bistro

[bis-troh, bee-stroh]

noun

plural

bistros 

1. a small, modest, European-style restaurant or caf é.

2. a small nightclub or restaurant.

bistro

/ ˈbiːstrəʊ /

noun

1. a small restaurant

Word History and Origins

Origin of bistro¹

1920–25; < French bistro ( t ), originally argot, first attested in the sense “proprietor of a tavern” (1884); of obscure origin

Word History and Origins

Origin of bistro¹

French: of obscure origin; perhaps from Russian bistro fast

Example Sentences

I walked to the neighborhood bistro for lunch and proudly slipped into the booth, feeling that heaviness I’d longed for, that glimpse of a different future.

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From West Village bistros to London brasseries, French cuisine — once dismissed as too heavy or too fussy — is suddenly what’s on everyone’s lips.

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That’s what Harold Moore was thinking when he was on the hunt for a space to open a new restaurant last year after the popular downtown bistro he was previously known for, Commerce, closed.

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Since then, he’s added Yellow, a cafe with two locations, and La’ Shukran, a chic Middle Eastern bistro, to his stable.

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"These groups are the equivalent of the bistro counter – but with more people," said psychoanalyst Patrick Avrane, author of a book on attitudes to crime.

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Related Words

• lounge 
• restaurant 
• tavern