Hello Bistro — Restaurant in Upper St. Clair

Sept 2021 update - Had to give them another try. They are in a relatively convenient spot next to all kinds of shopping and the concept of salads and sandwiches for lunch is good. This was a gorgeous day and they had outdoor seating available, so the stars seemed to have aligned.

This time we ordered a make-your-own salad and the Southwest BBQ burger meal. The burger was supposed to have some seasoning to it, but I could not detect any - perhaps due to the BBQ sauce, the french fries, the cheese and onions. It was tasty though, and I handled the lack of heat by grabbing some of the available Tabasco to dunk the burger in.

The salad was made just the way we wanted it. The shrimp are the little tiny ones, and even though we asked for it to be lightly dressed, it was almost drenched, but overall, it was good and tasty.

A salad and a burger ended up setting us back $25. Seems high.

Overall, I am bumping up the rating to a three star for the better experience this time.

2021 - Went there last night on the way back from shopping and were very disappointed. As it was a last minute decision, we did not order ahead, but stopped in. The ordering process was smooth and efficient. We noticed a LOT of people working and a bunch of people waiting for orders, but - maybe? - there were a lot of to-go orders?

We ordered salads from their normal menu with one substitution in each salad. In one case, we asked that instead of shrimp, they put in their Salmon. In the other case, we asked that they really spice it up! in both cases we were disappointed.

There was no real sign of any kind of COVID restrictions. Some signs on some tables, but they were ignored with people sitting at those tables without masks on, etc.

As we were idly waiting, we noticed that four of the workers started congregating together and looking over one of the salads - as it turned out, it was one of ours - there seemed to be something wrong with it and they were debating what to do. Eventually, one of the workers started fishing out some of the ingredients and discarding them. We thought that was odd.

A few minutes later, that same worker came towards us with a paper bag with our two salads. Not connecting the dots, we saw that there were two salads in the bag, so we left and drove home. When we got home and unpacked, we figured out what happened: In salad #1, they put it together with shrimp and then realized their mistake. However, rather than discard it, they attempted to fish out the shrimp, and replaced it with chopped up salmon (the kind that comes from a can - like tuna!!!) and served it to us. Luckily, we are not allergic to shrimp as we found some shrimp in the salad after all.

As to salad #2, remember that I asked for it to be spiced up? That translated to exactly one small square piece of jalapeno. Very disappointing!

Mistakes happen in food service. It's how they are handled that determine whether a restaurant gets a good rating or a poor rating. This place does not deserve a good rating based on this experience!

Notice in the photos that both the salmon (again, it was the canned variety) and the avocado, were placed on top and the squashed flat when the container was closed on it. Presentation...

Went in hungry, left crying.

Went in, no line, asked how the cashier was doing and ordered my usual: Chicken and avocado build your own. + tea

Total was 20.30 ish so I handed her $21

She figured out how to open the drawer (ten minutes later) grabbed the receipt, threw it in the trash (without even asking me if I wanted it). Closed the drawer. And asked me what kind of lettuce I wanted. I said “can I have a receipt and my change ?” SHE PROCEEDED TO GRAB THE RECEIPT OUT OF THE TRASH. This is all on camera. I said “not the one in the trash”

She gets the manager. He got my change and receipt. She proceeded to make my salad. I like apples. They had no apples. So I kindly asked “do you guys have any apples in the back?” And she went to check for 5 minutes. Came back and said no. So I asked for a refund. I guess you need the manager for that too. So the manager came up and asked why I wanted the refund and he said “I’ll just go chop some up for you really quickly. (So she lied..)

We continued to put the rest of the ingredients in my salad while waiting for the apples. Proceed to get my dressing as well. As we’re waiting, she started wiping down the metal counter of food scraps and debris with her gloves on and throws it in the trash. (Fair, might as well be productive as we’re waiting.) But, proceeds to not change her gloves. And not only that, SHE STARTED LITERALLY PLAYING WITH MY FOOD AS IF IT WAS SLIME WITH HER HANDS. (They have utensils to mix the salad, they do not mix it with their hands EVER).

At this point I am sick. I hate complaining, it makes me anxious. I ask to talk to the manager about the situation and explained asking if I could have it remade by ANYONE else. He didn’t seem very concerned, just said “yes I understand and I’ll talk to her”.

Got my salad remade, asked for apples again because they had not yet brought them to the front. And the next guy said he’ll just put the other ingredients in while we wait. So we did exactly that again. And guess what, NO APPLES FOR ME :)

I have genuinely never had a worse experience with food in my entire life. Ever. I was so uncomfortable and couldn’t even believe what I was seeing right in front of me. Who pays over $20 for a salad and a drink to be almost food poisoned in front of their eyes and not even an apology? I feel sick to my stomach and would never treat one of my...

I love Hello Bistro, I have been eating there for years at the Market Square location. I was so happy when they opened a South Hills location.

One of the biggest reasons to love this place, is they take allergies seriously. Just make sure you tell them at the register. (See below for more allergy comments)

You can choose between sandwhiches, premade salad combinations or build your own salad. The latter option is the only one I ever get.

you will have your choice between Mixed Greens, Spinach and Kale, Romaine. You can mix them as well.

After that you will get to choose all the add-ins you want. From fruits, to soba noodles, to quinoa, bacon, vegetables and more (also avocados cost extra). Cheese follows that and then your protein (Chicken, shrimp, tofu options). Lastly they take your salad to the mixing station where you decide how you want it choped (small, medium, large pieces). They then add dressing of your choice and your crunchy toppings (nuts, seeds, dried fruit). You can also get lemon, salt and pepper added.

• Allergy Sufferers * The foods are all separated, and the cheese and nuts are in their own section towards the end. However the cheese is next to the proteins so if you have dairy allergy you may want to ask them to get the protein out of the back-fill bins to prevent cross contamination.

Once you finish your salad they take your item to a clean station and use allergy tools for mixing, chopping, etc. This section doesn't have the nuts (but you can still get them) to prevent potential accidental contamination.

All in all this place is fantastic and the salads taste great. Sadly I never had the sandwiches so I can't...