The Brown Bag Bistro

Reviews

• Ammari B.

  star star star star star 20 October 2026

  Oh my word!!!! The cutest sandwich shop. Prices are reasonable for the portion size. The salads are huge!!! Ingredients looked extremely fresh. Crab bisque was very flavorful creamy and perfect. French onion soup had nice big bread crouton. Shrimp salad yummy yummy. Club sandwich had a fruit Dijon and the flavors went together well. Loved the chips!!! New Yorker sandwich won the crowd over!!!!! The horseradish sauce was not over powering. I got it in the side and ended up putting it back on! It really makes the sandwich. The bagel was soft and yummy. Will be returning!!!

• Midori G.

  star star star star star_border 18 October 2026

  Alton needed a place like this!! It is a perfect spot that is nice, yet casual to chill on summer days. They have plenty of healthy and unhealthy options! Whatever you are in the mood for. They also have a great alcohol selection!
  I ordered the artisan salad and my boyfriend ordered the Rueben. My salad was a very good portion and the ingredients were very fresh! My boyfriends Rueben was amazing!! It was the perfect Rueben sandwich. It came with Cole slaw that I thought was just okay, but I'm also not huge on Cole slaw!
  It is they type of restaurant where you order and they bring you your food. There was a lot of outdoor seating as well as a couple of indoor tables. (The p is of menu and counter where you order.)
  It would be better if they had some beers on tap- they only have bottles and cans as of right now.
  Thoroughly enjoyed my first time here! I will be back!

• Doc G.

  star star star star star 15 October 2026

  Love this place!
  Food is fantastic and the service is fabulous!  Keep up the great work...one of my faves in Alton!!

• Steven B.

  star star star star star_border 7 October 2026

  Brown Bag Bistro, you're simply delicious. I will admit, I am sort of a snob and prefer table service over ordering at the counter. However, your friendly cashiers made it such an enjoyable ordering experience. They created a casual conversation and I didn't even feel like I was ordering. Next thing I knew, I had a table marker and was heading back to my table.
  
  When dining at a sandwich shoppe, my go to is either a Pastrami on Rye or a traditional Reuben. If a deli/sandwich shoppe can master these two, they've got my patronage. BBB won my support with their Sammy Roo. Sammy Roo is a fancy creative name for a Reuben. Plain and simple, it was, Yummy! Their sliced corned beef, was topped with Gruyere Swiss, a sauerkraut mix with special house Reuben sauce is all stuffed between two slices of grilled marble rye bread. The bread was grilled perfectly, it still had a firmness and crunch. So many Reuben's get soaked from all the sauerkraut and sauce, but not here.
  
  My cousin who was one of my dining partners got the Rosie Roo. The menu claims it's Sammy's Mrs. It was a Reuben made with turkey, sharp cheddar, a coleslaw mix with a house Reuben sauce served on the same Marble Rye bread. We didn't share bites, but she said it was amazingly good and I take her word.
  
  My cuz had a friend join us. Well to be truthful, I heard where they were going for lunch and I was the luncheon crasher. Any way, her friend had the Bistro Club. It was huge, how anyone could get their mouth open wide enough to take a bite would surprise me. It was made with the typical club ingredients, all stacked inside a Ciabatta Sandwich Roll.
  What set this Club Sammie above others was the roll and their house cranberry aioli.
  
  They have a variety of "Bistro Beginnings", which I am sure will be extremely popular once they start having live bands on the outdoor patio. Being a fan of pretzels, I had to give theirs a try. The order came with four huge soft pretzel sticks served warm with two dips.  Normally, I favor a beer cheese, but the honey mustard here had me wanting to double dip.
  
  For those who need adult beverages, no need to fret. They've got you taken care of. They're offerings may only be craft beer and wine, but you'll be pleased to know that many of them are locally made.
  
  I'll be back? - Looking forward to patio dining.
  
  When: April 17, 2018
  Why: Lunch with a cousin

• Renee I.

  star star star star star_border 2 October 2026

  What a great place. Quaint sandwich shop selling sandwiches of course along with flatbread, salad and soup. They have beer and wine as well. We sat inside but there is a lovely patio. A band was setting up for afternoon entertainment when we left. You order at counter and they bring your food to table. Sandwiches were plenty filling plus they come with a side. I had veggie with side of crab bisque. Couldn't eat it all.