Jillian’s Restaurant

Fantastic food and service every time.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

We held my father's funeral luncheon here and WOW. Best family style food I've ever had. It started with a greens salad and house made focaccia, then moved to collard greens, roasted chicken, and beef roast. Unreal. Jillian is a treasure and the location is very cute. Definitely can't wait to come back for Thursday oyster night!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Oh. My. God. Listen this place is magical. Jillian is an incredible host, the vibe and everything about the restaurant just felt like home. She sits with you and explains the menu in detail and is simply wonderful.

The mocktails were fantastic. I had a mock mule and my wife had a mock cosmo, which just so happens she completely finished it, which is not typical for her!

We started with the house focaccia, the French onion soup, and the house salad. I’m an onion lover and for whatever reason, I had never had French onion soup before. It was AMAZING! I have been missing out! The bread was so soft and had the right amount of flaky salt on it. We both agreed we could not stop eating the salad, the dressing was incredibly tasty, the beets gave a great earthy note, it was amazing.

We ordered the wagyu surf and turf as well as the 30 day dry aged cowboy ribeye and the truffle fries. Both ribeyes were so tender and different in their own ways. The lobster tail with the caviar and truffles were so soft and perfectly cooked, the caviar added a nice briny flavor to the lobster. We couldn’t pick a favorite steak they each were amazing, the wagyu in the Demi glaze was fantastic as was the pure beefy flavor of the ribeye. The salty fries were soooo good as a side with everything.

This is probably one of our favorite experiences anywhere, we will 100000% go out of our way to be back here.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Our family kicked off the holidays with our first visit here! Absolutely a 10/10. Service was attentive but not overbearing. Lots of pride in the menu and truly wanted us to have a great experience. Menu was certainly crafted with intention and purpose. Every bite of everything was unique and phenomenal. We will def be back!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

It was very dark and the music was really loud. I had to listen to the only waitress, the owner, read and explain the menu to every table. It was a bit annoying. She was very friendly and when she showed up at our table, which wasn't often, she was delightful. Unfortunately, the food did not live up to our expectations. Pork completely over and risotto was more like soup. It tasted good but the consistency was definitely off. They were out of a lot. I heard the waitress and bartender come back numerous times to say they were out of an ingredient. Will not be back.

Atmosphere: 1

Food: 2

Service: 1

Jillians is New Kens best kept secret! 5 stars all around!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Outstanding service, food quality and execution. Hard to find this scale and type of restaurant in this area. Definitely will be back in the near future.

Excellent from start to finish. ❤️ Amazing food and drinks close to home.

Could not be prouder to have a default restaurant recommendation for anybody spending time near my hometown. I drove from Moon Twp. just to have dinner with my parents at the recommendation of friends of theirs- never did I think an upscale establishment would flourish in New Kensington after growing up in a period of decline for the community, but I was absolutely blown away. Jillian and her staff’s service was so warm and welcoming from start to finish- just plan to spend some time there as your dishes will take a while coming out of the kitchen. I have zero problem with it though, it honestly just added to the relaxed and laid back atmosphere of the place. You can tell immediately that everything that comes out of that kitchen is made with love and absolutely worth the price. Good food and good company, I couldn’t expect anything more! Even though I live far I want to revisit often, even if it’s just for drinks with friends in the absolutely adorable and comfortable lounge area. Keep it up guys, we’re all rooting for you!!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

This is a very nice little restaurant that absolutely will blow your socks off with amazing tasting food, I tried a wide variety of the menu and there was not one single item that was lacking luster. That being said this location does have some very noticeable draw backs that are capable of taking away from the experience and having yourself rate lower than I did. To start the seating is not good, you are practically shoulder to shoulder with other guests really removing any sense of privacy, and if there is a loud group, you will find yourself having a hard time hearing your date, or even yourself. Also while walking in during the day you’ll notice it’s very dark, too dark but that’s only going to bother you for a few minutes until your natural night vision kicks on and everything is being seen normally. The hanging lights definitely do set a nice atmosphere for the room as well as each table has their own unique flower bouquet. Service is another area of concern where there is only the one Jillian who will be taking your order, has its positives and negatives. On the positive side Jillian is a very charismatic genuine and intelligent server that will be able to help you with any concerns you have as well as being very relatable and easy to talk to; seriously she’s awesome and is completely what changed this score from a 4 star to a 5 star. Now for the negatives of only having one super trooper to handle business, it takes quite a long time for one person to handle a full room with multiple tables of individuals. She pulled it off that night as I’m sure she pulls it off every night but only having one person that can take orders as well as explain the menu is not a sustainable idea and will need to be solved eventually. Now for what actually matters and that will be the food, the other saving grace for this establishment. Like mentioned earlier I ordered a wide range of what could be had on the menu, 2 appetizers 2 entrées and 1 additional side. The two appetizers I got were the ones that sounded the most new comer friendly, I got the bread and the bean dip. The bread was really good, the dipping oil was fire and definitely was not lacking on the seasoning, very good and for the price you can’t miss getting it. The bean dip was spectacular, easily the best bean dip/spread I have ever tried; if you are a fellow bean enjoyer this will be a complete delight for you please order it. For the entrees I got the dry aged sirloin with fries, and the cowboy ribeye. Both steaks were cooked perfectly and were delicious. The fries that came with the sirloin were amazing definitely not what you would ever expect from fries which is probably why they use the French dialect when spelling out the word because these fries put all other fries to shame. Also the cowboy ribeye let me just say I typically don’t prefer a ribeye, but this steak may have just done the impossible and gotten me to move away from my T bone addiction, the flavors from the meat, fat, and sauce were all combining on my tastebuds to create fireworks; the cowboy ribeye is a 10/10 you will try it on your visit, thank you. Last but not least the duck fat potatoes. They were quite good, soft but crispy it was simply the perfect ratio for a delicious starch based side. The food was wonderful and I hope the chef will receive my regards he is an artist that managed to hit the mark with everything he presented. After all that food I figured a dessert to go to eat whenever I like would be nice, why not. When in Rome do what Roman’s do and order a slice of pistachio cheesecake. Jillian being the MVP decided to not include it on the bill; whether or not that was a bribe I’ll never know (joke) but I will graciously accept her generosity every time because that was the best cheesecake I have ever eaten, tasted just like a hybrid between a vanilla cheese cake and baklava, fire. I highly recommend this location, as long as you are okay with the small amount of easily solvable red flags you will love this place it’s a very cozy location that delivers an amazing product.
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Atmosphere: 4

Food: 5

Service: 4

My husband and I came here for our 4th wedding anniversary and couldn't have been more pleased! Everything just made us crave more! Atmosphere is relaxed but elevated, service is the best we've ever had, and the food was overwhelmingly delicious! Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!!!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

We had an awesome experience here last night with family. We ordered salads, mains, vegetables, carbs, and desserts to share for the table which worked out perfectly.
Everything was hot, fresh, and prepared thoughtfully and creatively without gimmick. Service was practically a consultation and we never felt rushed and never had empty glasses.
Thank you for great night out!

This restaurant is absolutely delicious. I will definitely recommend it to my friends and family.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Everything about this experience was amazing! The food is beyond compare…the best tasting food I’ve had at a restaurant in the Pittsburgh area. Thank you so much for opening Jillian’s. We will definitely be back and tell all our friends to eat here! Highly, highly recommend.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Kid-friendliness: Experience was amazing but expensive

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: Mushroom Truffle Toast