Sonny, my cousin Rashaad and I popped in to visit the recently opened PM Bistro & Lounge on July 11, 2013 on a whim. By the time we visited, this place had only been in business for maybe 3 weeks and already I believe it’s a hit. If you’re familiar with Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, you’re probably familiar with the location of this lounge that sits right on the edge of the Reservoir Park, formerly operated as the Parkside Cafe. And now we have it, totally (and beautifully) renovated as the PM Bistro & Lounge, owned and operated by two couples of the Harrisburg area.

Off the top, this place touts itself as an upscale lounge, complete with proper dress code and over-35 age limit. Basically, no shenanigans allowed whatsoever, and I totally appreciate that. People in our age group and above have been waiting for a long time for a nice place to go and unwind, away from the younger, less-seasoned crowd. And here it is. Thank goodness.

During the 4th of July week/weekend (while we were on family vacation in SC), I saw lots of posts in my timeline from friends of mine who had visited the Bistro and every comment in regard to the food, the service, the atmosphere, music and overall experience were all complimentary. Sonny and I agreed that we had to try it out as soon as we had the time, once we returned to Harrisburg. So we did… 🙂

“Later for the leftovers, let’s go out! LOL!”: As I stated earlier, this venue is right outside the Reservoir Park, which rings bells in my mind to remind me that parking may be iffy at times. Parking in that area always was tricky from time to time, depending on what was going on. So with that being said, when we arrived, finding a parking spot in the row on the side of the building was a little difficult.

So we parked and entered the building through the tinted-glass revolving door, and nearby on the right was the outdoor seating area with palm trees and outdoor dining tables. It was a nice night for outdoor seating, but Sonny insisted that we eat inside. I was ok with that. Rashaad didn’t care either way. LOL!

When we reached the host station, we were greeted by the host for the evening… I’m not sure if it’s the usual since this was our first visit, but the host station was very dark. There was no light over the host. However, I didn’t look up to see if there had been a light fixture or not. Either way, seeing him was a bit difficult for the time of day, as it was around 8:00 in the evening and the sun was setting.

Our host greeted us and walked us to our seats. On my way to be seated, in my usual fashion, I glanced around the room to take in as much as I could, quickly. By this time so far, I liked what I saw. Patrons seated, having wine and dinner, dressed in either business attire or casual with class. Some were couples, some were friends (or perhaps relatives) getting together. All looked to be the type to fit the venue. The interior of the building has been totally gutted and rebuilt, equipped with beautiful peach and other earth-toned wall colors, flooring, seating, lighting, doors and decor – including live orchids as centerpiece accents on each table. I was enjoying it more by the minute.

Immediately after we were seated, we were greeted by our server, Amy, who was bubbly and friendly, and able to keep up with the sense of humor at our table, which is remarkable. We are people who like to have fun, to say the least. LOL Anyway, she took our drink orders and gave us time to read over the menus. To be a new restaurant, and a bistro at that, I felt like the menu was full of choices. Normally, a bistro’s menu is very limited. This one seems to expand a bit, which is good.

For my drink, I ordered a Bistro Breeze Sangria, in “white”…which was actually peach in color. It arrived in a large (burgundy style) wine glass, and was pretty tasty. At $10 a glass, I had to enjoy it…even enough to order another one. There was only one slight minus here – it didn’t have ice in it. (I like my sangria very cold) I probably should have asked for some ice to put in it myself. But beside that, I loved the flavor. 🙂

For an appetizer, Sonny and I had the Thai Bang Chicken, which were small bites of chicken with a spicy Thai sauce. And for dinner, I ordered the grilled salmon with roasted potatoes and green beans, which were all delicious! The grilled salmon was perfect; very flavorful with a little bit of grilled “crunch” on the outside but nice and tender on the inside. The green beans were not the canned version; these were fresh, French green beans, prepared al dente. And the potatoes were seasoned and roasted nicely. I rarely ever finish my whole plate of food when I dine out, but I ate pretty much all of what I ordered. It was that good.

Rashaad had the chicken & waffles for an appetizer and for dinner, also had the grilled salmon, but paired his with baked macaroni & cheese and asparagus. Sonny had the crab stuffed chicken with garlic mashed potatoes and asparagus. I tasted everything (small bites, of course 😀 ) and enjoyed it all! LOL!

While we were eating, Amy was attentive enough to keep constant check on us without being overbearing. Which was nice. And what was twice as nice was the fact that the head chef, Frank, came out to meet and greet our table personally. He took extra care to make sure our food presentation was picture-perfect and that we enjoyed our dinner there. I must say, Frank really did out-do himself. Not only did Frank come out to meet us; we were also greeted by two of the establishment owners, Chuck and Quinn.

The PM Bistro is owned and staffed by some really great people. The atmosphere is warm and inviting and the food in my opinion is awesome. I was impressed with pretty much everything and our experience here overall was enjoyable, even with it being so new and still in the process of being tweaked. I highly recommend that you go on and check this place out and see what you think. I bet you’ll enjoy it too. 🙂

– Alonda