Reviews of: Chef Alan's American Bistro

Chef Alan's American Bistro

The opinions expressed here are not necessarily the opinions of BerksWeb

Reviewed By: ChefKS

Reviewed on: 2006-04-09

Where to start? How about with the worst pour of a Guinness I have ever seen, FYI its a Bishops collar folks. I had the pot roast 1) peel the celery 2) season the mashed pot. 3) add some shallot or onion 4) layoff the dried thyme. Wife had the taco salad 90 percent lettuce 10 percent beef. It looked like amateur night for the wait staff, I had to place our dishes on the empty table next to us in plain view of the manager who looked at them in bewilderment and left them there. 3 of 10. This place is not what it claims to be.

Reviewed By: Jeanne Broadway
Reviewed on: 2004-09-01

We were first time patrons at Chef Alan's. We advised the waitress and she allowed us to take our time and read the menu from top to bottom before we made a decision. The food was wonderful, the service was great, except being served our dessert before we finished our dinner. We will definitely be back to try other menu items that sounded just as good as what we had last night!!!!

Reviewed By: slb
Reviewed on: 2004-08-17

This place is EXCELLENT. I never cared much for Chef Alan's when they had the buffet, and their hospital cafeteria is absolutely horrible. But the Fairgrounds Mall location has superb food. Sometimes, the service is a little slow--they seem to be understaffed. However, I can overlook that due to the great meals I've eaten there.

Reviewed By: Ringo
Reviewed on: 2004-08-02

I am baffled by any negative reviews of this place. My wife and I eat here about 3 times a month and it is always consistantly good. I consider myself a somewhat critical reviewer, but I can find very little fault with this restaurant... one time the waitress was a little slow, but nothing to get all whiny about. It's clean, casual yet nice and inexpensive. Still recommended.

Reviewed By: Ace Mclean
Reviewed on: 2004-07-02

Uh Oh! Went there last night and found the food and service to be in decline. Nothing was totally bad, but it just wasn't up to the standard I had been used to. At this point, I'm not all that motivated to return. The FO soup was basically chicken stock with tastless cooked onions, where it had been quite flavorful and caramlized before. I got a sandwich that looked like it was slapped together by a 5 year old. It had very little of the special artichoke dressing, and the side coleslaw looked the same, but also had little flavor. The waitress took way too long to get back to us at each stage, especially considering the lack of other diners. It took her only 30 seconds to get our drinks, and when we were still undecided, she diapeard for 10 minutes. Same happened between the soup and sandwich deliveries. Our food may have been sitting for a spell. All in all, it took us 90 minutes for soup and sandwiches.

Reviewed By: Anne
Reviewed on: 2004-05-13

I love Chef Alan's. I go there whenever I come up to Berks and go to the outlets. The girls and guys are really nice, and the food and noshies are great! Not to mention the drinks. Italian Wedding soup is really good, they do not have that where I live. I'll keep on going to Vanity Fair as long as I can visit Chef Alan's. When I visit the outlets, I go to Penn Avenue. When I go antiquing, I go to the mall one. I like them both. Keep up the good work.

Reviewed By: W
Reviewed on: 2004-04-23

I went to the Fairgrounds Square location for a 50th anniversary party for my one aunt and uncle. The room we were in had a relaxed atmosphere, and the food was absolutely amazing!!

Reviewed By: Ringo
Reviewed on: 2004-04-05

When this location first opened the food was average... not terrible,not great. Since then I have returned periodically and each time there was improvement in food quality,menu selection and service. They obviously work at improving unlike many restaraunts in the area which start out good and then go down hill over time. Recommended.

Reviewed By: k.s.
Reviewed on: 2004-01-28

I've been to both locations of Chef Alan's and I have to say I didn't like either of them. The food at both was sub- par, and the service at the Fairgrounds location was ridiculous - they forgot to seat us for forty minutes (at their own admission), they didn't apologize for the wait, and the waitress rarely checked on us. I don't think I'll be returning.

Reviewed By: Doug
Reviewed on: 0000-00-00

Every meal I have eaten here has been excellent. Nice atmosphere, not too pricey, good sized portions.

Reviewed By: Ace Mclean
Reviewed on: 0000-00-00

I saw the bad reviews concerning the other location, and I must say they don't apply to Fairgrounds. The food and service are great, and the menu has a huge variety.

As you are probably well aware, the restaurant situation in Berks is very dynamic. New restaurants open and old restaurants close on a regular basis. We need your help keeping this restaurant listing up to date. If you know of a new restaurant that isn't on our list, or a listed restaurant that has closed, we would appreciate it if you would let us know. Thanks!!