Meridith’s, Berwyn
10 Leopard Rd.
Berwyn, PA
610.251.0265
Rating: 3 silver spoons out of 5
Overview: After a long period of “growing pains”, Meridith’s has evolved into a consistent spot for casual, creative cuisine, be it brunch on the weekends or dinner.
Brunch: Creative omelets and pancake/french toast selections for breakfast, paired with interesting salad and sandwich options at lunch — all prepared with fresh, quality ingredients. Omelets — whether it be an old classic like bacon & cheese, or something extraordinary like crab & asparagus, are excellent. Perhaps stealing the show, however, are the breakfast potatoes, sauteed with peppers, onions, and a variety of spices. In the pancakes and french toast section, enjoy some creative and healthy (multi-grain) choices, all adorned with fabulous cinnamon butter.
Dinner: Meridith’s latest menu is a big improvement over the original. A recent steak special with a brown sugar marinade was excellent, though on the expensive side. Other options on the seasonal menu, like Hawaiian butterfish and pan-roasted duck, entice the appetite.
On a previous visit, the orange ginger salmon with red pepper risotto & sugar snap peas in a citrus reduction was clearly the standout entree. I was slightly concerned that the citrus flavor might overwhelm the fish, but in actuality the creamy sauce was just sweet enough and perfectly connected the fish, red pepper risotto and peas.
After dinner, an order of chocolate molten cake in a raspberry sauce was as good as it sounds — save room! Other desserts, the cheesecake with blueberry sauce and the triple chocolate cake, were solid but not nearly as good as the molten cake.
Ambiance: Nicely decorated room with a hip take on country cottage decor. Very stylish tables & chairs and artwork. They also have a few tables outside on their patio. One of the nicer features of Meridith’s is the bar available for those waiting for a table — If you get there early or don’t have a reservation, you can grab a seat at the bar (if there’s one available) and open your wine.
Service: Though the service was a major sore point of Meridith’s for some time, they seem to have finally worked out the kinks. Our last two visits were enhanced by prompt, informed and pleasant servers.
Value: Dinner came to around $30 per person, including tip, an nice value for the quality of food Meridith’s has to offer. Brunch is also very reasonably priced. A recent attempt for a liquor license has been withdrawn, keeping them BYOB.
Details:
# of times we’ve eaten there: 5+
Reservations: Yes, for dinner
http://meridiths.com/rest.htm
May 9th, 2006 at 2:43 pm
I was at Meredith’s last Friday, May 5, 2006.
I had the red snapper, a new item on their menu, and my dining companion had the chicken rosmarito. We started with fried calamari.
The calamari were good — nice and tender. We thought we were in for a good meal.
However — the chicken was just so-so, and the red snapper was flat out awful. The red snapper had a very fishy taste to it, the salsa topping tasted like jarred bruschetta topping, and then sauce it sat in had no flavor. I was thoroughly disappointed.
I REALLY wanted it to be good too — I live within two miles of there, and it really could have been a contender for our regular business (and we eat out ALOT).
The service was ok at the beginning, but when he got busy, he kind of disappeared, especially after dropping the check.
oh well.
May 19th, 2006 at 9:41 am
FABULOUS! We give Meridith’s 5 silver spoons!
Great atmosphere-excellent food-no other restaurant like it in the area!
Yum Yum Yum!
May 24th, 2006 at 5:07 pm
[…] Alison at Blue Bell, Blue Bell Taste Alison Barshak’s awesome cuisine on the terrace. Full Review Meridith’s, Berwyn Casual BYOB in Berwyn with 5 or 6 outdoor tables. Good food, solid value. Full Review […]
June 14th, 2006 at 9:44 am
We ate here in March 2006, hoping to take our mom someplace nice for her birthday. We started with the mushroom barley soup which was delicious, and set the bar high for dinner. I specifically asked the waiter about the quality of the crab cakes, as I hate getting all breading and no crab, and he said they were very good. With this advice, I ordered the crab cakes — they were ALL stuffing, with a few pieces of crab that were difficult to find. Very disappointing. My mom ordered a ribeye steak special, cooked medium. It came out bloody rare, but charred on the outside. It looked like a novice attempt at cooking steak. My sister enjoyed the veal dish she ordered. Overall, definitely not worth the price.
November 8th, 2006 at 6:48 am
We were there for a group dinner. There were 17 of us. I thought the place was so adorable. It is a great atmosphere. They definitely decorate it great. Everything we ordered was delicious. We ordered most of the appetizers and they were fabulous. The portions were a great size and it was just delicious. The service was also awesome; they were quick and friendly. I would definitely recommend this restaurant to anyone!!! Thanks for a great night at Meridith’s.
November 8th, 2006 at 7:13 am
Fantastically delicious filet! tasty squash soup.
November 8th, 2006 at 9:38 am
Delicious food and friendly, attentive service. I would highly recommend this restaurant. I loved the gnocchi with braised chicken and butternut squash. Everyone enjoyed their meals, which included the filet, salmon, and pork tenderloin. Starters included the signature salad and squash soup - both excellent. And save room for a delicious dessert.
November 30th, 2006 at 1:27 pm
Meridith’s is a wonderful neighborhood bistro. Lively atmosphere. I’ve never had an issue with the service (their waitstaff does look very young, but they’ve always been attentive to us). The butterfish is consistently a winner, the lamb three ways was creative and delicious, and that steak with the gorgonzola - yum! I only had one experience out of a half dozen where I felt the food was mediocre. I’d give it 4 spoons…
December 19th, 2006 at 6:36 pm
I love this resturant. Great location, BYOB, and yummy food! My husband and I have had great service and wonderful food all 4 times we have been there. I would highly recommend this resturant.
January 27th, 2007 at 2:16 pm
We recently visited Meridith’s for brunch (Jan 07) and I have to agree with your article - the service was terrible. We had invited our neighbors to celebrate a birthday and were embarrassed by the way we were treated. The waitress openly complained about having to bring extra water and syrup for the pancakes. She did not try to cover the fact that she was annoyed with our requests. Granted, we were seated upstairs (after a very long wait), but I’ve never been to any restaurant where the waitstaff complained openly about having to bring anything! My crab omelet was greasy, but I think everyone else was satisfield with their meals. It’s too bad they have such an issue with service. I think we’ll wait a while before we try them again.
February 2nd, 2007 at 6:47 am
Just ate at Meridith’s for the first time last week for dinner and loved it! The filet with gorgonzola cheese was cooked to perfection as well as the NY strip steak special. The apps were out of this world. Our server was superb and he let us take our time at the table enjoying our wine, which is odd for a BYOB. Great restaurant and great food. We will be going back . . . very soon!
February 19th, 2007 at 7:35 pm
We had dinner at Meridith’s for the first time and thought it was very good. The appetizers while not being anything that amazed us, had a nice flavor and were prepared well. Our entrees were better, the butterfish was delicious and moist. The gnocchi were good, but a little dry. For dessert we ordered a lemon creme brulee which was quite good and a bananas foster bread pudding which was dry and didn’t taste like bananas or rum (bananas foster is traditionally flambeed with rum). The room is very cute, inviting and warm. On this particular Monday night there was only one server. At one point we counted 30 people in the restaurant besides ourselves. Despite the fact that he was alone he did a very good job and was fairly attentive.
All in all we found it to be a positive dining experience and would recommend Meredith’s to anyone looking for a casual nice dinner. We will probably be back for brunch.
March 7th, 2007 at 1:04 pm
I lived in Berwyn for a while, and I was at Meredith’s 2-3 times a month for brunch. Great breakfast food! Large portions, several mexican breakfast dishes, great omelets and huge pancakes! If you’re a breakfast person, try Meredith’s! Reasonabley priced as well, $20-$30 breakfast for 2.
I only ate dinner at Meredith’s once. The food was good, but for the price there are several other places within a 5 minute drive that I wouild rather eat. Quite a differnce in price between their breakfast and dinner menus.
Overall, I give Meredit’s a 4 out of 5.
April 3rd, 2007 at 11:54 am
Went for brunch for the first time on Sunday and that’s where I encountered a problem with the service. Luckily, we were two old friends catching up and weren’t in any great rush. But it was annoying to have to ask twice for more OJ to go with our champagne for mimosas… Food was still terrific though!
May 2nd, 2007 at 6:02 pm
I too want Meridith’s to be good. Unfortunately, each time I go there I continue to be disappointed by something. On my first visit (2006), my husband ordered the clam special….only to get food poisoning and miss almost an entire week of work (he had previously never missed a day). On my second visit with girlfriends, we enjoyed our entrees (Salmon & Halibut), but the desserts were inedible. On my third visit, I asked the waitress for olive oil for my bread, in which she informed me that there was NO olive oil in the restaurant as the chef only cooked with butter (nice, just what I wanted to hear). Also on this visit, we asked for a side of asparagus for the table (since it was on the menu to be served with a few entrees). The waitress had to ask the chef in which his reply was that there was not enough asapargus in the restaurant to do so, but could provide a few of us with a couple of pieces of asparagus for a $3/upcharge per person. WHAT? Out of principle we said no thank you. What a strange offer. AND - although it was early (5PM on a Wednesday), there were no other patrons in the restaurant. The sad thing is that the entrees are good!! I hope someone from this restaurant reads the reviews and does something about the service, because it really does have potential. Cute atmosphere, good entrees (besides the clams), really BAD service.
May 3rd, 2007 at 5:45 pm
why on earth would you ever go back there after your husband got food poisoning and missed a week of work!?!? That’s just crazy.
May 4th, 2007 at 7:50 pm
Being a food critic from the area and a magazine writer, I have tried several restaurants.
My girlfriend and I went for dinner, drove 14 miles out of way to try the restaurant, on May 4th. Called like an hour before getting there to make a reservation, and was available(considering a friday night at 8:30pm). So got there and they put us right next to the door with the cold air every 2 mintues, since they kept opening the door. There was a restaurant week menu in the acutal menu. So I asked the server,, she was shocked and said I will be right back? Came back like 10 minutes later and said.. ” Yeah the first appetizer(out of 2) is completely out!”
We didnt care for the restaurant week menu anyways. So we ordered Rissoto(for myself) and Beet salad(her). meanwhile server brought out one hard piece of bread each…. 20 minutes later we still dont have anything… the manager comes around(Jason) and appologises for the delay. Nice enough to do that. We get the appetizer… Rissoto was raw and could care less to try the unappealing Salad. Since we were hungry we ate it all….. Now it has been 30 more minutes since we ate our appetizer and no entrees??? Wine was finised, night was finished so was our appetite. So we asked for our check. Then comes the server, the manager, the GM and our food… funny??? They offered to comp the meal, but no we ate the appetizer so I insisted we pay for that. THE manager wanted us to take our food. But it was too late.. plus it would have taken them 30 minutes to get doggie boxes””””’ So dont waste your time and MONEY.. I will not post this on my Philly food section…. I am not that cruel.
May 29th, 2007 at 7:36 am
This is no place for vegetarians! My husband and I, both vegetarians, went to Meridith’s this past Saturday night with a couple of friends. I had been there for lunch and enjoyed it, so wanted to try it for dinner. We hadn’t checked the menu in advance, so we were disappointed to see that there weren’t any vegetarian entrees on the menu. We asked our server and she said they can usually accommodate vegetarians but were “out of those special ingredients” that night. (How many special ingredients does it take for an accomplished chef to pull together a vegetarian dish?) No problem…I’m generally quite satisfied with a vegetable platter, made with the vegetables they typically serve with meat entrees, so I asked if they could put one of those together. They said they could (but seemed a bit mystified by the suggestion); then they asked if I wanted the risotto on it. I said fine, as long as it wasn’t made with chicken broth. No problem, they said. We noticed that there was a chicken and pasta dish on the menu, and I suggested my husband ask if he could have the dish without the chicken. The server went to the kitchen to ask, and came back and said, “sorry, all of the ingredients are already put together, we can’t do it.” Do they make this angel hair pasta dish in advance? (My husband thought of the Stouffer-owned restaurant where I once worked, where they made their pasta primavera with a Stouffer’s fettuccine alfredo frozen dinner.) I can’t imagine that on a Saturday night, a restaurant doesn’t have a chef who can improvise on a pasta dish they already have on the menu to accommodate a special diet requirement. Disappointed but not giving up, my husband ordered a vegetable platter like I did.
Between us, my husband and I ordered three different salads and all were delicious. And it’s a good thing! The vegetarian risotto that came out for our dinners was basically the same rice they use for risotto, but without having been cooked in a broth. It had chopped bits of vegetables but absolutely no seasoning of any sort, not even salt. Silly me…I had thought they would have substituted vegetable broth for the chicken broth they usually use, and that the risotto would actually be risotto-like. We ate the grilled asparagus that was placed on top of the rice (it was delicious) but when I got to the grilled haricot vert that was below the asparagus, it actually tasted too much like chicken broth for me to continue.
Desserts were delicious but not quite good enough to make up for the disappointing meal.
I’ve been a vegetarian for almost thirty years, and when I first stopped eating meat, it could be challenging to find a good meal at a standard restaurant. But in 2007, I not only expect at least one vegetarian entree on a menu (if not several), but also expect a restaurant like Meridith’s to be able to accommodate special requests. And we’re not talking about a Tuesday night, when they might have their “second-string” chef on duty - it was a Saturday night. It’s a shame…the beginning and ending of our meal was fine, the atmosphere was nice and the server was adequate, but the flexibility of the kitchen, and therefore the entree, was really bad.
July 22nd, 2007 at 8:41 am
I was very disappointed to find that Meredith’s took my advice, and cut down the size of their entrees, the portions used to be enormous. However, my suggestion had included cutting the high prices as well, half the portions, maybe half the price. No. $8 for a southwest chicken wrap half the size of the one that I had ordered a month prior. I had every intention of sharing that with someone, because the portions had always been so big in the past, we could only eat half. Well, needless to say, we had to go somewhere else to eat the other half of our lunches. Meredith’s seems to be booming with business, yet a majority of the customers are leaving with a bad taste in their mouths. I think they’ve finally gotten in over their heads, and their time is up. Sorry Meredith’s, but there’s just too many bad restaurants in this world already.
July 29th, 2007 at 11:42 am
WORST BRUNCH EVER!!! They ran out of OJ by 11:00 on a sunday… and the place wasn’t even full. Get your act together… how do you run out of OJ for sunday brunch… what’s next,”sorry we’re out of eggs”. So, we had to drink our bottle of champagne straight, which might not be all that bad, but we were hoping for mimosas with our breakfast. Then, speaking of eggs, my eggs benedict should have been listed on the menu as “hard boiled eggs benedict”. The yolks were hard as golf balls with nothing resembling a runny, yolky center. I’m sorry, but we work hard all week and look forward to a relaxing brunch out on sundays. We don’t expect four star quality at a place like meridith’s, but at least get the basics right. By the way, the food was served on chipped plates… We will never be back to this place… life’s too short to eat bad food.
July 30th, 2007 at 12:01 pm
Best Octopus appetizer on the Main Line! My wife and I go out alot to eat all along the area from Malvern to Bryn Mawr, and we have have rarely seen Octopus offered, and the few ones we’ve had were nothing in comparison to Meridith’s. Great job! I know only one other restaurant in the area that offers Octopus but the name escapes me….. Anyway, keep up the good work Meridith’s, and we’ll be back!
July 31st, 2007 at 5:33 pm
Hey Sal, octopus (not squid or calamari) is served at the following places on the mainline; cafe fresco, sola (both in bryn mawr), and alba in malvern… I have actually eaten it at all three as well as meridiths. You mentioned that you and your wife eat up and down the main line. I guess you missed those three places. You should check it out at some of the other restaurants, then tell us if you think meridiths is the best. I put them 3rd. on the list just in front of fresco. It’s a close tie between alba and sola for first place. The preperations are slightly different. Alba serves the large octopus, cut up in pieces while sola has baby octopus (pulpo).
October 7th, 2007 at 12:10 pm
I couldn’t disagree with the previous poster more! Friendly staff, creative menu and great service!!! I have been for both breakfast and lunch and will go back again in the near future with out of town guests. Highly recommended!!!! 5 enthusiastic spoons!!
November 18th, 2007 at 5:40 pm
My wife has eaten at Meredith’s several times and generally enjoyed it, so we went tonight for my first visit and it was really, really disappointing - and for the price, a complete rip-off. First, the waitress was rude and annoying. The first thing she said to us when she arrived at the table was “Do you want the good news or the bad news first?” At a restaurant, I don’t want bad news. What, cholera? Actually, it was just that they were out of salmon, but it was this “attitdue” which colored her poor service the whole evening - no water refills unless asked, no extra plate to split the salad, mostly just inattentive. The food was pretty bad. My wife liked her chicken with white beans very much, but the salad we shared was so overpowered by slivered red onion (surprisingly strong) that there was no way to taste any other ingredients, including the blue cheese. Two small slivers of bacon. Not worth the price. My short ribs were tasty but tough - they could have used a much longer braise to make them as tender as they should have been. And the herb polenta was just a mystery. It had a strange off-taste and the consistency of soggy cornbread stuffing - nothing smooth or creamy about it. It just sat on the plate like a thick, glutuoun lump. The spinach with garlic was way too garlicky. We skipped dessert. All in all, we would have had a better meal at a third the price if we’d just stopped at a diner somewhere.
November 29th, 2007 at 1:23 pm
Most interesting…you would never know all of these people ate at the same restaurant. So many different experiences and stories to tell. Different waitstaff? Different Chef? Anyway - I’m lucky enough to stand with those that had positive experiences. Good atmosphere, food, & service. And…I was able to drink exactly the wine I wanted!
December 10th, 2007 at 8:46 am
According to to the Suburban newspaper - Meredith’s will stop serving during the day (breakfast/brunch/lunch) due to lack of “parking” and concentrate solely on dinner. They also have withdrawn their application for a Liquor license according to the newspaper report.
December 10th, 2007 at 9:01 am
According to the restaurant’s website, breakfast/lunch/brunch will still be served on the weekends (just not weekdays)… good news on the liquor license. BYOB forever!
December 13th, 2007 at 9:52 am
Do you know if the article on Meridith’s is available online? I missed it in last week’s paper.
You can check out Meridith’s December Prix fixe (for $30) menu and their New Year’s Eve menu on my blog…
http://thelatestdish.wordpress.com/
December 14th, 2007 at 8:03 am
Yes it was last weeks paper - Suburban - just tried to go their web site and it looks like they have changed the site - not for the better - and one can not even search on the site - looks like only current issue is out there on the site - and much is missing - like the ability to view obits. Sorry.
March 7th, 2008 at 7:53 am
I have eaten there twice… and adored my meals both times. I had the filet w/ blue cheese entree both times since I adored it so much the first time. On my second visit, I tried the muscles. The waiter attempted to be well-knowledged in regards to the menu, so I asked him for his opinion on the muscles and he gave a very unenthusiastic “they’re good” response. I tried them anyway. They were the best muscles I have ever had - a delicious creamy wine sauce with a hint of pancetta that I have never experienced before. I was supposed to share them with my boyfriend but before I knew it, they had disappeared. Whoops! The steak was wonderful, perfectly seasoned and cooked. We were all so full, we had to skip dessert. Thought the prices were great, of course I love the fact that it’s BYOB. Have recommended the place to many friends. I am very picky/judgmental when it comes to food, but this place deserves my praise.
March 12th, 2008 at 6:59 am
A group of six people that commonly go out on Friday nights, frequenting Chester BYO went there on Friday March 7th 2008 and although the food was good, we were very disappointed at the prices. The bill included 20% tip, and that is OK as we typically leave an amount very near that, but when divided up it came to $51/person. We go to many a fine restaurant (Ristorante Verona, Jasper, etc) and average about $41 to $42. We used to enjoy Meridith’s but now wonder if it represents really good value. Perhaps they are making up for now having to close at lunch.
Service was OK, we often have one white wine and two reds to share with the various courses. The waiter, because he opened the red first, just proceeded to pour for everyone, in spite of us telling him we would pour. In light of that, I was once told by a lawyer that if they pour, they take on liability, defeating one of the purposes of BYOB.
March 28th, 2008 at 9:12 am
Visit by a party of 4 for dinner. Very average & over priced with poor service. No intention for a revisit
April 26th, 2008 at 6:18 pm
I’m not sure how much they have changed over the past few years, but the last time I went there, they were disgusting. It has been years, but it sticks out to me as the worst breakfast I had ever tasted. The potatoes were not even fully cooked, and the pancakes were worse than cardboard. I have no idea where the hype for this place comes from. I can’t believe anyone would recommend it.
April 26th, 2008 at 6:26 pm
Actually Sara, this restaurant has changed drastically over the past few years. Everything, from the menu, to the execution to the service has improved. You should give it another chance.
July 12th, 2008 at 5:35 am
Meridith’s has the best pancakes, they are enormous, fluffy, and piled high topped with cinnanon butter and powdered sugar. Absolutely delicious!