Blackstone Bistro

Great byob with a diverse menu and very friendly service. The atmosphere is somewhat cozy and relaxing. To make it perfect, I would suggest adding candles to the tables and dim the lighting a little bit more if possible. Prices are great and the food was really tasty. My husband had a pork dish which he raved about and I had the veal parm. Huge and I mean a huge dish with excellent veal, but would ask for it to be a little crispy when I order it again. We really enjoyed everything, except next time (and there will definitely be a next time) I would skip the mussels as an appetizer. Everything else was wonderful.

Love this place. It has great service and the chef is amazing. If I had to recommend anything it would be the Texas star chicken

We had a family dinner here and it was very good. Spanish twist, an Italian nudge and alot of care make the food really tastey. Very clean place but small and friendly. The waitress was awesome to say the least. She took pictures for us read all specials and was very genuine. It is a BYOB, which is nice. They all made us feel welcome and taken care of. Will definitely go again!

This Place is amazing. Great food and service. They really try to make your experience a top priority. We have been coming since almost the beginning, I think Louis keeps getting better. He will make anything to fit your needs as long as he has it. My daughter does not eat meat and will eat shrimp or fish. He designed a Shrimp cacciatore just for her and it is a fabulous dish. So good that My husband and friends now order it when they go. He also has to make the best veal in all of Worcester County. We eat out frequently and have not had veal anywhere as good as this. His Veal Scallopini is the best. I had the chicken Picata last night and was in heaven. With the extra large portions they serve I have leftover for lunch. My only fear is that they are getting so busy we will have to make reservations!

This place is amazing! From the super friendly staff to the amazingly delicious food, I’ll be frequently coming back here for a great meal! Absolutely love it!

Love the food! The Queso Frito was amazing! I can’t wait to come back!

Big portions. Lots of regulars. But the food itself is OK. At the end of our meal, we waited about 15 minutes to get our check. There was only one waiter so it was understandable. *Goes to the stand to the get check * Last words the waiter said to me: You can sit down
…lol a different experience

Great food, Louis is the best!!!

This is a little mom and pop operation. And OMG is the food phenomenal! I had the Chicken Fiesta special (chicken and veggies in vodka sauce) and my friends had the Veal Parmesean and Chicken Artichoke… We all loved our dinners! Heads up — it is BYOB. So its important that you know that. Service was impeccable. The owner/​cook even stopped by our table to sat hello and check on the service. We will definitely be back!

This is place is a welcome addition to the local neighborhood. The staff could not be friendlier. The food was very good too. We had the Chicken Parm. and it was tender and flavorful. I had a «blackboard special» seafood dish with shrimp mussels and calamari over pasta that was delightful. Its a BYOB place which is nice too.
We will be back for sure.

Just had lunch at this bistro with 11 coworkers to celebrate some office birthdays. We ordered ahead so we wouldn’t overwhelm the kitchen, which worked out great. The tostones were delish, as were my chicken fingers that were obviously made in house and did NOT come from a bag of frozen pre-​breaded chicken strips. Yay! Very friendly service, very friendly owner/​chef. I really hope this place finds a following and sticks around!

New to the area so my other half and I decided to try a local place. The restaurant was not fancy in appearance but was very clean. Bathroom was spotless. Very eclectic menu, from italian to spanish to american cuisine. I ordered the chuletas w/​tostones and rice with candules. Im spanish so Im very picky about spanish food from someone other than my own family. It was Delicious. The meat was so tender and well seasoned and tons of flavor. The tostones were crunchy and sweet (perfect mix between tostone and platano), and the rice was good and a perfect portion size. Meal came with garlic bread and a side salad as well which was a nice starter. My bf got the pork shoulder with white rice and tostones. The pork was tender and juicy. The white rice was flavorful, and it had a buttery taste. His entrée also came with garlic bread and salad. Both meals came to thirty bucks all together which was very reasonable for the amount of food we got. The owner personally greeted us as did his wife. Very nice and friendly people. Felt very comfortable there, I can tell the owner Luis really puts his heart into the food. He is a Johnson and Wales graduate, and the food speaks for itself. The waiter was very nice, and prompt. We look forward to returning and trying something new for dinner and the flan or tiramisu for dessert. *Hidden Gem*

Great food and a small family run place. I have eaten at the Blackstone Bistro about 8 times and the food is always fresh. In addition to the great food you can bring your own adult beverage to enjoy while having dinner.

Great, family owned place! Excellent mix of meals, great scratch cook. Chef used to be the head Chef at Il Fourno! Great family experience!

A very good dinner spot in the Blackstone area of Worcester. The menu was a mix of Italian with influences from the Puerto Rican chef. We enjoyed the beef medallions (tender enough to cut with a butter knife, which was all that I had. More on that later) with roasted potato and very fresh, lightly cooked summer vegetables. We were greeted by the chef to ensure we were enjoying our food (always a nice touch).
The service was prompt and very friendly but inexperienced for the atmosphere they are trying to create. Some simple training points such as how to open and pour a bottle of wine gracefully, would go a long way. Small things like having to ask for an extra plate for the meal we were sharing and not being given a proper knife for our steak are insignificant on their own but added up during the experience. They have good staff who require additional training.
The price was very reasonable. We are light eaters and frequently share entrees and a salad or app. We had more than enough food. Our son had the ravioli and cake for desert. We all ate well for $ 36, not including tip.
Recap: Very good and interesting menu. Acceptable service with room for improvement. Great price. We’ll be back with friends.

Ordered the meatball sandwich and was given half a loaf of bread with a sliver of meatball. The chef also apparently doesn’t know the difference between American and Mozzarella cheese or just doesn’t care as I asked for it with American and got a mess of Mozz instead. They also must not know how to cook fries without a timer on the frialator as I was served raw fries. Hopefully the Wendy’s on Southwest cutoff reopens soon so the chef can work in an environment he’s more comfortable in

We’ve been hankering to visit the Blackstone Bistro for a while now, anxious to see if this particular restaurant has what it takes to make a go of it in what I will always think of as «Quinsig Village» not the «Blackstone Canal» area (BS in my opinion), having resided in this neighborhood for a good part of my life. After visiting the bistro for lunch, we’re still not sure if it has the right stuff. Maybe we need a dinner visit or two to make the final determination.
The space is modest in size but the décor was a refreshing surprise, having pleasant neutral tones on the walls offset by the black dining tables and chairs. As we were seated at a front window table for two, we noticed sturdy wrought iron fencing enclosing a small area of the outside sidewalk and thought the space ideal for outdoor seating during the warm weather months. As the bistro made its debut in August, that option has not yet been implemented. We hope they are around next spring/​summer to try it out, though service to the outside area will be difficult as access from the restaurant is not ideal.
Service: Genuinely friendly. Husband and wife owners made a point to come over to our table to make sure we were having a pleasant experience. We ended up having an in-​depth discussion about the restaurant’s history and future food options (they’re striving to gradually introduce the neighborhood to Puerto Rican fare. Right now they are offering mostly «American» cuisine, but we noticed that the dinner menu and daily specials were heavy with Italian dishes. This, we think, stems from the chef-owner’s previous experience at the Chestnut Café). Our server was very nice, if not a little clueless about the restaurant’s dishes and its history.
Food: Uneven. My burger was juicy and tasty with a nice char on the outside, perfectly cooked to medium-​rare, as requested, and of a size (quarter pound) just enough for lunch. Served on a lightly-​toasted bulkie roll, the burger would definitely have exceeded expectations if it was served on a buttery brioche roll, in keeping with the bistro theme. The sweet potato fries I chose as my go-​with were delicious (lightly battered, crispy and not greasy), but there could have been more of them. The pickle spear served as a plate garnish was fluorescent swamp green, limp and of the worst jar variety — disappointing. My companion’s so-​called Cuban sandwich did, by no means, live up to its name. We resided in Tampa for a short time and during that time, we came to love the «Cubanos» prepared at authentic Cuban mom and pop establishments. Hell, I even concoct a respectable rendition at home! The sandwich served here vaguely resembled a true Cubano. It was what our server and the restaurant’s owner called a «Puerto Rican» version of the same. This was not to my companion’s liking at all mainly due to the large amount of fat and gristle present in the pulled pork contained within. She needed to pull out most of the meat and was left with a rather scanty sandwich (we were later informed that Puerto Ricans like meat this way — good and fatty. UGH!). Also present in the sandwich were lettuce, tomato, onions and a «special sauce,» not things usually composing a Cubano. Her side of regular fries were respectable but again, too few of them.
Our visit to Blackstone Bistro was not a total dud as the atmosphere was pleasant, my burger was good, and we enjoyed chatting with the owners. We’ll be back to sample other dishes and hope we have better luck with them. We would like to see more Puerto Rican fare on the menu and look forward to trying Mofongo and Jibaritos prepared by Louie. I think this neighborhood may be ready for the cultural shock NOW, not more-​of-​the-​same American fare.

I don’t understand the high ratings for this place, maybe I caught them on a bad night?
Me and my boyfriend got take out from here for dinner, he got the Steak Tips and I had the Chicken Artichoke.
Mine was two average sized (4oz) untrimmed chicken breasts on top of mushy overcooked pasta in a lemon garlic butter sauce with artichokes. The sauce was very thin but tasted okay, overall the dish was unsatisfying.
My boyfriends steak tip meal consisted of a VERY small portion of meat.
I wouldn’t recommend this place. I think its overpriced for small portions and mediocre flavor. Maybe you have to eat in rather than take out for good food.

My girlfriend and I have been here twice. We had calamari for an appetizer both times and it was excellent… cooked perfectly, with 2 sauces, a marinara and a cherry pepper garlic sauce… I couldn’t pick a favorite, I kept going back and forth between the 2.
For our main courses the first time she had pasta primavera and I had eggplant parmesan. The dishes were excellent and reasonably priced. The second time was even better… She had the chicken picatta and I had the lobster ravioli… the sauce for the lobster ravioli was out of this world. Each visit our bill came to under $ 40 and included garlic bread and a side salad. It is a family owned and operated restaurant and the atmosphere was great… the staff was very polite and the service was good. We will definitely be stopping here regularly.

Went with the wife and mother in law. I had the macaroni and cheese. It is a basic macaroni and cheese (which I like) but very cheesy and tasty. Wife and MIL both had the veal Parmesan. They were pleased. Its BYOB. They seem to be working out the kinks as far as servers go. A little slow, but I’m sure they will figure it out. They seem to need more experienced wait staff to make things go more smoothly. We noticed a few people, including ourselves finished and waiting for the check. They could have seated more people more quickly. Parking is a little funky in the lot, better to park on the street. All in all, very positive. Would go back.