Lavender Bistro

Really delicious food, and great service. Their duck is always phenomenal. The service is friendly, and the atmosphere works well. Anyone looking for a nice dinner spot in Tryon, look no further.

Alice and I have been dining at the Bistro since JP and Judy opened it. All of the good things said about it are absolutely true. Truly the finest dining in Tryon and the surrounding area.
Imagine my surprise when I found that JP’s father in France was ill and that they were returning home to be with him.
Tony Maccherone then acquired the restaurant, engaged a new Chef and reopened under the same name. The new Chef is Ross Sturm — Ross is a formally trained Chef and has brought back most of the old dishes as well as his own new cuisine with a Mediterranean twist.
New menus and a new wine list are in process. I can personally attest to Ross’ dishes because I have tasted 90% of them. When the new menus are ready, I will copy and post to the thread.
For the moment, the eggplant parmesan is tied with the lollipop lamb chops as my favorite main dishes and duck/​chicken liver pâté’ is my favorite appetizer. On these chilly days of Fall, the Minestrone soup cannot be beat.
As a disclaimer, I am an unpaid financial consultant to the Bistro, and likely their biggest customer. I just could not stand to think of the restaurant leaving the area.
Tillman

Another great lunch at the Bistro, we visit when we come up on vacation. The fresh quality, preparation and presentation of the meals was exceptional. Server was great; friendly warm and gracious, there exactly when we needed her. We sat out front with our dog and they treated Charlie as it he was a paying patron. Besides great food they are great folks to just chat with.

I have mixed feelings about Lavender Bistro. My husband and I decided to venture here as our first stop before we went wine tasting. Previous reviews were positive enough for us to want to try it out and form our own opinion! We were promptly greeted and seated by what I’m assuming was the owner. Our waiter was friendly, prompt, happy to make suggestions and always made sure we had what we needed! Good service was no question for us.
I enjoyed their 15 bean minestrone soup, hubs tried the lobster bisque. Was disappointed to find no actual chunks of lobster in his soup although he did note the overall flavor was good. He also ordered a special that day which was salmon tacos. Nothing special. No special kick. Just two pieces of lightly breaded fish with some lettuce and tomato on a corn tortilla. Bland overall. I tried the ultimate grilled cheese. Enjoyed most of it! I am not a huge fan of «strong» tasting cheese so the Gruyère was a little much for me, however I’m sure someone who does love these types of cheeses would enjoy. My French fries were undercooked. Typically I would be mad but we have been making an effort to eat better and the undercooked fries were a turn off so it worked as portion control for me!
I think we would be back to try this place out again BUT we would probably try one of our other options first.
I think this is one of those places you have to try for yourself. The menu is different all the time so it’s hard to form a solid opinion on just one visit.

This place is amazing. The right amount of the right food. Very tasty and a wonderful atmosphere. A well deserved 5 stars, I wish more restruants around here would follow these guy’s example.

We had dinner here. One meal out of 3 was ok. The others were not good. Service was poor. Place was not busy but they acted like we needed reservations. Owners were friendly to some but ignored us. One of us ordered a bottle of perrier which they charged $ 5.00 for. We usually buy this by the case and it costs about .60 cents per bottle. We are not likely to return.

Ok, nothing special, as well as the wait staff. I found the owners do not extend themselves to new patrons. For the friendliest town in the South, not sure if this restaurant fits in there. When I am visiting again, will seek out other restaurants.

A true gem of a find. I stumbled on Lavender by accident but chose it after a nearby restaurant after looking at Unilocal reviews.
I was dining alone and felt comfortable and welcome. The ambiance is cozy and with the right company could be very romantic !
Looking for a lighter meal, I ordered the Lavender salad with chicken and could not finish it. Topped off with a glass of champagne, this was a great experience.
I’ll be back next time I am in the area, and will come with a larger appetite !

Good dinner and service. I would recommend the pork chop.

This is the one place in Tryon that makes me feel as if I am in a larger market restaurant and more intimate than its former location in Forest City. JP and crew do a marvelous job in such a cozy setting. Crepes at lunch are almost to much to finish and the dinner menu and wine list are first rate. It’s the best restaurant in Tryon and I suggest reservations to be sure you get a good table.

Amazing prime rib, excellent lamb shank wow JP. amazing chef. For a little town like Tryon this is big city excellence.