Front Street Bistro

I loved the setup. We went early afternoon on a Saturday. It wasn’t our intended destination but the photos of the food looked really good on Unilocal,we were starving, and we were a block away.
Best decision. My Husband had the meatball grinder, and I had the Mediterranean turkey burger, we shared the Fried Mozzarella. It was a big deal for the hubby to like the meatballs, he’s super picky, so A+ for them!
Everything was fresh and hot, and super yummy, we will totally be back!

the waiter was the guitarist from Pantera I think… He should be on tour not waiting tables. He took our three orders by saving them in his head… Bad idea. My son ordered a meatball grinder and repeated at least 3 times NO PEPPERS… Guess what? Pantera guitarist forgot the ONE THING WE TOLD HIM and the grinder was loaded with peppers!!!
Three people who worked there including the Pantera guy asked my kid if he wanted more water… He said yes and to each one and STILL waited at least 15 minutes for the Pantera guy to finally grab his glass. The Pantera guy filled his glass with warm water… and NO ICE!!! I was laughing my a$$ off at how bad our service was.
As for my meal my salmon «bit» must’ve been a little baby when it was caught because the piece I was served was literally 2.5″ x 2″ big. I had to devour a large, penzoil laden popcorn later at the movies just to feel full.
Will never eat at this, the brightest «bistro on the Planet» again… Even if the Pantera guy plays guitar at our table for free.

The only positive is at least they comped our meal and a drink, and added a free dessert when they found we were unhappy. And the buns were good.
Menu needs an overhaul. Most of the food seemed frozen– mini burgers, turkey burger, but the description claims it’s all fresh. The bartender was also the waitress and I felt bad she had to wait on everyone. They needed more staff for a Friday night at dinner hour, before movies are about to begin.

Had a few meals here with my family before watching Star Wars.
Double burgers with parm fries. Burgers are frozen burger patties that come out well-​done with charred taste. Parm fries are actually their regular fries with parm cheese powder that is served with the popcorn.
Chicken wings came with buffalo sauce on the side and no blue cheese or ranch option. They are short staffed so didn’t ask for ranch because we have time restraintsdue to the movie.
Hummus was bland and unfortunately didn’t serve enough pita triangles for the portion of hummus that comes with the order.
Meatball sub was really good. Onion straws had a nice crunchiness to them. Would definitely get again.
Draft list is great and mixed drinks are modeled after movie titles were great.

Have had two great meals here before going to the attached movie theatre. Very fresh, good portion size, different menu. Atmosphere is surprisingly elegant and spacious. Desserts are delicious and you can take your drinks with you into the movie. Outdoor seating is always fun in the summer. Staff is very attentive and the prices are reasonable.

Came here on a Saturday around 4 PM. The place was pretty empty. The service was alright. We got drinks and ordered food. The food came just in time for our movie. My mom and I split the Mediterranean burger and white flatbread. I had read on another Unilocal review, that the parm garlic fries were amazing but I thought they were no more than mediocre. The burger was good. The flatbread was disappointing. Maybe I need to try the dinner menu, but next time I think I’d rather try another restaurant in the area before going to a movie.

We walked out. My wife and I stood at the hostess stand for 15 minutes unacknowledged before I tracked down a server. It was then another 10 before we saw the manager, who sat us at one of the 10 open tables. When we politely requested a different table, the manager said he needed to save it for the 4-​top behind us, before acquiescing; he was seating us at a 4-​top, so I can only guess that we were not deemed important enough for the better table. We sat and were promptly seen by a server who took our drink order. While we waited for our drinks, another server came to take our drink order. When we said it had already been taken, the response was, «Well, then I guess she’s your server.» We continued to wait for our drinks, and our server came back for our food order. She promised our drinks would arrive shortly (10 minutes had passed since ordering.) After a few more minutes passed, and still no drinks, we set a timer, and decided to leave if the drinks had not arrived. When the timer went off, we left. (And yes, we did let them know we were leaving.) For any parents reading this and paying for the babysitter back home (like we were) this was doubly infuriating.
Two notes: 1) We would have walked much earlier, but we had gift cards (that will now be used strictly for movies.) 2. There was a special event in the theater that evening, which I am sure made it busier than usual. However, it was a weekly event, and they should have been much better prepared for it, or at the very least acknowledged that they were unprepared to seat us that evening.

This review is for their Happy Hour Only.
So I guess Front Street has decided to change its name and has not added the word «Italian» to it.
Heading to another event on a recent Friday — I popped in to kill some time when their new concept was explained to me. According to the bartender — the name has been changed for about 6 months but after my experience there I think they have some work to do
The bartenders that were there when we arrived were working hard as we grabbed a seat at the bar. The vibe was pretty good but the area was not packed and we quickly were able to place our drink and apps order. They have some good specials especially ½ off their bar bites menu. While we waited for our order we enjoyed watching television on the flat screen televisions and people watching. They have a pretty good tap list and drink menu.
We ordered some mild wings and Mark C ordered the double beef sliders that came with a side of garlic parmesan fries. First up were the wings, although meaty they «smelled» hot when they arrived, not what I would expect from mild wings. They did have a bit of a kick so if you are sensitive to heat I would suggest getting the BBQ variety. Mark C was also kind enough to share one of his sliders with me — it was a bit over cooked (I like my burgers with a bit of pink) but the grilled bun (I think from Hartford Baking Company) was buttery and tasty. The star of the show was the garlic parmesan fries which were the right amount of crispy, salty and cheesy goodness. I could have just eaten an order of these and I would have been a happy girl.
I have to note that as they got busy there was not really a sense of urgency from some of their employees — the appeared to just be going through the motions. I even noticed one bartender make the same drink a totally different way from another — it’s that type of inconsistency that I hope was a rare occurrence.
I did look at their menu and it has changed from when it was a «Bistro» — more pasta and pizzas on the menu — what one would expect from an Italian Restaurant.
I would like to come back to try some of their dinner options and hopefully my next experience will be different from the last time I ate here.

Good food selection, good service, amazing theater and experience. Great room. Best theater in CT, bar none. Wish they had a few more taps. Outdoor eating in summer is nice too on the shaded patio. Great location, validated parking. If you go to another theater, you’re crazy, or just lazy.

So I was at an event at Spotlight Cinema last night and we thought we would grab a quick bite at the Bistro. So at first I was just going to get a salad but saw spinach ravioli on the menu. It stated with on the menu that they were prepared with caramelized onions, prosciutto and sage in a cream sauce. Not a fan of heavy cream sauces I was reluctant and decided to go with the salad. I actually ordered my salad and asked the waitress if she recommended anything. She said to try the specials. So I ordered the ravioli. I could not believe what came to the table. Beautifully presented was the culinary explosion of well balanced flavor. and the cream sauce was more like a delicious broth. Each bite was better than the other. I really didn’t expect this perfection at all. The other people with me also raved about the food. I asked our waitress to please tell whomever made this that its absolutely delicious. The next thing you know this really nice shy humble chef came to thank me for my nice words. I loved loved loved my meal here. In fact I am going back this weekend to get more! so so so good.

I took a friend who had never been to that area of Hartford. Used an Amazon Local voucher. We both were dying for burgers and we each ordered the Mediterranean cheeseburger that came with one side order, so we ordered fries (Menu is $ 11.00 for the burger w/​one side). Cheeseburgers were cooked perfectly, but there was no parmesan and it was a bit overwhelmed with blue cheese. And then we realized afterwards that we were each charged $ 4.00 separately for the sides, making the cheeseburger a stand-​alone $ 11.00. Make sure you review your bill carefully and while you are there, even if your server that day is the Manager. We will go back, but we’ll certainly will check our bill carefully while there. Very, very pleasant wait staff I must add! Great atmosphere, nice open space, great addition to Hartford!