My cousin and I went there for drinks, and I also ended up getting the steamed clams with this special sauce that tasted like heaven. We hit it off, talking to Sophia, & Nestor super friendly staff. we had a good time so thank you to all the staff.! read more

Reopened recently and went to dinner. $9 salad had 3 things, cut leaf, 2 tablespoons dressing, and bagged/prepurchased croutons (I saw the bad). Had to request more dressing and they should be making their own croutons. "Flatbread" to them is a small chease plate. 4 pita 2 inch slices, a 1 inch brie triangle and marmalade... set aside. This is not a flatbreat.. it is a small cheese plate. For $5 ok... for $18... ugh...way overpriced Penne Bolognese was ok.. meat was good.. but this is a $15 plate not a $26 plate. The $3 dinner bread was very cold and should have been heated/toasted. Not once did anyone come by to ask how the dinner was. They reopened yes... but they really do need to rethink things as there is tons of new competition in the city that have their service act better. You can get a multicourse dinner less than 100 feet away at the Grill for $22 total. read more

We've been there for brunch and for dinner. All around great! Service, food and environment. I definitely recommend.

Our favorite restaurant has lost it's unique sparkle. Every Birthday and Anniversary we have loved coming to the Bistro since they first opened. Last night my Halibut was extremely over grilled, the Tiramisu was pure sugar cream, lacking in its usual layers of flavors and we had no sooner took our first bite of desserts and the check was placed on our table to be collected at leisure. We felt dismissed. Not the wonderful experience we have had in past. read more

The food was amazing! I had shortribs and hubby had the filet. Both had exceptional flavor, we will definitely be back. Yum! Creme Brulee...

So glad to see Bistro 234 is back open! The best part is, the short ribs that were usually only one of their specials is now on the menu!! they're the absolute best. Everyone at my table ordered them. grateful that this place is back up and running, really missed it. read more

See all

The quality of food continues to decline visit after visit that we finally gave up on returning hoping it was an isolated issue. Yesterday, as a party of 8, the food was slow and service was ok. One of our guest did not receive his Rib Eye steak until everyone was done but he took it to go so he wouldn't hold us up. The steaks were ok and the mashed potatoes were pretty much a dry MASHED potato. You would have thought they would have compensated us a portion or all on the steak that came out when everyone was done, but full charge as we already spent over $800. At the end we ordered Crème brûlée, but they said they ran out, but I really think it was that they were cleaning the kitchen. Don't go hear as the quality has gone done the drain. Several other restaurants to go to! Now you know why they always have open reservations. read more

Reservations are still being taken with confirmation texts sent and an hour before reservation a text reminder that my reservation was in one hour. We drove for one hour to have dinner there only to find THEY ARE CLOSED!!!!! SHAME ON THEM FOR STILL TAKING RESERVATIONS !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! read more

Well it would be a 5 if a pretty good sized rat had not climbed up the wall and into the ceiling during our dinner. We weren't the only ones to see it or mention it. The server shrugged it off and said I told the owner. Not sure how I feel about all that! It would have been nice for the owner or manager to come by the table and apologize and reassure us they would take care of it. read more

Bistro has been a long time favorite in my home for many years; was extremely happy when they reopened their doors. Was even more pleasantly impressed with the updated menu. The hubby and I were in need of a night out and Bistro was our first choice. The fillet was cooked perfectly and paired with a delicious cauliflower purée a much lighter version to the traditional mashed potatoes. The salmon seasoned to perfection. And last but not least their Bruschetta appetizer "my favorite " is even better than before!! With all the chaos that the pandemic has brought to many of our local businesses, Bistro is still standing and thriving! Griselda :) read more

This might be the best food in Turlock, and if not the best, it's the finest, most culinarily refined food in town. I've been here multiple times, both for casual meals and special occasions and I've yet to have a poor experience. The restaurant consists of the outdoor patio, bar area, a small dining room directly past the bar, and finally a separate dining room that I believe is called "The Cellar" because it is where they keep their extensive wine inventory. They also seat most large parties and reservations in this area. The restaurant is very cute, and tastefully decorated with kind of a chic, French bistro vibe. I've seen a lot of people Yelping about a lack of service but I disagree. The service is friendly and attentive, but admittedly sometimes under a tough exterior. Give the service a chance and don't think that just because you're at one of the "fanciest" restaurants in our area that you're some kind of high-profile celebrity all of a sudden. The staff will get to you and leave you feeling full, happy, satisfied, and, if you're doing things right, pretty tipsy; they'll just do it in their own way. This place is definitely on the expensive side, especially for us who've grown up in the valley, so don't come expecting cheap eats. You're paying for quality though, and chefs who are obviously formally trained and know what they're doing. The prices are more than fair for the product they put out of their kitchens (and bar). The food is outstanding. Delicious, rich, creamy pastas. Savory steaks and fish that burst with flavor. Crab cakes, scallops, and bruschetta appetizers are all off the hook. Everything is meticulously plated and presented. Tasty drinks as well so don't skimp when coming here, get some drinks and appetizers before your entrees. Like I said it is pricey but it's worth it. Plan ahead and come for a special occasion if need be. You will spend some money but you won't regret it read more

Their website says they are open until 10 pm. We show up at 8:30 pm and are rudely told they are closed. The hostess didn't even say hi when I greeted her. If they want to change their hours for "covid hours", it should at least be updated on their website so we don't drive there for no reason. read more

Insane !! The best chicken Marsala I've ever had !! Been coming here when I'm in Turlock for past 10 years and it's consistently the same everyone I come here ! read more

Consistently serving delicious food. Serving staff is now always friendly. The menu is the same, because it includes so many favorites of so many customers, and the specials offer a nice variety. Last night I ordered the short ribs special. Delicious served over rustic mashed potatoes and perfectly cooked and well seasoned broccolini. Bacon wrapped scallops started the evening nicely, cooked perfectly. There are a lot more choices now in Turlock, and Bistro 234 deserves its place among the top choices. read more

Food is excellent- seriously fresh and prepared perfectly. Our issue is the multitude of menus and their strict adherence to them according to their timeline. We started the best lunch. The lunch menu is wonderful. We returned one day at 330 and had to order from the dinner menu which is much more restrictive. We can deal with that. We returned again on Saturday noon and had to order from the brunch menu only- again limited. This time we left without ordering. Had the menu hours been posted on their website we would not have wasted our time and would make the effort to adhere to those hours. They really need to inform people of the menu applicable time limits before they enter the restaurant. You look online, love the menu, arrive, then see that you must order something besides what you were looking forward to. Very disappointed. read more

Love this place! I have never had a bad meal here. My latest lunch was their chicken salad sandwich. It was delicious!

Bistro 234 is without a doubt THE best restaurant in Turlock. I happily and eagerly drive from home in Orange County to my wife's ancestral home town to dine at Bistro. We have celebrated several times here when the family accomplishment warranted a top shelf dinner experience rivaling our favorite gastronomical venue back home (think Capital Grill or Maestros). My favorite is the rib-eye steak, always cooked to perfection. Servers are professional, courteous, and knowledgeable especially about wine and decanting. Bistro is a jewel and treasure for Turlock worthy of duplication, replication, and integration into Turlock legacy and history. Bistro, please please please keep your top shelf persona and your elite servers and chef (and bring back the griddle so I can have my steak Pittsburgh Style again). read more

Not the best experience last night. The food is always pretty consistent and tasty, we find ourselves going back for the gnocchi, but last night our service was very poor. We had to ask our server for bread twice, my husband ordered a coke which didn't come until after dinner arrived (he had to ask for it twice). She wasn't attentive or friendly. She was a younger girl, who said things like "we have no specials" and "we unfortunately only have one dessert." These two messages are easy to spin into positive suggestions like "we have no specials, but the ribeye is awesome!" Or "We only have 1 dessert, but it's so delicious and I highly recommend it." Either she's very new or was overwhelmed with her section, but it just wasn't the Mother's Day experience we hoped for. We'll continue to support our local businesses, but please consider additional training for some of your servers. read more

Even though I don't live in Turlock, I plan trips to Turlock around dining at Bistro 234. Since moving to the Central Valley, I have enjoyed dining experiences at Bistro 234 and always look forward to returning. Unfortunately, my lunch experience yesterday left much to be desired (in regards to the service). The server did not return to take our order until 15 minutes after we arrived, the sides and drinks served AFTER the entrees were served. (I reminded server we had not received the drinks about 5-10 minutes after ordering and it took her another 10 minutes to bring the drinks--after she was talking to another employee.) I have never written a negative review about a dining experience but thought this experience was worth the attention of management. read more

NEVER AGAIN. Had reservations, got seated right away. Took our order. Waited 40 minutes for a cup of soup & a salad. Waited another 35 minutes for our entrees. My ribeye was 1/4" thin & well done. The table next to us had a 3" ribeye, so what the heck. They asked me to cut into my steak to check it & I said no thank you I asked for medium rare. They took it back. My friend tried her fish, mashed potatoes & asparagus, they were all cold. We had better service from the busboy who offered us 3 plates of bread & refilled our water glasses. Got up & walked out. The server seemed to avoid the entire room while we were there. As we left, we saw our terrible waiter Shawn & asked if I needed to pay for the cup of soup & salad, he said no. Such terrible service there & they should have never allowed that thin piece of steak to serve to anyone. NEVER AGAIN. read more

Had the hot pastrami sandwich for lunch, the bread was too hard as if it was old. Nothing was very great or out of the ordinary, specially for the price. Not worth it. Only reason I don't rate it lower, is because I'm considering it under central valley standards which are already low. read more

Very disappointing and remembered why my husband and I stopped going here. First, masks are not enforced here. There is a sign on the door, but staff do not pay attention to this. Some of the servers were wearing their mask under their noses and one chef in the kitchen was not even wearing a mask. Our server was unattentive and never brought the bread and rarely checked to see if we needed anything. The food was flavorless and bland. Not worth the prices they are charging. Will not be back. read more

quality food. loved the menu at sight. i had the mahi risotto was still a little al dente but delicious. asparagus had texture and flavor wifey's NY cut must've been towards end because it was a bit chewy the mash was extra garlicky carrots in the sautéed veggies were still pretty raw i will return and let you know how the consistency is. overall it was a very good dinner. the service was pretty straightforward and pleasant. read more

When we arrived we were only going to be the 3rd person to arrive. It was about 1140am. We sat outside beautiful day. Our food took over 45 mins we ordered 2 salmon 1marsala 1 burger. Our server asked my husband how do you want burger cooked he ordered medium came well done!! Our server was awful she never asked how anything was never offered to fill our drinks nothing! Our bill was $122 for 4 people for lunch and it was awful. Our daughter was so excited to go here because her teachers husband is a chef here so horribly disappointed! read more

This is about the fifth or sixth time we have dined here. At the hotel, when we returned, two other groups were in the elevator and it turns out they had just come from Bistro 234 as well. We all had a great dining experience! We visit Turlock for our son's baseball games. It is our go-to restaurant for fine dining. Usually we enjoy our meals, but this last time was a home-run with everything being mouth watering delicious. We began with the scallops for appetizers. The four scallops were not large, but they were in a fantastic sauce and for an appetizer, it was a perfect portion that we shared. We share meals now and it allows for greater variety and dessert ;-) The caesar salad was a good size, and the food server let us know it had anchovies in the sauce and on the salad, and being my husband's favorite choice for a salad, we have had many...and it was excellent. Great flavor dressing, cold, crisp, fresh romaine. The ribeye was incredible: charred on the outside and perfect degree of doneness with fantastic marbling and flavor. Gives Houston's and Morton's a run for the money. Finished with Diana Torte, a chocolate and vanilla layered ice cream cake with macaroon crust and See's toffee crumbles on top, with a drizzle of chocolate. Add the coffee and the evening was perfect. BTW: Made reservations on Open Table and asked for a window table (which are mostly bar chair round tops. (We like them but can be hard to get in and out of) There's outdoor seating which is more casual looking but great in good weather) Service was excellent, never having to ask for water refills and dishes cleared with perfect timing. AND: Tip: Not sure if they always carry them, but the local Costco (off Monte Vista exit) carries gift cards $100 worth for $80. read more

Visiting my mother in this small town enables me to sometimes dine at Parcel 234, located in the lovely redeveloped center of downtown Turlock. The atmosphere is relaxed and comfortable with indoor and outdoor heated patio seating. The selections are varied and Californian fresh local fare. My latest experience was enjoying the fresh tomato soup along with a yummy BLT w/ avacado and flavored mayonaise on fresh baked bread. I didn't leave a morsel! The wait staff is warm and professional without being too stiff. It's great to enjoy a high caliber restaurant in this small town! read more

Love the Bistro, the best food and atmosphere! Celebrate all my special occasions here!

Atmosphere was good but the restaurant was ice cold and they were out of a lot of items like anything with chicken and their mac and cheese. Service was lacking as we only saw our waitress a few times and never got napkins or refills even after we asked. We visited during lunch on a Tuesday and were there way longer than we hoped to be. read more

Love this place! Nice atmosphere, wonderful people, great food and cocktails! They have a good range of choices from clams to burgers even the salad is delicious. read more

See all

I went here Dec 18 with a group of 8. It took 50 minutes for a server to approach our table. It was 5pm and the place was not even very busy yet. We never got bread or water in that time frame of waiting. When the server finally arrived, she was cold, rude and indifferent. We asked for water and bread and she replied that they had no bread. I could see bread on the other tables so I was confused and said... "You have no bread?" And she again rudely said... "No. We have no bread". She then asked, "what do you want?" regarding what we wanted to eat. We said that we hadn't even had a chance to order drinks and she replied with, "Then what do you want to drink". This was our annual Christmas party for a Sorority group. We were all so excited for our dinner and we all left deflated and upset. Never have we had such rude and inattentive service. We should've asked to speak to the manager, but we just wanted to pay and get out of there. My friends and I will never go to The Bistro again. What a joke. read more

Best restaurant in Turlock! My family has been coming here for years & they never disappoint. My sister and I had lunch here today & the staff was so friendly & welcoming as usual. I can honestly say every single item on the menu is fantastic... I highly recommend the bruschetta as a starter & Bistro Burger with blue cheese. The restaurant & vibe is beautiful. I Highly recommend Bistro 234 in downtown Turlock. read more

Bistro 234 - New American Near Me - Turlock, California

A little gem in this little town. A group stopped at Bistro 234 prior to a business meeting--we were expecting a simple location but Bistro 234 is a very dark and cozy restaurant in the main drag of Turlock. All members of the group ordered large salads as our entree. Cobb and Thai chicken options around the table--all fresh ingredients and full of flavor. Good service and Highly recommend if you ever find yourself in this little town in Central CA. read more

Used to love this place, but not sure after today! There were two servers! Granted it was a Sat afternoon, but the 2 servers spent most of their time making cocktails for a large party in the back room! Our food was marginal, wine not chilled enough, & service marginal! I'll have to think twice about coming again!! read more

My husband & I were looking for a nice restaurant to have a date night, and Bistro 234 sure delivered! We went on a Saturday around 7pm with reservations. Our table was ready so we didn't have to wait, and we were shortly able to order our drinks and appetizers. After ordering our meals, the food did take a little bit of time to arrive, but as it was a Saturday evening in downtown, I understood and didn't mind the wait. The staff was very friendly & attentive. The food was delicious, my husband had the penne bolognese & I had the short ribs, both were great sized portions. We had the tiramisu for dessert which was also very tasty. We definitely plan on coming again! read more

This is one of my favorite restaurants and for that reason I give it 4 stars but my visit deserved 3.5. The food was really good. We had salmon cakes, which are delicious, however the sauce was too salty or me, but great flavor, would have appreciated the salad part of the appetizer to be twice the size, it wasn't a salad but a garnishment not really shareable. We were impressed that there was Cioppino on the menu. Rich and delicious. Cocktails were amazing. Downsides, the waiter. Not friendly, but he was professional. He just wasn't attentive, he didn't offer specials, he didn't offer bread, and when our food came we asked for bread that is now available at a charge. No worries, but that should have been his beginning offer. We ordered an Arnold Palmer that came as tea and bitter lemon juice, some simple sugar would have made that better, he didn't seem to mind that we sent it back. Overall, it didn't appear the restaurant employees were very happy that night, no one was smiling, many timed seen behind the bar not busy. Our water pourer was always around and a female server in another section seemed to be working hard - wish we were in her section. My husband's tip was too large for the service we experienced, but he would never penalize service, nor should he. This restaurant is worth another visit and hoping I can give it the 5 stars it deserves. read more

The food here is so delicious, we have yet to be disappointed!! We came upon this place by accident several years ago and are so glad we found it. Whenever in Modesto to visit family we always try to work this restaurant in to our stop. This past weekend we took our mom out to dinner for her birthday and all our guests enjoyed their meals equally. We've tried just about everything on the menu now however my husband keeps going back to the Chicken Marsala. He has tried this dish elsewhere but is always disappointed, not sure what Bistro 234 does differently but this dish keeps him going back. It is a little small and can get noisy the busier they get but still has an intimate feeling to it. This will always be our go to place whenever in the Valley. read more

My husband and I were in need of a nice date night and we certainly got it at Bistro 234! We had never been, but the website and menu looked great so we made a reservation. We arrived a little bit early and our table was already set and ready for us inside. It was a beautiful evening so I asked if we could sit outside and was accomodated without any issue. Now, the food. Oh my! We are still talking about our meals - days later. We started with the Bruschetta and enjoyed it. I had the Potato Gnocci with grilled chicken and it was fabulous! Full of flavor and an abundent amount of food. My husband had the Steelhead Salmon and cant stop talking about it (looks like I'll be adding that to my home menu...ha!). We finished with Dianna's Torte - oh my goodness....delish!! There was nothing about the food that we would change and we cant wait to go back and try other items on the menu. The staff was lovely. Everyone was polite and attentive and they never lost track of us/left us waiting out on the patio. My only "warning" would be to not set your heart on an item you see on the website menu as not all of those items were on the menu when we arrived. If that is the only thing I was disappointed about, Im thrilled!! We WILL be back soon! read more

Wine and appitisers are great staff is attentive and friendly the wine list is vast and quality. The resturant and bar are well decorated and the place has a warm and inviting feel to it. read more

The food was good. Not great, good. Neither bathrooms worked; the toilets were BOTH plugged up. When I asked for an espresso at the end of the meal, they told me their espresso machine was broken. So they brought me a cup of their regular coffee, which tasted like something you'd get at Denny's. Then when i poured cream in it, it curdled. The cream was spoiled. They apologized, brought another pot of creamer, the second one was spoiled as well. I gave up on the coffee. I guess their refrigeration system must have been broken too. The waitress was very nice, the place looks nice, but I'd call ahead of time to make sure that: 1. Their bathrooms are in working order 2. Their espresso machine works 3. Their milk or cream for the coffee is not spoiled. Otherwise, everything was ok! read more

The service at the bar while we were waiting for our table was great. The bartender was very attentive and our cocktails were very good. There were five of us and we all had different dishes for dinner. We shared the bruschetta and it was delicious, but entrees were just ok. Mine arrived cold. Didn't send it back because it took so long to come out the first time. Our server was not engaging and seemed to be in a bad mood. Which was not very pleasant. This was our first time, but our fiends have been before and say that the service and food seem to be going down hill the last few times they have been. Sad to say that this will be the last visit here for all of us. The rude service was the last straw. read more