Magnolia Bistro

The owners Pat and Vic are very kind. Sysco the head chef prepared an amazing bolognese that fit perfectly with the ambient live music.

Was here for evening out with the wife .3 stars was being generous. A wobbly table, cheap chairs and paper napkins and table cloths !! is not worthy of a $50 plate. 15-20$ for a glass of wine ?? :( Food was good - service was good .BUT..... For a chic bistro at the prices they charge, it definitely lacks class, and nothing " bistro " about it. What's with the "sports bar"?? TV's??Not sure I'll be back .

I am reviewing again since this establishment has changed a bit and is now a bistro (rather than a wine bar) and is now under new ownership. I came here for my birthday in November. Lets do the good the first! They take reservations, yay! No need to wait with the dinner rush if you're organized enough. They also have live entertainment which adds for great ambiance. Although no longer exclusively a wine bar, they still have a decent wine list. And most importantly the food was impressive (except for dessert, I'll come back to that). I ordered the halibut which was one of the best seafood meals I've had in a long time. Now for the bad. They tore down one of the walls which used to section off a private room with another bar in that room. Now it's one big open space, and they have TVs anchored above the bar in what used to be the separate room, airing football games. The football games airing during dinner kind of kill the ambience and fine dining vibe. The games also compete with the live entertainment. I would prefer the TVs off. And then the track lighting is a bit extreme. It's very reminiscent of an interrogation room or hospital operating room. Is there a dimmer? No one looks good in lighting and it's not relaxing. And back to dessert. We ordered "warm" pumpkin cake, but there was nothing warm about it. In fact, it was just as cold as the ice cream it was served with. And that ice cream was fantastic! Will I come back--I hope so. Maybe I will test it out for brunch and the TVs will be off.

I came here specifically for the short ribs, so I was a little disappointed when our server, Diane, informed us they weren't available. That said, the experience overall was pretty good. The atmosphere is lovely--classy yet cozy--and the menu offers a great variety of options. They also have an impressive wine selection. Since the short ribs weren't available, I went with Diane's recommendation and tried the capellini. It was delicious, although I'm pretty sure it has black olives, not kalamata olives. I also ordered the house bread, which was nice, but I do think it should be complimentary, like at many nice restaurants. My sister ordered the wedge salad and bruschetta, and she really enjoyed both. Diane, our server, was incredibly sweet and attentive, which made the experience even better.I'll definitely be back--hopefully next time I'll get to try those short ribs!

Food is great service is great but tonight they had a band that blasted us out of the restaurant. The restaurant venue is pretty small and when you play drums, electric guitar at a high volume it was TOO MUCH. A regular guitar with soft ballads would have been a better choice. We had guests and we were unable to have a conversation! The band was good but not for such a small restaurant. Our table was 3 feet from the drummer!

My two star review of Magnolia Bistro has been lowered to one star, unfortunately, even under the newest ownership. We came in at 5:15 and called ahead to be sure that we'd get a table. When we entered, we were endeared to discover that a reservation was patently unnecessary, though it did fill up as the night went on. I think the menu under the old ownership was a bit more inspired, more youthful - the new menu was a little more 1990's, boasting classic hits like brie en croute and French onion soup. Is the menu meant to be French? No, just dated American-French gastropub genericness. I ordered the French onion soup and the house salad with a piece of salmon. My husband ordered the steak frites. We had also ordered a pan-seared salmon to-go. Our server is a middle aged blonde woman who was nice but looked right through us like we didn't even exist - we didn't order any alcohol this time, maybe it's why we had negligent service?My French onion soup came out lightning-fast and was REALLY formidable! However, we then sat and sat and sat and sat, until we watched our food get dropped at another table that had been waiting even longer than we had. They sat and stared at it for like five entire minutes, breathing all over it and looking confused. The waitress finally came back to check on them, they identified that this wasn't their meal, and the blonde waitress took the food to the kitchen. Not 15 seconds later, *SHE CARRIES THE EXACT PLATES OF FOOD FOOD TO OUR TABLE. NOOOOOO!*My husband and I were totally grossed out, but we had been waiting for 90 minutes (it was 6:45 at this point) and were FAMISHED. We then remind her of the salmon, which put us back into the queue of a thoroughly backed-up kitchen. Hooray.(This little location suffers from its microscopic kitchen, and they really shouldn't have expanded this restaurant to be so many tables - they simply can't catch up. Be it the Meat Cellar, OG Magnolia, or the new version, no one can churn out enough of the food to keep the clientele coming back. And there's no room for error whatsoever.)The food was whatever. You know when a pan-seared salmon has this crunch on the outside but it's still tender on the inside? This was not this salmon. This was seared for one nanosecond and finished in an oven, so it was metallic and dry the whole way through. The salad part was like $14 and fit into a cereal bowl. I couldn't believe the salad-to-salmon proportion, and that the total cost to add the fish was nearly $30! Plus $15 for my French onion soup, and suddenly I was at the price point of a luxury meal without *any* of the luxury.At 7:30, the music started. This restaurant has a polished concrete floor, so the music, albeit demonstrably talented, was BOOMING. And though we came in the restaurant was deadsville, they seat us embarrassingly, like, in front of where the band would play. So everyone is just staring at us as we pick at our secondhand food, feeling foolish for waiting an extra hour for our super-mid to-go order of salmon that we ordered at 5:30pm.At SEVEN FORTY FIVE, 2.5 hours after we arrived, we are finally released from this hell. Our server was not apologetic. We watched the owner and his wife dust wine bottles and chatter away instead of lending a hand or checking on their guests. We were stared at as obstacles impinging on the band's viewership. AND THE TOTAL BILL FOR THREE ENTREES AND NO BOOZE WAS $170. That's right folks: one bottle of Pellegrino, a French onion soup, a salad with salmon on top, steak frites, and a to-go salmon entree. At a strip mall restaurant. Next to a dog shelter. One hundred and seventy dollars.There's like, honestly, no friggin way that we ever come back. I hated everything about it.

So I went in Solo on Sunday... one server who was also the Bartender. Although I did see the Owner sitting at the Bar and he actually got behind the bar at one time but I think he was chatting with some guests that he knew that had came in. When I first came in the server told me to sit at a round table right under/beside the bar (WTS?) there were plenty of other tables... closer to the TV's and she also suggested I sit at the Bar too but I was sorta like WTH do I need to sit at the table directly cozied up under the bar??? LOL I'll start off by saying the bread bowl (especially the Squaw) is delicious and my Omelet was tasty as well. They only have 2 items on the menu that is considered traditional "Breakfast ala Brunch" items. Service was slow but as I spoke with the Server she explained that is never busy on Sundays and it was unusual for it to be as it was that day. Apparently we all came in at the same time... it didn't look that way to me but we probably (5) tables came in staggered 10 -15 minutes a part which can seem all at once when there is only one server.Parking is directly in front of the restaurant. This is the 3rd owner I believe in this spot and they have torn down a wall and enlarged the seating, not much of the homey chic design décor that was there before nor the items to purchase but I believe they will be doing so soon. Also they have quite an extensive live entertainment calendar which will be great for those that are into listening to bands during their meals... I wouldn't recommend it if you are looking for a place to catch up with friends and conversations heard - the acoustics here aren't made for that. Respectfully Reviewed

Looking for a little live music and a cocktail to start you off? Then you've definitely come to the right spot! Throw in good food and great service and you should be satisfied! I'm not going to lie, my first experience wasn't great but the second time made up for it. I ordered their Mushroom Marsala the first time around and I wasn't feeling it especially when it came with very little mushrooms and I have the pic to prove it. To make a long story short, chef said I was lying and showed the server and hostess the evidence so that took care of that and knocked off one star for that. The next visit was much better with the Shrimp Scampi hitting on all points and the Charcuterie board too. The dessert was ok too and that being the Flourless Chocolate Cake and the presentation could've been a little better. Their Magnolia burger was also decent. The service and the live music kinda balanced the whole situation so for me it's a three and a half star because no customer likes being called a liar and have to show proof. And that's my take on it, Peace.

Very disappointed at this restaurant the worse thing is to get cold food and no flavor at all.The waiter said they can make the bolognese it is not in the menu but it was not good at all hardly any meat.The owner said we can get ice cream for desserts at no charge since we were celebrating 2 birthdays .But they still added to the bill they did took it out once we mentioned it.Sorry not going back.

Very disappointed upon entering as the ambiance was not what we expected. The food and service though, did not disappoint! Food was great and large portions. When the decor is upgraded it could be a top place to frequent and enjoy the music provided after dinner also!