333 Belrose, Wayne
333 Belrose Ave.
Wayne, PA
(610) 293-1000
Rating: 4 silver spoons out of 5
Overview: 333 Belrose opened in 2000, a fine-dining destination hidden on tiny Belrose road away from Radnor’s busy Lancaster Avenue corridor. For a restaurant in such a concealed location to stay successful for so long (5 years is an eternity in the restaurant business), they must be doing something right. (Hint: It’s the innovative cuisine.)
Food: Inspired, eclectic American cuisine. Executive Chef Carlo deMarco and Chef de Cuisine Andrew Finch take a wide variety of fish and meat dishes and complete them with creative, fulfilling sides and sauces. The flavors that tie together each plate are what propel Belrose’s menu to the ranks of the best in the area.
Although the Zinfandel Glazed Venison was a bit overcooked (medium well as opposed to medium rare), the succulent, truffle-infused demi glace was able to compensate for the slight dryness of the meat. The plate was completed beautifully by an apple cider braised red cabbage and a yam & bacon hash.
The Pan Seared Ahi Tuna, on the other hand, was seared perfectly on the outside and a dazzling pink within. Served in thick slices on a long, thin plate, the overall presentation, with fresh organic wasabi, sweet soy sauce and broccoli-yellow pepper stir-fry, recalled a brilliant sushi dinner.
Ambiance: Belrose dining area is surprisingly large, but is separated into several different smaller rooms. The good news about the restaurant’s size is that it’s rarely difficult to get a table. On the other hand, emptiness can sometimes take away from the experience. Belrose also has a popular bar with outdoor seating in the summer.
Service: Consistent with a quality fine-dining destination, Belrose’s service is exemplary. Waitstaff is courteous and helpful.
Value: Although Belrose is definitely a fine dining experience, it is not outlandishly priced. Entrees all fall in the mid to upper 20s, and there is a nice variety of wine in the $30-40 range. All in all, expect to pay around $60 per person, including tip.
Details:
# of times we’ve eaten there: 3
Reservations: Yes
Bar: Full Bar
Credit Cards
May 24, 2006 @ 12:54 pm
A great place for happy hour. The bar can get very crowded thanks to the many business centers in the area. I would reccomend the bar menu over the dinner menu. The bar menu is slightly cheaper (keep in mind a burger is still $10) but has burgers, nachos, great quesadillas. Crowd is usually slightly older and professionals. On a wamr day, the outisde seating is the best in the area.
January 2, 2011 @ 5:31 pm
The restaurant scene gets OLD…People are tired of the same old thing and these restaurants are exploiting EVERY aspect of dining out.Rolls, lemon water, a big warm smile, packed bar, sports on tv, music some nights etc etc and oh yeah a glass of wine …..$9. And anyone in the restaurant “BUSINESS” gets liquor without tax by buying in bulk out of state. Take away all the glitter and flash- what are you left with- “thick cut” “grilled” pork chop and a bunch of “carbs” and oh yeah if your tired of the same old thing and want maybe a glass of wine- that will be $9, im running a business you know….
January 5, 2011 @ 10:50 am
MIke M… is this a commentary on the restaurant business in general or specific to 333 Belrose?
Outdoor Dining on the Main Line and Western Philadephia Suburbs -- Main Line Restaurant Guide
May 24, 2006 @ 5:05 pm
[…] 333 Belrose, Wayne Another place with creative, excellent cusine. Small patio area is first come, first serve. Full Review […]
November 30, 2006 @ 1:23 pm
Could I just ask why the service is so slow? Food is fabulous–but I loathe having to track down the server for the check.
February 6, 2007 @ 2:07 pm
Love the food and the wine list is excellent. Found the restaurant at http://www.bythezip.com. Print “1/2 price bar menu on wednesday” and other coupons at http://www.bythezip.com/Companies/Website-Client_ID-1000010893-Zip-19355-Header-1440.html.
May 1, 2007 @ 7:07 am
Wanted to try the internet offer of $25 gift ctf for $10
offered on Main Line’s Restaurant Guide via Amazon but
couldn’t obtain. Is it still valid? Please respond.
May 1, 2007 @ 7:12 pm
gift cert link has been updated
May 21, 2007 @ 5:53 pm
I truly like this place, but the last two meals there have been poor. In each case my food was badly over cooked. Burnt. My wife’s meal however was good the last time. Will give them another chance, but buyer beware.
May 22, 2007 @ 6:54 am
I do PR for many area restaurants (including Belrose). And was sorry to hear about your bad experience.
I have to say that 333 Belrose is still one of my favorites. Their crab cake entree is THE BEST in the area. The Java Pork Tenderloin is to die for! And there is no better deal than their 1/2 price bar menu on Mon., Tue., & Wed.
I think you should give them another try 🙂
Check the “Dish” blog to see what restaurant promotions we are working on: http://thelatestdish.wordpress.com/
September 27, 2007 @ 5:11 pm
Have dined there many times and have always been pleased!
Ambiance is excellent. Food is delicious. And the waitstaff
is the best I have ever encountered.
December 1, 2007 @ 6:50 pm
Time after time this gen continues to shine. The menu is fantastic and the food is always perfect. Service occasionally dips but that is to be expected. Would like to see a little more variation in the changing menu. In this place is a ten. Try the Calamari!
February 4, 2008 @ 11:45 am
The food at belrose has always been solid and creative, the service however leaves a something to be desired. I think thay have too many young students working there who just don’t care as much as they should. Either that or they are not trained as well as they could be. One other thing, I wish they would change out the menus when they become dog-eared and/or have wine and beer stains on them.
March 5, 2008 @ 12:02 pm
We ate there last night becasue of we heard some good things about the restaurant. To us it is a poor choice in a restaurant rich area. I can’t believe the above comments about how good the food is; especially the Calamari – it was rubbery and the bread coating was way to thick and gummy. We had the Quesadea and it was doughy and bland. The chicken was done well, juicy and crisp skin, but the mushroom sauce was obviously canned and not freshly made (it had that salty, burnt taste) and the mushrooms were dull, sliced buttons. The meat skewers were OK but the peanut sauce was forgetable. And the wine list, please! A supposed good restaurant with an all American wine list of the usual sanitized, commercialized, mass produced California (with the odd “other” American thrown in) generic wine offerings is unacceptable. There was only one wine on the list under $100 worth drinking (the St. Julian Merlot). Even the over $100 wines were the usual suspects (Silver Oak, etc.). Where are the good value, food friendly Rhone or Italian wines? How about an Australian, Argentinian Malbec, New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc or German wine? Or put some real American gems on the list; not the cheap, let’s mark it up 4 times, swill this place has. Needless to say, there are many better restaurants in the area that are much better values. Though I do hear the bar scene is great.
March 6, 2008 @ 6:37 pm
This site is just a bitch-fest for how horrible everything is on the mainline. Does anybody have any positive experiences. What is amazing is that any restaurants can survive with all this negativity.
March 7, 2008 @ 7:53 am
Mark
Chill – The site is good for many very positive comments as well as comments that point out negative experiences. You need to go to the restaurant reviews as well as the daily comments to appreciate what this site does for the community.
March 11, 2008 @ 11:29 am
I was at Belrose last Saturday night and decided to eat in the bar area. What a great time my friend and I had. The one bartender, Jeff, makes the best cosmos on the Main Line. The other bartender, Julie, picked out a delicious Chardonnay for my friend who is quite the connoisseur. For starters, we had the calamari and arugula salad. The calamari is ridiculously good and you must try the salad. For entrees, I had the Java Pork Tenderloin which was cooked to perfection. My friend had a Striped Bass entree that was out of this world and had an amazing presentation to boot. We skipped dessert but looked at the menus and saw some stuff we will try next time. Above all, the two bartenders made our dining experience extremely enjoyable.
Both Julie and Jeff were unbelievably attentive, accommodating us at every turn of the meal. The dining room
service is just as impeccable but I think we’ll stick to the bar.
March 15, 2008 @ 7:23 pm
We can’t get enough Belrose. Every time we go the one constant is the food. There are occasionally dips in the service level, however, the food is always spot on. The changing menu is a tribute to quality of cooking. I hope Belrose becomes one of your favorites!!!!!
April 14, 2008 @ 6:27 pm
Had dinner at Belrose Friday. The food was fantastic and service was good. The food was so fresh and carefully prepared. I love this place. I hope they continue to pay attention to the small details. It makes this place feel like home!
September 14, 2008 @ 5:51 pm
My wife and I and friends have been to 333 Bellrose for many meals, especially at the bar, with the great Michael Shea at the bar.
Mike is the best bartender on the Main Line in my opinion.
If you want to enjoy your time out, head to 333 Belrose for happy hour, and stay for dinner.
February 1, 2009 @ 2:26 pm
The food and service are fantastic! You can taste the passion in the food. Draft beer selection was good, and Stella was a great choice with our meal. The only complaint is we can’t get there more often, as the menu is a bit overpriced.
October 30, 2009 @ 6:39 am
This was the 5th time we ate in the restaurant over the last 2 years…it will be the last…sit at the bar…the food comes out faster and its easier to get a drink. We were a table of 10 and were seated within a few minutes. We ordered a round of drinks and they took about 15 minutes…our orders were taken and the food came out in a timely manner. Butternut squash soup was way too sweet and the quesadillas were fair at best…we had one order for the tale and sent some back. the calamari was good however.
i had the venison (dry and overdone) and the yukon hash was just awful My wife had the rockfish(?) it was a special… (tasteless and squishy)…neither of us finished our meals. Others had pork tenderloin and said it was overdone (this a signature dish i guess). When the meals were coming out we ordered another bottle of white…most were done with their meals before it came out.
the outside seating is a better place just because you are outside, and so is the bar (and their bar specials are better). it’s just not worth the price to sit inside the restaurant…it’s loud and the food just isn’t worth the price…oh, and there was no clarity on the bill if the 18% was added to a party of 6 or more…we had to inquire and by that point, 4 of the 5 checks had already included another tip!
December 24, 2009 @ 3:41 pm
Have eaten here couple of times. Food is good, but the whole deal is a bit overpriced.
Don’t understand why these self-styled “upscale” restaurants have to rip off their customers on wine–here the cheapest glass is $9, which I’m sure costs them at least 50 cents.
I understand they have to make a living, but I refuse to patronize restaurants with unreasonable prices like these.
March 13, 2010 @ 7:01 pm
al…….glass of wine can’t cost 50cents……move into the correct millennium…..if a bottle is $20 at the state store and it pours 6 glasses than the COST(of the beverage itself..not to mention taxes, rent, electric, salaries etc etc)is=$3.34. The bottom line is if you cannot afford to go out(and there is nothing wrong with that) stay home. Restaurants have to turn a profit to stay open. Generally there is very little money in food, most of your markups are in booze. Another thought…don’t drink! Cheaper.
March 13, 2010 @ 7:30 pm
Just out of curiosity, I went to Belrose’s website and looked up the first wine that cost $9 a glass on the menu – the Calina Reserve Chard, and it actually costs about $8 a bottle at retail. If you factor in the volume and wholesale discount that I’m sure they get, 50 cents is not far off.
In general most restaurant charge outlandish prices for wine by the glass, which is why I try to go with either bottles or beers. There’s rarely any value in single glass wine purchases.
March 14, 2010 @ 7:01 am
I don’t disagree with the lack of value in wine at restaurants. But, you all should have your facts straight before assuming that a restaurant is “ripping” you off.
1st – a bottle of Calina Reserve Chardonnay is $12.19.
2nd – We get a 10% discount and then pay 6% sales tax.
3rd – You only get (4.23) six ounce pours from a 750ml bottle.
So their cost is $2.76 per glass.
Wine is a lose-lose for the consumer and restaurateur.
Stick with craft beer…it’s a good value for both.
That’s my very biased opinion.
Cheers!
March 14, 2010 @ 8:40 am
Though I don’t doubt the validity of the quoted price through the PLCB, that is a real shame since this is an $8 bottle of wine. See here: http://www.klwines.com/detail.asp?sku=1045107
Also, TJ, do you make $6.25 markup on any beers? Since most of your beers cost less than that, I doubt that you make that much regularly.
March 15, 2010 @ 6:25 am
Unfortunately, as a licensee, we are required to buy all of our wine and spirits through the State Store system. So we must pay the price the PLCB dictates minus the nominal discount. Which, as your link shows, is significantly higher than out of state pricing.
Almost all of the beers we sell we make far less than $6.25 profit. There are some very expensive 750ml bottles of beer that we make more than $6.25 on, but that’s for the entire bottle.
However, in terms of margin, 333 Belrose has a 30% cost of goods sold on each glass of Calina they’re selling. Or 70% gross profit margin. Almost all of our bottles or draft pours, while having significantly less dollar profit, have a 24% cost of goods sold or 76% gross profit margin.
Successful restaurants tend to have a net profit of 10-18%. That’s with 28-32% cost of goods sold. If 333 Belrose and other wine centered restaurants worked on the same “dollar margin” as we do with beer, their cost of goods sold would be well over 40%. You’re talking about taking away more than half, if not all, of their of their net profit. As a 26-year veteran of the restaurant business I know, without a doubt, that any restaurant working with 40% cost of goods sold will not survive long.
Hence my assertion that beer is a better buy all around for the guest and the restaurant. The guests have less out pocket expense while the restaurant has a higher profit margin and higher net profit.
June 28, 2011 @ 9:27 am
Saturday was my birthday and I chose 333 Belrose because I remembered it to be a more updated menu than some of the other choices my daughter suggested. My salad (bibb lettuce with apple, walnuts,etc.)was yummy. The entrees were excellent: salmon, pork tenderloin and the grouper. However, I was underwhelmed with the calamari (chewy and garlicky dip. My cosmopolitan was so tasty and refreshing that I ordered another one rather than a glass of wine with my entree. Big mistake! It was over cranberried and missing something. I should have sent it back but always worry that someone is going to do something to the drink because I did so. While everything came to the table in a fairly timely manner, the waiter gave you the feeling that he was just going through the motions. When I asked for more coffee he came by with and set an additional mug on the table instead of checking to see if anyone else wanted more coffee. Overall it was a pleasant experience and I would certainly go back again but I hope that the owner(s)will spend some time with the wait staff to get them to be just slightly more pleasantly attentive.