friend thought the décor more suited to, in her words, ‘an old fashioned Chinese restaurant.” Well, to each her own!
The food at Apéritif, though, is not up for debate: it is very good. We shared the tuna tartare (get that!) and the goat cheese crostini (also good). My friend had the bouillabaisse, which she loved; I opted for small plates: raw oysters (delectable) and a flat bread (the one with prosciutto; it was good). We each had two cocktails apiece, both well made (my friend just got vodka and soda; I had an Apéritif martini, substituting gin for vodka).
Our waitress was fantastic. Her recommendations were spot on. She listened to what we were thinking about and offered excellent insight. I wish I knew her name so I could drop it here.
If I have one quibble, the dessert menu isn’t exactly inspired. I had the crème brule, which was fine, and my friend tried a small tasting plate that was on special that night, and the panna cotta; she loved both, but I think that if Apéritif wants to work on something, they should focus their attention on dessert.
I should note this is my second time at Apéritif; the first was several years ago, and, while I do not recall the specifics of the meal I shared with friends that night, I do recall being sat a half hour beyond our reservation, and then feeling rushed through the meal. Apéritif has certainly gotten its act together since then, and I would definitely return more immediately now that I had a much better experience!

Delightful. Beautiful ambiance. Nicely decorated French restaurant. The service is excellent and wait staff are attentive and knowledgeable. Large selection of wines and specialty drinks offered.
I recommend the tapas: grilled octopus, risotto fritters, lobster mac and cheese, calamari, prosciutto and figs. Appetizer portions of dinner offerings are plenty if it’s paired with a delectable and tasty soup or fresh salad. The onion soup, butternut squash soup, avocado salad all were wonderful.
Desserts are all homemade and sound delicious. I’ve only been able to have room for one dessert since I started going there. I highly recommend it’s buttery deliciousness: The apple tarts tartin…
It gets very crowded on weekends. However, they offer valet parking on those busy nights, so you won’t have to worry about finding a parking space!

I had been here a few times mainly at the bar and once for dinner. The dinner had been great and I always appreciate their great wine selection and apps so I decided to come back for dinner.
I am very upset that they have expanded the bar and now it is basically the whole restaurant (no more quiet areas and I really don’t like the change). The bar used to be off to the side.
Anyway, we made a last minute reservation and I was glad they could accomoddate a party of five so quickly. I requested a somewhat quiet table (not realizing how the restaurant has been renovated) …all of the tables are pretty much at the huge bar now. Upon sitting down to wait for the rest of the party, no one came over to offer us a drink (though we got bread) and finally I flagged down the waitress for a drink menu — she brought one for the table of five to share.
Ok so I get that it was a saturday night so the noise level was high, which is fine… but DIRECTLY BEHIND US was a group of girls that were screaming and shrieking every five minutes or so and I wished I didn’t feel like I was sitting by the bar (as I pretty much requested). Also, because we were seated by the front window, there were smokers directly outside and the smoke was coming in through the door right on to our table. This was constant throughout dinner.
APPETIZERS: we got the raw oysters, fried calamari and the tempura like french beans. The oysters were fresh, plump and delicious — pretty perfect (though I wish I could have found my waitress to get some horseradish). The calamari was extra crispy and also very good — not the light batter that you are used to but a dark brown almost fried chicken like batter (not too oily though). The french beans were decent, though I wish the sauce that they came with had more of a kick — it was basically mayo.
ENTREE: There were a few meals ordered — I got the CHILEAN SEA BASS special which was AMAZING and cooked to perfection. Easily the best meal on the table. Someone else got the baby lamb chops with a avocado shrimp tower on the side — the chops were suppose to be medium but fell more to the medium rare side and the tower was pretty unimpressive due to lack of flavor (the waitress seemed to have made the tower fall but didn’t care and served it broken apart, it’s ok) The shrimp/​scallop dish didn’t look too promising upon arrival or due to the reaction of the diner. The duck was pretty good (I heard) but just a little bland. The last meal I got no reading on. So overall, I say order a fish or the special here.
DESSERT: Rasberry panna cotta was pretty good but could have used a lot less gelatin and a lot more creaminess, I’ve had better but I still enjoyed best out of three desserts. The profiteroles were good, nothing too crazy special. And I’m a crème brûlée fanatic… and I didn’t really enjoy the crème brûlée much. Instead of that creamy vanilla taste and texture, it had a flavor in it more reminiscent of fennel or anise in it. I was not a fan.
I got the malbec wine which was very good — the waitress gave a good recommendation. The wine selection here is very good.
But on to the service — it was HORRIBLE. I know that waitresses can be overwhelmed on a Saturday night but this server disappeared so many times and I couldn’t find her. I asked for a second glass of wine during my entrée and I got it just before dessert was served — I hardly wanted it then. There were numerous times that we couldn’t find her, yet when I went to the bathroom (when I was waiting for second glass of wine) I saw her and she said hi and then she showed up with the wine and said the bar was backed up –she clearly had forgotten me.
Overall, the food was a four — it was pretty good (especially the sea bass special) but with the surrounding area the experience was ruined and we left because of the screaming by the bar. so it falls down to a three, which is really a 2.5. So-​so experience, expected better.
Recommendation: stick to the great wine menu, go to the bar and order food but don’t try to have a nice dinner here on a busy night, especially after the new renovations. This is now more of a bar than a restaurant. Disappointed.

Went and tried a bunch of different things off the tapas menu.
The food was «just ok» and service was pretty bad, our server was barely there and kept running away every chance he got.
The escargots and chicken liver/​foie gras are definitely an acquired taste — definitely did not please my palette at all and looked like cat food.
Filet tacos, flat bread, risotto fritters were all good.
All in all, I’d recommend checking out other places first if you want tapas

I came here for dinner with one of my friends and we were so happy with our experience.
First off, big plus for valet parking in RVC. Second off the hostess and wait staff were wonderful! The atmosphere was relaxing and the décor was very tasteful.
We both started off with salads, both delicious and not too much dressing. We shared the duck which was cooked perfectly and not greasy at all as duck can be sometimes. The chicken liver mousse was rich and creamy. The cheese platter was a wonderful assortment. Our waiter also suggested perfect pairings for us and was more than helpful and even brought us a few tastings before we chose a wine.
I would absolutely recommend giving this place a try.

Ugh. Just ugh.
Since my last review, I’ve returned here two times. The first time was in April ’12 and I just had a bad experience with this monkfish dish I had. I chalked it up to a bad day in the kitchen (which I rarely do) and returned this past Monday for their mussel special.
The deal is great-​unlimited mussels and beer for $ 20. I got my new favorite hell or high watermelon beer. Though, I do wish fries were included.
I started with the Mariniere which came out in a huge pot. It was ok. Too many chunks of garlic. Then I had the provencal which came out in a significantly smaller pot. It was decent, though.
Now, I understand not wanting to waste mussels when we were probably getting full, but be consistent. Had both pots been the same size, I probably would not have thought twice about it.
On top of this, the service was super slow. It took us about 2.5 hours for mussels and dessert (we had the apple tart which was very sweet but still delicious). The waiter was barely in sight. We eventually got the check from a manager, I believe.
I hate having to wait a long time for something, especially when it’s obvious that I’ve been waiting.