3 /5
Rating
★
★
★
Ristorante Castello on Skippack Pike in Blue Bell, is a beautifully imagined high ceiling exposed beam house with live entertainment, nice bar, good service, focusing on Italian cuisine. We were there for an office dinner celebrating a good year with great people, including our plus-1s. The first hour was appetizers and drinks. Bruschetta and Calamari Fritti graced our tables as we interacted and got comfortable. The apps were good and an auspicious beginning. The second hour was a sit down dinner from a limited menu selected in advance. Service was timely and unobtrusive. Drinks refilled quickly. My Padron Margarita on the Rocks, no salt, hit the right tone throughout the evening. I chose the Chicken Marsala and Caesar Salad. My table mates went with the Eggplant Parmigiana. I was a little disappointed with dinner. Maybe because we were a lot of people, but the meal felt more like mass produced banquet fare, rather than individually panned and plated high quality cheffing. My chicken was over cooked and dry. The mushrooms were small portobellos(? with strong flavor and some toughness. The Marsala wine reduction poured over everything was thicker than it should have been like it had simmered down too long. My neighbors weren 't enthused with their eggplant either. I inquired, and was told that although thin sliced, some of it was tough, and not edible. Apparently, although baked, it was not lightly breaded, nor panned in olive oil for more softness and enhanced taste. There was no breading either, although that was not unusual. They just didn 't eat much of it. On the upside, that left more room for dessert, which in this case were small cannoli and double expressos (without lemon peel . No complaints there. No need to hurry back, although apres-work cocktails would be nice.