bistro
Americannoun
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a small, modest, European-style restaurant or caf é.
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a small nightclub or restaurant.
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of bistro
1920–25; < French bistro ( t ), originally argot, first attested in the sense “proprietor of a tavern” (1884); of obscure origin
Compare meaning
How does bistro compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
Explanation
A bistro is a cozy little restaurant. The word comes from Paris, of course, but there are bistros all over the world. Bistros started in the boarding houses of Paris, where landlords would serve food to the public in order to make some extra money. The history of the word itself is slippery, but it might be related to the French word bistouille, slang for “bad alcohol.” Or maybe the Russians brought it when they wanted food bystra, or fast. Who knows? We do know that a bistro is a small restaurant that grown-ups like. There’s no room for crayons.
Vocabulary lists containing bistro
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
One afternoon Chris Newens, an English culinary journalist, was sitting in Le Mistral, a bistro in the 20th arrondissement, when he overheard three men discuss the dominant cuisine of the neighborhood.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 10, 2026
The bistro is located just a short distance from the Capitol on a block that has long met the appetites of midlevel congressional staff for fast-casual food and dive bars.
From Slate • Mar. 10, 2026
Eyton said the discovery of the romantic root veg could not have been better timed ahead of their Valentine's bistro night.
From BBC • Feb. 14, 2026
That same thump carried me back to Eixample and Batea, a sleek bistro where Catalan and Galician food dance until closing time.
From Salon • Dec. 6, 2025
We showered, put on such clean clothes as we could muster, and eagerly repaired to a popular nearby bistro called the Georgia Mountain Restaurant.
From "A Walk in the Woods" by Bill Bryson
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
