Bistro 990 - The Full Story

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Bistro 990 is an old building located near Bay and Wellesley. It's a distinctive little building but lacks the modern, upscale feel. I was not impressed with the lack of flashy web design that many fine dining restaurants have. The decor seen from the pictures was also less than impressive. But due to the location, the price, and the good reviews on the internet, I decided to give it a try and took Darren there for his birthday. I called to make a reservation 2 days prior, and it took me two tries to get through, which wasn't bad. However, the waitress clearly sounded annoyed and actually sighed into the phone a couple of times.

Upon arriving, there were a few people there already. A waitress said hi, and simply walked by us. Only when we gave her a weird look did she ask us if we have a reservation. At this time, the manager came and asked for our reservation, and took us to the table. We were sat down at a table beside two french speaking tourists. Honestly, I had nothing against tourists, but I was hoping for a quieter table, considering there were many empty tables around.

The decor was more impressive in reality than in the photo. The lights were dimmed to give a more romantic feel, and there were candles on the tables. We were given menus, and a short while later the waiter came to ask us what we wanted to drink. We haven't decided, so we just got water. The special game of the day was ostrich and the risotto was vegetable and goat cheese. Darren got the Lamp Sirloin medium rare and a glass of Black Opal Cab/Merlot. I ordered the Rare Duck Breast, and the waiter asked if I wanted it done well, but I figured I'd give the rare a try. I inquired about wine and was recommended the sweeter and lighter Pinot Gris.

Surprisingly, no one came to offer, yet we saw waiters going around with a basket of bread for other tables. Also, at this time the tourists' food arrived, and no servers bothered to offer them pepper, so the man asked Darren if he could pass him the pepper mill on the shelf next to him. It was awkward.

The food took a while to arrive. Maybe it seemed longer due to the lack of bread. The plate presentations were lovely. I tried my duck breast, and I knew it was a good choice getting it rare. It was tender but not bloody, and with the grand veneur sauce it tasted fabulous. The savoyarde potato was one of the best I've had so far, with a light garlic and cheesy taste.

By this time, the restaurant had filled up by a lot, and the noise level did increase a little. Looking around, most of the clients were around mid-30s and up, with a lot of businessmen/women taking up the majority.The servers did a good job in making sure everyone had a full wine glass and bread (except for us). The plates were cleared rapidly, but the dessert menu took a while to arrive. Darren wasn't going to get dessert, but upon seeing the menu, changed his mind. I settled for the Classic Creme Brulee and Darren got the Peach Crumble with Baileys Ice Cream.

The desserts took a decent time to arrive. Again, the platting was very nice. We both got fruits on the side while I also got a small biscotti as well. The creme brulee was delicious. The biscotti must have been one of the best I've tasted, better than the ones at Starbucks. Too bad it was such a small piece. Darren's dessert was good, but nothing out of the ordinary. The blackberries, Darren thought, were rotten.

As it was getting a bit noisy, we decided to get the bill. It took around 15 minutes (and a credit card on the table) for the server to notice that we wanted the bill. The actual bill took an additional 15 mintues to arrive. In all fairness, the server to customer ratio was low (around 8 servers to 20-30 tables). It could be that we were a young couple and they expected us not to be great tippers, or that a lot of people called in sick and they were short-staffed, but as most of the reviews complimented on their service, I was not impressed by the staff. I would also recommend avoiding the rush and head there a but earlier.