Bistro 33 Midtown

Oh no!!! I tried to come here a few weeks ago and to my surprise… WTF they closed down!
They are changing to a burger place called Spin Burger expected to open mid-​November with «a cycling theme and more recession-​friendly prices. Most orders will likely cost under $ 15.»
We shall see …

CLOSED :(
I just lost my favorite watering hole…

Can’t believe I haven’t reviewed this place yet after being a fan for years.
Deliciously chic.
The Kobe Burgers here don’t play around. Pair them with criss-​cut fries and you’re set. That’s all I ever get, and it never fails.
Minus one star for having meathead bouncers that swear like this place is a damn nightclub.

The place is tiny, has a very different feel from the original restaurant at 33^rd and Folsom, and is not my style. I went in craving my favorite salad, the Oregon Bleu, and I waited at the bar. During lunch, this place is emp.teeeeee.
So empty, that when a guy walked in off the street and wasn’t greeted, by either of the the two waiters who were apparently working in the back at that moment, they totally missed him AND missed filling one of the very empty seats He stood there, glanced at me, and then left.
My husband was irritated with me when he checked our checking account. I spent 10+ bucks on the small salad. The SMALL. The large would have cost 13 bucks for 2 more pieces of chicken. And I got about a half inch of slightly brown, warmish chopped romaine for my troubles. The chicken looked right, but it was just warm (not hot and buffalo-​y and steamy delicious counterpoint to crisp cold romaine.)
Also, there were cashews. Unfortunately for the chef on duty, I know my cashews from my walnuts.
The bleu cheese dressing on the side (normally it’s supposed to be tossed in with generous helpings of rich blue veined bleu cheese) was also warmish.
Eh. I didn’t get sick, but I tell ya, it put me off the need to go in for a salad for awhile.
When I lived next door to the original, I’d pop over for a large Oregon Bleu, a nice hot flat bread, and a glass of zin. One of my favorite semi-​fattening meals. The salad was always very hearty and good, and the large used to be the price of the current small at this location.
Big fat no.
2 stars only because the owners actually own a good restaurant somewhere in town, but they should know how skimpy their cooks/​waiters are getting with a basic salad.
I’ll never go back to this location, only the original if ever the craving hits again. But, why, when there is Petra on the next block?

Crackin on a Wednesday night! Very chill venue… I’m a little bummed we didn’t participate in the happy hour specials that everyone on here is raving about. Instead the four of us splurged and drank the bar dry until they ran out of cognac… who goes to a restaurant and spends $ 300 on shots?! –_​– We were celebrating my girl’s b-​day under a time constrain when we got there at 1am.
It’s a very narrow restaurant so there’s not much room to stand by the bar and talk to your company. It’s a better idea to grab a booth and order some appetizers if you plan to chill over some drinks with your group.
Major plus=they were playing all the old school R&B hits and more!

Bistro 33 has inspired me to return to Unilocal,and luckily, it’s for a good reason!
My fiancé and I came here at 11am on a Sunday, in the hopes of a delicious breakfast. I had done my research ahead of time, looked up their breakfast menu online, decided what I’d be ordering, because that’s just how I am. :) We were seated and given lunch menus, so we requested the breakfast menus, only to find out that they’ve stopped serving it. :(Apparently, Mother’s Day was their last breakfast service. That really bummed me out, I wish they’d updated their website somehow to let us all know about that.
So I pouted for awhile, but my fiancé INSISTED we stay. I continued to pout while the waiter took our orders, right up until we got our appetizer.
Our appetizer was the criss-​cut fries, and they made me happy we didn’t get up and leave. DELICIOUS, with gorgonzola cheese and some other goodness, with a thin sauce beneath the fries. When we finished the fries, there was still sauce left on the plate, and we shamelessly used our fingers to lick the stuff up, thank you very much.
For lunch, I ordered the Puget Sound sandwich, which was crab and shrimp with artichokes and cheddar cheese, and some sort of sauce tying it all together. It was served on warm toasted sourdough bread, and it was AWESOME. My fiancé got the Kobe burgers. Note the «s». When he ordered this, we assumed they’d be sliders, and don’t sliders NORMALLY come in fours? Again, we assumed… They WERE sliders, but there were only TWO. My fiancé’s a big guy, and he wasn’t very excited about two baby burgers on his plate. They turned out being very tasty, but the portion amount just wasn’t there for him.
Since my fiancé’s meal was so small (and thus, he ate the majority of mine as well), we decided to splurge on a dessert as well. Since I wanted breakfast so bad in the first place, we chose the «Hot Bag o’ Doughnuts». Ohhhh man, it’s been about a week, and I haven’t stopped thinking about those babies. They really bring them out in a bag, and they shake them up with powdered sugar and cinnamon right at your table. They serve them with some sort of berry compote or jelly, honey butter, and some chocolate sauce (but not a normal chocolate sauce… I can’t describe it, but it kind of reminded me of a chocolate milkshake). So good! Again, we were sad when we ran our of doughnuts, and we ended up dipping our forks in the sauces and licking it up. We really have no shame. :)
Our check was higher than we’d normally spend on lunch, but definitely not as high as we expected for the quality of food. We had a great meal here, and will definitely return. Minus one star for the tiny Kobe burgers and the lack of breakfast, but other than that, yum! We’ll be checking out 33^rd Street Bistro this coming weekend, because I want breakfast!

Ive been here so many times I’ve lost count! Great place to eat after a night dancing at any of the nearby clubs, great place to people watch, great place for a date, great place to catch up on the latest gossip from co workers! I love the music variety they play in the background! 80’s hip-​hop to ambient! I love diversity. Hopefully you do too. Every shade of human frequents Bistro 33 and every age. Another plus in my book.
When you go there you MUST try :
Lamb sliders and kobe mini burgers– SOOO TASTY
Criss cut fries– Heavenly!
The wedge salad! OMG so yummy
They used to have these enchiladas with egg… but they took it off the menu! I’m formally putting in my vote to bring that BACK to the menu!
I only took off one star for two reasons:
½ star taken off for the high turnover of servers, therefore service varies greatly. I miss the hot Italian server that was there for a few years from the opening. Her name escapes me at this time.
½ star taken off for taking off that enchilada entrée!
Other than that? Bistro 33 will have my business for years to come.

When your feeling hungry and wanting something to hit the spot on a late night, this is the place to go!
I love the Crisscut fries, Midtown Chop and The Pugent Sound. The décor is hip and if you are looking to have a drink or two, something to nibble on in a lounge type setting, I’d definitely recommend this place.

Yummy! We ate here after the March for Babies around the capitol and I was incredibly happy with it.
I had my dog with me, and we were a large group, so we needed a spot to sit outdoors. We called about 15 minutes before we arrived and they said they would have a table for us, but it wouldn’t be ready when we got there because a couple parties were finishing up.
When we arrived we waited on the right half of the patio which is more of a cocktail area and they brought us water and then our drinks… and they made sure we were comfortable.
When they seated us, I have to say that the service was exceptional.
The atmosphere is great… it was a perfect spring day which helped this feeling.
The food quality was definitely impressive and overall tasty. I split the Northwestern omelette with my sister in law and tasted my cousin’s eggs benedict and was pleasantly surprised by the maple syrup flavor baked into the crumpet.
Yummy mimosas and bloody marys.
I heard they have other locations, and I’m looking forward to trying it again. Definitely a great brunch spot if you are in there area.

On my way home from OfficeMax one Saturday morning, I noticed that Bistro 33 was opened, so I decided to swing by here for some brunch.
It wasn’t packed, so I’d assume pretty good service. For probably 30 seconds, I awkwardly waited for someone to seat me. The servers and bartender didn’t think it was their job so eye contact was avoided. Finally the busser seated me. My server came to take my order soon after I had decided, but I didn’t see much of her after that.
I had the Breakfast Panini, which was pretty tasty. Lots of egg and turkey and a good herb mayo with a side of potatoes. I was so full from just eating half of the food that I had to bring the other half home!
During my meal, the busser came to make sure I had enough coffee multiple times, which was good since their cups were tiny. My server came over once towards the beginning of the meal. After I had suggested I needed a box to go to the busser, to those who don’t understand how to serve one person: this is a symbol that I want my check. I tried to get my server’s attention, but she seemed like she was constantly avoiding me. I mean, come on! It’s Diana you’re talking about! I don’t bite… often. Haha. In an uncrowded restaurant setting, it took her 5 minutes to come over and hand me my check.
It was just a completely annoying experience. I will definitely not be back here to eat by myself.

I heard they have killer Bloody Marys here for $ 4 on the weekends and so I went to check it out this past weekend and it’s not. Killer is not the correct descriptive word here. It wasn’t that great. I thought it would be and I’d be downing those suckers and lovin’ it but I had one and I’ve had so much better. In fact, if I never had a Bloody Mary before and this was my first ever. It would turn me off it forever.
Now, Bistro 33 is on the corner of 16^th and K. Inside they have booths and a bar, a small area of outdoor seating. I’ve been by a few times in the evening, had some small plates and drinks. Good shit. This past Saturday I met a couple coworkers there to see about these Bloody Marys before having to go to a work meeting and have some bites to eat. It wasn’t busy at all. There was one older man sitting in a booth and I didn’t get my drink for maybe 20 minutes. When the rest of my posse showed up, service stayed slow. With food. with drinks. We tried the Hot Bag o’ Doughnuts. It came with 3 ramekins of things. honey butter, berry jam/​compote, and chocolate. It came out in a paper bag. The guy tore it open and put it on the plate for us. One rolled onto the table, he left it there and walked away with the bag. The doughnuts were fluffy on the inside and had lots of sugary coating. Yeah it was fresh and hot out of a bag but we didn’t care for it. Dipping them in the ramekins didn’t save it either. Blah, it is what it is.
So between my past experiences and this breakfast, I’d say it averages out to 3 stars. But, from now on I’ll probably avoid breakfast time. It was pretty lame.

Somehow… somehow I always end up here during some drunken and misguided adventures when visiting downtown/​midtown. The place always seems pretty happening with good times and memories with each visit.
The restaurant/​bar itself is very hip and classy, while the food is good but served in small portions. I guess it’s to keep up with the whole trendy and chic theme with quality over quantity in mind. It’s always a dining pleasure since the atmosphere gives that fu fu «I’m important feel,» while the service is still down to earth and welcoming. It’s one of those few places we always end up visiting during random crawls, or striking up random conversations with a group of equally drunk but often times very sexy women. Coincidence? Perhaps… beer goggle? …most likely.
As far as drinks, I can’t help but love the bartenders here. Good and quick with the service while always helpful with recommendations. The food is still pretty delicious despite smaller portions. Not very filling for the ridiculous quantity it takes to please my ever so growing belly. $ 1 Taco days are nice, but I could never remember what day they serve them since I can honestly say I have never been to Bistro 33 sober… but the few recollected memories I do have are always pleasant.
No, I am not an alcoholic. I just play one on TV.

It’s been awhile since I’ve done the happy hour thing. (I tend to hibernate in the winter)
Even though it was pouring in Midtown yesterday, I was called out of my hiding place and met up with a few girlfriends after work. I have been to Bistro 33 a handful of times and it has always had a nice vibe.
They have a happy hour menu from 4−7pm with prices ranging from $ 3.50 to $ 5 bucks. We decided to share the Dungeness crab & artichoke dip and the calamari. Being a «vodka» gal, we were hooked up with passion fruit vodka & cranberry. Juicy!
The calamari was very good and served with Thai sweet chili aioli and a lemon aioli. The crab & artichoke dip is served with toasted parmesan crostini’s with a wedge of lemon and was delicious! So good in fact, that we ended up ordering another plate.
Now, I’ve read reviews about their Hot Bag O’ Donuts and convinced my friend to share with me and they did not disappoint! Our server brought out the bag and shook it up and out popped hot & tender donuts covered in powdered sugar & cinnamon. We had our choice of dipping sauces that included chocolate, strawberry compote and honey butter. The honey butter was the best with the strawberry dip coming in a close second.
The service was spot on and I want to thank our bartender who was ever so patient with my friend as he tweaked her drink a few times to her liking.
Good friends, good conversation and good food!

A small group of the 3 of us came here on the suggestion of my buddy. It was a chill, calm environment upon entering inside the restaurant. It’s a place where you can have a relaxed dinner or settle down at the bar area and enjoy a drink or two and watch a game on the TV. What I sampled there:
Sweet Potato Fries ($ 5.95): An overflowing amount of crisp sweet potato fries in a paper cone. They were terrific especially with the housemade peach ketchup which had a subtle sweetness to it. I tried the herb mayonnaise and creamy bleu cheese sauces but always came back to the peach ketchup.
Crispy Calamari ($ 10.95): Another appetizer we munched on. The coating came off the calamari rings quite easily. And I thought it was overly greasy. Other than that the Thai Sweet Chili and Lemon Aioli sauces were a great companion. Calamari was decent but not the best I’ve had.
Herb Crusted Porkloin Chop ($ 18.95): A huge porkloin chop sitting atop spinach and surrounded by several gorgonzola filled ravioli and a creamy pancetta rosemary cream sauce. The porkloin has a crispy coating and was moist in the inside. The ravioli was nothing special but the sauce was great. I also enjoyed the small pieces of crispy pancetta incorporated into the sauce. It’s pork with more pieces of pork. A wonderful combination.
Great place to unwind. Good food to nosh on. It’s too bad I missed out on the Hot Bag o’ Donuts for dessert. I may just come back there just to solely try that.

I was really impressed by the interior of this Bistro since it was much fancier than the one I was used to going to in Davis. It was a lot more chic and fancy, with dim lighting and clean-​cut furnitures, however, I can definitely tell it’s more for the bar scene. There were probably less than 10 tables and the center of this little restaurant had a gorgeous bar with high stools.
I met my girlfriend there for dinner pretty early around 5:45PM and they told us that it was happy hour– wow what a treat. We ordered 4 different «small plates» and shared and our bill only came to around $ 20 total instead of $ 40.we were shocked how cheap it was! Basically their small plates are ½ off during happy hour. They also have wine for about $ 3 during happy hour… what a deal!
This is a fun place to share foods but their small plates were all just ordinary fried appetizers like the calamari, fries, shrimp, etc. I like their specialty sauces though — they’re very tasty. I also liked the dungeness crab dip with artichokes in it… very tasty.
All in all, a decent little place to share some stuff but don’t expect fine-​dining or anything =)

When: Late night dinner before going out for drinks & dancing downtown.
Pros:
1. Despite their small size, they accommodated our large group with no problem & were patient with us as we split the bill amongst 10 credit cards.
2. Fancy sliders :) not just plain angus beef.
3. Friendly service
4. The prices are pretty reasonable. Approx. $ 9 – 13 per plate.
5. Reasonable portions considering the venue and pricing.
Cons:
1. In relation to pro #5, if you’re looking for large portions, this is not the place to go.
2. Greasier or saltier than I realized. I didn’t taste it at first, but after eating here, I was significantly thirsty and drank lot of water.
Overall, I enjoyed eating here. I ate the Kobe Burgers (sliders) — the gouda cheese & micro greens are a nice touch. Their Bistro Deluxe Burger looked quite tasty, as did the Puget Sound. And I enjoyed their fries. I’d eat here again — but will make sure to stay hydrated when I do so!

3.5 Stars
I took my sister out for a belated Birthday dinner last weekend and was pleasantly surprised by the ambiance and food we enjoyed at Bistro 33.
I originally chose Bistro 33 as it was around the corner from the lounge we were headed to after dinner. This place is by no means fancy or gourmet but we were pretty happy with our entrée’s but even more satisfied with our desert!
We started off with the cajun popcorn shrimp which arrived less than 10 minutes after putting our order in. Not bad! (Though the place was at about 50% capacity when we arrived at 8pm.) The only thing wrong with the popcorn shrimp was that there just wasn’t enough! It’s served over a huge bed of shredded lettuce so it appears there’s more than there actually is. It’s fried to a perfect crisp, served with just the right amount of spiciness and zing, and the shrimp was perfectly cooked (not too chewy). The cocktail sauce it was served with was a solid A as it was fresh and zesty and perfect for dipping our delectable little shrimpy’s in.
I decided I needed a little greenery after that deliciously fried indulgence and opted for the Bistro Gardens Salad. The vinaigrette was as they said, very light and tasty without overbearing the salad. The toppings were a perfect marriage of sweet and salty with the cracked hazelnuts, currants and gorgonzola cheese. I’m a salad fanatic so trust me when I say this was a real winner!
Shortly after practically licking my salad plate clean our entrée’s arrived. My carnita’s taco’s (3 perfectly in a row) were topped with a tantalizing vera cruz salsa. I enjoyed my taco’s, though they weren’t anything to write home about.
My sister went for the Grilled Chicken club
served with their house cut fries.
She gave the sandwich a solid 3 stars and I would say the fries were well deserving of 4 stars. They were thin, crispy (i HATE a flimsy floppy fry) and fried with the perfect amount of salt.
The best part of the meal arrived about 15 minutes later after I gulped down my second dirty Goose martini. The Hot Bag O’ Donuts were simply divine. They were hot, as stated, there was so much cinnamon and sugar that it consumed the entire plate and then some. Once you bit in to the middle you found yourself gushing over the mouthwatering gooey goodness. There were three sauces to dip your donut bite in to and I loved them all.
The service was decent but no one went out of their way to make us feel welcomed or special. Our actual server was attentive and knowledgeable about the menu options but was boring and not very friendly (maybe he was just having a bad day?).
The meal was actually quite affordable for the two of us plus 3 cocktails. Though nothing really stood out about this place, except the desert, we had decent meal without breaking the bank. Plus it’s right around the corner from MIX lounge and De Vere’s Irish Pub.

Consistently inconsistent.
This was my late night eats spot in Sac when I lived here before. (Hello! is there anything open past 1 am on a weekday in Sactown?) No. Except for fast food joints.
I always order the Kobe Mini sliders whenever I’m here. For $ 12.95 you get two sliders with micro greens, fried onions and Gouda goat cheese on a toasted bun. These are yummy every time I get em. (this time it came with housemade potato chips, some of which were burnt. Not good!) The last time I ordered these, they came with house fries, which were thick but tasteless.
The waffle-​cut fries with Gorgonzola cheese sauce is usually a good bet — it’s fried to perfect crispness, but the sauce was a little bit off and way too greasy. (A couple of months ago when I came here, it wasn’t even on the menu. The waiter said that they were in the process of revising their food offerings)
If bargain drinks are what you’re after, it’s only $ 3.50 for beer, wine and well-​drinks from 5pm-​7pm. But you better get here fast or they may change their bar menu and/​or drink prices.
Yet again.

I walked in on 2^nd Saturday with flip flops not expecting to see a tiny, upscale lounge with long white curtains, leather stools, and fancy lighting; it’s literally 10 by 3 tables large. I also thought I was eating at 33^rd street bistro but got mixed up, so imagine my disappointment when I saw they didn’t have the flatbread pizza I planned on ordering. I thought the food was rather unimpressive, especially my $ 35 Tuna and Fried Rice, but I digress…
This review is here purely to make mention of the BOMB lava cake.
B
O
M
B
People tell me it is designed for sharing, and too rich to eat, but it is perfectly decadent. Warm, gooey, rich and generously portioned for only about $ 7!

Bustling corner in midtown with all of the modern décor to match! Envision stainless steel everywhere and black and white pieces of flair (and this place, unlike in office space definitely has the right amount!!)
But be prepared for some elbow and butt rubbing in the small dining/​bar space here! Definitely makes you feel like art of an exclusive bar with no cover and swanky lounge interior, but the lack of space to breathe could make anyone claustrophobic even on a friday night! The drinks are good but pricey for midtown, but hey there are few classy looking places like this in sac-​town without a cover so if you live there, you will definitely end up here often enough to meet a few good looking people and drink a few well made drinks.