The Bistro

I decided to write a second review for The Bistro, not because the amount of stars that I’m giving them has changed, but because the menu was so vastly different. The group of students working in this restaurant changes quite regularly and so I think it’s important to come into The Bistro with an open mind each time you dine here. The menu also changes weekly so you are always in for a treat! This time I came with Lauren B. at lunch time. We went around 12:30 and there was only one other person dining. Yet by 1pm the entire restaurant was filled. I ordered the special of salmon with risotto and she ordered the pomegranate salad and the butternut squash ravioli. Both were absolutely delicious. The plating was exquisite as well and made you feel like you were dining at a very upscale restaurant. I would highly suggest The Bistro for a delicious lunch that keeps you on budget. I will of course be returning!

I love going to this place for lunch. They aren’t always open because it is run by students at the Art Institute in Sunnyvale. But the food is good, and priced reasonably. Their menu changes quite a bit but there are a few dishes that stay constant. Their Burger is a school favorite. Served with freshly made fried at $ 8, it is a good deal. I especially like that much of the money they make from the restaurant goes right back to the students. This is a place I’d go to more often if they were open more often.

I wish I had discovered this place earlier!
This is so awesome! You can finally eat some good food for a reasonable price. And it is fun to go to a school and see students practicing!
Food is nicely presented, the place is very neat and clean.
You can definitely say they are still learning… but this is a great way to practice.
Some of the things may be not cooked to perfection — but it is still _​very_​good. Certainly better than at some real restaurants that I have been around…

I had shrimp /​fried aspargus /​polenta entrée. It was delicious. Sauce was delicate and perfumed. Aspargus was well cooked and tasty. The only minus: the corn was overcooked /​almost burned and I could not eat it. I tried to cut it and it «jumped» out of my plate. I was kind of embarrassed :) but it made my friend and I laugh :)
I also took their special drink of the day: cranberry splash and I’ll be honest, I did not like it too much. It had an exciting look but the taste was bland (so I was even more disappointed :)) Anyways I wish I could go there every day :)
I always leave a good tip and hope it goes to the students.

I had lunch today at the Bistro and the food was pretty good. The food came out pretty quick. My coworker and I enjoyed our meals and we will definitively be back!

good food good price reasonable hours call ahead to make sure it is open, it is in a culinary school.

For those of you who crave good food at a discounted price, this place is for you. I guess you can compare it to getting your hair did at a beauty college, only you have nothing to grow out if things dont work out.
I came here with a bunch of guys from work. One of the fellas know a student here who clued him in on the 2 month span where outsiders can come into this school and eat at their makeshift restaurant.
My first thought of this kinda place is something like a school cafeteria with foldout chairs and tables but it’s nothing like that. This place is actually setup like a very nice restaurant sans the white linen tablecloth, but you do get nice silverware, water glasses, and linen napkins with real flowers on the table.
Nothing on the menu is over $ 10. I debated on getting the steak, questioning what kind a cut that is for that price. The waitress (who is actually another student who is on rotation to serve) said it was sirloin. I opted for the halibut.
The fish was very tender, flaky, and buttery but it was just blah. I think it was seasoned with nothing more than just sea salt. Now i know you’re probably thinking «what do you expect for $ 10?» but I think the tuna on focaccia bread is a much better deal. Not only was the portion bigger, but the tuna was seared nicely and had some amazing flavors.
The best part of the experience was that we got to sit at center stage right in front of the glass which peers right into the kitchen. You can see what happens behind the scenes from the time you order until the plates come out. There’s even cameras pointed at the staging table so you can catch a glimpse of how they pretty up the plates moments before bringing it out.
For appetizers, we ordered two orders of the proscuitto wrapped prawns (since there is only 3 per order). That was sooo freakin good! Highly recommended.
I’m definitely coming back. Too bad there’s no blonde Brit with a bad attitude yelling at the students in the kitchen to make the show interesting.

Can’t beat the menu, price, and ambiance.

So I am fairly particular about my food. I LOVE Great food but always like the opportunity to make a change here and there.
I went for the first time with a group of co-​workers to celebrate a birthday and I was HIGHLY impressed! I don’t eat meat and always approach a limited menu with caution.
I was pleasantly surprised to find a menu that offered a variety of flavors and had a few vegetarian options already available.
I hate the Arugula and beet salad… with the beets on the side and was pleasantly surprised! The portions were perfect and my special requests were met without issue. The goat cheese was perfectly paired.
I also had the Shrimp Orecchiette — without the pancetta and the shrimp on side… as I do eat shellfish but am very particular.
This was fabulous! The shrimp was grilled to perfection — It was hot and the edges just crispy enough. I was actually disappointed that there were only 3. The pasta was wonderful and the presentation was fabulous.
For dessert I had the peach cobbler and I was disappointed in myself that I didn’t order another one to go… It was more cakey like a french cobbler and it was amazing!
For $ 8.95 I and my co-​workers had an amazing 3-​course lunch. We had ordered some fries for the table after looking at the amazing burgers and were not disappointed… the fries were crispy and light with a wonderful flavor.
Where do you get a soda for 1.00 and a side order of fries for $ 1.50 and your entire meal still only comes out to 13.50 pp.
I actually organized a group to go the following week and was tempted away from the salad for the Sweet Potato soup. and I am not a soup person! It was amazing. with a butternut squash giclee? in the center with sugared ginger…
the pasta was even better the second time around (more pasta and less tomato) and I had a brownie dessert with chocolate mousee… it was very good. much richer than I had hoped but over-​all a very satisfied customer. they had raised their prices to 9.95 for the 3-​courses but still felt that it was a HUGE bargain and will go again as soon as it works with the work calendar.

This place is great. The menu is always changing so there nothing to get bored of. Of course it fluctuates here and there as the students finsh the quarter and new ones start, but I have always been happy with my food. Sometimes I wish the portions were larger, but only because some tasted super yummy!
It supports the student body so you get to feel good about that too!

Firstly I am not all that picky about my food, but I like it to be of reasonable quality. This place was truly revolting.
We went there for dinner last night. Firstly it is located in an industrial area of Sunnyvale which was rather offputting, but we ignored that.
We had smoked corn prawn chowder which was burnt anf looked like vomit. The sashimi salas was bland with sliced raw vegetables and no accompanying sauce — even a little drizzled soy would have made it better.
The flatbread was undercooked and flabby. The pork was raw — triconosis on a plate???
Worst of all the flourless chocolate torte was tiny, flavorless and burnt with some strange powedered beet and watery flavorless sorbet.
We did not go in with high expectations given that these are students cooking, but this was absolutely the worst meal I have had in a very long time.
CIA in SF is light years ahead of this place.

We went here a few months ago .
I saw a review for this place and was excited to try since it was so close to my work.
Went here for lunch during their comfort food week.
We made a reservation through open table.
When we got there the door was still locked. They forgot to unlock the outside door.
We were the only ones dining there.
The waitress was in training and was not very attentive.
We tried their Swedish Meatballs, Clam Chowder, and Ribs.
It was basically all pre-​made and they just had to heat it up. The food came out warm. I like my soup hot. Clam chowder had red bell peppers in it. It didn’t look like clam chowder at all. The mashed potato that came with the meatball was undercooked. It had a crunch and again warm. The plate was missing something maybe a lingonberry preserve or something because I got sick of the flavor right away and needed something to change up the flavor. Corn bread that came with the ribs was very bland. It was missing something. Had to ask for butter to add flavor. Nothing special with their plating.
For what we got, it was over priced.
May be we came in a wrong time. They might of just started a new semester and everyone was still learning the basics.
I had high expectations for this place and was very disappointed.
We won’t be coming back here for lunch anytime soon.

Talk about a getting your money’s worth! A 6-​course meal at an amazing price, plus we had the restaurant practically to ourselves :).
For me, the best part of the meal was the «special» dinner salad with grilled peaches and apples — it really was the most refreshing salad I’ve had in a long time. Everything else was deliciously seasoned and cooked very well with noticeable attention given to each plate.
Overall, I would definitely recommend stopping by for dinner (dessert was truly yummy, too!).

had a nice dinner here last week. my friend said her steak was the best she had had in a long time. we shared a grilled peach and apple salad. my friend’s son had the italian sausage pizzette, it was really great. i had chicken ragout. aside from the chicken breast being an airline cut (which means it had a bone attached) the meal was delicious. for dessert we shared a molten chocolate cake that was really yummy.

I totally recommend the Aemono Restaurant!!! The food is amazing, which is prepared by the culinary students who attend there. My favorite by far is the Jambalaya. I eat there at least once a week. It’s local, affordable and it supports the students.

A service group I’m a member of had a volunteer appreciation dinner here. We rented out the whole dining room for the evening. Let me just say, I was really impressed.
We had a 6 course set menu dinner, with the stars being the heart of palm and bulgur wheat salad, the duck and Swiss chard rolls, and the beef tenderloin with asparagus risotto. The evening was really relaxed, the dining room was nice and private, and the glass wall between the dining room and kitchen let you watch the student chefs preping the meal. The students who were cooking and serving were very professional and very nice to talk to.
It really was a very nice evening.

Menu, and their star next to each dishes :)
Over all 3.5 star for food.
The staff was very friendly, so extra star for that
Broccoli soup w/​Tillamook cheese & hazelnuts ****
Alaskan king crab legs with champagne sauce ***
Pear & hazelnut salad w/​Oregon blue cheese ****
Grilled cod with cucumbers & ginger salad **
Bread pudding**
Chocolate fourless cake w/​crème anglaise **
Next quarter, they will be open for lunch and dinner :) You can do take out too.

Great South America dinner
The location is not the most elegant (it’s inside the Intitute’s building), but once you are inside, the setting and ambiance are very nice. You get a full view of the kitchen with floor to ceiling glass wall and the tables are set nicely (table cloths, cloth napkis, nice cutlery, etc).
The food was very fresh and tasty. You can tell they are going the extra mile (wonder if they get grades for the quality of the food). All I know is that we had 6 – 7 courses: bread/​butter, appetizer, soup, salad, small sides, main course, dessert, and even organic tea or coffes. For a complete meal, this is a steal at $ 15 flat (no taxes, no tipping, nothing!).
I recommend tipping because of 1) the value of the meal and 2) everything you pay goes to scholarships.
Couple of things I liked:
1) You can bring your own wine… no charge for corkage
2) Parking is plentiful, since it’s not in a crowded metro area
3) Staff is really friendly and «Happy». Not like going to a commercial restaurant where their goal is to turn the tables and get you fed and on your way as soon as possible.
4) Good for families: they have booster seats (no high chairs), and the best of all: kids don’t pay (I brought a 5 and a 2 yr old… granted, they did not eat much, but still, it was nice to hear no additional charges for them).
5) The food is buffet style, and you can eat as much as you want. Also, you have to check the schedule, as each day the menu is different:
Great adventure, loved the «international flavors (Peru, Bolivia, Venezuela, Brazil and MExico y one meal), and will most def’ly be back.

VALUE DINING, right here! Went here for the Mardi Gras dinner menu– $ 15/​person — buffet:
+ 1 star for ambiance– fabric tablecloths and napkins, wine glasses, dimmed lighting and great service made this a much classier venue than I had expected
+1 star for location– off-​the-​beaten path means parking lot was right there with plenty of parking, I could waddle right out to my car with no trouble
+ 2 stars for the shrimp bisque and the pralines– these two items in particular were EXCELLENT representations of New Orleans cooking — rich, savory, ummm, I want that bisque recipe!
Less one-​half star for the bread, hopefully they didn’t make it there-​eeks
Less one-​half star for the rice– overcooked rice is not good, and this was overcooked
The wine was great because I was able to bring my own and I know how to pick good value wines! :) Yay for no corkage fees.
Anyway, I’ll be back here very soon, upcoming menus look interesting and it was a great dinner shared with nice people. Whatta find!

I haven’t eaten here yet because their hours haven’t worked out for me yet. But I’m posting this because I called and found out that the menu (which changes daily) is actually posted online and includes every day by date.
it is here —
I thought it was helpful to decide what day you might want to go.

The Art Institute of California in Sunnyvale just opened up a new student run restaurant at its facility named Aemono. Currently, they’re only open W-​F from 11AM-​1PM, but they plan on opening M-​F starting in 2009.
Wednesdays they’re serving Latin Cuisine and on Thursdays and Fridays they are serving American Regional Cuisine. They had a free preview week last week which was pretty decent and they opened for business this week. Last week was pretty good, but this week’s food wasn’t nearly as good. I think they still need to work a few kinks out, but I’m expecting good things in the near future.
The food is served buffet style and is only $ 10/​person and includes a beverage. The usually offer a salad/​soup course, a few entrée selections, a few vegetables, a couple of starch options, and dessert. It’s a whole lot of food for the money, but some of the recipes may be a hit or miss. The heating elements weren’t kept hot enough this week and a couple of items were barely lukewarm when I dug in to eat (i.e., the roast duck with garlic and honey, and the buffalo chicken wings). In addition, the braised shortribs were under-​seasoned.
I have high hopes for this place and I do hope that they pick things up a little. It’s early in the semester and thus I’m willing to bet that once they get the kinks out, things will get much better. Besides, how cool is it to have a culinary school right next door to work? Sweet! I’m seriously going to fatten up this winter. :P
I’ll be sure to update the next time.