Bistro 821

I actually picked this restaurant online and made reservations. Wasn’t sure what we were in for. We were seated within 5 minutes of arrival. The food was amazing, I had the sea bass and snapper off the Pick Two menu. The atmosphere was fun, and the service was impeccable. Mark was a great waiter. I highly recommend Bistro 821 100%!!!

My husband and I love this bistro! Great menu, lovely and lively ambience, friendly service and amazing food. I don’t feel OLD here, even though I’m getting there! Definitely a plus for an eatery in FL!

Went here several months back. I can’t remember what we had other than it was shared apps and wine. We liked the food and the restaurant was pretty busy. Mainly writing so tha we remember to return here in the future

Expertly crafted food! From the huge wedge of Tuscan bread served with a seasoned EVO dipping oil, to the melt in your mouth warm Brie in phyllo dough with truffle and wild mushroom sauce app to the fresh and perfectly cooked Snapper with Thai chili peanut sauce and Miso Sake Sea Bass entrees… every bite was delicious! We saved room for dessert but walked across the street for some ice cream… big mistake! Next time, will try something decadent like the flourless chocolate cake at Bistro 821 to cap off our wonderful dining experience!

Stopped in a little early on a very rainy day and was turned away by what seemed to be the manager/​owner shoveling down some Pizza. He said sorry, we’re not open until 4:30, have a good night! Where is the hospitality?!? Ran back out in the rain to find another place. Would not recommend to anyone!
Across the street is Café Milano who treated us like royalty! Seafood gratin was the best and the service was top notch.

The quintessential «take your parents/​grandparents/​random octogenarian you just picked up at RSW and drove home» kind of place — font on the menu is large, the bread they start you with is that pillowy texture that just screams «eat me, I’m denture safe», and the nosh is «approachably adventurous» — allowing your fave Mildred or Eugene to go wild with the the pork/​manchego empanadas or keep it classy with the goat cheese spring roll (??) or escargot.
All this said, while as I’m looking back on the menu, it looks a hot mess of ideas (crab dip and shrimp/​beef chile relleno are strange bed fellows, to put it lightly), IRL, we all had very solid meals.
Started with the calamari — light, blisteringly hot, tender — other tables seemed v into the baked brie (figs, truffle oil, shroom sauce), and the grilled jumbo prawns gussied up in flavors you’d find in Thailand — and moved into the salads — no attempt to reinvent the wheel here, though the bistro (greens, pine nuts, sun dried tomatoes, bermuda onion, shrooms, balsamic) was nice — and the tomato/​mozz looked tasty, the majority of the salads all veer a little too far into sweet lane for my liking, with the chef displaying a penchant for raspberry maple vinaigrette and assorted dried fruits nestled betwixt and between baby greens.
If you want to carb out, the neapolitan pasta (shrimp, scallops, mussels in a tomato/​basil/​garlic sauce) and the risottos looked lovely, the thought of tenderloin/​gorgonzola penne gave me pause, but perhaps that’s primarily b/​c I’m a lactard pescatarian. Idk.
I think all of us went for the seafood (though M did consider the bourbon BBQ ribs for more than just a hot second and Peal was mightily tempted by the meatloaf — again… random) — my miso sea bass was excellent — flaky, succulent, rich — and the coconut/​ginger snapper and scallops also got high marks. If none of this appeals, perhaps your mouth will water at the thought of broiled lobster tail, filet mignon (shallot bernaise), roasted duck (honey mustard glaze) or twin tournedos of waygu.
Starters are $ 11 – 16, salads $ 6.5−14, pastas $ 12 – 24, seafood $ 28 – 35, and things that go moo/​quack/​oink $ 26 – 33. Portions are relatively massive — if you’re a light eater, I’d get a solo salad and split an entrée — if you’re like me, a lady with the metabolism of a 16y male, get a starter, a salad, and a piece of fish and you’ll be happy as a clam for at least 3h. Overall, menu lacks cohesion, but the experience reflects none of this disjointedness. Pleasant way to spend an evening, though if you’re trying to impress city slickers, perhaps I’d try somewhere that doesn’t read as «v bustling for a swank senior center». I’m sure we’ll be back.

I was on Unilocal checking restaurants in Naples. We decided to try Bistro 821. The restaurant had a quite high reviews. The place it self is very nice. Outdoor seating was comfortable. The server was good but rushing us to order.
I ordered full portion of Original Napolitan pasta. The food was untaste. It was added to the broth without any taste. The wine what we ordered was excellent.

Another favorite when I am in Naples. Their twofer (or threefer) deal is a great way to try multiple house specialties. Last time I was there I got the sea bass and the snapper. Both were cooked to perfection with rich sauces and abundant sides.
My only complaint is that the house salad left much to be desired. It was strictly lettuce, red onion, and one tomato wedge for $ 7. My Aunt was very satisfied with her Caesar salad.

Bleh and inappropriate…
It saddens me to write a negative review. It was my anniversary and I really wanted to enjoy this restaurant. We waited about 10 minutes for the hostess to come up to the hostess booth and acknowledge us, as many other employees walked through this awkwardly placed door and not one asked if we needed help or said excuse me.
Service: again we waited about 10 minutes before our server approached the table. Not personable at all. It was obvious he judged us on the fact that we are young and not the normal wealthy looking couple. He was displeased and annoyed that I had questions regarding the menu. He spoke to me in a condescending tone because I was asking what was vegetarian friendly, as though he had never heard such a thing. He spent most of his time appeasing the wealthy elderly couples. He only seemed to lighten up when his other priority tables left.
Food: I’ll admit the Brie pastry (although cold) was great. The bread was dry, and the dipping oil had large shredded pieces of cheese that was difficult to get. My paella was a total mess. It was runny, soupy rice hidden under a mound of tomatoes equivalent to ¼ cup steamed, bland canned tomatoes. It had 3 pieces exactly of green pepper. The yellow squash had a strange after taste and I could not taste saffron AT ALL. There were random rectangular pieces of unknown varying fish (described as a medallion of fish. Which is a style of cut not a type). There were only two clams.
Miso sake sea bass– the mashed potatoes and asparagus was good. It’s all I ended up eating. The sea bass was cold, had bones and tasted oddly sweet. Apparently most of the dishes come with the same mashed potatoes and four pieces of asparagus, which might be their saving grace. Not by much.
I had high hopes. For the prices of the dishes it had the quality of chain restaurants.
We had reservations for 9:30pm. They close at 10:30pm. It’s not as though we walked in last minute. Once it became close to closing the phone continually rang. The manager was walking around drinking a beer, and the staff huddled around the bar laughing obnoxiously as some man explained in detail why he «doesn’t like to jerk off in the shower».
I feel guilty leaving a negative review. I truly wanted to enjoy this place.

No idea what the hype was about… food was awful… service even worse. Veal was tough and looked like it had been deep fried.
Would never go back here.

We always have a great meal there, unfortunately we have to eat there in the off-​season because after November and is a long wait
However if you are an out-​of-​town are with plenty of time it is well worth time spent
A nice casual walk down Fifth Avenue after dinner makes for a nice evening out

This place is a can’t miss in Naples. I would suggest that you call first and get a reservation. I watched a couple people walk away saying they should have made reservation.
So here is my story. My wife and I, her cousin, and my two (ages 4 and 2) young kids were visiting the area and looking for a new place. I found this place on Unilocal.I called Bistro 821 and explained I was looking good food but that I had kids. They said it would not be an issue.
Here is the deal with this place. If you like sea bass then you need to stop by this place. They have a lot of great food but the Sea Bass is legit. It is different then the Sea Bass at Truluck’s. One thing I will point out is this place allows you to do a «pick 2» for your entrée. They give you two half portion to complete your dinner. It’s great because you get to try to different dishes at one sitting.
In addition to the Sea Bass I had the Jumbo Prawns in a thai chile sauce. They were good. Her cousin had the Snapper which was also prepared in a thai chile sauce.
For an appetizer we had the goat spring rolls. They were good.
I am not in to writing long reviews but I know food and this place is legit. If you don’t mind spending a couple dollars on a nice piece of fish then you can’t go wrong here.

It is that time again, my wife’s Birthday, and as I do every year I love to celebrate with one night of going out ourselves someplace different, romantic and to let her know that I care. Part of letting her know that usually can come from the help of the staff and servers of the restaurant I choose by being part of the celebration. This year we ventured to Naples, Florida so I spent weeks trying to find a place I never have seen or heard about. Thank you to all the Naples Unilocalers for all the recommendations and help on the talk thread I posted wanting a real nice place on the water. They were some great recommendations but I decided for what I want, probably, is not on the water in Naples, and found Bistro 821 in downtown Naples. As we walked in to Bistro 821, it was exactly what I thought I was looking for: the friendly greeting as we walked in, beautiful bar with a nice display of wines, and by looking at the menu again, a large, diverse selection of appetizers and differently prepared menu entrees based on the foods that both my wife and I like to try. Well, we got a BONUS; our server Angela. Angela welcomed with a good feeling and she was happy to spend the evening with us. She is from Chicago where I am from, I come to find out, a big Cub fan, and very outgoing, friendly and so very knowledgeable about the menu. As I requested, we got seated at a booth/​table so we were able to sit together on the booth looking out to the dining room and the beautiful bar in the back round. There was a small TV up on the bar so we could glance at the football games and of course our Chicago Cub playoff Game 1. When I called for the reservation, I told the hostess that it was my wife’s birthday and I knew they did not forget. They sprinkled up the table for us.
We brought our own bottle of wine, as usual. Bistro 821 has a corkage fee of only $ 20.00 which is very reasonable. We like our wine chilled and requested our wine to be opened and put on the table with an ice bucket. Angela loved doing this for us as she slowly pulled the cork as we were in a nice discussion of what she would do if the cork broke A great way to break the ice, sort of speak. She was so lovely. As we let the wine sit for awhile they served us nice soft bread with a nice herb/​olive oil mixture. Angela stayed at our table to discuss the menu and we took every recommendation she gave us. For whatever reason, there was no doubt in her voice as she recommended certain items on the menu to us so we took her advice on everything we ordered.
Angela’s first recommendation was the Grilled Prawns on a Sushi Rice cake and the kicker was the Thai Chili Sauce that surrounded it. First of all, anything served with a sushi rice cake is always good, but the Thai Chili sauce was so good, I asked her what other dishes they served with that sauce and sure enough, she told us the Snapper. My wife and I split that appetizer and started on the wine. I love Duck and saw it on the menu when I looked online, and Angela told me that she DID NOT like duck, but this duck, because of the way it was prepared was different and highly recommended it. It was a half duck, partially sliced up with a beautiful mustard sauce. Had to be the best Duck dish ever ordered. Now she was 2 for 2. A very different menu idea that Bistro 821 does is give you a selection of a «Pick Two or Three», which is a combination of 2 or 3 entrees, smaller portions of course on each, to be able to try more than one selection for one dinner. My wife chose the Filet and the Sea Bass. I tried her Sea Bass to get an idea of how good their fish is and this was so flakey and flavorful, I would not hesitate to get this next time I come. Both entrees were served over mashed potatoes and asparagus. EXCELLENT choices, Angela.
Bistro 821, of course, again, did not forget my wife’s birthday and brought over 2 deserts, my wife’s was an outrageous Flourless Chocolate Cake served with Strawberries, Blackberries and Ice Cream and they put 2 candles in it to celebrate. But they did something really different for me as well. I never ordered dessert for me but they brought over, on the house, an incredible Key Lime Pie crusted over with Crème Brulee. Now, I never ordered it, was told nothing about it, but Bistro 821 or Angela picked it out knowing how great it really was.
A couple side notes about the menu. #1 The selection and their prices. I was really amazed at the selection, the quality of the food and preparation and how reasonably priced everything was. #2 They have a great special on Sunday-​Wed all night and Thursday through Saturday orders before 7pm. You can get 2 entrees and a bottle of wine for $ 33.95.
We were done for the night, full, happy and satisfied, and our lovely Angela brought the check with a funny comment: «I waived the corkage fee since we are both Cub fans» How more perfect can this night have been. We definitely took care of Angela. Be back for you!!!

Dinning on Naples 5^th Street is always FUN!
And the key word here is FUN!
This Resturant has the flair, seating and café ambience much like a French Bistro! The food is varied and excellent! Creative dishes carried out to the fullest.
Tuna, Sea Bass, Steak… you can’t go wrong… cream brûlée topped key lime pie … Wow … our waiter, Scott
was fun, informative, and attentive…
Put this experience a must on your dinning list to do’s.

What a wonderful evening at Bistro 821! It was ladies night for us and we were very pleased with the service we received from our waiter James. Good wine list and bread was brought out immediately. I had heard the sea bass wouldn’t disappoint and it was very good. The potatoes were a bit buttery
for my taste but the asparagus was cooked perfectly. For a shared appetizer we got the empanadas with pulled pork and manchego which were very flavorful and just enough size wise for all four of us to have a portion. We also had the spinach salad (amazing) as well as the market tomato salad. Highly recommended getting a salad or two to try. Two in our group also got the Vodka penne with chicken and the wagyu sirloin– both very good and large portions. We finished off the night with the flourless chocolate cake which was phenomenal. We sat inside and the ambience was casual and pleasant. Overall I would definitely recommend this restaurant.

During fourth of July weekend, I decided to visit Bistro 821 with my family. We walked towards the front of the restaurant at 9:15 pm, and asked an employee at what time they closed. He told us 10:00pm, then ran inside to ask the host, and proceeded to tell us 10:30. We were hungry so we stayed. We ordered the crab dip which was cheesy but not «crabby». My father ordered the sea bass & snapper, my other ordered the tenderloin tips and gorgonzola pasta, I ordered a half order of the spinach and gorgonzola salad, and my boyfriend ordered the pot roast. The food saved this place because everything was delicious! The real highlights of the meal were the spinach & gorgonzola salad and the sea bass. The gorgonzola salad has a warm dressing that balances perfectly with the cold spinach, it’s a must try! The sea bass & snapper had incredible sauces, and were cooked to perfection.
The only reason there are 3 stars and not 5 is because the menu was slightly overpriced, and our service was SO SLOW. We were about to tell our server to cancel our order when he came over with the food. It took us an hour and 10 minutes from arrival to receive our food.
All in all, in comparison to other restaurants in the area, Bistro 821 is a must try!

First and foremost… Excellent food. Compliments to the Chef. We had Ceasar salad, and the Bass and Snapper.
All the sides were superb from the Jasmine rice to green beans.
Now for the 5^th star I had to withhold:
1. Upon first opening/​seating, there’s a bad odor from the premises like an old basement. Many of the buildings in this area have this same smell inside. It is soon masked when the cooking begins, but still, not a good welcome.
2. This setting is schizophrenic: It doesn’t know it’s identity.
Is it a casual bar? There’s a TV, bar in the same room as diners.
Is it romantic, fine dining? There’s white table cloths and candles on tables.
Is it a diner? The kitchen is open in the back of the room and servers are very casual, we had to ask for items that a fine dining place would automatically have known what to do. Also the music in the background is classic rock. Love the Beatles but not when I am spending this kind of $$$
Lots of gluten free choices. Special GF menu and dinner specials for the week days.
Check in on Unilocal for free dessert with steak
Forgot, important, they serve Foie Gras here. Therefore after I finish my gift certificate, not returning until it is removed from the menu. I will not support the torture of animals.

My girlfriend and I had dinner here as our ‘fancy pants’ dinner near the end of our trip to the Naples area.
The restaurant was extremely busy, but we were greeted quickly and properly, showed to our table immediately (we had a reservation), and brought waters before we made it to the second line on the menu. So good so far!
Our waiter was attentive and quick to refill glasses when needed, made good suggestions about the food and drinks, and bussed before it became an issue. Good work.
The brie appetizer was just so-​so. Nothing special with the flavors or presentation. Not the worst I’ve had, but certainly not the best.
We opted to share a 3-​item entrée sampler and were very happy with the results. Most everything was cooked as we had asked, barring the tuna. We requested a light pan-​sear only, but received full on, well-​done cooked fish. Meh.
Dessert was probably the highlight, though. Great presentation, great flavor, and horrible for your belly. All signs of a delicious ending to a meal.
Even with the few issues we experienced, I’d still recommend this place to anyone in the area.

We dined here on a Saturday night in November and sat outside because it was such a nice night.
It was hard to choose what to have as they’ve got a lot of great selections. One great feature is the «pick two» (or three) option where you can have half sizes of two different entries. That’s what 3 at our table decided to do. I had the coconut/​ginger crusted red snapper and filet. It also came with mashed potatoes and asparagus. Another person had the snapper plus the miso covered sea bass. All were fantastic.
For a first course my wife and I shared a wonderful market tomato salad layered with fresh mozzarella cheese and drenched with a slightly sweet balsamic vinegar dressing-​it was really good! The meal also came with some wonderful Italian bread and savory olive oil with herbs.
One caution, this ends up being a ton of food. We split the small salad between two and still had 2 healthy portions. The entrees are really big too. Just know you will have leftovers. Will definitely be back to try some more of their great choices.

Stopped in here shortly after arriving in Naples. We usually go to the places that we see on a Unilocal with high reviews, but we were so hungry that we just stopped in at the first place we saw on our walk from the hotel… which happened to be here. :)
Jackpot!
Since I just arrived, and my stomach wasn’t the best after a couple of flights, I decided to just go all veggie. I’m not a vegetarian, but most of the time that’s just what I eat. I ordered mashed potatoes and gravy and some other veggies. The potatoes were wonderful. The gravy was so good!
The meatloaf that I stole off my hubs plate was the best! They gave him two giant slices of meatloaf, and it looked like he was having trouble eating it… so what’s a girl to do? That’s right… help her man out! ;). I’m not sure what they put in their meatloaf, but ohhh… It was perfection! I’m thinking some type of minced veggie mix? So good! I even asked to take the last few bites home in a bag because I did NOT want to see it get wasted. Who cares if I don’t have a microwave in my hotel room– I’ll eat it icicle cold– yes… it’s that good!
It was a perfect night, so we ate out on their sidewalk café area. It was very nice and fun to people watch. Our server was very nice and kept my water glass full.