Bristol Seafood Grill

After a very long day of travel and work, this place hit the spot. I started with a craft cocktail «Downtown Dane» It was pretty tasty — sort of like an Old Fashion. I liked it so much that I had 2 of them.
Next up was Calamari app, then the Ahi Tuna entrée. The tuna was a bit more seared than I liked but it was still delicious. The asparagus was cooked perfect. Bristol food never disappoints.

Bristol has great seafood. The Happy Hour specials are a steal of a deal, with $ 1 oysters. The fish is always fresh. Probably the second best seafood restaurant in St. Louis besides 801 Fish. Also, the brunch is amazing.

Fantastic service. Food is the best and not inexpensive. But not trying to create the wheel all over again. Just keeps putting out great seafood as well as steaks. All time place to go to for brunch

Had barramundi which was recommended by Shaun B at lunch time. It was exactly what he mentioned. I never had that fish before and now will look for it.
The food is magnificent. All the side dishes are wonderful. The mashed potatoes are great. We go at lunch time to Devon’s in Oak Brook which don’t have the mashed potatoes at lunch! Ugh! You have to call to have them made up and sometimes i forget to do that. It really don’t make sense, when it was Braxton’s, they had the potatoes at any time.
If ever in the area again, will not hestitate to go back. Only downfall was that everyone was seated in the same area. With a large restaurant, I guess the servers wanted everyone on top of one another so they didn’t have to walk far. Never could understand that.

Nothing bad can be said about bristols. I haven’t been in a long time and being a former employee the place looks great and food was spectacular! Crab cakes are some of the best you will ever find.

This review is for happy hour only. The place is fairly expensive and not a trendy foodie scene so I opted for a budget friendly option.
Bristol has a great happy hour! I love weekend happy hours and they have many hours available for quality food: M-​F 4−7pm, 9– close; Sat 4:30−7; Sun 4:30−9.
We went on a Thursday. On Wednesdays & Thursdays, whole lobsters are at cost. On this day, cost was $ 14!!! EVERYONE in the bar area had a lobster. We did not, but we wish we had. They ran out close to 6pm. We had the small tempura shrimp sushi roll and the lobster roll. Both were fantastic, and the size was decent for happy hour prices ($ 7). It’s an upscale happy hour so it isn’t cheap but the quality of food far exceeds most places.
I had the house red wine for $ 5 (can’t remember but I think it was cab). I expected to be disgusted but wanted to give it a shot. It wasn’t bad. It was drinkable — drinkable enough for 2 glasses!
I highly recommend happy hour but go early if you want a lobster (or a seat!)!

We reserved a table for Sunday brunch and hostess was nice. The waiter explained were all the food was and even took us. He took our drinks and was very attentive. All the people the work there are nice and attentive. The food was AMAZING! They have omelette, seafood, and variety of desserts. I would definitely recommend for Sunday brunch. It’s kind of expensive, but worth it.

I had a very rough week this week. My good friend picked me up at 9pm and we ended up at Bristol’s. He had a glass of wine and I had a Stella Artois. Then he proceeded to order 1 Salted Butterscotch Tart (maldon sea salt, chocolate ganache, housemade banana sherbet, candied walnuts) and 1 Carrot Cake (pecan praline filling, sweet cream cheese, toasted coconut, crème anglaise). I ate ¹⁄₃ of the carrot cake and we boxed the rest up to go home. I tasted the butterscotch tart the following day and eventually finished off the carrot cake after several days. Excellent desserts, nice atmosphere, and really good friend to take me out for drinks and dessert to Bristol’s on a random Thursday night. Of course I’ve had the food on other occasions but on this night the dessert was the thing…

I ate here last Sunday evening with a friend. When we arrived the seating was not open yet as the restaurant itself had just opened. Even though we were in the waiting area a server came by to check if she could get us waters while we waited. Very nice.
We sat down and I showed the manager my Unilocal app offer for a free calamari appetizer. Within about 10 minutes it was at our table along with their rolls. The rolls are good but the overly sweetened butter is a little strong so best to use sparingly. The calamari was fried with jalepenos and carrots, so the whole appetizer was delicious. It came with two sauces, one was more of a horseradish and the other a Cajun olive oil type. Both were very good.
For the main meal my friend and I split a few entrees. The King Crab was very good. It was well made crab and tasted slightly sweet. We had the apple bacon grits and parmesan roasted potatoes for the crab sides. Both were very good, especially the potatoes. The other entrée we ate was a surf and turf deal, with steak and panko fried shrimp. The steak was ordered medium rare and was PERFECT. I used to work at a steakhouse and I am ashamed to say I never had one there that was this great. Cooked on the outside and a lovely rare pink on the inside with lots of juiciness and flavor. The panko shrimp were very hard and overly fried when they first came out. We told our server and he immediately brought us new ones that were less coated and you could taste the shrimp much better. Those also proved to be delicious. The sides were mashed potatoes and lobster mac n cheese. The potatoes were good but not anything to rave about. The lobster mac n cheese should be its own dish if it isn’t already.
The service was amazing and the food was too. I would go back here any day.

I don’t give out 5/5’s, but this was easy.
My meal: Maple smoked Salmon Entrée, Key Lime Pie and Mango Sorbet, Calamari Appetizer
The best thing about Bristol’s…
Is it’s SERVICE. We somehow ended up having 2 incredibly nice waitresses who were so on top of things. They made me and my girlfriend feel very comfortable and satisfied with our experience there. They were always there with a jug the minute my water ran out.
Food Review…
Appetizer: Light, crunchy, and seasoned — everything you’d want in a calamari dish. Didn’t find any soggy pieces, so I was a happy camper. I loved the mix in of fried jalapeños and the sliced carrots. Delightful!
Entrée: Absolutely blown away. Presentation was beautiful. The food was fresh out of the kitchen and flavorful. My salmon literally came on a slice of a small maple trunk. It was cooked tender and moist (the worst thing you can do to a fish is overcook it). I had risotto and a green bean side. I appreciated the creaminess of the risotto, but it was a little dull in flavor. The green beans were cooked with sliced, preserved fruit. This side was salty, savory and had a delicious sweet aftertaste.
Dessert: Presentation was cute. I liked that the key lime pie was not too sweet, but at the same time, it didn’t really stand out to me. I regretfully write that I wasn’t really a fan of the pineapple and cherry garnishes. They were canned. It made me think that someone just opened a DOLE fruit cup and spread it across a nice plate. It made the dessert seem cheap. I would’ve really liked to see some fresh fruit on the plating — especially after a whole front course of fresh, high-​quality ingredients. Outside of that, the mango sorbet was refreshing after a large, somewhat oily meal.
How’s the place…
For all you Bioshock fans, Bristol’s looks like the inside of Rapture during it’s heydays. For book readers and film people, Bristol’s reminds me of something out of the Great Gatsby. I’m in love with the use of dark woods and blue-​green tiling. It really gives off a vintage vibe. Dim lighting really brings out the full dining experience.
Bonus…
Unlimited and free biscuits and whipped butter
Would I Return…
Easily.

I came to Bristol’s last week for my girlfriend’s 21^st birthday (if you sign up for the mailing list, you get $ 25 for a birthday entrée). It was pretty crowded for a Thursday night.
We both ended up ordering salmon. I ordered the Atlantic Salmon with brussel sprouts and asparagus off of the Seafood section of the menu and my girlfriend ordered the maple glazed salmon with green beans and risotto from the entrees. We also got a free calamari appetizer with a Unilocal check in!
One of my favorite parts about eating at Bristols is the unlimited free biscuits with honey butter. I ended up only eating one biscuit, but those biscuits are so addictingly delicious.
I enjoyed my grilled Atlantic Salmon dish especially with the delicious brussel sprouts. The fish was a pretty thick and fatty cut. When I bit into my fish it actually tasted a little bit like brie cheese to me for some reason, but in a good way. It was a pretty plate of food, but I managed to eat it all along with a few pieces of calamari and one biscuit.
After we finished our entrees, the waiter told us that my girlfriend got a free dessert for her birthday. We decided to share the key lime pie with mango ice cream. I thought we would just get a slice of key lime pie, but we actually got a whole mini pie with a small scoop of mango ice cream. The key lime pie was pretty good, but it could’ve used a bit more tang and it was a little heavy at the end of a big meal. We must’ve both liked it a lot though because we ended up finishing the dessert (probably gaining a pound or two from the whole dinner).
Our service was excellent throughout the night; we actually had two servers rotating through our table, so we got a lot of water refills and a few biscuit refills.
At the end, we saved a lot on our dinner through the $ 25 birthday meal reward, free calamari Unilocal check in reward, and free birthday dessert. Overall, we had a fantastic night at Bristol’s for a great deal!

Another awesome dinner at Bristols. Great service, excellent food, oysters were fresh and everything else was just perfect.

Another wonderful Bristol experience! (I know, I’ve eaten here 3 times this week!)
I brought a co-​worker to lunch on Thursday, January 28^th, 2016. I had an 11:30 reservation that we were running late for, so I called and they said no problem, we’ll see you when you get here. I appreciated their willingness to work with us as when we arrived, it was obvious they had a very full house.
We started with the Calamari appetizer ($ 12.50). It’s very GOOD calamari! It’s tender and seasoned perfectly with just a hint of the fried, thinly sliced jalapenos that come with it. Please don’t be scared off if you don’t like spicy tastes as this is incredibly subtle. For our entrees, my friend had the Almond Crusted Tilapia ($ 16.50) and claims it’s her favorite dish to get at Bristol. Well, I can see why! First, it’s beautifully plated! Seriously one of the prettier plates just to look at. I had to sample it and I agree, it’s delicious. It hasn’t converted me from my Salmon or Shrimp Cocktail, but it’s very, very good. So, obviously, I had my favorite Atlantic Salmon ($ 18). I get it with the French green beans and brussel sprouts. Everything on this plate is perfection! The Salmon was perfectly cooked and it wasn’t a bit oily, which is what I expect from Bristol — no oily fish. The beans always seem fresh to me and perfectly cooked, with crispness in each bite, and the sprouts are seasoned with Heaven, I think! For dessert I had the Cookie Box ($ 5.50) and my friend had the pick three gelatos/​sorbets. Hers was delicious, but I stand by my favorites of the Cookie Box (assorted with Lemon Iced, shortbread, Brownie and this roll up crisp dipped in chocolate that is awesome!) or the Carrot Cake. But really, you can’t go wrong with any of the choices.
Our service was what I expect from Bristol. Knowledgeable server, responsive but not overbearing, efficient and every course timed perfectly. Our server this day was Laura and she was wonderful!
Lastly, my suggestion to anyone who might experience a minor hiccup at Bristol; learn from my mistake. Simply ask to speak with Bridgette or Joe or any manager on duty. If your «problem» is reasonable and you’re not one of «those» people who just complain so you don’t have to pay (and yes, you know if you’re that person!), they will make it right. All they want is for you to have a pleasant experience. They will do, within reason, whatever they can to make it right. If some portion of your experience isn’t up to the standard you expect from Bristol, it probably isn’t up to their standard either, so they want to know about it so they can address it.
And here’s a tip. In a hurry? Sit at the bar. You get the same great food and Kathy keeps that bar humming along! Drinks or not, you’ll be in and out in no time as she doesn’t waste one second of your day.

Finally made it back for the infamous Bristol happy hour! I highly recommend it! Get there early because seating is limited. The calimari and sliders are excellent. The flavor of the sliders is really good. There’s also lobster claws for $ 3.50. I also suggest the strawberry mojito cocktail. Very tasty and strong!

Bristol Seafood Grill would be a great place for a dinner date. I’ll give it 3.5 stars. It has a large dining room and a large bar area. There is intimate (dim) lighting. But for lunch, turn up the lights a little bit. I’m sure all the businessmen would appreciate it. This is also a little pricy for lunch but what the heck, they say you only live once. If you check in with Unilocal,you can get one free appetizer of calamari if you like calamari.
Sissy and I were seated at a booth that had a brass plaque on it saying «Fr. McQueeny.» Not sure who he is but I’m glad he didn’t show up. A lot of lunch «specials» to choose from. S ordered the salmon and I choose the ahi tuna. We could also pick two sides.
Sissy said her salmon was good. She picked the Yukon potatoes and asparagus risotto as sides. She loves the risotto. I choose the green beans and grits for my sides. The menu stated my tuna would be rare and the waiter reiterated it. It was what I would call medium rare. Just pass it over the flame for me. The grits were good and cheesy. The green beans were okay.
For the price ($ 23.00) for the tuna, I expected to be blown away for this lunch. I wasn’t.
Would I come back here? Maybe to try it for dinner but with all the other high end restaurants around, maybe not.

Wow wow wow. Talk about good eatin!
I’m short of words other than fantastic! The food is amazing. The service was impeccable.
Started with the tuna tartar. It was lovely, with guacamole and mangos.
The bone in ribeye was cooked to a perfect medium rare. Perfection. The risotto was excellent, with a lovely lemon zest touch. The cheese grits were very good. Plenty of cheese! The barramundi was a delightful sweet fish. Neither of us had ever tried it before, and it certainly was worth the try! It was very light and non fishy tasting. Everything was cooked to perfection.
It was crowded at 12:30 for lunch (on a Monday) 45 min wait (well worth the wait), so I suggest lunch or dinner you call ahead for reservations.

This was a really exceptional experience! My parents took me out to celebrate a new job and we were not disappointed.
First off, the restaurant was nice. What you expect from a seafood place I’d say. We ended up in private dining, which was pretty cool. It was Sunday which meant they had 50% off wine bottles. It may be worth going back just to try out some of the wines for much cheaper than you’d find them otherwise.
We ended up with a collection of food when all was said and done. The calamari and crab cake apps were excellent. I didn’t care for the lobster bisque soup, but others seemed to enjoy it. The true star was the fish. We had several varieties, and all of them were outstanding. For my part, I had seared tuna, cooked rare with just a bit of salt and pepper to season and it was fantastic. The side of roasted potatoes and asparagus were ok, but certainly didn’t take away from the meal.
All in all, good service and good food (with some excellent fish) made for a good experience. I did not see the final bill but judging from the menu prices, this is definitely a special occassion restarant. Would definitely make a return trip!

Happy Hour Heaven! The search is over St. Louis! Bristol is officially my Go-​To Happy Hour location of the decade. Carly, the bartender was amazing, Jenn, server extraordinaire, Terrell, table attendant supreme and Mitch, manager of the best after 5 establishment this great city has to offer made this an experience of a life time.
Ok ok okay… I may be laying it on a little thick lol. I’ve had a very glasses of Merlot and plenty of delicious food: shrimp ceviche, salmon flatbread, chipotle shrimp, mussels, goat cheese bruschetta, calamari, carrot cake and chocolate mousse. I highly recommend it all. Presentation & taste was superb.
Service here was truly hands down; Ahhhhmazing! Efficient, pleasant & fun-​filled.
I’ll be back (as a regular).
Signing off for the evening,
~Christy

My second visit for the brunch buffet. Plenty of parking. Place was busy. I had reservations both times. It’s $ 27 per person and includes coffee, juice, or soda. They choose quality over quantity. There is definitely plenty of seafood. Also have ham and prime rib, as well as mini Belgium waffles with tons of toppings. They make huge omelettes to order.
The main buffet has the standard scrambled eggs, sausage, bacon, home fries, biscuit and gravy, but also has veggies, mashed potatoes, chicken, salmon, shrimp enchiladas, cheese, fruit, and others.
The cold bar has mussels, shrimp, crawfish, oyster, sushi, salmon and others.
They walked around with warm raisin biscuits.
The dessert had pecan pie, carrot cake, bread pudding, key lime tart, cookies, and a few other items.
I enjoyed the brunch both times. My fav are the omelets, shrimp enchiladas, and cocktail shrimp. The key lime tart was excellent.
The staff is super nice and if you signup online you can get coupons!

This place did not disappoint. I was just here for lunch but I have heard and read some great things about this place. I have been wanting to try this place out but since it is out of my way, I’ve put it off until now. I was hungry and was in the area so I figured I might as well try it. Let’s get the service over with. It was fantastic! The waitress was attentive and very nice throughout the meal.
For an appetizer, I tried their jumbo lump crab cakes. It was delicious and tasted like they were freshly prepared. My only complain is that I was assuming jumbo lump would mean big but they were fairly mediocre in size (maybe that’s their «jumbo»?) Anyway, it doesn’t matter. Someone was walking around with big pan of biscuits and he dropped one off my plate. I tried it but I’m still not a fan of breads/​biscuits so maybe I’ll pass next time. It was pretty tasty though for the record.
For my lunch, I had the seared ahi tuna cooked rare with parmesan Yukon potatoes and some grilled asparagus. Yum! It was cooked to perfection. I loved every bite of it.
Now, I want to come back another time to try out their other menu items. Until then, I will dream of you… Seared ahi tuna.