Pemberton Coffeehouse & Bistro — Restaurant in Salisbury

Pemberton Coffeehouse was a long-established favorite of mine in the Salisbury area. It was integral in our major family moments having baby showers, bridal showers and baptism celebrations at this restaurant as well as using its catering services for several events. It unfortunately closed down and has since re-opened under new ownership. This was a much anticipated event for my family, and we were eager to support this business.

Unfortunately, our eagerness was met with two poor experiences. We went on opening weekend with the expectation of good quality food and good people, but recognizing there would be kinks as it was a "new" business again. When we arrived, there were no high chairs. We forgave this as a simple oversight and decided to just hold our 18 month old whilst we ate. We ordered several items from the limited opening menu, and were met with disappointment with the quality of food. The Mediterranean style grilled cheese had potential for a flavorful treat, and yet the flavors did not mesh well and it tasted like a bland "try-hard" sandwich with no punch. We could not even finish half of it. The service was okay, but the vibe did not feel as welcoming or fun as it once had been.

We decided to give them several weeks before trying again to see if it was opening day nerves. Upon return, however, they still had no high chairs (which the owner herself ensured us on opening weekend would be arriving within 2 weeks max). When we asked, she said she couldn't find high chairs anywhere. This is hard to believe that every other establishment known to man has high chairs readily available, and yet now they no longer have them anywhere? The menu on the wall had not been added to or changed in any way, a clear indicator that they are not evolving or trying to evolve at a reasonable rate to grow into the establishment it once was. When my mother asked if there was a high chair she had overlooked, the owner said no with a whole list of places that don't sell them. The internet is vast, in five minutes I found restaurant high chairs for sale on amazon for $35. Anyone who gave a darn about their customers or their business would have solved this after the first inquiry on the first day open. This shows a lack of care for the customer experience to me.

The real highlight came, however, when my mother said that she felt it was hard to believe there was no high chair anywhere to be purchased for the restaurant to provide to her customers. The owner responded with a snarky comment in a rude voice as we were leaving to ensure that she had the last word and that reflected the general experience of the restaurant now.

We have spent endless hours and money at this restaurant and were hoping to continue. Unfortunately it is now run by an owner who clearly has no talent for cooking quality food, no skill in customer service, no attention to detail, and no drive to succeed. This place is doomed to fail because the product is as poor as it gets. I cannot express in words how severely...

Oh my God! This place is freaking Awesome! The food was great! Tiramisu and Baklava were Amazing and made from scratch like most everything else and the service was so friendly that we didn't want to leave.

I went to Pemberton Park with my husband, and our two kids over the weekend and drive past to find one of our favorite restaurants, had cars in the parking lot and a big open sign outside. Of course, we stopped in and it was like Christmas in September. As we walked in the new owner looked over with a big smile and said "Welcome Home". The place looks absolutely great (although I would love to see more plants). It felt like home.

As my husband and I looked over the menu board, we saw our 2 favorite sandwiches, the turkey club and the chicken salad sandwich. They went back to the old counter service, which was a great idea. The ladies that took my order were awesome. Very friendly. The owner came and introduced herself. She spoke to us about their philosophy and how they buy local as much as they can in order to give back to the community. They even Incorporate fresh local produce.

Then she suggested two desserts for my husband and I, a slice of Tiramisu and a piece of Baklava, made by their in-house baker. OMG! I've had Tiramisu at Olive Garden and Fratelli's but this Tiramisu was on another level of AMAZING. Same goes for the Baklava. It had a little hint of citrus that put it over the edge.

We took a seat outside and enjoyed the deck. Our amaretto lattes were perfect and the food was excellent.

Overall an amazing experience for all of us. We will...

Had a great time there with my wife. Looked it up on yelp, had good reviews but some negative ones too, decided to still check it out and wow! apparently they had a new manager that no longer works there that had been trying to change the feel of the place, but its now very friendly, cozy, you can either have counter service or sit down waiter service... I had the banana foster french toast which was incredible... melt in your mouth good... and my wife had the vege frittata which was great in its own right... they have regular dining seats at tables, and different rooms in what is truly a coffee HOUSE... they even have this enclosed pattio area with nice windows and a small couch like chair, and a few other chairs and a small table, very cozy with a nice view of the deck outside... it started to rain while we were there, and felt like some sort of romantic movie scene... I definitely got some points that day .... and I would definitely recommend going here. Its homey so you might see some chipped paint here and there or a leak or two but GREAT food nice people, and beautiful ambience and the outdoor scenery is awesome in the back. Also apparently they have salsa night and live music sometimes too? I really liked it. Worth at least one visit and I am sure there is no other place like it in Salisbury. If there is... well.....