Reviews for Avola Kitchen + Bar in Malvern, PA
We usually love this place. We always sit in the bar area. The pizza is always great. Lately the pasta hasn't been as good as it... usually is and the drinks are so bad that we can't finish them and usually just stick to beer. Luckily they have decent beers tochoose from (when they aren't out). I'm hoping they are just working through some kinks with staffing and it gets back to beinga great spot... Read more
Service is was less than good and food was bland. Don’t recommend to have an event here, they aren’t prepared for large... parties. Brought out 10 meatballs for a table of 12. The drinks were flat and when made aware of issue they never offered otherdrinks or asked what we wanted to replace them. All in all was a bad experience for the guest we were hosting. Read more
Absolutely wonderful! We did not plan our evening at Avola. We happen to stop there looking for something new as we have dined... at many of the other restaurants along the Main Line. Every single part of this dining experience seem to have been more andmore perfect. From the moment we sat down I immediately observed how comfortable the padded seats were. The lighting andgeneral ambience of the room was very warm and relaxing. Even the gorgeous Lenox silverware was beautifully weighted and clearlyhigh end. The food was absolutely delightful. It was well prepared and breathtakingly delicious. But the true gem of our eveningwas our outstanding server Madelena. My wife and I enjoy dining out more nights a week then we probably should. It’s not oftenwe encounter a server with such an excellent disposition for making you feel welcomed and tended to us with 5 star customerservice all evening. Madelena seemed familiar and very comfortable answering every question we had about meals and other itemson the menu including details on how they are prepared. She made fantastic appetizer and dessert recommendations based on whatshe hears her past guest enjoyed most. Her pleasant sense of service was not directed solely at us. We could hear her addressingguest at other tables in the very same manner. I hope the management team is aware of how much this young server brings to thedining experience at an already amazing restaurant. If you’re looking for a fantastic restaurant for a nice evening with greatseating, impressive lighting, wonderful food, amazing drinks and desserts, try Avola like we did. Maybe you’ll get super luckyand have Madelena as you server. Read more
This was a hard restaurant to rate. The positives: excellent food! We ordered the grilled octopus appetizer and the shrimp... ceviche. The octopus was seasoned well and cooked perfectly. A real treat that is not on many menus in this area. The cevichewas a little thin. The Avocado should have been thicker versus kind of runny. My wife and I each ordered a wood fired pizza.They were the best wood fired (not NY style) pizzas we have had in years! We both ate more than we intended to because we had ahard time stopping. The drinks were good and while I don't drink alcohol, they made me a virgin version of one of theirspecialty cocktails and only charged half of the loaded version. Nice to see. Now the negatives. The service was terrible. Wewere seated quickly and given paper menus that were both dirty and torn. The restaurant only had a few seatings but there were 3empty tables with dirty dishes still on them. One of our water glasses was dirty too and had to be replaced. The drinks wereslow to come out. The appetizers came out on time but we still hadn't ordered our mains yet and had to ask to do so. After thatwe didn't see our server again and had to ask a busser for new side plates and water. Our food was brought by some other staff.During all the time we were waiting and eating there was a group of 3 servers standing by the bar talking. The WHOLE TIME! Whilethis was going on, one busser was working his tail off clearing and cleaning tables, bringing us water and doing what our servershould have been doing. Even some of the other servers noted how hard he was working while they were slacking off. We didn'tblame our server either because she was in a leg cast and had multiple tables assigned to her. Before we left we asked thebussers name. It was Drew. I hope his management is reading this as he was an amazing and caring worker. The bottom line: thisplace is pretty loud inside, especially when there is live music. The service is terrible, but the food is a Read more
Avola almost had a full 5 stars from me. Walking into Avola it feels almost out of place for the small shopping center it’s... in. The staff is very polite and help with recommendations, and the service was prompt. The steak I ordered was cookedperfectly, the black rice vinaigrette was a bit strong but delightful. I pretty sure I could taste truffle on the frettis whichhelped elevate the flavor. Most of the two tops are unfortunately push up against the wall to make room for larger parties butthe outdoor seating does look romantic. If I enjoyed myself so thoroughly why only 4 stars? They engage in a slightly deceptivepractice that I unfortunately fell victim to. When you sit down you are immediately greeted by someone that asks you“sparkling or still or tap water”, no mention of any cost. I would never expect to pay for any water offered sparkling ornot at the beginning of a meal but on top of that I have an auditory processing disorder so I heard it as “sparkling or stilltap water”, I said still. I was a bit surprised when they brought a bottle out with water but didn’t really think twiceabout it till my bill came. I was charged $7 for my water. Unfortunately where I had been ready to sing the praises of Avola, a$7 water has left a sour taste. Read more
It was SO LOUD! It was so hard to communicate with even the one sitting next to you. So so so loud music. I think if you are... finding a place to enjoy talking to your people, this isn’t the place you are looking for. I think I was yelling the entiretime there. Their food was decent. All the food was tasty starting from appetizers. We got cheese board, meatball, mushroomtoast etc. MUSHROOM TOAST is a must get! So good! I am going to try making it at home too. Their black ink shrimp scampi wasdifferent from what I expected but it’s spiciness and red sauce was very good. Some might think it’s too spicy. Their drinkselection was POOR. So many things were unavailable or they did not carry it. Parking was okay. Service was nice. They missplaced the entrée for one person. Read more
Very good dining experience! Nice decor inside and a pleasant outdoor dining space as well. Nice wine/beer/drink selection. Menu... is a little on the small side but well done. Everything we had was delicious! Portions were large too. Service was friendly andoutstanding. Good vibes. Read more
Went here for a rehearsal dinner! The service might have been the worst I’ve experienced! My drinks would sit empty on the... table for 15 minutes without a server in sight! If they were insight the were on their phones. Also when the bride went tomentioned the issue about the service, the manager was so confrontational that I had to call the groom over to get involved. Iwould suggest not to give this place any of your hard earned money! We had a much better experience at Pjs down the street! Read more