Restaurant Review: The Grog

Restaurant:

Address: 863 W. Lancaster Ave., Bryn Mawr, PA 19010
Rating: (out of 5 stars): ★★★
Style: Neighborhood bar and restaurant
Food: A step up from typical bar food with pasta and seafood options on the menu.
Atmosphere: Lively neighborhood bar
Parking: Metered street parking
Service: Casual and friendly
Price Range: Moderate
Unique Feature: This place has a decent beer selection, upstairs dining area and drink specials.

always seems to be a local hangout of the numerous college kids on the Main Line. While it attracts a more tame crowd than say, Brownies 23 East, it is not without its own level of craziness depending on the time of day. We set out for an early dinner on a Friday night (to avoid the droves). As it was raining outside and barely 7 o’clock, the place was fairly empty.

We opted to dine upstairs (again, more subdued) and were seated next to a table of two kids, one adult and one pre-adult. This coupled with the available kids' menu and elevated menu options indicate that The Grog is striving to be more than just a neighborhood bar for co-eds.

We began with calamari and onion rings (everything tastes better fried…) and a nice selection of beverages. We had Heineken, Magic Hat #9 and Strongbow cider. While most are familiar with Heineken, I encourage you to try Magic Hat or Strongbow cider. The apricot essence in Magic Hat adds to the flavor of the beer and there is nothing quite as refreshing and autumnal as an apple cider. The calamari were tender and succulent. The batter was light and not cloying. The marinara sauce was bright and flavorful. The onion rings tasted like regular onion rings, but I will mention that the ratio of batter to onion was very good and I didn’t feel like all I was eating was fried onion skin.

For our entrees we had the chicken parmesan with fries, fish and chips and salmon entrée with honey ginger glaze and vegetables. The chicken parm was a fair rendition of the Italian staple, the cheese melted nicely and the same delicious marinara sauce appeared. The fries were crisp and delicious.

The fish and chips was excellent. The exterior coating was wonderfully crisp and you could hear each bite. The moist fish inside was full of flavor and not remotely fishy tasting. The tartar sauce provided a cool and creamy richness to each golden fried bite.

The salmon was a touch overcooked but still enjoyable. Also delicious were the abundant vegetables that were nicely seasoned and skillfully cooked. My only complaint was that the honey ginger glaze was quite viscous and sticky as though it were really just honey poured onto the plate. Regardless, it was a pleasure to enjoy a nice fish entrée that wasn’t fish and chips at a bar/restaurant. The side salad that came with the salmon was also fresh and tasty. I couldn’t eat too much of it, but it was still good the next day.

The service is very good at The Grog. Our server was accommodating, friendly and energetic. We never had to wait long for any of our food and her recommendations were spot on. She was patient, unassuming and exceeded our expectations. We were having a great time at dinner until some event let out and a bunch of rowdy kids in formal wear ascended the stairs and began shouting at each other and blaring music from the loudspeakers. It wasn’t quite our scene and luckily we were quite full and content to be on our way.