Black Lab Bistro — Restaurant in Phoenixville

I write long reviews which I hope indicates my thoughts are genuine and I'm not just a friend trying to help a friend's business. My wife and I had dinner here on a Wednesday night. The crowd was small.

I ordered the pork and vegetable wontons (6 wontons) in sesame chili sauce as my appetizer. They were very good and left a light, back-of-the-mouth burn. Enough to enjoy but not enough to overwhelm. I sopped up the leftover sauce with my bread.

My wife ordered an arugula salad with walnuts, feta cheese and bacon topped with a light vinaigrette. The salads ingredients were mixed together in good proportions so no one ingredients dominated. The vinaigrette was light and slightly tart and was a perfect accompaniment.

Dinners were Shrimp and Grits for me and Jumbo Lump Crab Cakes for her.

The shrimp and grits were topped with a flavorful Creole sauce which I also sopped up with my bread. I would have liked the grits to have been creamier. They were a little “gritty”. I know that sounds like an oxymoron considering their name but I feel a creamier version would have wider appeal. The grits needed additional Parmesan. Had it not been for the menu I would not have known it was used. Still, a very good dish that I feel comfortable recommending.

My wife is a crab cake aficionado. There was plenty of crab in hers and the crab flavor definitely came through. They were served on a bed of mashed potatoes that would have benefited from additional seasoning; maybe some Old Bay in keeping with the seafood theme? I recognize, though, that it’s easier to be a Monday-Morning-Chef than to be a real one.

The only part of the meal that was weak was the sesame-topped bread. It was okay for sopping up sauces but had little flavor of its own. I don’t know if they bought it or made it but in either case I know they can do better.

The service was attentive and the atmosphere was what one would expect in a bistro, simple and unpretentious.

The Black Lab Bistro is a good place to have a quiet dinner together or...

My wife and I were here for dinner on a Friday evening this fall (2023) and left the restaurant really pleased with our overall experience that explains this 5-star rating. In our view, the food was extremely good for prices that were reasonable by contrast. Sure I would like it if two jumbo lump crab cakes did not cost me $32 but given the price of crab cakes even at a grocery store, the price seems fair given the overheads any restaurant has. Our dinner consisted of two appetizers - the Maine lobster bisque and calamari - and two entrees - the jumbo lump crab cakes and a branzino filet (which was one of the two specials of the day). Each of the items was very well executed and portion sizes were generous. We didn't finish all of the lobster bisque and even then, we left completely full with no room for dessert at the end. Our total bill was $86 and with a tip, it came to $100.

The restaurant is a BYOB which makes the place more affordable than other comparable restaurants. We brought a bottle of white wine with us and because we did not have time to refrigerate it at home, our server added some ice to the bucket holding our wine. That was a nice gesture. In general, the service was good, without being overbearing.

There were no real downsides but one thing I might note is that the chairs weren't super comfortable. Personally I like sitting in booths but there are none here. The only other thing worth a mention is that being located right on Bridge St. and somewhat far from the nearest municipal parking lot, parking can be tricky at times. Fortunately, we found parking a few feet away from the entrance to the restaurant and I could even see our car from the table where we were seated.

Overall, we had an excellent experience and this a place that we will add to our list of...

Had lunch today with a group of friends and we all really enjoyed our food and our time together. We a table of seven and there were only couple other parties of two there the whole time we were there, not sure why on a beautiful Saturday this restaurant doesn't have more traffic.

At any rate, our server was great. Very attentive but not over bearing. The food was very good. They had a Filet tip stroganoff that was ordered by several people at the table, it was very well seasoned, and the beef was tender. Also ordered was the Shrimp and grits. Also very good flavor, a little heat, but not so much to ruin the flavors of the rest of the ingredients to come through. The last entree ordered was a mushroom ravioli. It was bathed in a sauce that had a slight acidic bit to cut through the rich ingredients, giving it a very good balance of flavors.

We ordered many different deserts to pass around and taste. I think the fan favorite was the Cinnamon bun Ice cream sandwich. All of the desserts were good, but wouldn't necessarily say great. The tiramisu was not as coffee forward as we felt it should be and the base was more of a cheesecake than a typical Tiramisu mascarpone cream. The Rhubarb crumble was good, as was the Banana foster crepe. The Key lime cheesecake was not a favorite, mainly because it just didn't;t have enough Key lime flavor coming through.

The coffee was excellent....that may sound like a strange thing to comment on BUT I hate having a good meal only to have lame weak coffee at the end.

All in all we will definitely be returning to this restaurant and I would certainly recommend putting it on your...