Had a great dinner Thursday night at Joe’s Italian Bistro in Allen Texas accompanied by Allen & Debbie (great friends). They said it was their kind of place and we had met there for dinner before. Now that I have enjoyed two visits at Joe’s it is my kind of place.
The thing that strikes me the most about Joe’s is the neighborhood clientele. You immediately feel at home here and most of the customers live nearby and make this an frequent dinner place, where they stick around and talk for quite a while.
Joe’s grandparents came to the U.S. in 1942 from Kosovo. He and his family have been in the restaurant business since they opened their first restaurant in 1972 in New York. This location has been open since September of 2005. They have another location in Keller and Watauga. He has family that helps him in Allen and the rest of the family works the other locations. This is a solid 3 page story, maybe a 4 since we got to meet big Joe. Allen, Debbie, what do you think? Big Joe is Joe’s father who is here visiting for the winter.
Most of the recipes are Mom’s (Joe’s grandmother) recipes. Our food has always been excellent. They do have several seafood selections that sound very tempting as well. Next time I must try one. I especially like the homemade bread, doesn’t it look delicious:
It actually tastes even better than it tempting looks.
I ordered a bowl of Tortellini soup that was fantastic. My wife and I split the Chicken Jerusalem (Artichokes, mushrooms in a Sherry wine sauce). It was quite rich and creamy and we enjoyed every calorie filled bite. Allen had angel hair pasta with alfredo sauce and despite deciding to only eat half of it, he ate four fifths of it. Debbie had ravioli with meatballs. She was much better disciplined, ate half and took the other half home for later. The food is very good, freshly made and mouth watering specials fill a small chalk board.
Our waitress Emily has always been great. She is very friendly and attentive. It really adds to the feel of the place when you know the waitress. It provides a more relaxing feeling. Emily is always smiling, very efficient, and helpful with our questions and provides consistent service. Here she is:
Check out the Blue’s Brothers in the background!
I like the murals that are painted inside, even the one in the bathroom, all are of Venice. If they had some Italian music playing in the background you might forget you’re in Allen and be transported to Venice. It is definitely a nice hole in the wall and receives a 4 hole rating.
Neighborhood feel, 4 hole in the wall rating, 3/4 page story rating, Emily, good food, Venice feel and meeting big Joe all add up to make this my kind of place.
It’s gotta be a 4, Mark…
The fact that BIG JOE doesn’t speak english pushes it over the edge for me…and the fact that he comes to the states in the winter time and lives in italy in the summer….(isn’t that what little Joe said?)
I’d give it a FOUR…
oh WOW — you’re finally really posting something here! i hope you will include me as one of your restaurant shoppers!
Kris, welcome to eatinginharms way. You will definitely be a restaurant shopper sooner than later.
Debbie, meeting big Joe, the fact that he speaks no english and lives in Kosovo (not Italy) are all good reasons to move to a 4. But are they good enough? Allen, weigh in…Others weigh in… I’ll decide a rating based on your input by the end of the week.
Looks and sounds like a great place, and nice pictures Mark… that image of the home made bread..mmm.. did it for me! I’m gonna dine there asap.
Joe’s Italian Bistro is without a doubt awesome, and always my choice when eating out.
if you want choice italian food with an endearing surrounding choose joe’s.
I have driven with these restaurant. But, I never checked it out. Now, I am interested. Thanks for the scoop. I am getting hungry.
Kristin, glad you like Joe’s! Welcome to Eating In Harms Way (EIHW).
Hemang, Let me know what you think when you finally check out Joe’s. Oh and welcome to EIHW.
I have eaten at Joe’s many times, I even went out in a major rain storm for some take out. The food is most excellant and the prices….well, they are the best and you get more food than you bargined for. I would give this place double the 4 holes. Everybody needs to come and eat here!!!
Thanks for your comment Susan and welcome to EIHW!
A family place. Brooklyn style pizza and meat balls, top shelf. Large variety menu and priced right. Cannoli’s and Cheesecake. A must try, 4.
I can’t believe I found this! I worked at Joe’s. I love Joe (we called him Tony, haha) and Yvonne. The best thing I ever did for myself was apply to work at Joe’s. I lived right down the street, and left the Kroger right by the McDonald’s to work there. I loved the family environment. As a waitress at Joe’s you get used to having your favorite customer’s come in every two or three weeks, and they make you feel great when they request you time and time again. Joe was awesome, too, because the staff was given a shift meal everyday of our choice. I have to recommend the Chicken Sorrentini- when you’re given a free meal just for working there everyday, and that’s what you choose, you KNOW IT’S GOOD! Once again I have to say, this is the most laidback and enjoyable employer I have ever had. It’s a trip to see Emily on the site! You should have her sing “Happy Birthday”, she sounds like a twenties lounge singer. Best staff, best environment, and I still mourn moving to Euless to this day, because I LOVED working at Joe’s.
I like the restaurant as well, but unfortunately the health food score is low. For this, I will not eat there.
Hey, it’s Emily! I have just been searching the web for a project. Can you believe one of the students in the after school program in the daycare down the street actually put JIB as his favorite place to eat?! I was searching for a picture of the resturant and was amazed there was one! when I realized it was the page you wrote on us I freaked, I have been looking for it for awhile.
I miss you! I still work there every Friday and some other weekend days here and there- come see me!
As someone who has worked at Joes for three years now I must agree with my old friend, Sarah, it is the best place which keeps me fat and happy!
Thank you again for your wonderful review of our humble resturant! You are so sweet!
PS- WE ARE OPENING A NEW LOCATION IN ANNA!!! It will be in an old house that Joe is fixing up! And yes, you do need to hear me sing “Happy Birthday”!
I just found Joe’s Italian Bistro and it is my new favorite Italian restaurant! Everything that I’ve tried has been just perfect. The price is reasonable and so are the servings. Better Italian food than any chains out there, but for a much better price.
That just goes to show, these guys have so many aliases. I knew Joe, aka, Tony, aka “D”, from years ago when he originally worked at the Keller restaurant on the first day it opened, back in ’95. Wow – what a trip. He then went to work at the Watauga store, later leaving to open the store in Allen. My husband and I lost track of him for awhile – till we moved to this side of the metroplex. Long story short, we have found our favorite Italian restaurant yet again -it’s a bit of a drive for us (45-50 minutes) but well worth it.
It really is a place where we are made to feel like family and the owner knows our name.