Review: Johnny's Bistro

Last night we had the privilege of introducing some friends of ours to one of our favorites: Johnny's Bistro on Main Street.

We stumbled onto Johnny's on one of our many lazy Sunday antiquing trips in Historic Old Ellicott City. Adam is somewhat of a pizza connoisseur so we have spent a lot of time here after discovering their handmade pies. After talking it up to some of our friends we took them with us to see if it lived up to all of our bragging. On a chilly Friday night we were greeted at the door and shown to a cozy back nook where our party was able to spread out and enjoy some good food and some privacy.

One of the things we have always loved about Johnny's is how helpful and friendly the waitstaff is. They are always eager to go over the days specials and answer any questions you may have. Our waitress was bubbly and sweet and joked with everyone at the table. As she was explaining the soup du jour she brought everyone at the table a small sample to try. It was a nice little touch and introduction to the food. Johnny's is semi cafeteria style in that you order at the counter and the waitstaff brings your entree to you. So, after perusing the menu full of tapas, sandwiches, salads, and pizzas we saddled up to the counter to get our orders in.

We settled on a couple bowls of soups and salads as well as pizzas (big surprise).

The soup du jour was a carrot ginger which I wish I had a picture of but alas do not because it was so freakin' delicious it did not last long enough for me to take one. Seriously. We had this soup the first time we visited Johnny's six years ago and Adam to this day talks about it. When the waitress brought the samples his eyes lit up like a kid on Christmas and I thought he was going to leap over the table to steal the tray.

We split the pizza special of the day, a Buffalo Chicken Pizza, as did Dan and Laura:

Handmade dough covered in a sweet and slightly spicy barbecue sauce with mozzarella, grilled chicken, and sliced celery.  The crust was absolutely perfect. Crispy but soft and bread-like inside. The barbecue sauce had the perfect amount of tangy and sweet to it and the chicken was cooked perfectly. We were all a little leery at first because of the celery but it was actually a really nice compliment to the sauce and the warm bubbly cheese.

Our friends Todd and Lindsey split the Sausage pizza which I traded for a piece of. I am usually not a fan of sausage (or pork in general) but I really liked it and may order it myself on a later trip. Overall the food was delicious and there was a lot of it to be had.

Everyone was thoroughly impressed and thoroughly stuffed. We didn't try any desserts this time around (there wasn't room for much else after all of that pizza). But from previous trips I can tell you they are delicious.

Rating (out of 4 stars)

Ambiance: ★★★

Waitstaff: ★★★★

Food: ★★★★

Value: ★★★

OVERALL RATING:  ★★★