Bristol Bar & Grille
| Address: | 1321 Bardstown Rd, Louisville, KY 40204, USA |
| Phone: | +1 502-456-1702 |
| Site: | bristolbarandgrille.com |
| Rating: | 4.1 |
| Working: | 11AM–12AM 11AM–12AM 11AM–12AM 11AM–12AM 11AM–2AM 11AM–2AM 10AM–12AM |
Location
Photos 100
Reviews 8
A
A Private User
First off, you need a few minutes before you read this review! Secondly I have over 25 years of dining at fine restaurants and being around people who run fine restaurants. In over a decade of dealing with this place, never, ever, have I come across a restaurant that I have had so many problems with. Usually it is always the same thing: poor service. The first problem I ever had here was back in 1999 dealing with a waitress (with piercings) who couldnt get my order right to save her life. That was while waiting for a beer over 30 minutes! Fast forward to 2005. After being a very regular customer during a 3 year span, I come in one evening to the bar and get completely ignored by a new bartender. After standing around for over 30 minutes without even being acknowledged, I left. Thinking this was an aberration, I went back the next week. This time, I became very sick the next day after eating a meal there. OK, so Im done with this place at this point. 2 years later yet another chance. Things do change over time, right? Well, not really. Much to my amazement, the SAME bartenders are still there. Sure enough the honeymoon didnt last for long. During Bardstown Road Aglow, the same bartender who ignored me years earlier told everyone at the bar she would not take any food orders because she was too busy! That has never happened to me in all my years of dining out. Very unprofessional but once again, I tried to be understanding. Over the next few months, said bartender complained about good paying, regular customers to me. It was like they were just a bunch of pests. Then I would witness servers argue about not wanting to wait on people. Another "senior" bartender there, Ken, makes fun of certain customers or complains as well. Not to anyones face of course. Arent regular customers a good thing?! Apparently not to these folks. After yet another incident of very poor service on Derby night 2008, once again I washed my hands of this poor excuse for a restaurant. So in 2010, shouldnt it be safe to do carry out only? You guessed it. Hell no! While placing the orders over the phone is easy enough, STILL the SAME damn people are working here!!! What a shock. I guess it shouldnt be a huge surprise they havent moved on since no one else would ever hire these people or put up with their garbage. During my most recent (and LAST) visit I gave a standard "hows it going?" to the person I placed the order with. He just looked at me with a phony grin and went back to what he was doing! How can somebody be such a rude, arrogant bastard? I mean, here it is, Fathers Day, the place is half empty (well, its half empty anytime) and theyd wonder why? If you arent thought of as much as dine in customer, youre even lower than dirt if you get carry out. As a side note, this bartender used to give me free drinks because I came in so often and tipped very well. Now that I dont dine in anymore, I dont even warrant a greeting? What a two-faced phony. He deserves to be where hes at. The Bristol, at least this location, has become as another person stated here "a joke". Its a place that used to be a nice restaurant that is now just a place for people who want to pretend theyre going to a nice restaurant, without really going to one. A lady once told me that "its just mediocre food but I come here to visit friends". Well, Ill say the food is average to good, but thats all. With the dramatic increase in prices, needless to say it sure isnt worth it. The place needs to be taken out back like the dog Old Yeller and put out of its misery. Maybe a decent restaurant can open up in its place. In the meantime if you want to dine at true fine dining establishments, go to Jack Frys or Asiatique. Red Lobster, a big national chain, is a hundred times better. They dont have that "were cooler than our loser customers" attitude some neighborhood places have. These places actually like to have customers, even regulars! Now thats a concept, at least to the Bristol on Bardstown Road.
JE
Jeremy Bratcher
The Bristol is one of Louisvilles crown gems. Im not a big foodie or big spender so I dont frequent this place as often as I would like but everytime I do I am awestruck by their service. For example, today I was greeted by the manager (I asked if he was) which is something Im unaccustomed to but was impressive to me. I was dining alone and not really dressed for the place (the Bristol is definitely upscale) but was treated the same as everyone else in their dressed-up lunch parties. I had the Smoked Salmon & Portabello which is a pasta dish. I will be returning just to try this dish again as it was one of the best lunches Ive had in quite some time for a very resonable price. In short, try the Britstol and Im sure you wont be disappointed.
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Troy Windhorst
THE GOOD: Nice location just steps away from many local, retail shops. Great salmon. Great steamed broccoli. They have a great pasta dish for vegetarians. Their creme brulee is one of the best! THE BAD: Not much... menu may be a little limited for some. SUMMARY: Nice place. Check out the menu online if you are not familiar. Service has been a little "hit & miss" for me, but it is usually good. CAUTION: Parking lot is small, but there is plenty of street parking in the surrounding block.
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Ben Gillette
This is an amazing restaurant! From the moment we walked in, we were welcomed and taken care of. The staff is smiling and happy to help. The manager walks around and makes a connection to everyone in the place. We have 4 kids, this is not always the way we are treated when we go out to eat. There are times we are tolerated to say the least but here we were welcomed... Thank You Bristol!
JA
James Harding
Bristol is one of my favorite places in Louisville. The food is great, but the severs are second-to-none. They are truly fantastic at what they do. In fact, even though Bristol has locations all around the Louisville area (some of them closer to where I live), I ONLY go to the Bardstown Road location. That is where youll find the best food and the BEST service. Give em a try!
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Sharon Marx
Since I was young, the Bristol has been my Cheers. Consistency, efficiency, neighborhood ambience, traditional flavors I can count on, plus innovations...keep me coming back regularly. Playful banter with Pete, as he works the crowd, makes the experience nearly perfect. And Im there often enough to enjoy being asked, "Would you like your regular table?".
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Teri Cee
The lunch was quite nicely done, service was adequate, albeit slow for the size of the crowd. Overall a good experience for our first visit to the Bardstown road location. We will go back. The prices are extremely reasonable for the quality of the food you are getting! We also like that the ingredients are locally sourced. Good job Bristol.
JA
James Mullins
Had a horrible Saturday morning at Bristol. The béarnaise sauce wasnt even a sauce, but a foul smelling scoop of something in ramekin. The Poached eggs were horribly over cooked. Finally the store bought English muffins were stale. The waitress and manager didnt really care either. Please avoid this restaurant at all costs.
