What a Fabulous Surprise
Who would have thought such an incredible restaurant would be found in South Boston, VA? Margaret Moorefield, the chef and co-owner, has owned two successful restaurants in Orlando, FL and Portland, OR and brought her culinary skills to historic South Boston.

As a testament to the cuisine and atmosphere, there was not an empty table in the place.

The food was great, the people were very friendly, and dinner was superb. Our biggest surprise was the bill... excellent food at very reasonable price    [21 Aug 2005 09:31:36]

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Recommended Dishes: Mediterranean Angel Hair, Peach Crisp with Ice Cream

     ­Anonymous   

What a great restaurant
You will not believe the food at this restaurant in this really little town. It's great...the seared yellowfin tuna, the crabcakes, the French style rib-eye, the martini's, the salmon....I could go on and on. This restaurant is as good as any of the top restaurants in New York. If you're in the area... or even within 90 miles...Don't miss it.    [09 Oct 2005 21:25:15]

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Recommended Dishes: All

     ­Thomas   

Hit or Miss
Things sure have changed at our favorite little South Boston bistro since August. While the food is still superb - when hot - the rest of the experience left much to be desired.

The evening started on the wrong foot when, despite the fact we made 6:30pm reservations weeks ago, they seated five of us at a four-top. Well, these things happen...and on we went to peruse the menu...for 20-minutes. This might be the place to mention we were going to an 8pm show and had let the owner and manager know this in advance, who had in fact informed us when making the reservation that a 6:30 dinner would be sufficient for us to make the local 8pm show.

We finally placed our orders, were served our drinks, and begin the very long wait for our food to arrive. It must have been our waiter's first night because he came back repeatedly over the next 15 minutes to verify this order and that order. Our Avocado & Goat Cheese Quesadilla arrived and we enjoyed the five tiny slivers of tortilla stuffed with cheese and avocado. Things were looking up! The service was mediocre but the food was excellent and that is why we were there.

The salads came out and were quite tasty. The waiter went for black pepper but did not return with it until we were served our main courses; we really think the poor guy was pulled from the wash rack for the evening due a real waiter calling in sick. The salads were good and we were looking forward to our entrees, until we looked at our watches and realized it was 7:30 and we were just served our salads! We ate our salads quickly, looked around for our waiter to not only re-fill our drinks that had been empty since before the salads arrived but to also ask him to move things along. He must have been back in the kitchen washing dishes or something because he was nowhere to be seen. We spied the manager and asked her about the time it was taking and the fact we had tickets for an 8pm show. Her response was to shrug her shoulders and said, “the lamb takes a long time”. Do what? Medium rare lamb takes an hour to cook?

The entrees finally came out 10-minutes after the play started and the presentation was lovely. Unfortunately, two of the dishes were stone cold and had to be returned. When they returned from the microwave a few moments later, they were piping hot and everything was pretty good.

We went on and enjoyed desert, having already missed the start of the show, with no major events and finally left in time to join our play at intermission.

This was the first time I think I have ever left a 10% tip and used the food total instead of the total with tax to compute the tip. The food was good but with terrible service, the five of us jammed into a table for four, and management’s ambivalence, it really ruined the experience. In their defense, they did offer to move us to a larger table after our salads were served but by then we were settled in and did not want to waste any time, as we were still trying to make the show. The fact we missed the first half of the show is another sore spot. They knew we were going to the show when we made the reservation, when they sat us they confirmed we were going to the show. Rather than helping us get in and out of there in under an hour and twenty minutes, left us with a sorry waiter that could not bring himself to be attentive to the table to keep our water glasses full, much less see to it that we got out in time to see the play. While I am not one to expect management to offer complimentary food or beverage to make up for bad service, we were surprised they did not even offer to buy us a desert as a way to make amends. There may not be that much competition for AAA three diamond restaurants in quaint South Boston but with service and staff like what we experienced on November 26, 2005 they will not have that rating for much long    [27 Nov 2005 09:15:50]

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Recommended Dishes: Grilled Full Rack of New Zealand Lamb

     ­RM   

Never seen 'Hit or Miss'!
We dine at BISTRO 1888 whenever we are in the area, usually every 6-8 weeks since it opened in March or April of 2003.

As the Baltimore Sun reviewed, it has 'great fresh food served with panache'; Fredericksburg Free Lance Star said that this restaurant could hold it's own against any in a metropolitan area and the writer would had 20 in his party said ALL said it was great! I totally agree... it is up there with anything in Chicago.

Everything is great. If you can, go back multiple times so you can enjoy their menu of 24 entrees, 12 appetizers, soups, salads and desserts and nightly specials.

The review from RM from Washington, DC is interesting. Hit or miss? Never seen or heard of that. And I'm sure the restaurant sat them at a 4 top table with a chair at the end... which I've done on numerous occasions and have enjoyed being able to talk easily with my friends, as the restaurant is very popular and can get noisy at times. By the way, if you are going and would like a table for 6 if you have 5 in your group, request it when you make your reservation and they will make sure you have it -- I've done this when my larger uncle joined us.

Slow service? Hmmm. Was it a Saturday night? That could slow things down a little, I guess, though I've never experienced a wait that I felt was long.

It's a phenomenal restaurant in a very rural area, (county of 37,000, I think)...and I would bet that 99.9% of all patrons would agree that this area is fortunate to have Bistro 1888 and that it COULD compete with great restaurants in big cities.    [19 Dec 2005 10:17:24]

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Recommended Dishes: Grilled Salmon, Crabcakes, Filet Mignon with their excellent demiglace, Chicken Angel Hair

     ­Joseph R.   

As good as West Coast Restaurants
A greaaattt place in the middle of almost nowhere!

Wow! How did this area rate obtaining a chef with the talent of Margaret Moorefield? Check out the reviews on the website from this and her previous restaurants. She's unbelievable.

Everything is great, over the top, wonderfully presently ... and oh yes, very delicious! It rates with anything in a big city. If you are in the area. don't miss it.

By the way, RM on the "hit or miss" needs to miss South Boston on his/her next trip. It's a small restaurant.... if you have 5, you may have to have a chair on the end of a very comfortable restangle 4-top table. And, waiting for a menu for 20 minutes. Really? Again, it's a small restaurant -- in that supposed 20 minutes, did you consider asking the hostess (that could not have been more than 20 feet from you) for a menu? Take some responsibility!

I bet the whole town of South Boston would appreciate you choosing another destination!

For others, Bistro 1888 has put this small southern town on the map. If you're in the area, it's a great pick    [29 Dec 2005 00:08:27]

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Recommended Dishes: Calamari, Lamb, Trout, Mediterranean Angel Hair Pasta, Creme Brule

     ­S. Brace   

Great again and again and again.
I was fortunate to be able to visit the Bistro twice within a week. The 2nd time was on New Year's Eve.

Very crowded but no wait for our table. The food was unbelieveable; there was great energy in the restaurant; the ambiance was fabulous as always and the overall experience could not have been better.

This time I tried one of the nightly specials of Macadamia Crusted Halibut with basil coconut beurre blanc over curried basmati rice with roasted peppers, roasted tomaotes, shiitake mushrooms and caramelized onions served with haricots verts. She is one talented chef! I can't wait to go back    [02 Jan 2006 11:58:09]

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Recommended Dishes: All

     ­S. Brace   

WOW!
In town doing a story on the area and was told "You have to go to the Bistro".

I was so 'wowed' by everything. It's a great place with excellent food and atmosphere in a small, Southern town.

It will be in Virginia Living in April and South Living in May 2006, and I wouldn't be surprised if it were in Bon Appetit at some point, when they are made aware of Chef Moorefield's talents.    [04 Feb 2006 11:57:20]

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Recommended Dishes: Crispy duck and arugula salad with goat cheese tart, tempura sea scallops, bread pudding with whiskey sauce, etc., etc.

     ­Anonymous   

Excellent
If you enjoy fine dining with a great selection (24+ entrees, 12+ appetizers, etc.) wonderfully presented food, fresh ingredients and a chef who really knows her stuff, you'll love Bistro 1888!    [17 Feb 2006 13:52:34]

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Recommended Dishes: Seared yellow fin tuna, New Zealand rack of lamb, bread pudding with whisky sauce

     ­Anonymous   

In VIRGINIA LIVING in April 2006
I read about BISTRO 1888 in Virginia Living in April. The writer said the "dinner was nothing less than fabulous". With those kudos, why not drive an hour from Farmville, VA?

We were so pleased! Everything was fabulous -- the decor, the service, the ambiance and the meal could not have been better and the prices were so reasonable! The chef is very accomplished with her flavors and presentation. Rural Virginia scored with BISTRO 1888.    [08 Jun 2006 12:16:27]

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Recommended Dishes: Grilled Salmon, Hawaiian Prawns, Parisian Filet Mignon, Chocolate decadence

     ­Beth K., Farmville, VA   

EXCELLENT
Excellent, excellent, excellent. This quaint restaurant rivals anything in New York or LA. Go and enjoy a wonderful dining experience!    [03 Nov 2006 13:27:56]

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Recommended Dishes: New Zealand Lamb, Hawaiian Blue Snapper, Calamari, Creme Brulee

     ­Anonymous, Santa Barbara, CA