Aperitif Bistro Wine Bar
“Aperitif is a beautiful little French Bistros inspired place, that is a great addition to RVC.”
“The bar menu is great also – the flat breads are all excellent and the foie gras is simply delicious.”
“They were super accommodating with me calling multiple times to up our reservation.”
Aperitif Bistro Wine Bar
Takes Reservations: Yes
Take-out: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Has TV: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
PokéStop Nearby: Yes
Price range.
$$$ Price range $31-60
8 reviews
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My best friend and I came in for lunch Tuesday afternoon. Metered parking everywhere so bring your change otherwise you'll end up sticking your hand into the crevices of your car that you did not know existed or you'll have to pay with your card. The service was polite and attentive but not overbearing. The atmosphere was very nice, it reminded me of my Nonas house in that cozy European way. We sat at the bar and ordered the grilled calamari and hummus, steak tartare, fig and prosciutto and 2 glasses of vouvray. The fig and procuitto was the least wow, yet still awesome served with blue cheese that was sharp but creamy. The calamari and hummus were amazing, esp paired with the subtle sweetness of the vouvray. Not chewy at all and the pita was warm. Now I have never had steak tartare and I kind of panicked at the thought of eating raw chopped meat, but it ended up being my favorite. Perfectly seasoned w herbs and garlic and served w toasted rounds. I ended up finishing it off myself. Will be back until I have tried everything and then probably forever after that.
I was looking for something local that I haven't been to yet and stumbled across this place on open table. Made a reservation and upon arrival was surprised to find it completely empty on a weeknight. There was maybe 1 or 2 tables and then our.
I decided to stay and try it out. I am glad I did! From the bread to the appetizers to the dinner all was delicious and full of flavor. I had the veal and my fiancé had the steak. All very full of flavor and very nice portions.
Ended off the meal with some sorbet. All in all, very good, I will certainly be back to try some more items on the menu.
I am surprised that I have not been here sooner, although that is what three wonderful kids will do to a guy, so no complaints!
This place is in a great location, with an army of Valet's which is a must for the horrendous parking conditions in RVC on any weekend night, and has an awesome ambiance. Food was excellent, great drink and wine menu, although if I had to pick anything out of this place it was their Tuna Tartar Pizza says Tuna, a delicious sauce (which it was), and Jalapeno's; however, they failed to mention that it is also covered in red bell peppers which I actually loathe (the server said he would definitely let the Manager know but I am not holding my breath and would ask next time I went if I was interested in that dish again). That being said however, all other tapas dishes we got were delicious and I will DEFINITELY be back here soon, preferably with a group as the setting is just right for a nice night out.
Service was impeccable as well.
As we continue our ninety day weekly tour of restaurants in Rockville Center we decided on Aperitif as our fifth restaurant to visit in the area. Aperitif has the appearance of your traditional French bistro which is quaint but cozy surrounded by red velvet and Moroccan Tiles. They have a center bar area where you can visit for their daily "Happy Hour" or just because you just love sitting at a bar. Their menu provides interesting entrees and small plates, plus various vino flights for those who love to try different French Wines. We had the following small plates which we loved each one of them; Zucchini Pancakes; Flatbread with Prosciutto; Buffalo Chicken Meatballs and the Muscles in a white wine garlic sauce. Yummy! Yes we were hungry. So far this restaurant is in our top three pics for RVC area.
Delightful. Beautiful ambiance. Nicely decorated French restaurant. The service is excellent and wait staff are attentive and knowledgeable. Large selection of wines and specialty drinks offered.
I recommend the tapas: grilled octopus, risotto fritters, lobster mac and cheese, calamari, prosciutto and figs. Appetizer portions of dinner offerings are plenty if it's paired with a delectable and tasty soup or fresh salad. The onion soup, butternut squash soup, avocado salad all were wonderful.
Desserts are all homemade and sound delicious. I've only been able to have room for one dessert since I started going there. I highly recommend it's buttery deliciousness: The apple tarts tartin…
It gets very crowded on weekends. However, they offer valet parking on those busy nights, so you won't have to worry about finding a parking space!
The Quick: Underwhelmed and disappointed by the brunch. You feel as if you are in a Parisian cafe, the staff was good, and the outside is adorable, but the food was extremely under seasoned and mediocre.
The Details: The venue is extremely nice, and we had high hopes for Apertif. I have been told dinner is incredible, and maybe someday I'll give them another try, but brunch was outright bad.
I had the seafood salad ($18) which was a good portion of lobster, calamari, and scallops– but it was flavorless. The calamari was chewy and bland, the scallops needed a heavy hand of salt– overall disappointing and I just didn't enjoy it.
My group also ordered the pancakes (thick and not fluffy or flavorful), the Gruyere omelette (strangely also a disappointment with cheap ham), the sliders (overcooked when asked for rare), and the eggs Benedict (unimpressive).
The absolute worst was the Croque Monsier which was honestly an embarrassment — warm (not melted) cheese ham and soggy bread. Two people in our group ordered that and barely ate it, just devouring the French fries.
The service was good, the place was very nice, they let us stay without rushing us out– overall a nice experience but the food was… Lackluster. It was Mother's Day and it was not overly crowded, plus it was a fixed menu with no substitutions … Overall a disappointment.
The Damage: The brunch came to about $40/ person with a drink and coffee… I do not recommend brunch but apparently dinner is very good.
I had been here a few times mainly at the bar and once for dinner. The dinner had been great and I always appreciate their great wine selection and apps so I decided to come back for dinner.
I am very upset that they have expanded the bar and now it is basically the whole restaurant (no more quiet areas and I really don't like the change). The bar used to be off to the side.
Anyway, we made a last minute reservation and I was glad they could accomoddate a party of five so quickly. I requested a somewhat quiet table (not realizing how the restaurant has been renovated) …all of the tables are pretty much at the huge bar now. Upon sitting down to wait for the rest of the party, no one came over to offer us a drink (though we got bread) and finally I flagged down the waitress for a drink menu – she brought one for the table of five to share.
Ok so I get that it was a saturday night so the noise level was high, which is fine…but DIRECTLY BEHIND US was a group of girls that were screaming and shrieking every five minutes or so and I wished I didn't feel like I was sitting by the bar (as I pretty much requested). Also, because we were seated by the front window, there were smokers directly outside and the smoke was coming in through the door right on to our table. This was constant throughout dinner.
APPETIZERS: we got the raw oysters, fried calamari and the tempura like french beans. The oysters were fresh, plump and delicious – pretty perfect (though I wish I could have found my waitress to get some horseradish). The calamari was extra crispy and also very good – not the light batter that you are used to but a dark brown almost fried chicken like batter (not too oily though). The french beans were decent, though I wish the sauce that they came with had more of a kick – it was basically mayo.
ENTREE: There were a few meals ordered – I got the CHILEAN SEA BASS special which was AMAZING and cooked to perfection. Easily the best meal on the table. Someone else got the baby lamb chops with a avocado shrimp tower on the side – the chops were suppose to be medium but fell more to the medium rare side and the tower was pretty unimpressive due to lack of flavor (the waitress seemed to have made the tower fall but didn't care and served it broken apart, it's ok) The shrimp/scallop dish didn't look too promising upon arrival or due to the reaction of the diner. The duck was pretty good (I heard) but just a little bland. The last meal I got no reading on. So overall, I say order a fish or the special here.
DESSERT: Rasberry panna cotta was pretty good but could have used a lot less gelatin and a lot more creaminess, I've had better but I still enjoyed best out of three desserts. The profiteroles were good, nothing too crazy special. And I'm a creme brulee fanatic…and I didn't really enjoy the creme brulee much. Instead of that creamy vanilla taste and texture, it had a flavor in it more reminiscent of fennel or anise in it. I was not a fan.
I got the malbec wine which was very good – the waitress gave a good recommendation. The wine selection here is very good.
But on to the service – it was HORRIBLE. I know that waitresses can be overwhelmed on a Saturday night but this server disappeared so many times and I couldn't find her. I asked for a second glass of wine during my entree and I got it just before dessert was served – I hardly wanted it then. There were numerous times that we couldn't find her, yet when I went to the bathroom (when I was waiting for second glass of wine) I saw her and she said hi and then she showed up with the wine and said the bar was backed up -she clearly had forgotten me.
Overall, the food was a four – it was pretty good (especially the sea bass special) but with the surrounding area the experience was ruined and we left because of the screaming by the bar..so it falls down to a three, which is really a 2.5. So-so experience, expected better.
Recommendation: stick to the great wine menu, go to the bar and order food but don't try to have a nice dinner here on a busy night, especially after the new renovations. This is now more of a bar than a restaurant. Disappointed.
I came here for lunch after attending a Yelp Event. My friend had the Salmon with mashed potatoes and I had the steak frites, they separate the fries and the steak. Around lunch time it's pretty empty even the bar. The downside to our experience was that the waiter didn't bring us the wine list until requested. The food is very good so I might return if I'm in the area.