bistro

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UK/ˈbiːstɹəʊ/UK/ˈbɪstɹəʊ/US/ˈbiːstɹoʊ/US/ˈbɪstɹoʊ/

noun

A small casual restaurant or pub, typically serving French-style cuisine.

Meanings

nounbistro (plural bistros)

plural bistros · alternative bistrot

  1. A small casual restaurant or pub, typically serving French-style cuisine.

    After an eight-month closure, the bistro, previously called Café de la Gare, recently reopened – and locals want it to stay that way.

    2026 September 13, Kim Willsher, “The battle to save the dying heart of rural France: the village bistro”, in The Guardian, →ISSN
    2 more examples

    Now, a coalition of bistro owners, unions and trade organizations is lobbying to get Unesco to grant Paris's sidewalk bistros and cafes official status as France's "intangible cultural heritage."

    2018 June 16, Claire Mufson, “Paris Bistros Became Symbols of Resilience. But Are They Unesco Worthy?”, in The New York Times, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 01 Mar 2024

    The rule that Christmas preparations should wait until after Thanksgiving doesn't apply to Hugue Dufour and his wife, Sarah Obraitis, the owners of M. Wells, a Québécois bistro in Long Island City.

    2023 December 4, Nina Mesfin, “The New Must-Have for Every Stocking: French Canadian Meat Pie!”, in The New Yorker, New York, N.Y.: Condé Nast Publications, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 17 Jan 2024

    Synonyms: alehouse, boozer, boozing ken, bousing ken, drinker, drinkery, gargle-factory, gin joint

verbbistro (third-person singular simple present bistros, present participle bistroing, simple past and past participle bistroed)

present singular third person bistros · participle present bistroing · participle past bistroed · past bistroed · alternative bistrot

  1. rareTo eat at a bistro.

Synonyms & antonyms

Origin

  1. Frenchbistro(t)
  2. Englishbistro

Attested from c. 1920, from the French bistro(t) with the original meaning "proprietor of a tavern" (1880s), of unknown origin, presumably regional French dialect. See the French etymology for more.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Basque bistro
  • bistrosmall restaurant
Catalan bistrot
  • bistrotsmall restaurant
Danish bistro, bistro
  • bistrosmall restaurant
  • bistrosmall bar
Dutch eetcafé, bistro
  • eetcafésmall restaurant
  • bistrosmall restaurant
Finnish bistro, bistro
  • bistrosmall restaurant
  • bistrosmall bar
French bistro, bistro
  • bistrosmall restaurant
  • bistrosmall bar
German Bistro, Bistro
  • Bistrosmall restaurant
  • Bistrosmall bar
  • Kneipesmall bar
Hebrew ביסטרו
  • ביסטרוsmall restaurant
Hungarian bisztró, bisztró
  • bisztrósmall restaurant
  • bisztrósmall bar
Italian trattoria, bistrot
  • trattoriasmall restaurant
  • bistrotsmall restaurant
  • osteriasmall bar
Japanese ビストロ
  • ビストロsmall restaurant
Korean 비스트로
  • 비스트로 (biseuteuro)small restaurant
Latin popīna
  • popīnasmall restaurant
Malay bistro
  • bistrosmall restaurant
Norwegian bistro
  • bistrosmall restaurant
Polish bistro, bistro
  • bistrosmall restaurant
  • bistrosmall bar
Portuguese bistrô
  • bistrôsmall restaurant
Russian бистро́, бистро́
  • бистро́ (bistró)small restaurant
  • бистро́ (bistró)small bar
  • заку́сочная (zakúsočnaja)small bar
  • забега́ловка (neglectful)small bar
Spanish bistró, casa de comidas
  • bistrósmall restaurant
  • casa de comidassmall restaurant
  • bistrotsmall restaurant
  • bistrosmall restaurant
Swedish bistro
  • bistrosmall restaurant
Tagalog bistro
  • bistrosmall restaurant
Ukrainian бістро
  • бістро (bistro)small restaurant
Welsh bistro
  • bistrosmall restaurant

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with bistro

All rhymes →

Anagrams

Cite this entry
APA

bistro. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bistro

MLA

“bistro.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bistro. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “bistro,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bistro.

Source: bistro on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.