Parlor Suburban Square

Just back — again — from Happy Hour /​Dinner and it was better than ever.
The ambience is open, modern, and not loud or cramped — whether you choose the bar, bar booths, open tables in the dining room or banquettes. It is fun to see the Operational Pizza oven at the back of the restaurant, but don’t be misled — there are many other food options.
Their Happy Hour is extremely good — great inexpensive wines, tasty wings, sliders, Brussel sprouts, and a new offering — very lightly tempura battered cauliflower (delicious)! The pita bread is excellent — warm and fresh from the oven. They also feature salads (try their Cici salad), as well as burgers, pasta etc. — all served in a prompt but unhurried manor. The pizzas are very good — and they will accommodate your requests. (We like our pizza fairly crisp with a thin crust).
A special jewel is Melissa, the manager. She is extremely personable and sets the tone to insure that all customers have a truly superior dining experience. Kudos to Melissa!
There is a diversity of people dining, depending on the time of day. Business people, chic professionals meeting after work, families dining early with their young, sports lovers watching the bar TVs, and trendy couples just enjoying a great meal together.
Now that the weather is warmer, we can’t wait until the outside patio opens! There is also a Sunday Brunch.

We want to love this place. Its close to our house and definitely kid friendly, but the food is just so so and well the sauce for the kids spaghetti (which should be easy and simple) was awful. May be worth getting some jars of Villa di Roma sauce and trying that. The pizza is fine, but not as good as that at downtown favorites Nomad and Zavino. Perhaps the chef should check in there. The secret kids cheese pizza is a deal (the table next to us had that) and my daughter was jealous.
Overall, I really hope this place improves. We want it to become a go to as I am guessing many in the neighborhood would want it to be too!
With Zavino opening in Bryn Mawr improvement needs to come quick.

Extremely rude and nasty manager that could not be more unaccommodating. I was turned off from the restaurant before we even sat down. They were out of gluten free pizza crust and the wine we wanted. Cheese plate was disappointing

This place is great if you love soggy pizza, brown lettuce and service that is both rude and slow. Hurry in to over spend for a plate of mush and attitude! I’m sure I’m another 2 months ownership will fire all the staff– again and change formats– again.

We should have known that we were in for a rough ride when no one greeted us upon arrival tonight. We were in the neighborhood to go to another restaurant nearby that was packed, so we decided to try the Parlor.
On the plus side the restaurant seems quite clean and well lit. The place was only about one third full at 8 PM on a Friday night. Our server was pleasant and recommended the crab cake special. We got that, calamari, an appetizer portion of spaghetti with shrimp and a Margherita pizza.
Pizza came out first. It was very salty. Overall it was nothing special, so we held out hope for the other dishes.
Next to arrive was the crab cake. It appeared to be rather darkly cooked and pretty full of filler. Again, nothing special, and certainly did not exceed expectations.
Then the calamari arrived. Plastic shower curtain rings would have been tastier. They were tough and bland. Inedible.
Finally, the appetizer portion of spaghetti came, looking quite unappealing in a watery gray beige sauce. The taste was unlike anything we’ve ever had, and not in a good way.
The server came over to check on us and we told her that the whole thing was quite disappointing but to please just pack everything up and give us the check. Instead, she went to talk to the manager, who came over. I asked for the check again and she told me we wouldn’t be charged for the meal. That was kind, but unnecessary. We left a nice tip on the table. As I write this, there are ominous gurgling sounds issuing from my abdomen. Is this the punishment for eating seafood on Shabbat?
We will not return to this restaurant and do not recommend it. I’d rather have paid for the dinner than gotten comped in what appeared to be a last ditch effort to win my good graces and avoid a lousy Unilocal review.

Another place we love in Suburban square. Love their salad. Fun place to be with out door singing.

I can’t speak to the restaurant or service as I’ve only had delivery.
The pizza is fair, but entrees and apps are very good and dare I say center city quality. We are sorely missing real food options in the burbs, but Parlor’s grilled wings, roasted veggies and pizza oven fired chicken are really solid options.

I didn’t mean to cause a ruckus in the kitchen, but after the Brussels Sprouts, Roasted Cauliflower, Beets and Bibb Salad, and my first taste of the Short Ribs, I had only one word in response to the «How is your food» question, and I can’t repeat it here, but our server told the chef and he came out to see us. Then I tried my husband’s Pink Papparelle with Lump Crab meat and knew that the chef last night had given us a perfect Valentine’s Day dinner. We were honored to discuss the fine points of gremolata with the chef on a night when the kitchen was spot on! Dessert was fabulous as well… how we managed to pack it away, I’ll never know. We had great service from Victoria. See you all again as soon as possible!

Delicious handcrafted food!
Pizza is pricey for it’s size – but it is homemade and good!
Limited menu.
Service was excellent/​
Parlor hamburger was delicious and cooked just as ordered. Fries were hot, fresh and good.
The restaurant might want to try having an expanded Sunday brunch menu which may attract more customers to this lovely setting in Suburban Square.
Restaurant is hard to find inside the Suburban Square complex – put more signs out!

Excellent food, great service, very hip interior, good location. The pizza is very good, we also had the pub burger which was excellent.
Only two negatives:
1) menu is pricey ($ 12 to 18 for a personal pizza, 15 for a burger, 8 bucks for a draft beer) we had the
coupon and it made it much better. Pick up the coupon if you’re going.
2)theres no signs anywhere for what the place is called. They need a chalkboard on the street with like an arrow that says «parlor this way», maybe some signs further up the block. It doesn’t even look like a restaurant on the outside.
Other than those two things, we had a pretty perfect lunch. We will be back!

Hopefully the business picks up here because I went on a Sunday for lunch and was the only person in the restaurant until my friend showed up. Other than the awkward arrival, the food was pretty good. Roasted Brussel sprouts are really good with the delicious balsamic glaze and pine nuts. The Caesar salad was suuuuuuper good. Good size portion and the green goddess dressing was right up my alley. I got it with shrimp and those shrimp were also very tasty! My friend got the Sasquatch pizza and I tried a slice. Very good also.

This is a refresh of the previous restaurant that was here that was a pretty forgettable gastro pub. They physically opened the restaurant up so it flows better than the previous space. It now serves pizza and other Italian dishes. First impressions, good service, pleasant upscale family dining. Food is pretty average with some odd combinations. For example, they used Pecorino cheese and odd croutons which were crunchy but had caraway seeds on them for my salad. Weird. The dressing was bitter too. I know they put lemon juice in it, good, but after taste was bitter, bad! They should be using a good, not cheap, Parmesan on the salad.
My meatballs with herbs were suppose to be over spaghetti but came over fusilli. Totally different texture. The meatball had a nice herb flavor but their texture was like sawdust. Their portions are huge but this place is pretty expensive. Summary, good for families, if you are hungry great portions. Convenient if you are shopping at Suburban Square. Pretty average for suburban dining. Suggestion to improve, they need to pay more attention to their food. Didn’t try their pizza which gets great reviews!

Only thing decent about my visit this afternoon was the salad I had ordered. After immediately walking in, all staff made eye contact, including the manager, and dos nothing to acknowledge. It wasn’t a long wait but it was long enough after seeing the restaurant only had 6 – 8 seated guests in the whole establishment.
The pizza and calamari had very little flavor and was not worth the time and money spent. I couldn’t even finish the calamari because it came out lukewarm and the quality was horrendous. Good squid is to never be chewy and rubber like like what I had today, and the whole flavor combination with bland marinara accentuated the terrible flavor of the calamari itself. The pizza was another disappointment because of the huge chunks of pancetta that was inconvenient to eat along with the slices. For anyone to really think this place has «good pizza» is mediocre and has never had quality food in their lives. Sorry but you must be somewhat diverse before writing generic reviews of their food here.
The server was incredibly sweet but unfortunately does not know when to check in with guests after 2 bites of eating and not after the whole order is out midway. So I couldn’t even bring it to her attention right away with my issue on the calamari.
Will not be returning considering there are plenty of restaurants that serve pizza and calamari on their menu in better quality.

Fun menu and Very good food with a nice atmosphere.
We had some friends in town with their little one so we decided to sit outside and enjoy some pizza, our kids are both 2 so what kids don’t like pizza?!! We ordered a cheese pie for them to share and they mowed it down! Eating half of this pizza is enough for me and these 2 killed theirs and were asking for more!
We ordered some Caesar salads as well which had a nice flavor and not too much dressing which is great! The dressing had a nice zing to it. We also ordered 2 pizzas to share and the sasquash and BeastMode were it. The butternut squash with honey drizzle was a really fun departure from the norm on pizza and they pulled it off great however the BeastMode with all the Italian meats won our hearts so much that we ordered another to eat after we got home late that night!
Service was attentive and friendly and even though it was a mid afternoon everyone was super attentive and accommodating of our little ones, which we greatly appreciate!

Other than the cost, this is a decent, well-​managed and fun place to eat.
My kids ordered the chorizo-​stuffed dates as an appetizer and then the Stretch Armstrong pizzas for dinner. Both were excellent, especially the pizza.
I had the broiled half chicken with broccolini – which was also nicely cooked and presented.
The bill was a little pricey, so we’re not going to be running back to eat here every week. Too bad too, because if they were willing to price the entrees a little more reasonably, I think this place would be jam packed, and not just half-​empty on a weeknight.
Anyway, great food and service, if you don’t mind the prices that are a little «aggressive».

Great outdoor seating and live jazz music on a comfortable Thursday evening. Our waitress was very attentive and did not rush us, even as we sat until the sun set. We enjoyed all of our food and will return again. Nice option to order pastas in a half portion. Cocktails looked tasty although we did not have any. Pizza was great; tons of prosciutto on the Sasquatch.

Parlor gets 4 stars because of the manager, Melissa.
We were famished from a day of kayaking, and when we arrived, very, very hungry. We ordered the Caesar salad, with chicken, which was hearty, flavorful and one of the best caesar’s I have had in recent memory.
Next, we were served out margherita pizza, with mushrooms and pepperoni. It came out underwhelming, to say the least. It was a very thin (thinnest crust I’ve seen, maybe… ever?) that was very runny, and all of the toppings just fell off of the slice when picked up. Picture taking the letter «L», and flipping that upside down… that’s the form that our pizza took when picked up by the slice.
I am not one to send an item back, as I always think about how hard the staff works, and how generally speaking, underpaid the industry workers are. However, I had to send this pizza back. So when the waitress arrived (very friendly and professional — wished I had gotten her name) to ask us how dinner was, I was pretty frank with my instant assessment.
Two minutes later, Melissa was out, explaining how the pizza was made, and taking full ownership for the particular quality of the pizza. She then removed our pizza from the bill, and brought us another one — to try and take home — to attempt to win us back. THAT in itself, made me want to dine there again. She also advised that if I preferred a thicker slice, that the «Beastmode» pie may be a good choice.
Pizza on the second attempt was better.
Thanks, Melissa (and staff), for taking pride in your work, and winning a hard to please patron over with the attitude of the restaurant.

Here’s a common mantra: «I’ll go back to a restaurant with bad food if there’s good service, but I won’t consider returning to a restaurant with great food if I’ve had bad service.»
This describes Parlor pretty well.
I was apprehensive about trying this place given that it’s owned by the same guy as The Saint James was. I also don’t care much for restaurants that bill themselves as «family friendly» and seat children in the bar area (side note — is that even legal?).
I came during happy hour on a nice day, sat outside, and figured I’d try the food at a discount. The place was somewhat crowded. People were waiting for seats, but there were a good number of empty tables indoors and out.
$ 5 Stella’s isn’t really a great happy hour deal.
I’d go back for the pizza. .. but only during happy hour. It’s good, but not $ 15+ good.
The hostess and server were clueless. It was obvious that they either had no training or were trained poorly. A hostess should be able to answer a simple question about the menu. A server should know that you’re ready for your check when your plates are stacked, your credit card has been waiting on the table, and one member of your party has left because it was taking too long. I almost went inside to request the bill because I was so annoyed by the complete lack of urgency.
I hope this place gets it together as I don’t want to see yet another vacancy in Suburban Square. Unfortunately, I doubt Parlor will last much longer considering the bad service and eight million other better /​less expensive pizza options in the area. Not the same sit down vibe, but Snap, Felicia’s, and Jules are all within a quarter mile and have similar quality pizza at a fraction of the price — plus they’re BYOB. Not Your Average Joe’s (right across the street) also serves pizza and their service is fabulous. And Anthony’s Coalfire will be opening in the Wynnewood shopping center soon.

We love this place. Great pizzas and salads. The cici salad great. Love the service and outdoor seating is wonderful. Good for kids. A must try for the area. My son loves the pizza. I hope they deliver one day.
Don’t miss it.

Food was average, nothing special. No better than any other of your favorite pizzeria.
So why pay high price for slow service and a waiter who just does not get it?
So many other better choices. I will not return.