Pearl Bistro & Wine Bar — Restaurant in Branford

What we witnessed last night at this restaurant was a total disappointment. The arrogance of the staff is like nothing I have seen before. To be that arrogant and not have the skills to back up that arrogance is wild. We made sure to reward the hardest working person in this establishment who was the servers assistant making sure the tables were clean and our water glasses full. They were personally delivered their warranted gratuity. Other staff fell short from this earned reward.

Our party of 6 had a reservation weeks prior to the night knowing the place is tiny and we wanted to see a certain entertainer on one of the biggest nights of his young career. Pearl Wine Bar was our plan for the full night with our table willing to spend a good amount of money to celebrate. While the first round of orders (food and drink) came out reasonably quick, the pursuing ones (drinks) were not at all timely and were either incomplete wrong or just not at all given. The span of time between drink orders grew and eventually we were told that we had to get out of our table because our time was up and they had another reservation at said table. We had explained to the manager we were unaware of a time limit for the reservation, and our plan for the night was Pearl Wine Bar until the entertainer completed their set. The time limit for reservations while posted on their website should also be stated when you make a reservation and somewhere in the restaurant/bar. We were half okay with this but had asked to be placed somewhere else to be able to enjoy the entertainment for the night. Our party was not accommodated in any way. Our bill arrives, we split between two cards leave no tip sign and go on our way. The waitress sees there is no tip from either receipt, shows her boss. They scratch their heads, glance over at myself, parade the tip-less receipts to other customers (presumably regulars) I read their lips and I see “OMG that’s terrible” or something to that extent. Thinking our situation is over and the waitress and staff will learn from their mistakes, surrender the table and I lean back to enjoy the music of the night. , The manager proceeds to come back my way as half of our party has left for the night in frustration. Stating that she is automatically putting a 20% tip onto our bill and that it is mandatory practice of theirs of party’s of 6 or more people. It was not initially placed on bill due to the choice of tip was being left up to the customer. This was a fair gesture. I explained to manager we believed a tip wasn’t warranted as we were forced to surrender our table, the food was mediocre at best, drink orders were few and far between, wrong, improperly presented, or flat out not being acknowledged. While there was a few words back and forth it was a professional calm conversation and nothing got out of control.yet. So that hurdle is over and Pearl Wine ultimately makes the decision to add a 20% tip of their customers money so their wait staff will get an undeserved gratuity. This will get disputed through the credit card company and I am confident my money will be returned. My wife and I leave with manager stating we would not be welcomed back and we agreed to disagree on the events that took place over the course of the evening and Pearl Wine will be in our rear view forever. Thinking that we were the last two of our party of six to leave we carry on with our night elsewhere with the other couple that had left prior to us. Only to find out the remaining two party members stayed to enjoy the entertainer as they are very close friends. The waitress gets up in their face over the gratuity that was not left. Proceeds to get the majority of the customers to slander/make fun of them until my friends proceeded to head out the back door and leave for the night.

It is safe to say that if you are not a local/regular, look like or represent yourself differently than what Pearl Wine Bar wants, you are unwelcome in...

This was the only place where I felt timed on my table. We had sat down and after 20 minutes into our stay we were made to feel like we should hurry up because people are coming in with their reservations. The wait staff made it so obvious by hand gesturing to our table and saying loudly that our table should clear up soon. My friend and I couldn't even enjoy another glass of wine because we were so uncomfortable. Apparently, they had enough of us sitting there and I kid you not, began clearing our table while we were sitting there. Some rude blonde that worked there told me that we had to leave because they had reservations coming in. She even took it upon herself to move my friend's chair while she was sitting to make it obvious she was taking plates off our table. As a manager of my own establishment, I would have planned these reservations better and asked my guest and I if we could sit at the bar once chairs become available. No--they took it upon themselves to have people sit at the bar who came in and anyone who was at a table needed to leave regardless where they were for the night. So distasteful and highly unbecoming for the area. I do not recommend this...

Went for date night with hubby and was very impressed. Atmosphere and food quality are both very important to me and Pearl comfortably checked all boxes. The menu is very concise and well curated to accommodate most needs yet I still had four very different options that I couldn’t decide between because they all Sounded do delicious. Luckily our server was able to help narrow it down to two and I landed on the butternut squash ravioli. I know any of the options would have been perfect but seasonally this was the best choice. It was a perfect balance of sweetness from the poached pears and savory from browned butter. The textures also complimented each other well. The ravioli was a little al dente but not chewy; structurally important to balance the smooth squash inside and then the shaved Brussels sprouts had a nice crunch. My husband had the chicken tacos. Simple and delicious. Only suggestion he made was the salsa should have been less chilled or room temp for the flavors to come out a bit more. Definitely recommend for any occasion. Will be back to try the other options I couldn’t...