It’s been awhile since I’ve been to this spot – in fact, it’s been long enough that they’ve changed the name! Bistro Kaz used to be known as Ristorante Kaz. It’s in the same spot but they’ve got a nice big sign now instead of before… when they basically had no sign at all.
I was getting together with Laura for dinner before I left on my trip to the east coast. She had just gotten back from her summer trip to Africa so I wanted to hear all about it!
In their window they display a few of their specials. Lamb Chops sound delicious but I’m not so sure about raspberry cheese sauce. It could be delicious though!
Happy hour specials. I think it’s funny it says “Bar only” since this place is pretty tiny. I think there are like 4 bar stools in the bar.
What’s that on the left? That’s my hair. Yes, I literally put the camera on my shoulder and then snapped a photo. The bar is to the right of this photo. I have no idea why I didn’t photograph that, too. There about six tables in the whole restaurant plus two outdoor tables.
Click here for Menu Page 1, Menu Page 2, Menu Page 3, and Menu Page 4.
The menu is much larger than before. I don’t know if they still do the prix fixe menu for lunch like they used to or if you just order off of this one. I was surprised at how many options were available! Bistro Kaz is a Japanese Italian restaurant so many of the pasta dishes have seafood in them. The pasta sauces are usually much lighter than regular Italian dishes.
Laura and I had a bit of a tough time deciding what to order. We almost always share our plates and there were so many great options to choose from.
[complimentary bread]
Our waitress probably checked on us 3 times before she said, “Just let me know when you’re ready”. In the meantime, we got some complimentary bread. The bread was a baguette and was light toasted and served with olive oil and balsamic vinegar.
[japanese sausages with grilled pear and cheese / $6]
We decided to share two appetizers and a pasta dish. The first one we decided on was the Japanese Sausages. At first I thought it was potato on top but it’s actually grilled pear! A little bit of cheese is melted on top of the sausage. I can’t remember what the green is now – it’s likely that it’s a shishito pepper.
The sausages are split in half and you get five pieces. The sausages have a nice bite to them from the outer skin and it tasted a little like kielbasa to me. It was a bit of a play on salty-sweet with the sausage and cheese paired with the sweet grilled pear. I really liked it! You got a soft texture from the pear and a nice bite/chew from the sausage.
[calamari fritto misto with shishito peppers / $12]
Laura is my seafood buddy! That means I can get calamari and share it with someone – hooray! The calamari was fried in a nice light batter and was a little on the chewy side, but not too much. Shishito peppers are mixed in and fried as well. The shishito peppers aren’t hot at all (thankfully) and were a nice compliment with the calamari. It was a good, but not outstanding dish. I’d opt for something else next time.
[yuzu tarter and marinara sauce]
The calamari came with two side sauces for dipping. The marinara sauce doesn’t look like any normal marinara sauce – it was much thinner and almost soupy but still incredibly flavorful.
[crab scallop peperoncino / $16]
For our pasta dish, we shared the Crab Scallop Peperoncino. The sauce on this was more like a very flavorful seafood broth than a traditional pasta sauce that Italians make with tomato. The scallops were very tender and there was a generous portion of crab mixed into the whole dish. I thought the green onions on top added an extra boost of flavor to the whole dish. There were garlic slices and a bit of pepper in the dish as well. It was quite delicious!
After Laura and I polished off the pasta, there was some leftover sauce remaining in the bowl. We didn’t want to waste the delicious leftover sauce and asked for some more bread so we could sop up the remaining sauce. Yum!
Bistro Kaz (FB)
3904 Convoy St.
San Diego, CA 92111
(858) 565-8861
Nice write up Mary! I love that you guys wiped up the rest of the sauce with some bread. I’d do the same exact thing… haha. I haven’t been there either since they changed names, but definitely looks interesting. What did you think of the prices? Was it worth it?
Hi Michael – I do admit I think it’s a tad overpriced since the portions are a little on the smaller side, but I liked how light the pasta tasted. I think it’s good for a once in awhile thing and trying something new and different. Plus – seafoooooood! Yums!
Didn’t know that they changed their name! I went a long time ago back in my lazier days so no review. Maybe I’ll try them out for lunch one of these days if I feel like splurging in Convoy!
Hi Lynn – I was surprised too! But at least they have proper signage now – back in the day there was no sign! Please report if you do go for lunch – I’d be interested to know if they still do it prix fixe style or not.
The kurobota sausages look so good! I like how creative they were combining it with cheese and grilled pears. I would eat that! They serve it with potatoes as a happy hour item at Gunco Ramen in CV. Fried shisito peppers look good too. I’ve only had them grilled not battered and fried (also served at Gunco). Bert and I will have to try out Bistro Kaz!
Hi CC – The sausages were yummy I liked the creativity there, too. I almost forgot they were pears because it looked a lot like potatoes. Sadly we don’t go down to CV much anymore but hopefully one of these days we’ll also check out Gunco Ramen!