Joe’s Bistro Gets Four Stars (Business Lunch)

Joe’s Bistro has an elegant Italian atmosphere — almost too elegant to have a view of Fiesta Square out the window. But our three diners enjoyed the food there nonetheless.

One diner ordered the Greek pizza ($10), which at 12 inches in width was more than he imagined it would be for lunch. Topped with feta cheese, tomatoes, artichokes, Kalamata olives, capers and mozzarella on an olive oil crust, he said the pizza was better than other Greek pizzas he’s had in Northwest Arkansas.

Another diner had the meat lasagna ($10) with a side of steamed asparagus. She thought it had an excellent taste — not overkill on the sausage or marinara. But she said it was a little too cheesy for her liking (four cheeses, to be exact). The steamed asparagus was a little too crispy and could have been steamed a little longer. Her entrée came with a side salad, which would have been enough for a meal without the asparagus.

A third diner decided to build his own pizza for $11. He chose grilled chicken, spinach, mushrooms, feta cheese and olive oil for dressing. He was impressed by the taste and the thinness of the crust.

“It’s the thinnest I’ve ever seen,” he said.

One of these 12-inch lunch pizzas is more than a meal, but Joe’s gives diners a salad beforehand to whet their appetites.

For dessert, our reviewers had tiramisu, which means “pick me up” in Italian, probably because it contains espresso. But instead of looking like any tiramisu we’ve had before this one looked more like a slice of cheesecake. It was good, but a couple of the diners at our table thought it tasted “store bought.”

The only other minor complaint we had was that the waitress didn’t offer us fresh-ground black pepper. Only the pre-ground pepper was available at our table.

But overall, we thought the lunch was very good, and the atmosphere was conducive to a business lunch.