Pistachio Grill in Maple Glen

[AmblerGirl]

Anyone been lately? We had dinner there when they first opened, about a year ago. The food was fantastic, atmosphere very cute, and service very spotty. I chalked up the service issue to growing pains because the restaurant was so new at the time. I'm eager to head back, but I have no patience for poor service (and get crabby very easily!) so I wanted to see if they had worked out their kinks.

[Hellolaura]

I'm anxious for a newer review, too! I think BF and I are going to try this place soon. AmblerGirl...we seem to be running in the same circuit! How was your day off on Monday? We ended up at the Tex Mex for lunch, which turned into Happy hour...:) Those margarita's get us everytime!

[AmblerGirl]

Thats the perfect way to spend a day off.. their margaritas are fantastic! Tamarindo's is another great spot for a long lunch. They still serve their free margaritas at lunch if you ask. I spent far too many afternoons stumbling out of there!

We actually wound up driving through the mountains for our day off. Definitely not a "foodie" trip, but we had fun, tasted some wine, and had yummy sandwiches at JT's in Jim Thorpe and Murphy's Loft in the Poconos.

I really hope you enjoy Pistachio Grill and the food is as good as I remember. Please post if you go there!

[food__snob]

Pistachio Grille. Saturday evening 6:30 dinner for 4. Only reservations available, so we expected it to be busy. Smallish restaurant (12 tables or so) in a lonely strip center. Not much from the outside, the decor a shade more pleasant inside. BYOB. Check their website http://thepistachiogrille.com/ for their menu. In addition, they offer several specials that sound as if they're repeated often. Some items on their printed menu do not identify prices and you need to inquire about their specials' prices if you are so interested.

We started with their Wedge Salad, a Cesear and an Arugula Salad. All in all, we were very pleased. The lettuce wedge was huge, fresh and covered with a very flavorful blue cheese dressing which was loaded with chunks of cheese. The Cesear was properly dressed and served with anchovies as requested. The arugula was just as pleasing.

Bread (a sour dough?) was served cold with a small plate of marinated peppers. The bread was fine but the peppers were underwhelming.

Dinner consisted of seared Tuna, 2 orders of Short Ribs (a special) and an order of lamb chops. Roasted vegetables and risotto accompanied our meals. The short ribs very very good, though I wouldn't rank them as phenomonal. The tuna, a fairly large portion, was seared perfectly and was quite delicious (half of it traveled home). The lamb received excellent reviews, though the "medium" was quite rare. The risotto was excellent and all of the roasted vegetables were heartily consumed.

The service was some what spotty. Our waitress was excellent, but was very busy, having taken several minutes to first greet our table. We were in no rush, so this was not a problem. She was very friendly, knew the menu, properly took special orders (no cheese), accomodated us quite nicely. Water service was prompt.

We skipped dessert and coffee.

Tidbits: White linen table cloth and napkins, smallish table for 4 was very crowded with (physically) large plates, glasses, etc. Decor was just okay. Noise levels were fine. Not the speediest of places if you are in a rush.

Definitely on our list to return.

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Pistachio Grille
521 Limekiln Pike, Ambler, PA 19002

Pistachio Grille
521 N Limekiln Park, Fort Washington, PA 19034

[nevets]

Four of us had a very good dinner at Pistachio Grille last night. Their salads and appetizers are a bit over priced for what you get. One of us had the wedge of iceberg with blue cheese and seemed to enjoy it. We shared the "Fried Calamari and Friends" which was not a good value at $10. The portion was small, the calamari was unexceptional (at least it wasn't oily) and the friends (shrimp and hot peppers) were out of town. We had to ask the waitress if they forgot to add the "friends" to the dish. The shrimp she pointed to where infinitesimal and the hot peppers were fairly tasteless. I had the monkfish special which was tasty with black olives, roma tomatoes, olive oil and garlic. There were two nice sized pieces of fish. My wife had the striped bass special which was good but not as tasty as the monkfish. Our dining companions had the seared chicken breast and the veal scaloppini. They enjoyed their meals but I did not taste either one so cannot comment on the flavors. Each entree came with a tasty side plate of roasted potatoes and vegetables. All in all a solid meal and a decent value. Not exceptional, not gourmet, but tasty. Service was generally good. We are likely to go back but still prefer restaurants whose food is a bit more inspired.

[fshell]

I’ve been there a few times for breakfast, lunch and dinner since they opened, the most recent of which was about 6 months ago. The food was good from the start, but the service was very spotty. They were very willing to cater to requests for changing menu items, but otherwise they didn’t give their guests the attention they deserved. I tried it a few more times, but the service never improved. I’d much rather drive a bit further to Arpeggio.

[crazyspice]

Went last night. the calamari was served with a ton of peppers after I told the server I couldn't eat peppers! The caesar salad was bland and I barely got through 1/2 of it before our entrees arrived. We felt rushed. The entrees were tasty. They did offer a number of special dishes in addition to the menu. We won't be rushing back. Love BYOB, try Zacharias in Worcester

[phungi]

Was supposed to go to Ooka for sushi but our friends had just been out for sushi, so it was between Pistachio Grill and Carambola. I looked over the menu, and went with the known "faithful" (Carambola). Apps were excellent (including a heaping plate of fried calimari, rock shrimp quesadilla, and tuna yakimora). Entrees were tuna, a pasta dish, ribs, and a filet, and all were enjoyed. While this is not a review of Pistachio Grill, I am not inclined to visit there... really hoping to get to Ooka though.

[kgsv3449]

Hey Amblergirl - this was a last minute choice last Saturday for my husband and me. Doesn't look like much from the outside; they do have outdoor seating - very clean and modern indoors - we were early Saturday evening diners (6PM) and did not have a reservation, but were seated immediately. Had great service, want to stress it is a BYOB (something we didn't know before we got there) - luckily there is a state door right next door to accommodate our need. We both thoroughly enjoyed our meals, the salads were ample, the entrees delicious ($20-30 range), the service attentive (possibly due to the early dinner time). Will definitely recommend this place to others and plan to return again very soon -