1 review

1. Yvone Ledesma  

   on August 27, 2016
   

   Almond Flower Bistro is a young restaurant – one-to-two years old – on Bowery and easy to get to. This "Chinese bistro" has a fusion menu, with Italian and French-styles. Their decor has a pleasantly open feel, from the stylized awning, to the exposed brick walls indoors, the rows of thin pendant bulbs, the wooden spined "roof" above the bar, and the quirkily-shaped plates.

   We ate here in August and noticed it was deserted at 7 pm Friday – perhaps this is because it rained during the day, and Almond isn't near the hustle and bustle of Chinatown (Canal Street). Since we had a large party to seat (eight people) and many of us were running late, this worked to our advantage. The place didn't get noisy, which is a plus.

   Strangely, a baseball game was playing on the two flatscreens (possibly because no one was around). I made a comment, and our server (Petey) or hostess (Tiffani) changed the channel to the news. Perhaps MTV would be more appropriate for the semi-highbrow theme, but whatever. Side note, the background music (random radio hits, I thought an odd choice) kept looping during dinner.

   Our dishes were merely okay:
   – the foie gras starter with a lychee reduction ($17, I kid you not!) was tender but had lots of raw onion, which wasn't necessarily bad – NOT worth the price sadly
   – the calamari appetizer (didn't get the price), was not terribly memorable – avoid
   – the boneless braised short rib with pappardelle pasta (22)) was priceyyyyy, but agreeable – I liked it

   I tasted a few other dishes but nothing hit home. Fusion menus might give you the license to slap on higher prices (or make you think you do!), but PLEASE ensure your food is tasty! I can't recommend Almond Bistro based on my experience but I am hoping anyone who goes there now has a better time.

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