Margot BYOB

closed. now gemelli

Margot BYOB is the kind of place I wish I could find more often in the midst of NYC. It’s adorable, spacious, and very homey. The atmosphere with the exposed brick and colored walls is warm and lovely. The food is in absolute line with that atmosphere: homey, exquisitely prepared, and rich. I don’t normally like pie, but the pecan surprise was amazing. And the wild salmon I had as my entrée was delicious, served with a parsnip purée. The accompanying broccoli was well-​prepared if a little boring as a vegetable of the day. The goat cheese salad I shared with a friend was perfect, and pre-​split for us, which was really appreciated.
Also, the BYOB option is lovely– it allows the wine cost to be considerably lesser, and makes the overall experience quite the value. In leaving Margot BYOB, I was definitely not ready for my snowy weekend on the Philadelphia Main Line to be over.

A cozy place with very good food. Can be a little loud when it’s full. Reservations are a good idea on Fri and Sat nites ’cause it’s not too big. One of my favorites, although it’s not inexpensive. Try the smoked gouda meatloaf.

I wanted really badly to love this place– for it to be my new favorite neighborhood restaurant that me n the man could walk to with a bottle on a lazy summer night. I suppose we still could if we loved it that much to pay the prices we paid for small portions and frankly, average food.
Yes, I said it– average food. Here’s why:
I had a salmon platter– came with green beans which were very good and couscous which was oversalted and buttered and I couldn’t eat. The salmon was a half piece from the tail, over cooked, tough and chewy on top, fishy on the bottom. But there was so little of it, it didn’t matter. The Greek salad i had first was almost completely lettuce with a few chickpeas and radishes thrown in. My dinner was $ 23.00 for the platter and $ 9.00 for the salad.
Yup.
My man, the vegetarian, wanted to get some of the several choices of veggie sides as his main course– unfortunately, the starch choices he wanted were made with chicken stock. So he settled for coconut sticky rice which he liked, green beans and bok choy, which I felt again, was salty, salty, salty.
The service, I will say, was wondeful. Our waitress was attentive properly and helpful and quickly opened out bottle without having to wait or ask.
As the place is small (it’s in the middle of several rowhomes on a residential block) the kitchen is front and center and kinda ugly, industrial looking. It gave me the creeps sort of– the dude in the kitchen looked really young and at one point he ran to the sink to dump something hot. Shouldn’t this be someplace else? It feels like I’m sitting in someone’s living room and watching dad make dinner in the kitchen.
My real problem with the place was the prices vs the amount and quality of the food. That was disappointing.

One of the hidden gems on the Main Line, Margot BYOB got just about everything right on a recent visit. Margot BYOB is tucked away in the quiet residential section of Narberth off Montgomery Avenue, across the street from Caviston’s. It’s gotten very good reviews elsewhere and I certainly agree with the critics/​food writers on this one.
The cozy interior felt like a warm home, with dark wood, exposed brick, colorful walls, large windows and a small sit-​and-​eat bar in front of the open kitchen. (There’s also outdoor space for the warmer months.)
Service was great, as were my warm goat cheese salad and crispy duck with pureed sweet potatoes and baby bok choy. The duck was crispy, moist and not greasy, with just the right amount of gravy. I also enjoyed a bit of my friend’s grilled shrimp and chorizo in spicy tomato garlic sauce. It all went very well with a bottle of shiraz.
Margot BYOB isn’t a very big place, so reservations are a wise move. It’s also not a place to linger long after your meal. (You might walk around the block for a drink at the Penn Valley Pub.) But it’s definitely a place you’ll want to revisit. Highly recommended.