Bistro Viz - San Anselmo

This restaurant is a hidden treasure. The chef is like a magician in the kitchen. The short ribs were incredibly tender and juicy, but the lobster garlic noodles were absolutely extraordinary! Each bite was filled with delicious garlic flavor. Trust me, you'll want to order one for yourself because you won't want to share. The service was great and we had a wonderful dinner experience.

We made a last minute reservation because we were very hungry! The host was very friendly, there were great food options, and an impressive wine list (no BYOB allowed). The artichoke soup and cold avocado soup were both excellent. My salmon was cooked perfectly and my husband loved his lobster pasta. Our only regret is not trying the strawberry cheesecake dessert. We will definitely be returning to spend more time here. The service was top-notch, with a 5-star rating. This was a dinner meal costing over $100 per person. The food received a 5-star rating, the atmosphere was a 4. Recommended dishes include the lobster noodles. There is plenty of parking available, including free parking lots, paid parking lots, free street parking, and paid street parking options.

I really don 't like giving a restaurant a poor review. Especially if it seems that they are at least trying hard, or its an exceptionally busy night. But the night I was there we were the only party eating (which was strange as it was 7 pm on a Friday night). And it was one of the least satisfying dining experiences that I 've had in a restaurant. The 2 star rating is for the ambience, only. Bistro Viz has a lovely spacious outside patio, beautifully lit. My friend and I started with the asparagus soup, with a side order of ciabatta. The soup was thin, if not watery. Not much asparagus flavor. Kind of okay. The ciabatta, while quite fresh, was insipid, sort of a cross between a real ciabatta and a Safeway baguette. The halibut main was served on a bed of a blend of dried out and bland white and red rice. The halibut itself was okay. An eccentric addition of seaweed salad on top didn 't improve matters. The squash medley side was fine. The fish collars main, a special for the evening, was pretty outrageously bad. It was presented as a huge mound, and looked like scraps from the fish market. The collars were clearly not very fresh. And they were dry, completely without flavor. When the server took my plate away (with the fish 1/2 eaten), he ingenously said oh my cat will love this . And the fish collars were served exactly as the halibut on the bed of dried out insipid rice, topped by that off putting sweet seaweed salad. We tried this place based on a number of good reviews. It is possible that we were there on a bad night, but honestly my suggestion would be to give this place a pass, given the prices.

Amazing service, food and wine. Owners are fantastic. Enjoyed the panzanella, short ribs, garlic noodles with main lobster. Great and reasonable priced wine list. Will be back.

The Octopus is the best we have ever had, such a pleasant time. Dinner was delicious. I have never had such a yummy potato before. Also, the cheesecake! The lemons! Thank you for providing such excellet service while also being super sweet humans. Service: Dine in Meal type: Dinner Price per person: $50–100 Food: 5 Service: 5 Atmosphere: 5 Recommended dishes: Cheesecake