"Black Bear Bistro" - Warrenton, Virginia

Have been wanting to try this place for awhile, and finally stopped in for dinner a couple of months ago. Can’t begin to say how happy I am that we did, as we now have another “go to” place in Warrenton for fabulous food and excellent service at reasonable prices.

We were immediately seated in the upstairs “bistro” section in the window (were given a choice between the bistro & the more upscale “Sweeney’s” downstairs), which was nice, as it gave us a holiday view of other shoppers & the horse-drawn hayrides going up & down the street (Friday nights until Xmas Warrenton closes off Main Street to car traffic). My Iced Tea ($1.75) & husbands lemon-spiked water were brought right away.

We both started with the “Buffalo Oysters” ($8.00 each). The portions were large enough to be light entrées!!!! Eight large perfectly fried oysters, cooked through like I love them (I’m not a raw oyster fan) but still soft & tender, gently tossed with a very spicy vinegary buffalo sauce. Served with a generous portion of celery sticks & blue cheese dressing (ranch dressing is also an option). They were, in a word, TERRIFIC! I could easily imagine having just these & a salad & being perfectly happy – lol!!

Husband had the Pulled BBQ Chicken Sandwich for his entrée ($8.00 – yes, that was just EIGHT dollars), with an included side of a cup of Smoked Chicken Chili Soup, & LOVED both of them. As with the appetizer, portions were generous.

But the true piece de resistance was my order of one of the day’s specials: “Virginia Mackerel” ($14.95). Now anyone here who truly enjoys seafood knows that dark-fleshed fish like Mackerel, Bluefish, etc., always get a bum rap. And you rarely, if EVER see them on local restaurant menus, one reason being that fish like this – unlike other species – CAN’T disguise their freshness. I grew up on the waterfront, & know that there’s really no way to disguise Mackerel that’s “past its prime”. Which is, in my opinion, the main reason why so many people can’t warm up to it. They’ve never had truly fresh Mackerel (or Bluefish, etc.) properly cooked. They need to come to Black Bear Bistro when Virginia Mackerel is the special.

A boneless & skinless perfectly fresh local Mackerel filet, about a foot long, PERFECTLY grilled. The gentle smokiness that permeated from the wide grill marks on the fish actually had me asking the waitress if they had a wood grill back there (they don’t). Topped with diced hard-cooked eggwhites & capers, & served on a bed of perfectly cooked rice with a side of sautéed batons of zucchini & yellow summer squash complemented everything perfectly. (Gee – can I possibly say “perfectly” enough in this review? Lol!!)

Service was honestly friendly & attentive without being cloying; beverages were refilled as needed. Don’t think I need to say that we’ll be back – and OFTEN!
 
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