Continuing our motorhome trip to escape the Texas heat, I had scheduled us to be in Bismarck (our last stop before heading home) for our 52nd wedding anniversary. After some research, I made reservations at Pirogue Grille. Glad I did. It felt nice as soon as you walk in. We were warmly greeted and ushered to our table. All tables had white table cloths and covered in white paper. There are crayons on the table so you can draw. I thought it a bit odd, but my wife enjoyed drawing. Being a former Marine, I fought the urge to eat the crayons. Service was prompt and efficient, but our waitress wasn't interested in small talk (which was OK). We ordered pre-dinner drinks; my wife had a Cosmo and I had a lemon drop martini (yes, I did...I sometimes order these for a pre-dinner drink). We both agreed that the drinks were some of the best we've had. I had the pork chop and it was EXCELLENT. I had thought I could scrap the chutney off, which I did a little, but it offered a great taste combo. My wife had the shrimp and said they were excellent. The entire meal was perfect for our anniversary. Entrees could not have been better. We had planned to have the dessert flight (small portions of all the desserts) but we could eat no more. Our server brought us a small dish of caramel popcorn. Just right for a bit of sweetness. We really enjoyed everything about the grille and highly recommend. read more

I was in town for work and wanted something for dinner that wouldn't make me feel terrible, no fried foods, a real meal. It was -17 degrees in and I was able to walk in for dinner. I'm sure this place is usually much busier, but I'm happy I lucked out. The staff were so friendly and attentive from the second you walk in, with such a warm welcome by the host. The restaurant felt cozy and still had plenty of diners despite the cold. I had the beet salad with goat cheese and pecans, and the bison braised short ribs. Both were excellent. I make a similar beet dish at home, so it was nice to have something simple, comforting, and genuinely delicious -- it felt like eating at home. The beef was incredibly tender and fell apart easily with just my fork. I also had the vanilla crème brûlée for dessert. It was pretty good, but it was cold, and I usually prefer it a little warm and smoother. Not quite the cozy dessert I was hoping for. That said, they had a great dessert selection, and I'm excited to come back and try something else. read more

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It's been 18 years since we've been here. Always liked the ambiance of the place. We returned for our 25th anniversary and was treated well by our server. She was on point with the drinks and serving. Sometimes I did not know she was near until the plate disappeared or the glasses filled. I had the ND bison short ribs and hubby had the walleye. Both delicious. We both chose the dill mash potato. I am thinking that maybe a fondant potato would pair nicely with the bison short ribs but all in all in was a very nice experience for our anniversary. Thank you! read more

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Ok service, great ambience, great look ( except most of the paintings are weird, dark). But amazing food. The parmigiana crusted Walleye great. Bison medallions cooked well, fresh but lacked flavor. The Venison sausage was the star. Also decent Scotch selection Also you can draw on the table with crayons read more

Pirogue Grille - The Bison liked my Scotch selection - New American Near Me - Bismarck, North Dakota

Passing thru Bismarck and found this gem. The town seems a bit depressed, but this food was exceptional! My wife and I both loved our beet salad and dinners. Our server was sweet and attentive. Highly recommend this place. read more

A great option for date night! Beautiful, quaint restaurant in the heart of downtown. Service was spotty. Food is hit or miss. Drinks are solid. read more

I had high hopes for this restaurant. In walking in the small of old mop water almost turned me away. The menu online hooked me but when we sat down the very limited menu we received was completely different. I love a seasonal menu but if you are going to have a small menu, everything HAS to be excellent. The descriptions on the menu and the plates that came out were all so disappointing. I ordered my venison medium rare. The red wine sauce was goopy, the mash potatoes were flavorless and dry. And the sides were not on the menu. You could choose mix vegetables (soggy and bland) or another starch. I gave two stars because out of the four dishes we ordered one was ok. read more

Beautiful, comfortable and delicious food; this restaurant conveniently located in downtown Bismarck is a true municipal treasure. The menu is comprehensive and the quality of each food item was impeccably prepared and delightful. The wine list was phenomenal. The service was attentive yet not obtrusive. Our party of nine enjoyed a memorable dining experience that will be long-remembered by all. read more

Went to this high end restaurant in Bismarck and got the special price fixe menu for $48. It had a nice selection of choices and we tried to get items / ingredients that we don't normally see (pheasant, chokeberry). Everything was delicious and the server was very nice (it's the state of nice!) read more

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The menu and wine list are solid. The Whiskey list needs a little bit of help, but the overall experience was excellent. The service is always exceptional, & the ambience of the environment is incredibly comfortable. read more

Good food farm to table great waiter and great service friendly nice Atmosphere - upscale price was reasonable all things considered

The beet salad and scallop entree were amazing. The scallops were cooked to perfection. My husband enjoyed the bison medallion entree. We enjoyed a lovely meal after completing an 850 mile trip. read more

In town for business, had never tried this place. I had the grilled branzino special and can't say enough about just how good it was. My colleague tried bison for the first time and was equally impressed. Service matched the food as exceptional. Comfortable atmosphere and decor made for a great experience. Best in Bismarck in my experience of traveling there for over a decade. read more

Pirogue Grille - Grilled branzino with lemon, oregano, local Capperino peppers & tomatoes and warm crème brûlée for dessert. Goodness! - New American Near Me - Bismarck, North Dakota

This place is amazing! The setting and service are outstanding and the menu, please don't get me started- I have Celiac and am vegetarian and the assortment for me to choose from was varied and forced me to have to choose which is not the norm- I had the eggplant which was delectable, the soup special which was an amazing veloute and I enjoyed yet another delicious appetizer that was delicate and rich- my counterparts each enjoyed their selections and I have to admit- being a foodie from the Twin Cities, I had reasonable expectations that were completely surpassed in every aspect! read more

I purposely looked for a high quality restaurant and thought I had found it. Not so much. We were told there weren't any tables available so sat in the bar. My husband got up to use the restroom and noticed a table was available in the dining room so we asked to move. I ordered salmon. It was fine. My husband ordered the bison steak. They didn't bring him a steak knife so he tried cutting it with the butter knife. That didn't work so I flagged down the waitress and asked for a knife and a wedge of lemon which my husband had asked for when he ordered tea. Waitress took off and never came back. I finally got up and tracked her down. I carefully explained that my husband couldn't eat the bison without a steak knife and he'd really like that wedge of lemon for his tea also. She eventually brought the knife as well as a teeny slice of lemon. It wasn't possible to squeeze that slice of lemon into the tea. The knife barely cut the bison. My husband tried chewing a few pieces of bison. It wasn't possible, too tough to chew and swallow. Someone apparently forgot to tell the chef that game meat needs to be tenderized. It was an AWFUL experience for what I thought would be a high quality restaurant. read more

A nice gem in Bismarck. The place had very friendly service. The food was on par with some of the beter I have had. Ate here w my spouse and a couple friends. I got the duck and the cheese and pecan salad. I tried several other dishes. The bison was under cooked and just not flavorful. The dishes were overall good but couple things that could be tighter. read more

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Not very impressed with this restaurant. My wife and I had the walleye which came with mashed potatoes and vegetables. Everything lacked flavor, just very bland. Considering the prices they are charging, I would expect better quality. We both ordered a glass of wine which took approximately fifteen minutes to arrive. One member of our group ordered a glass of wine and never received it. The waiter gave the old "they never brought it" routine. Even though he had brought out all the other drinks previously. read more

Dining with a colleague this evening, we had a great meal. It was unexpected to find this sort of high end dining in Bismarck (sorry, no insult intended) with such a revolving and creative menu! We had the venison bratwurst to start. Tasty and with a delicious and spicy ground mustard, it got things going nicely. Next course, I chose the romaine with Caesar dressing. Not quite Caesar salad, but it was good. Light dressing on top of small leaves of romaine and topped with shaved parmesan. Main course, I had the rainbow trout. A large piece of fish, cooked properly and topped with a butter sauce and, strangely, marcona almonds. I like almonds so this was good. A nice looking wine list, a bottled beer list and a list of martinis available. Fab meal. [Review 10580 overall, 348 of 2019.] read more

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Nice, upscale spot in Bismarck's central downtown area. I sat at the bar while dining alone on business travel. The bar tender was very attentive and offered helpful advice on selecting the bison (eg it's only 6 oz and order it medium rare). I started with the spinach salad. It could've used more of their house cured bacon and Gorgonzola. Plenty of cranberry though. That's where I take away a star. The bison was as advertised. I'm in ND and you know what they say, "when in Rome...". Great place, check em out. read more

Pirogue Grille - Some of their specialty cocktails. - New American Near Me - Bismarck, North Dakota

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We went through Bismarck, found this on Yelp and decided to visit, because of the salad selections. The service was incredible, the restaurant was clean, fast and the food was delicious! We would stop here again. I would give them 10 read more

I generally don't leave reviews unless the place was exceptionally good or, in this case, exceptionally bad. I am leaving this review to warn others about this restaurant. I am a writer, so I always dress casually. However, my wife wanted to take me out for a high-end fancy meal. Despite my appearance, I have eaten at a lot of chef-driven restaurants like the Elephant Bar and Ruth's Chris in Walnut Creek. I don't mind paying $80 per person for a meal if it is good. My first clue should have been the predominantly older crowd. Not that there is anything wrong with old people, but in my experience, if the majority of a restaurant's customers are elderly, it is a sign that it is outdated. My wife's watermelon & feta salad was good. (Although nothing new.) The rest of the food was alright and on par with Romano's Macaroni Grill which would have been much cheaper. The atmosphere was nice, and the servers were very helpful, although somewhat formal and unpersonable. However, my steak was obviously a cheaper cut of meat, and it had a tendon rining through it. The chimichurri was unbalanced and bitter, and my wife's lavender-infused cocktail was the most hideous thing I ever tasted. She couldn't finish it. (And I had never seen my wife not finish a drink.) The oversized plates made the portions look even smaller. When we were done, we had spent over $200 for three people and left very disappointed. Seek high-end dining elsewhere. read more

I was in Bismarck for work and decided to have dinner here as it looked warm and cosy on a night where its -12 outside. Pedro took care of me and he was super friendly with A+ recommendations. I started the night with a cup of the bison & corn soup; this was just what I needed for the cold. The soup was delicious a nice mix of fresh veggies with the rich flavor of the Bison and chunks of bison that almost tasted like bison corn-beef. Pedro then recommended the beet salad which was amazing it has both "normal" and golden beets with goat cheese but what made it different and amazing were the candied pecans in a balsamic reduction ( i assume). As a main dish I had a special for the night which was risotto with squash and house cured pancetta; it was delicious and the perfect portion so that I could leave space for the Pot de creme made with butterscotch and cinnamon to wrap up the best food I've had in Bismarck. Add on top a solid and varied wine list plus great looking cocktails and you have the best restaurant in Bismarck. *Bonus - Pedro went to FSU and he's from Miami* - Ask for Pedro and enjoy a super cool guy who knows his food and trust his recommendations! read more

Pirogue Grille - Risotto with squash and pancetta - New American Near Me - Bismarck, North Dakota

I love steakhouses and the vibes of this place definitely fit the mold. The service is good but the food is definitely tailored to the geriatric pallet. I love baked Alaska but aside from their delightful mint ice cream it was dense and sickly sweet. I would skip this place unless you're looking to take grandpa out for dinner. read more

We went here when they first opened 15 years ago, and it was really good then. We went back tonight and it was so delightful we can't understand why we waited 15 years to come back. The service here was really on top of it. Anyplace that changes your silverware between courses gets an extra half star in my book. In fact, for a very small restaurant (maybe 20 tables) the server to diner ratio was nothing short of incredible, there were 2 hosts, 6 servers, and 4 people in the kitchen, so you can imagine how attentive they were (in case you have no imagination, the answer is very). They also brought a carafe of ice water to the table. Another half star for that. All of the food was scrumptious. We started with the roasted beets with goat cheese and a balsamic reduction, which they split into two plates for us, and each one was a tiny work of art (see photo). RL had the parmigiano-reggiano crusted walleye with roasted red pepper sauce, which was some pretty fabulous fish flesh. I had the bison medallions cooked medium rare, which were juicy (bison tends to be dry because it's so lean... this was not dry) and flavorful with a rich bordelaise sauce, a vegetable medley, and dill mashed potatoes. For dessert we had the daily special, a strawberry-rhubarb crumble with homemade ice cream, which was to die for. RL and I split one, and I was genuinely sorry I hadn't ordered my own. It was that good. I almost forgot... instead of the ubiquitous chocolate mint at the end of the meal they brought a little dish of cardamom and nutmeg spiced kettle corn, which was tasty and unexpected! All in all, I would give them 6 stars if I could... alas. read more

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Made the mistake of trying to use a $200 gift certificate that my wife and I paid for in 2008 during the housing crisis and we simply forgot we had them. Do you have any gift certificates that you have forgotten about and wondered if you could use them? Think of what a gift certificate really is. That $200 was essentially loaned to this business and then 13 years later, not honored. Instead of gratitude, we were told that because of state law, we were out our hard-earned money. There is NOTHING right about this. And if a business is built upon a foundation of exemplary service, this stings all the more. After being denied their use, we paid our bill with a credit card and left. As I drove away, I called to share my dismay privately thinking, they will make this right. This is after all, Pirogue Grille. Well, it was most certainly "Pirogue Grille" but not the Pirogue Grille I thought I knew. The person I spoke with recited state law (thank you) and I was asked why we could not have used the gift certificates previously. Not exactly the high service response I anticipated. read more

Overpriced for what you get. I don't think we will be back unless they drop their prices and increase the amount of food you get.

This really is one of the best dining experiences in Bismarck. Very professional servers and always delicious food. The deserts are stand outs. Sometime we'll get dinner somewhere else and then sit in the bar to order desserts. read more

Nice atmosphere and good food. My favorite dish was the beet salad. The mashed potatoes were good too if you like dill. Bison was a bit chewy, but I had never had it before last night so maybe it's supposed to be that way. The sauce on the bison was great. Drinks took a while both times and it seemed like there was a lot of disproportionate timing in getting food between all the tables around us. Overall a good meal. read more

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Came here with my husband this evening and had an excellent meal. We came from out of town and have generally been underwhelmed with food options in Bismarck. We don't normally have options like bison or venison so we took advantage of the availability and we're not disappointed. Our server Donna was great and overall had a really nice time. Would recommend to anyone coming to Bismarck in the future. read more

A "go back to" restaurant! The food is special. The chef has unique interesting recipes. Menu changes often. Service is simply first rate.

This place is a fantastic little gem in Bismarck. The food was delightfully presented and the flavors hit all the right notes. Of particular note were the rosemary mashed potatoes (yes, the mashed potatoes!) and, less surprisingly, the crème brûlée. One of the best meals we had on a 7-week tour from California to New England and back! read more

All things considered, this is the best place in Bismarck for dinner. Couldn't possibly recommend anything else any more.

Amazing place w a real creative chef and a kitchen that delivers to the vision. Great service as well. Very highly recomended

Delicious fine dining. We've been enjoying Pirogue for years. Lately it's been takeout, but the atmosphere in the restaurant is excellent also. Can't recommend Pirogue enough. read more

We never got a chance to get past the front door. We arrived a little before 9:00 after traveling all day. As I was opening the door an employee pulled the door shut and locked it. She then closed the blinds as I looked in. I wouldn't have posted this if she would have just explained the reason that they needed to close over an hour early. read more

We are regulars at Pirogue Grill and love the atmosphere and food. We tried to make reservations for tonight, and the lady taking reservations over the phone said they could do 5pm (booked up), which I said would be perfectly fine, since my wife likes to eat early anyway. She kept asking whether we would make 5pm, since there was a 7pm scheduled for that table, and I replied that it would work. For some reason she started to get angry with me. I guess she must have not understood me or thought I was insincere. ?? She said we couldn't have the reservation, over my requests of "Maam, I believe there's been some misunderstanding..", and then she cut me off in mid conversation and hung up on me! I'm utterly shocked and saddened that such an elegant and favorite place of ours would do that to somebody. Good bye, Pirogue Grill. :-( read more

Love! Excellent food, friendly staff. We had the walleye and the steak, both were terrific! We love the locally sourced food. The wine selection is nice with affordable options! Highly recommend! read more

Literally just waited for 20 (25?) minutes after we received some bread, water and menus, and not a single person waited on us or even took our drink order. Watched 2 or 3 other couples sit after us and all of them had drinks and already ordered food before we finally got up and left. Heard great things, but this was embarrassing. We were not hidden, they did not seem overly busy and had plenty of staff. And I understand people make mistakes but we couldn't even get a server to look at us. This was our first impression and unless someone is hell-bent on inviting me there for a special event of some kind, it'll be my last. Really bummed and disappointed. read more

Go here, hands down, for the best food and atmosphere in Bismarck! We sat at the bar and enjoyed the most delicious cocktails. We had the mushroom rice soup, I had lamb and hubby had scallops. Delicious! Then topped it off with chocolate mousse for dessert. Fantastic! And for those gluten free, the majority of this delicious menu is! Cheryl, Loretta and Christina are wonderful, making you want to be regulars here. Wish we lived closer. read more

Uncooked chicken alfraido. Overrated and expensive. Service was bad. Never coming back. One star.