West Chester Dish

TERRIBLE SERVICE: My boyfriend and I liked the music and the atmosphere right away. Our server began discuss the wine list and when we stated we were not wine drinkers he abruptly asked, "So you will not be having any wine AT ALL?" With that he took the wine glasses and walked away. He told us the specials but directed it to me only, and my boyfriend didnt hear him. When he asked the price of the surf and turf the waiter said it IS a good deal -lobster tail alone is $46 here!
I actually laughed and thought well, we are dressed nice and don't look like total schleps.. but I guess since we are not wine drinkers we are not sophisticated enough for someone that is WAITING ON US, not the other way around. With that said, I didn't care for my meal at all. His steak was just ok

My girfriend and I made reservations at 8pm on a Monday for Saturday night. Showed up on time and table wasn't ready. Forty minutes later the table was still not ready and we were told we could pass the time by paying continuing to pay $7.00 a drink at their CRAMPED and TINY bar. The two hostess who were working had no personal skills and would be surprised if they were not teenagers. When we informed them that we were leaving they replied they cant help how fast people eat and said WHATEVER!! LAME. I can't comment on the food because we didnt eat but the restaurant itself is supercramped. If you dont mind everyone around you hearing your entire conversation then this is the place for you. Your dining experience starts and the hostess desk. Fortunately for us we didn't make it past that point. Also, when you google them their address is WRONG. They are listed as 125 EAST market street, when in fact they are on 125 WEST market street!! If they can't even get their address right I certaintly wouldn't feel comfortable paying them 30 bucks to get my steak right!! WEEK!!

I have eaten at Pietro's several times and have always had a great experience. As a matter of fact, my husband and I have made it our Christmas Eve tradition to eat dinner there. The steaks are outstanding (rank right up there with Sullivan's in my opinion). Service is excellent - very attentive and knowledgeable). The portions are generous and the martinis great. It's great to see a locally-owned steak house in downtown West Chester - I wish Pietro's many years of turning out steaks and martinis. Oh - and the deserts are excellent as well.

If the three-martini lunch were still in vogue Pietro's would be the place in West Chester where it would happen. I confess that I have a soft spot for raw brick and weathered wood, so Pietro's hit the right note with me right away, with original artwork on the walls creating a warm atmosphere.

Lunch selections are relatively limited and quite standard, but the portions are generous, and based on this visit, served quickly and hot. Food was conventional, but tasty, and a relatively good value for lunch. Can't comment on the steaks (surely the rasion d'etre of a steak house), because I really can't face a large slab of dead cow at lunch time, but the soup, salads and sandwiches all fit the bill.

For a more upmarket lunchtime sit down place, and a martini or two if you dare, Pietro's is a good choice.

Fiance' and I went there Sat night (11/15) for anniversary/his birthday. Although very expensive (which we expected) we both had a great time! Servers were very nice, friendly and didn't rush you out the door..which we really appreciated since we don't get nights out together very often. The food was EXCELLENT! He got the muscles rockefeller and I got the tuna skins for apps. Both very good, although I didn't try his..but he said he liked it. For dinner he got surf and turf (a special for the night) and I got the 8 oz filet. All was cooked to perfection! The ambience was very nice and relaxing, not stuffy at all. Although the restaurant was full, you didn't feel like you were sitting on top of people.
Very nice wine list and drink menu too. We ordered a bottle of Beaujolais (sp) and it was the perfect compliment to our dinner. For dessert we got the brownie sundae..MMMM! We would definitely go again, but it will, again, have to be a special occasion.

August 20, 2008

My wife and I dined at Pietro's for the first time last night and if we were giving it a star rating, we would give it 3 1/2 out of 5. We were seated right away and all the staff were very friendly and personable. Our waitress (part-time, she is a fulltime teacher) was a little unkowledgeable, but very willing to get the answers to our questions. My wife had the Mushroom Soup, very rich & flavorable, I had a Caesar Salad that was good, but I like a little more pizzazz in my Caesar dressing. We waited longer than necessary for a shared Calamari appetizer that was well prepared, not greasy and the squid was tender, dippin' sauce was quite good. I had the Cowboy Scampi which was the 20oz Ribeye topped with 3 large shrimp and a garlicky scampi sauce, a little salty, but complimented the steak well. Steak was cooked perfectly, medium well, well marbled and had great flavor. My wife had the crab cakes that had a heavy, underlying flavor of what we think was Allspice (not sure) that left a funny aftertaste and somewhat over-powered the taste of the crab - we've definitely had better. Overall a nice place, very expensive, we would return, but it's not high on our list to return soon.

A BIG thumbs up!

The service was EXCELLENT! The staff bent over backwards to make our party of 10 extremely happy.

The food was GREAT! We ordered a million appetizers, all had different entrees. I personaly had the crab cakes--all crab and being that my hubby is from MD I know the difference and hate when they are all filler! I also tried two of the appetizers the shrimp corn fritter--so well seasoned and tasty and the shrimp lejon which had the bacon cooked perfectly on this appetizer.

The drinks were good. I had the coconut cooler martini and loved it. A great blend and actually very refreshing. The appletini that I tried was not my cup of tea but my friend enjoyed it saying that the cinnamon rim was a nice addition.

Ambience wise we called in a bind since our original plans had been canceled and they were VERY accomodating. They found us a table for 10 and were amazingly thoughtful when we told them the situation. We were in the bar area, it got a little crowded once the band started playing but it was a nice crowd 30-50s in age and the band was really good. (a guitar and piano player that definitely did a good job working with the room and not killing conversation).

All in all we spent a VERY enjoyable 4 hours there (by choice not because they were slow) We ate, we drank, we enjoyed the music, and the staff.

What did I think of Pietro's? Eh! OK, I'll admit it, going out for over-priced steak isn't my bag. If I'm spending $150 for two, I'll eat something I'd never prepare at home - say fois gras, or rack of lamb, but not $30 steak. I admit it, the only reason we went was because we had a gift certificate. The apps were good - my husband had the mushroom and crab concoction that comes in an upside down martini dish, and that was pretty tasty. I had the shrimp and corn fritters and they were also pretty tasty. But, $33 for steak that has nothing with it - not so much. In addition, the server was so intent on pushing an $89 bottle of wine, that I had to finally put my hand up and ask him to stop! Also, I'm all for the staff asking if "everything is to my satisfaction", but once or twice is enough. More than that, and I'm going to get pretty annoyed. Overall, on a scale of 1-10, I'd give it a 5. If somebody else were buying, I'd probably like it better!

Steak WAY over priced for quality, etc. Steak arrived cold and there were only 2 tables in the restaurant at the time. Staff very friendly and helpful!
Sullivan's is a better deal.

We ate there for the first time in early March. We sat in the back room and it was alternatively cold, then hot. The room had absolutely no ambiance. The drinks were good, but our server was mediocre. I had the tuna appetizer which was excellent. The sauce was very spicy, but I liked it. I then had the 8oz filet which was cooked perfectly. I found the large plate it was served on strange. (A little steak in the middle of a huge white plate.) My husband also had a steak served with hollandaise. The sauce literally looked (and tasted) like Velveeta cheese! It was about 20 minutes between each course. Dessert was ok, but nothing to write home about. The entire experience was medicore at best!

January 18th. My first time eating at Pietro's. I had been hearing mixed reviews but decided to try it anyway. We were seated in the very back room, the decor is cold as was the room. the smokers use this door to access the patio so every time a group of smokers went outside cold air rushed in, people were actually eating with their coats on, not to mention the closet on the back wall, that the staff seemed to open every 15 minutes and let more cold air in the room. The service was average at best, the waitress could not answer a single question about the ingredients in the food we ordered. The steak I ordered, a NY strip, was a vein cut steak that was also a wedge cut, this should never be served in a high end steakhouse. The Queens cut rib eye was average. The overall experience was disapointing, with the prices they are charging they need to upgrade their service and upgrade the quality of the beef they serve.

my boyfriend took me here for my 21st birthday. The foood was AMAZING and i would go back there in heart beat. The olny thing i did not like was how nothing comes with the dinner. OUr server was AWESOME as well. I got the Fliet, and he got the rib eye, both were cooked just how we had ordered them. I think that it was the best steak i have had and i work at a steak house

Over all it was very very good and would tell anyone to go there, its a little epencive, but i think it is worth it!!

We went to Pietro's with a party of six for dinner on a Saturday night. They seated us at a table in a private area because we were a large party, which was nice. One of our party was a kid and had a hamburger. We ordered 3 sides for the 5 of us adults, which were delicious and ample. The wine was good and moderately priced. The steaks were delicious but we did have some question about the size of the steaks however. Steaks are sold by weight and the 10 oz ribeye one of us ordered looked more like a 6 oz filet, also the 32 oz porterhouse looked small for the weight. It was expensive, almost $500 for the evening including desserts all around and 2 appetizers for the table, so weights should be fair! We also think Pietro's should consider adding a complementary baked potato with the steaks. How much would that cost them after all?

We have eaten at the bar 3 times since it opened and have enjoyed the experience each time. The bartenders are VERY attentive and professional (and they give a generous pour). The atmosphere in the bar is nice--though notably 50 and up in age.

The salads we had each time were very good, the mushroom soup is out of this world, and the creamed corn is worth the trip itself. My husband loved the steak. I got the tuna once and had to send it back for VAST overcooking (I asked for rare, got well done.) the bartender seemed embarrassed and my new entree arrived a mere 3 minutes later (as a rare tuna steak should)!

The live music in the bar is nice and a change of pace for the rest of W.C. bars and their music choices.

We went to Pietro's in September. I had the chicken oscar (I know, why order chicken at a steakhouse?) which was tasty because of the sauce but way overcooked when I tasted it on its own. My husband's steak was excellent.


The service should have been much better for the price. They delivered our entrees before I had finished the salad, yet took forever to come around and offer dessert. We ordered coffee & had planned on dessert, but after waiting a good 15 minutes for the waitress to return, we decided to scrap it and go home.

I would recommend Pietro's over Sullivans or Mortons - nicer atmosphere & locally owned - but came away underwhelmed. That has been the general consensus of our friends.

Just got back from lunch at Pietro's. My colleague and I both had the sirloin burgers and agreed that they were better than average, but nothing to get fired up over. I found mine bland when compared to the same offering at Doc's. While the fare is standard for a standard steak joint, the prices were only slightly above the already overpriced WC competition ($9 for a hamburger). The portions are generous and filling, however, so it doesn't seem like an attrocious waste of money. Our server was very friendly, polite, and knowledgeable--though we didn't really challenge her--but lunch took about an hour, which is a little long for two burgers. Overall, it's a step up from the beer-covered floors at Kildare's, Ryan's and Landmark, but the decor doesn't completely mask the only slighty-better-than-average food.

Pietro's
First visit on 11/24.
Ordered the lettuce wedge, a good attempt, but not crisp like it should be.
Rolls and bread arrived, impressive basket, but ice cold. For a place like this they should be warm.
We ordered steaks and roast beef, great favor, but overdone and overpriced.
I hope this place makes it, but it needs to be better for me to return.

Had dinner there last weeked. The food was delicious but the service was awful. We were seated at 7:45pm and were not served our meals until 9:45pm. We had salads and steaks nothing that takes two hours to prepare. I thought the meal was overpriced

The steak was incredible, and the service was very friendly, more so than most places I eat. IT was a wonderful experiences, all in all. Definitely worth your money.

Went on Friday 10/13 and had a few drinks at the bar. The bar was very nice and the service was great. Sat down for dinner and ordered 2 salads and the shrimp cocktail - after a bit of a wait we got our salads and crab coccktail - the waiter was great and took it back immediately. Th shrimp cocktail ended up being good - not great. Then dinner came and my wife had the crabcakes while I ordered the Surf and Turf. The crabcakes had what looked to be a stick of melted butter on top and my steak was cooked to medium (I ordered well). We spoke with the manager who was great and she explained that the "butter" was holindaise sauce that wasn't presented properly and that my steak was way undercooked. She offered to take the steak portion of the meall off of our bill and ended up taking the entire surf and turf off. This was the right thing to do.

The meal was still over $110 without the surf and turf and while it is a nice place I would rather spend my money at Dilworthtown.....

Of group of 6 of us had the pleasure of dining at Pietro's Prime last Saturday -and we all agree that everything was devine! From the decor, waitstaff and of course the hands on owners. We love them! We ordered many appetizers - crab cakes, shrimp wrapped in bacon, fried calimari and seared tuna. Each was made to perfection. The fried calimari was so light and fluffy - one of my favorites. The crab cakes was filled with lumbs of crab and the seared tuna was a delight. We all orded steak (filet, porterhouse and surf and turf). The steak was was one of the best I have ever had. My husband and I dine out often and know a good filet. This tops one of the best. The martini list was very impressive and imaginative. My favorite is "The Marisa."! We will be back very soon! We highly recommed you treat yourself and dine at Pietro's Prime.

Ambience:very comfortable
Service: Attentive, Not overberring.
Wine list: reasonably priced,could use some more "by the glass" selections.
Menu:Straight forward, No reinventing the culinary wheel here people. Classic sauces, no bling necessary.
Kitchen: My date and I arrived @ about 8:00 on a Sunday night. Not generaaly a huge restaurant night. We sat at the bar. Ordered 2 glasses of wine. Looked over the menu, my date ordered the plum tomato and mozzerella salad- COME ON MAN, IT's OCTOBER 7th. Tomatoes are DONE. That is all I should have to say about that dish. I ordered the special of the evening. Butterflied shrimp stuffed with crab imperial basically. Micro-greens and edible flower to garnish, garlic sauce over the shrimp. When it arrived, 40 minutes after ordering it. The dish was very tasty, Thank you, but chef. You were sitting two stools down from us. You can't tell me you couldn't see that I was sitting at your bar for that period of time knowing that I ordered your special and still didn't get your butt up off that stoo and go back in the kitchen where you belong and expedite the process. Ala minute cooking or not. It does not take 40 minutes to prepare an appetizer of shrimp with crab imperial. Then you want too charge me 29.00 DOLLARS for it. Come on man. I have been in the back of the house for too long. Put your white wine down and concentrate on makeing your restaurant a destination. We had two glasses of wine and two apps, one of which was a not so ripe glorified tomato salad, totaling 60 dollars. Your bar tender apologized 4 times for the wait on my appetizer. I realize that you just opened, and I understand bugs and bumps that should be worked out. GET BACK IN THE KITCHEN AND GET ON WITH IT. The wine will be there when your done. I want to come back. I have read the other reviews, DO YOUR JOB. thanks jayz.

The service was impeccable. We were made to feel like we were valued customers by the entire waitstaff. Kudos to the management for providing such great training and hiring high quality people. The food was wonderful, but a little pricey. I would recommend the tuna skins and the creamed corn. I liked the crab cakes, but they were a little different than what I am used to having. My husband raved about the prime rib special. The sommelier recommended a wonderful after dinner drink. We will definitely be going back. One small pet peeve - it seems that nicer restaurants no longer have salt and pepper on the table. I guess this is because the food is so well seasoned. Although I didn't need either, I would have appreciated having the choice.

We've been there twice and it was wonderful both times. The steaks are for real. This is Morton's style steak. Charred outside. Juicy inside. You have to try the corn (I know it sounds strange but try it and you'll see what I mean). Our waiter, Chris, was entertaining as well as efficient. It makes a difference when you like your waiter. The bar is busy but the bartender was very good. She got our orders right and didn't break a sweat. I highly recommend this place. At last a good steak house in West Chester.

Was impressed - wait staff was attentive, food was great although the salads had room for improvement. Caesar tasted watery, and if you've had Flemings or Sullivans Wedge, this one doesn't compare and costs more. But the martinis were excellent, steak was perfect and dessert delectable...will definitely go back. Ambiance also very nice.

Tried a Kobe slider at the Restaurant Festival and gave one to my son. He took one bite and said "This is really good!" I agreed with him. I'm hoping to get a full size Kobe burger soon!!!

Had dinner there last friday; slightly long wait the staff kept apologizing for (but it really didn't seem long and I was glad dinner wasn't rushed, to be honest). Great environment, although you could tell the staff was a bit new/nervous/overeager (two different waitresses in the first 2 minutes, one guy for water refills, another to ask if all was OK, a 3rd to bring the food out, etc.)

That aside, the food was spectacular (and a great glass of riesling wine as well)...lobster bisque was amazing, the new york strip was cooked to perfection in the demi glace reduction, and my date got the 8 oz filet mignon that i swore melted in my mouth when i had a bite; possibly some of the best steak I've ever eaten! All in all, excellent restaurant, and although I may prefer the way Ruth's Chris prepares their steaks in comparison, Pietro's Prime is definitely on my short list for a great restaurant to visit for a special occasion.

Now thats a crab cake!
Full of crab, not filler like the other guys!!!

At the Restaurant Fest, I got a crabcake at the booth - which was half the size of my fist, and six bucks. They should have walked to Gadelatos booth and checked out their tasty, giant ones for only $7!

Wait staff more than friendly and very knowledgeable. Food was great and it didn't feel over priced like other steak houses.