La Petite Maison to Berwyn
A new French Bistro named La Petite Maison will be opening the weekend of March 26, 2011 in Berwyn, sharing the space with the Royal Tea House (where Berywn Coffee Co. used to be). The BYOB is the latest project from chef Maurice de Ramus, who’s had stints at Ardmore’s A la Maison, Philly’s Zen and Cherry Hill’s Onasis.
Dinner only, Tues-Sat 5-10pm. Entress are mid-to-upper 20s. 720 Lancaster Ave, Berwyn, 610-450-6133.
Here’s their opening menu (as written):
March 30, 2011 @ 8:59 pm
My husband and I ate here for the first time last Friday evening. The food was great, the setting was intimate and it’s a BYO! Needless to say we’ll be returning.
April 9, 2011 @ 9:03 pm
Went there tonight, and our meal was perfect. Best oysters with mignonette I’ve had in years. The steak frites was absolutely wonderful and the meat cooked perfectly (medium rare for me) from end-to-end. My husband says the onion soup was the best he’s ever had. Our server was very professional and oozed Gallic charm. The chef has that bistro menu nailed! We’ll be back soon, because when the dining crowd finds out how good it is, you won’t be able to get a table. Probably the best restaurant Berwyn has ever had.
April 15, 2011 @ 11:52 pm
My husband and I ate here tonight (4/15/11) and I feel a more comprehensive review is needed, with hopes that the owner/chef will read it and also that any who are considering trying this place for the first time will know what to expect. La Petite Maison is the sister restaurant to A La Maison in Ardmore. We’ve been there a few times and loved it. So we assumed, wrongly so, this restaurant would be on par. The red flag flew even before we parked our car, as we struggled to see where this restaurant was located…I mean, it DOES have a Lancaster Ave address, smack in the middle of Berwyn. You’d think a new local french bistro on the main avenue would be proud enough (and prepared for it’s opening) to display it’s name SOMEWHERE onsite!!! They share the space with The Royal Tea House, and that is all that is displayed, faintly at that. We missed it several times and even when we thought we figured it out, there was not ONE sign on any of 3 doors to let us know we may be in the right place! That’s when we should have left! I mean…come on!! The door that seemed obviously to be the entrance, up a flight of stairs right in front of the restaurant, was locked, and it was quite embarrassing to be fidgeting with the door while other diners (only 4, mind you, on a Friday at 8pm) watched. Then to have to walk in thru the (un-attended) tea shop with no one to greete or lead us, go thru a walkway, to find the “bistro” was, to put it bluntly, just awkward. The place was almost empty (with only one table of diners) and had a very un-appealing “un-ambiance”. Half the pleasure of dining out is ambiance/service…they both set the mood. The food is the cherry on top! You can see where this is going! The “bistro”, a mere half of a tea shop, is a very cramped space. Tiny can be good, if done right. But tiny with bright lights, no candles or flowers on the tables, bare, with empty nails (no pics hangin on them!) and words “THE ROYAL TEA HOUSE” painted on weird orangey colored walls was awful …this was NOT bistro, French, quaint, cozy or enticing. It was bare, unfinished, dull and unappealing. If you are going to be OPEN FOR BUSINESS, then be ready to be what you are…IF you are going to charge the prices that this place is charging (would you believe $36 dollars for Steak Frites????? Most other entrees were around $27, one salad of simply butter lettuce and dressing was a whopping $11!!!) then give the diner a pleasant atmosphere and one that reflects those prices…a clean and crisp and performance-ready dining room. It is NOT ok to charge those higher range prices while chincing on everything else that should support those prices. You can’t fool the smart diner. We have lots of choices…and as wonderful as our meal of steak frites was, we would never entertain coming back here, sitting under bright glaring lights, in a cramped room with unfinished walls,and a barren, lack-luster atmosphere!!! It truly is a shame, because the meal was delicious….but so much else was missing for us, we felt taken! It’s not worth raving about a wonderful piece of meat, when Dinner for two with no dessert, just 2 orders of steak frites, and coffee, was $96 with tip. And it’s a BYO. For that much money, for LESS, actually, we have plenty of reliable, better than average choices and we will choose them. Sorry, Berwyn, this one won’t last.
April 19, 2011 @ 9:54 am
They are in no way related to a la maison in ardmore other than the fact that maurice has previously worked there (like 2 years ago) and ripped off the name.
April 29, 2011 @ 7:06 pm
Thanks for the correction! The server who waited on us (Who also waited on us in Ardmore at A La Maison last year!!) said it was the sister restaurant!!! Go figure!
April 29, 2011 @ 7:09 pm
AND by the way, check out the menu above….the steak frites are NOT $26 anymore. listed as $36 now on the in-house menu because they decided to use filet mignon. Don’t be misled if that’s what you are in the mood for. It’s a steep steep price for steak frites!!!
April 23, 2011 @ 6:56 pm
Faith, you did a good job describing your discomfort with the place. Sounds like it needs some work. I’ll wait awhile before giving it a try.
April 29, 2011 @ 7:01 pm
Good idea! Happy dining around!!!
May 20, 2011 @ 2:55 pm
We were there in April. Food is good, but there is no ambiance. How do you even find this place? Bare walls, no music, throwing a table cloth on the table doesn’t make it a Bistro. We were told by the waiter (french of course) that this is the sister restaurant to A La Maison on Ardmore. Really?? if so, why don’t they put up a sign or mention it on their website. It seems that someone is trying to pull a fast one. There are plenty of other dining options in Berwyn, especially for the same price or cheaper, I would say try them first before you go here.