a small, family owned and rather modest establishment

a small informal establishment

a small modest establishment, it includes those thousands of simple places that take up half the footpaths of Paris

a small, quaint restaurant that offer local and fresh , high quality, seasonal cuisine

a type of restaurant

A small modest European-style restaurant or café.

(BEES-troh) - (1) In France, a bistro used to be a bar that also sold wine. Sometimes, they would have one or two tables and the wife of the owner would have made a dish she would sell. Today a bistro is a small neighborhood restaurant with a comforting, predictable menu and reliable daily specials. It functions as a home away from home for many people, drawn by the familiar atmosphere, honest food and consistent prices. (2) Bistro also means a style of cooing (simple home cooking - it's similar to old-fashioned American food). It's a return to the era before fast food, before speed and convenience became more important than flavor and quality, but not quite to the complexity of old school French cooking.

A small restaurant, usually informal, that typically has a decent wine list. If a place that calls itself a bistro does not have a wine list, it is simply known as a "small restaurant."