219 Bistro

Stopped here for a drink yesterday and it's a very nice spot. Open, airy vibe! They have large windows with pretty seats. They have a bar and an outside seats as well. From 4-6 they have a great happy hour with cheap drinks and food. We didn't have any food but it all looked really great and decently priced. I would come back!

The start of the evening was wonderful, hostess sat us quickly and informed us that if we are going to see a show we should order off the pre-fix menu to ensure we are out the door in time for our show. Thats when things went south, out waitress was less then stellar, she took our drink order and then we waited and waited and then she came back and took our appetizer and entree order at the same time. Never came back to the table to check on us, the guy she was training came over and cleared out plates and that was it. When our entrees got served we had to ask for our check because she took forever to come to the table. I went to the bathroom before our dinners were served and she was back sitting down talking to someone. The food was decent, nothing to write home about. But the lack of attentiveness from our waitress was what killed the whole experience for us.

Once again my wife and I took advantage of Downtown Norfolk's Winter Restaurant Week to visit a bistro we've never been to. First up, the service was impeccable. Ambiance was magnificent. A true classy urban bistro with big windows for people watching. She had the bacon wrapped goat cheese figs with a smokey chipotle blackberry jam for an appetizer. This is a real winner. Smokey, savory, sweet, and gooey. Yummy. I had the she-crab bisque. It was good, but not exciting. In an area where blue crabs are plentiful, to stand-out in this area, 219's she crab bisque needs more flair. Her entree was the beef tenderloin coated in cracked pepper, finished with a creamy cognac and pepper sauce, served with buttery new potatoes and grilled asparagus. The tenderloin was grilled perfectly with melt-in-your-mouth tenderness. My wife loved the creamy cognac and pepper sauce on the potatoes and asparagus. I had the Cotija Chili Lime Shrimp - Mexican quinoa salad of bell pepper, red onion, black beans, cilantro, scallion, corn, crumbled cotija cheese and Mexican crema. This is an excellent entree if it's summertime. But not a winter dish. The quinoa salad is served cold. Not something I expected for a winter dish. The spiced shrimp with the Mexican crema sauce was spot-on. For dessert, she had the raspberry sorbet - very refreshing on the palate. I had the Bailey's chocolate mousse - another real winner. Highly recommend it. Creamy without being too sweet. Delicious. Everything washed down with excellent hot decaf coffee. Creative presentations, great ambiance, and wonderful service, we will be back.

I was there with a professional group attending a conference. The choice of 219 Bistro was somewhat spontaneous----- decided mainly by other Yelpers and their reviews. The menu looked good. We made a quick Open Table reservation and arrived close to the same time we booked. We started with some beers at the bar until our table was ready. It was only 5-10 minutes and they had us seated and ready to order. Our server was very attentive and informative about specials and house favorites. I ordered the She Crab Bisque to start. Lots of lump crabmeat in a delicous creamy bisque. Very flavorful and satisfying. For the main course, I ordered the Shrimp Gumbo. There were 5 large shrimp surrounding the rice, andouille sausage and toasted chilis. I recommend highly. Not too spicy, but more savory and flavorful. Unfortunately no room for dessert.

I had visited 219 Bistro for Happy Hour once and was eager to try their dinner menu. My friend and I were going to the late Matt Rife show so I thought this would be a perfect time to head back to 219 Bistro. I looked at the dinner menu online and saw that the dinner prices were fair for the entrees provided, so I knew this would be a good spot.When we walked up to the restaurant, I was beyond ecstatic to see they had extended their Restaurant week menu and pricing bc they were the once place I wanted to visit, but was unable to make it.I did the 3 course for $35. I got the Duck L'orange appetizer, the bone in pork chop entree and the chocolate mousse dessert. My friend got the Beef Tenderloin entree. The food was UNBELIEVABLE! Our server Brock was also so attentive and an absolute pleasure. I 100% will be back again and again! My only con is I wish they were open more days of the week, but I understand why they operate in the capacity that they do. I can't wait to come back to try all the other amazing dinner options!

Excellent burger and great service at the bar. Was engaged by some regulars at the bar and learned quite a bit about the city. Overall ambience and atmosphere was good.

My heart wanted to give this place 5 stars. I can't because I didn't ACTUALLY eat here. According to the menu HANDED TO ME WHEN I GOT TO THE TABLE (The owner/manager let me know there is a menu posted outside the restaurant, but who runs outside then back to the table to cross reference a menu? Want a customer to see the full menu? Then hand it to us at the table). GOOGLE, they were supposed to have an extensive VEGAN menu. They had two items--edamame and Thai Zucchini curry. "Two" does not constitute "extensive". We left. The 3 stars are for the kind waitress--DANAE. She was quite understanding and suggested their sister restaurant, Leones. She told us 219 Bistro updated their menu recently, and clearly the black bean and corn veggie burger and the honey sriracha Brussel Sprouts didn't make the new menu list (though they are on the menu when you Google this place). Oh well.

Tried this restaurant for the first time because it was restaurant week. I read some reviews that said the service was so slow.. I was worried about that. But!! That was NOT the case. Service was quick. We had a reservation and were sat right away.We got a water soon after and ordered drinks. My boyfriend got the Pineapple Persuasion and that was super yummy.We ordered off the $45 restaurant week menu. I got the she crab bisque and my boyfriend had the bacon wrapped figs. My soup was delicious. His gosh were tasty. A little sweet but overall great.For the entrees, I got the bacon wrapped scallops with risotto, and my boyfriend got the filet. My scallops were cooked perfectly, but I didn't really like the sauce in the dish, a little too sour for me. Still good!My boyfriend's filet was cooked perfectly. Needed a little more flavor but overall we both enjoyed it. Alfonso, the server we had, was kind, helpful, and went above and beyond to make sure we had a good experience. The desserts were super good! The chocolate mousse and the sorbet is what we ordered. And it all came out with great presentation and had great flavor. We will be back again :)

WOW! What a disappointment our experience at 219 was! Our group of 10 had dinner here last night. We made reservations 3 weeks ago and were really looking forward to it. We arrived and were some of the 1st there. I told the waitress we had tickets to the theater at 7:30 and was told no problem. She started off good and went downhill. She placed our order at 5:45 and from there was a nightmare. They ran out of wine glasses so drinks were delayed. At 6:50 we were still not served after I mention the time several times to her. I was worried about the time and EVERYONE was served around us. The Manager was no help and incredibly unconcerned. The waitress finally started serving our meal at 7:00 and in 3 shifts with 5 minutes between them. We had to gulp down our expensive meal in 15 minutes and rush to the theater. The meals were mediocre. Will NEVER go there again!

Sooooo good! You can get it with or without the cured sausage. You can definitely get this as a meal for one or share with a group.