Our Quick Restaurant Ratings

Running a restaurant/ catering business requires lots of menu research & development since we make most of our food from scratch. So we do this menu research & development quite often and since so many of you have asked, we are happy to share what we find with you! There are some restaurants and bars that I just haven’t had time to write formal reviews yet. So in this post, I give an overall score  based on atmosphere, service and food. I use a 10 points out of a possible 10 for each category. For expensive places, I require nice atmosphere. For dive, hole-in-the wall places, I do not require fancy, classsy atmosphere. I do require authenticity and honest character!

Restaurants 

TJ’s (Paoli)- located right across from the Paoli train station. Excellent rotating list of craft brews (one of the absolute best in the area). Food is your typical pub grub- large porions, high in caloric value. Great place to watch golf on a Sunday afternoon since they have nice TV’s and usually not very crowded. Food & Drink 8/10, Service 9/10, Atmosphere 8/10. Overall score 8.5.

Mi Pais (Malvern)- a Family owned Colombian spot in a small strip mall. They specialize in empanadas and really large “typical” platters groaning with sausages, really thick bacon slabs, beans, avocados, rice and more. This is byob but folks come here mainly to chow down. They also have arepas, soups, juices and a kind of odd shrimp ceviche that has a sauce like thousand island. Definitely worth a visit!

Goat’s Beard (Wayne)- right in the center of town on North Wayne avenue this hip spot specializes in cocktails and the kitchen seems to care! We sampled banh mi tacos and hand cut fries and they were both quite tasty. Worth a visit. Go on Sunday for free parking and you don’t have to deal with the heinous parking meters.

Manje Carbbean (West Chester)- located right in the middle of town… but it has it’s own parking lot- yay! This byob just open and it does a nice job on the Caribbean standards. We sampled oxtails, rice & peas, grilled snapper and plantains. They also do a righteous Caribbean smash burger- the best burger we’ve had in a long time, Good fries, too! Well worth a visit!

Tiramisu Cucina Romana (Berwyn)- this is a funky little spot right on route 30. Roman-Jewish food with chefs that seem to take their work seriously! They have all manner of antipasti, salads, pastas, veal and seafood. We sampled eggplant parm, carpaccio, sole stuffed with lump crab, Jewish style artichokes and veal with mushrooms. All were really good! They have a full bar with a well chosen wine list, but you can also byob Sunday through Thursday ($10 corkage). Definitely worth a visit my friends!

Takumi Bistro & Bar (Devon)- located in Devon Village near the Whole Foods. Always plenty of easy parking (a blessing on the Main Line).  The sushi is very respectable and you can get warm sake on tap. Got a dozen Kumamoto oysters that were on special that were plump and perfect! Veggy tempura lacked variety and they give you too much. Usually not very crowded and the atmosphere is a step above most of the Sushi places on the Main Line. Food 9/10, Service 8/10, Atmosphere 9/10. Overall score 9. Go try it!

Fiore Rosso (Bryn Mawr)– Marc Vetri’s foray into the suburbs. The olive appetizer was uninspired. Kale salad and shrimp scampi were great! Food 6/10, Service 9/10, Atmosphere 6/10. Overall score 6.

Ground Provisions (Chadd’s Ford)- A Vedge spin off. Strictly Vegan and fairly pricy (and small portions). Great atmosphere! Olive appetizer was dismal (soggy, no fresh herbs, very little olive variety). The vegan cheese board disappointed. Small wine pours. Food 3/10, Service 9/10, Atmosphere 9/10. Overall score 4.

Rosalie (Wayne)- The Fearless Group opened this one (they also own White Dog and Autograph). Best, classiest restaurant space on the Main Line. It’s in the Wayne hotel. Solid Italian food- seems like someone really cares in the kitchen. Go there!

02 K BBQ (Lionville)- Just opened up in the old Red Robin space right at the intersection of 100 and 113. This an all-you-can eat concept ($37/person for dinner) They bring the food out fast so you may have to slow them down! You grill the meats yourself (or they are happy to grill for you… staff is very friendly). The brisket is sliced thin and beautiful. They also have bulgogi, chicken, pork belly, intestines, squid and more). Ban chan (side dishes) are average with not much variety. They also have soups and salads. Beer and Soju (Korean rice wine) are sold to wash all this down. Definitely worth a visit!