Register or Login to Hide This Ad for Free!
May 3, 2011
2,629
4,776
250
Richmond, Va
Wiki Page Coming Soon...




Bistro 75 is a new restaurant that opened July 31st according to forum member Joe. Bistro 75 is a full service restaurant that is placed next to the fountains across from the Emporium. At this time, the restaurant is under a trial run to see if this is something that the park would like.

More Coming Soon...
 
Nicole said:
As long as KD was going to rip off BGW's name, why didn't they call it "Bistro 305?"

I really wish they would have. But im sure BGW would have found a way to file a lawsuit. They seem to enjoy sending those out......
 
  • Like
Reactions: Nicole
Thanks Joe for the Excellent Review! I would live to see them also have seating inside of the 2nd floor of the Starbucks and outside but it's still a great start. Culinary has been missing from KD for many years but this,wow! This is BGW quality food! I really hope this experiment goes well considering those prices are amazing for what you get. My only problem is the menu is very small but, I imagine it will increase as the year goes on. Outstanding review and high hopes for Kings Dominion.
 
Connor said:
This is BGW quality food!

That's a bit of an understatement.

Anyways, great review Joe! Thank you so much for all the pictures, it sounds and looks beyond amazing! I have to agree that the setting is perfect, I can imagine how peaceful and relaxing it is! From the looks of it, the food is 4-star restaurant quality, which is pretty dang good for anything that isn't, well, a four star restaurant. What a giant leap for culinary at KD, let's hope they keep it up(I have complete confidence they will). I'm making an exclusive trip later this August, and I will definitely try it out!
 
  • Like
Reactions: Jonquil
Connor said:
This is BGW quality food!

Please don't say this until you have actually tasted the food. There are some things that can be judged by photos, but when it comes to food, it's a matter of taste and how that food was prepared. I can make food look pretty darn good. But really it tastes awful. It can look great, not taste great.

I'll be at the park today despite the weather. I have to leave by 3pm, so hopefully I can have lunch there, if they offer it for lunch...

I'm really excited for what this chef is going to bring to the park. I hope he believes that all food should be made fresh each day as that can drastically change the entire perspective of eating at the park. As long as prices stay the same/ lower a bit, then I'm good.
 
Joe,

Nice review. I was surprised by the look and presentation of the food. The service and atmosphere was way above what I was expecting. This is a giant leap for the park's culinary department.

I was bewildered by your impatience at having to wait, as you stated "a solid 10-15 minutes", for your food. Even though these were not entree's that needed extensive prep and cook time, they were prepared from scratch. If it is a full service establishment, I would be disappointed if they plopped down a salad or quiche in a plastic to-go container in under 5 minutes. A full-service dining experience is supposed to be a more relaxed event to spend time enjoying the food, conversation, and atmosphere. If I have limited time or in a rush, I would not bother patronizing a place like that and I would go to a fast food place.

Plus, this is a new "al fresco" dining experience where there really is not a dedicated kitchen/facility close by. You stated this was the first day of operations; so I think they will improve as they gain experience and work out the kinks. Sounds like they are in the process of figuring a way to cover/insulate the dishes and/or serving tray.

I hope they get a good response from park patrons. Given the size and limitations of this food operation, I don't think they want to overwhelmingly advertise too much. If this is only a 6-8 table venue, I don't think they want to end up turning away a couple hundred folks each day.

Sounds like this is a trail run, hopefully for the rest of the summer. If the park thinks this is feasible and makes a reasonable profit, I could see this expanding, either taking over an existing food location of building a new facility for next year.
 
Wow! Great review, Joe! This looks like an amazing little place, and is actually a few notches above any culinary experience I remember the park offering since I started visiting it in the early 1980s.

A limited, changing menu is actually a bonus because it means that the quality of the food can be much more carefully controlled. From your description it sounds like the wait was reasonable for the quality of the food being offered, and it's great that they were so attentive and open to your suggestions for improvement. And I couldn't be happier about the use of real plates, glassware and table linens, something you don't see at many parks and that I certain wouldn't have expected at KD.

I hope this venture succeeds and remains. It's this sort of thing that makes a great impression on park guests and shows that KD is really working to become a fantastic park once again.
 
Great review Joe! While I will probably not be sitting and enjoying a whole meal here(I am a non-fancy, meat and potatoes guy), I am very interested in the desserts and wine. Do you think they would take a reservation for dessert and wine?
 
Mazakman, I'm sure they would allow you to just reserve for wine and dessert. I don't know how necessary it will end up being to reserve, but when I visited the couple next to me just ordered wine and cake. It looks like a great way to relax at the park.

And mwhinva, I apologize if I sounded like an impatient snob. I should have really worded that part differently! What I should have said is that we were starting to wonder where our food was, which is when we then learned that the food was being fresh prepared. It was certainly worth the wait, and now with better knowledge of the restaurant's workings I will know what to expect next time. Because I will certainly be visiting again!

If anyone has any questions about my experience I'll try to answer them.
 
  • Like
Reactions: MAZ
Evan said:
Connor said:
This is BGW quality food!

Please don't say this until you have actually tasted the food. There are some things that can be judged by photos, but when it comes to food, it's a matter of taste and how that food was prepared. I can make food look pretty darn good. But really it tastes awful. It can look great, not taste great.

Evan is right, but in this case that really was BGW quality food. It's food I would actually go out to a nice restaurant for.

I'll be at the park today despite the weather. I have to leave by 3pm, so hopefully I can have lunch there, if they offer it for lunch...

Oh, shoot! I forgot to mention this in the article, but as of right now Bistro 75 opens at 12 and closes at 8.

Thanks for all the feedback, guys! I highly recommended you the the restaurant out some time.
 
  • Like
Reactions: MAZ
Thanks! I was wondering about closing time. I certainly wouldn't want that techno/rave thumping in my ear while getting my 'wine and dine' on. :)
 
It opened at 1pm today. I had a fantastic meal. I reserved our table, though it was unnecessary because all the people walking by didn't seem highly interested, but their loss. We waited 15 minutes exactly from the time we placed the order until we had received it. We had the promotions manager taking pictures of everything, so the process was slowed down a bit (I took my pictures as well and the entire meal was great.

The food being made to order really was great and it showed when we received it.

I had the Grilled Chicken Panini and it was excellent. I would say more, but I don't really have the experience to judge food :p

 

Attachments

  • Food1_watermark.jpg
    Food1_watermark.jpg
    314.5 KB · Views: 23
  • Food2_watermark.jpg
    Food2_watermark.jpg
    346.6 KB · Views: 21
  • Desert_watermark.jpg
    Desert_watermark.jpg
    262.1 KB · Views: 23
The sandwich that you had looked like something from Panera but that cake! That just makes my mouth water looking at it. I'm might just check this out.
 
I'm really excited about this addition, and I hope it goes well, but sadly, with kings dominion's main visitors (rowdy teenagers), I don't see this lasting too long, at the moment. I realize that the park is trying to get families to come, but at thus point in time, teenagers love to take over the park because of the park's coasters. In time, I feel more families will come to the park, at that point a full service restaurant may be more successful. As I said, I hope this works out, but at the moment, I just don't see it. *gets ready for impact*
 
Hoopla said:
I'm really excited about this addition, and I hope it goes well, but sadly, with kings dominion's main visitors (rowdy teenagers), I don't see this lasting too long, at the moment. I realize that the park is trying to get families to come, but at thus point in time, teenagers love to take over the park because of the park's coasters. In time, I feel more families will come to the park, at that point a full service restaurant may be more successful. As I said, I hope this works out, but at the moment, I just don't see it. *gets ready for impact*

Sorry I have not had an opportunity to respond to this. I have been gone the past week and have over 500 unread posts right now. I do want to ask you this: when did you last visit? Maybe it was only a few weeks ago, I don't know. At the park this season I have the vast majority of visitors being families, from younger children to grandparents. Yes teenagers go to the park, but that is almost completely unrelated to the success of a full-service restaurant. First off, the ratio of teens to families at KD is no higher than at BGW. Secondly, and I want to stress this, age is not the sole dictator of behavior. I would like to respectfully ask you to refrain from referring to teenagers in such a connotation as it is very discriminatory. Maybe you have seen some teenagers mess around and do what they shouldn't. Haven't we all seen adults do that too? As a teenager I can assure you I would never let my trying to have fun at the park come at the expense of another guest's experience. Furthermore, while I still completely disagree with the statement of KD's audience being "unruly" teens, even if that were a true statement it should not affect Bistro 75's operations. For one, Bistro 75 is currently a small dining experience. It only seats about six groups at once. I guarantee you that at least six families visit KD each day, and at least six would be willing to try a new dining experience.

In short, it is my personal opinion that you are thinking backwards. Where you see the idea as failing because they are stuck in a bad place, I think the idea is genius in that it will help bring KD out of their slump. They're not going to be successful if they don't try.
 
I spoke with the area supervisor and the parks manager of merchandise(at the same time) today. It was a lengthy conversation which I will keep mostly to myself but I will share a couple things :) First off, this new chef they have is nothing to snicker at. He has cooked for Biden. Second, the 'idea' of placing the tables for eating at Bistro75 on the 50' platform of the Eiffel tower is real and is actually being planned out. It wont happen this year, but the chef himself wants this to happen, and the fact that they are considering/planning something like this awesome! I suggested food carts with mobile heating elements and a dedicated radio system for the distant service. Suggestions were taken with smiles from both :)
 
Consider Donating to Hide This Ad