The Kibitz Room King of Prussia — Restaurant in Upper Merion Township

Walked in just after 6pm on a Wednesday. There was only 1 table of customers (red flag) and the ambience / decor was very tired and bland. Just a large room with some booths. There was a female employee doing what appeared to be a deep clean on the bases of tables (seemed odd to be doing during the dinner hour) she was very nice and greeted me. But the smell of the cleaning solution and the brown water in the bucket was pretty unappetizing. Luckily, she finished before we got our food. Server was friendly but didn't know much about the deli. Since I was considering trying the brisket, I asked if they had kasha and bowties (which are not on the menu!) He said he had to "ask the deli" which he did and returned and said they had it. We ordered 2 soups and 2 entrees. They use handheld POS devices to take orders. It took 3x longer to give our order than it should. About 2 mins after taking our order, he came back and asked us to give him the order again because somehow "it was 86'd" I ordered the cabbage soup and the brisket dinner with kasha / bowties and mixed vegetables as my 2 included sides. I politely asked twice for the kasha and bowties to be hot. The soup was very tasty with small pieces of brisket in it. It was barely warm though. The brisket was pretty disappointing. Somewhat fatty but worst of all, very greasy. The flavor was not bad. However the temperature varied throughout and it was obvious that it was warmed up to be served. The kasha / bowties were a mix of warm on top, cool in the middle and cold on the bottom. (bleh) The mixed vegetables were awful. It truly looked like what you would get with a fajita. Green peppers, onions 1 small carrot  but worst of all it was mushy and barely warm. Uneatable. About a third of the way through the brisket, I couldn't deal with the wet, greasiness and decided I might be able to salvage it and the bowties if I took it home and reheated it. The entire hour or so that we were there, we and the other table were the only customers other than 2 door dash pick ups. I'm not a picky eater but I do know what badly prepared food is. I also know deli food. You don't have to go to NY for good deli. I have had it in this area. This isn't it. I also feel bad for the servers as it is obvious that no one is training them properly. We probably should have sprinted out of there when we heard one of them pronounce kreplach...

This area needed a Jewish deli/restaurant bad! So I was thrilled upon learning Kibitz Room would be opening in KOP! I've been in a bunch since their soft opening - but there was nothing soft about it! They hit the ground running and were rocking and rolling immediately! They are no amateurs when it comes to the deli game, running delis for many years. Sure, there were some kinks in the very beginning, but what new spot doesn't?? The food has been phenomenal and consistent every time! Everything I've tried hasn't been just good, it's been GREAT!

Those kinks I mentioned earlier...I got a corned beef reuben by accident vs pastrami or a salami "pancake" omelette vs pastrami (gotta admit they sound alike, that one could've been my fault lol). Both occasions I kept the "mistake" and they gave me the correct order to-go (my barber was really happy, he said the pastrami omelette was amazing 😁). They do AMAZING catering for real! Brought that fish tray to my mom's for Mother's Day and they recently catered at my office for almost 100 people! Everyone raved about the food and beautiful presentation - really made me look like a hero!

My favorite thing to date (and last thing I had) was the hot brisket platter with mashed potatoes and roasted veggies - O.M.G. 🤯 Oh, you'll notice some items seem a bit pricey, but there's a reason for that - QUALITY. They make everything in house, meats, salads, bakery items (try the cherry Hamantaschen!!). I've had pastrami at all the top places in Philly and surrounding area - KR is top notch and well worth it.

Besides the awesome food, the owners are really great people that love making people happy and keeping them well-fed. The staff are all super friendly and also passionate about satisfying guests. Great culture. It's a very welcoming, comfortable, clean space that makes you feel like family. Oh, and the pickle bar is...

The Kibbutz Room Isn’t Funny When You’re the Joke

So my friend and I schlepped 45 minutes on a Saturday to get ourselves some lunch — and from the jump, it felt like the universe said, “feh.”

Once inside, we were seated right away, which felt promising… until our waiter dropped off water and then vanished into the ether for 20 minutes.

We ordered a taste of the chopped liver (thank God — we didn’t commit to the full order) I’m a lifelong chopped liver fan — I was basically raised on that stuff — and theirs? It was… off. Funky texture, weird flavor. Total shanda. I would never admit to my Bubby I ate it because I compare all chopped liver to hers. Thank God we ordered just a taste and got the chance to opt out.

We also ordered matzoh ball soup, half a corned beef sandwich, whitefish with wasabi on a (requested ) toasted pumpernickel bagel . And of course I took a trip over to the pickle bar.

Let me say — the pickle bar was on point with a decent variety.. The Sour tomatoes, cucumber salad with onion — good stuff.

After 35 more minutes, the food arrived but at least I had a lot of pickles to nosh on.

The matzoh ball soup looked like it belonged in a photo shoot — that matzoh ball was enormous. It was piping hot, just the way it should be. The broth though? Thin and bland, very little flavor. The matzoh ball itself was decent, if you’re into the dense, sink-to-the-bottom kind versus the light floaty kind.

Now for the corned beef sandwich. Sure, it was huge — but let’s not kid ourselves: size doesn’t mean bupkis when the meat’s not right. It was lukewarm, overly salty, and had the distinct taste of something cured way past its expiration of good judgment.

The whitefish looked good, but flavor-wise?.Not terrible, but certainly nothing special to write to Zaide about.

And the bill? Over $60. That’s nothing to...