Alessio's Seafood Grille — Restaurant in Warrington Township

If I could give this establishment and its owner a "-0" rating, I would! On my way to pick up my vehicle in Doylestown, I drove past this establishment and decided to give them a try after picking up my vehicle. Despite the work that was taking place inside and the fact that it did not look too clean (my companion said, "I don't want anything from this place!", which is usually my immediate response when I enter a run-down establishment... I should have known better), I decided to give them a try. When I inquired about the jumbo sauteed crabs, the owner explained that they were seasoned and dipped in flour before broiling/frying them. The flour sounded questionable, but I figured that he's the owner/chef, so he had to know what he was doing, or so I thought. I ordered four "jumbo" sauteed crabs and a side of asparagus.

When the owner rang me up, the total was for $67; $60 for the crabs and $7 for the asparagus. When I asked why the crabs were so costly, he said, "They're jumbo crabs." However, because the foil pan was wrapped in plastic wrap, the steam prevented me from seeing them, so I decided to take his word and complete the purchase.

When I arrived home and removed the plastic, I immediately noticed that the crabs were not jumbo. In fact they were so small that the body of the crab did not cover the entire palm of my hand (a size that would be illegal to sell in the state of Maryland... a state famous for its crabs). I also noticed a slight white covering on the crabs, which turned out to be flour, and the minute I broke off one leg to give them a try, all I tasted was flour.

I contacted the owner immediately, and his response was, "You must not know good crabs when you see them." I asked him for a refund, and he had to pay $12.00 for each crab and he refused to provide me with a refund, so I ended the call. My companion called him and explained the same thing, and he told him that he would refund $30.

The next day, we returned with the uneaten crabs and asparagus, which also had absolutely no flavor, and the owner came to the counter and told me that he would give me back $40, which he did. I told him that I would be contacting my credit union for the remaining $27, and he attempted to snatch the receipt out of my hand as well as his copy, which I snatched from the counter, leaving him with no receipt so that he could not rescind the refund. He said that I was trying to rip him off by contacting my credit union for the rest of my money, when in fact, he was attempting to rip me off by selling me extremely small crabs and stating that they were jumbo when it would have taken all four crabs to constitute one jumbo crab...literally!

He became aggressive and started shouting at me and calling me names. I contacted the police before shouting a few unpleasantries back at him as his intimidation tactics were never going to work on me.

Before the police arrived, my companion and I were outside talking to an employee that we had met the day before and had witnessed the altercation. During our conversation, I asked him if he had looked at the crabs that I returned, which he did, and I asked him if they were jumbo crabs and worth the price, and he said, "No, those aren't jumbo crabs, and they aren't worth $15 each." I asked him why the owner would attempt to pass off such little crabs as jumbo, and he said that the owner was having financial difficulties due to the pandemic, and I said, "So, he is the person who is actually attempting to rip someone off", and he agreed.

I shared all of this information with both police officers that arrived on the scene, and they instructed me on how to get a full refund as well as to file a complaint against the owner of the establishment. I simply contacted my credit union, and they provided me with a refund. I never filed the complaint because he seemed to be going through enough trying to stay afloat during the pandemic, but I will NEVER EVER patronize his establishment as they way he treated me was...

Hidden Gem. That's what comes to mind when I think of Alessio's Seafood Grill. A place most people, like myself, have probably passed 100's of times going up and down on 611 but never gave much thought to because it looks small and the parking can seem intimidating. If it wasn't for my 95 year old grandma looking for a specific Italian dish, I never would have discovered this wonderful restaurant. She was in the mood for Spaghetti with grilled shrimp. In this area there was only two places that would be able to accommodate that. I just wanted to find something close so for the first time I decided to give Alessio's a shot. I called first and asked two questions, "Are you busy?" and "Can you make this pasta?". The very nice woman I talked to on the phone told us there was plenty of room. Luckily for us it was 2:30 in the afternoon and most people don't go out to eat meals around that time. I also inquired as to if they could make spaghetti with grilled shrimp to which they replied "We can make you anything you want, just tell us what you want and we'll make it happen". When we got there I was a little nervous about my grandmother getting inside but the premises were flat and level enough for this 95 year old woman navigate with her walker. We were immediately greeted in a kind and welcoming manner and told to sit where ever we chose. The inside was on the small side but spread out enough so were didn't feel like we were sitting on top of other patrons. Joey was our waiter and I can emphasize enough how polite, respectable, courteous, knowledgeable, and friendly this man was. He gave suggestions, got to know us, what we like, where we're from, and helped us find exactly what we were looking for. He also told us that everything is made in house so we'll see the difference from the other place when were order it. The menu is extensive and very flexible. upon a good lunch suggestion from Joey, I ordered the Italian hoagie and a starting plate of friend clam strips, Grandma got exactly what she was in the mood for. The apps were out quickly and even came with this garlic cheese bread that was absolutely mind blowing. The clam strips were the best I've had since a was a kid at the jersey shore. My hoagie completed destroyed the local competition for Italian hoagies with high quality meat and cheese on a roll that was crisp and fresh. Grandma, who doesn't eat that much, eaten more then I've seen her eat in months. In the end between the atmosphere of the restaurant, the incredible quality of the meal, the friendliness and professionalism of the staff (who is all family by the way), this place has become a staple of fine dining in my life and will be the first place a suggest to anyone looking for a great place to get lunch or dinner. I just ordered take out dinner from them last night and again, it blow my mind. My entire family loved it. The Alessio's house special was exquisite. It's hard to find a place like this anymore. If you're still reading this and decided to give it a shot, let me just say...

Update for takeout pizza: The pizza crust here is very flavorful. You can tell they allow it to ferment. Cheese and sauce are fine too, though maybe they go a bit overboard on the cheese. The big problem is the pizza is not cooked enough on top. It would seem that their oven is not producing enough heat from above. Mushrooms were a bit rubbery; maybe they were from a jar rather than fresh? They are worth another try for takeout pizza, since their pizza dough is high quality. Ordering online is easy and fast.

Original review: Very popular, very small place that uses some high quality seafood. They only take reservations for parties of more than two. We had to wait for a table to become available. Parking lot is tight. Nice outside patio. Service is fast and friendly. Bread basket contains very good garlic & butter cheese bread. The bread is slices of their quality hoagie rolls.

Our overall experience was average. The best dish we had was the tomato basil soup (with surprise cheese). Clams casino appetizer was not well prepared. It was just small clams with some toppings – bacon, and red peppers, some of which were charred black.

The stuffed flounder special was not great, though I did finish it all. Flounder was cooked too much I think – not moist or flaky. Crab meat stuffing did not have any distinct flavor. It was served with mashed potatoes and green beans. The mashed potatoes had very good flavor, though they were lumpy, and not quite heated all the way through. Green beans were not crisp or fresh tasting, but not bad.

The Broccoli Rabe & Rock Shrimp over pasta had good flavor, and the rock shrimp were of a higher quality than you would typically find in local restaurants. I don’t think they were quite cooked enough though. The pasta was overcooked, and the dish was swimming in way too much olive oil. A deep puddle of leftover olive oil remained, and we would have appreciated the promised refill of our bread basket, which unfortunately was forgotten.

When we first arrived, the front dining room was full of smoke. That happened once again while we were eating. You would not want to be seated in the front when this happens — smoke levels were unhealthy.

Dessert here is nothing special. Overall this place is worth another visit to try some other dishes, experience their high-quality seafood, and see what makes...