Our Quick Restaurant/ Bar 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!
Bars
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.
Restaurants
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). Once again the 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. Food 9/10, Service 7/10, Atmosphere 10/10. Overall score 9. Go there!