Avalon, West Chester
312 S. High St.
West Chester, PA
610.436.4100
Rating: 3 silver spoons out of 5
Overview: Quaint, romantic neighborhood BYOB with an ambitious menu and solid delivery.
Food: Appetizers are customary of this type of place — i.e. the Portabella & Goat Cheese Tart and the Tuna Carpaccio. The tuna was a decent choice but was nothing super-special. For entrees, the Braised Veal Cheeks with Caramelized Root Vegetable Risotto ($27) is an interesting choice — it is actually the cheek of the veal, a tender meat that crumbles apart kind of like a pot roast after braising. While this plate was an opportunity to try something different, it wasn’t quite as exciting as I would have expected. The Rib Eye, served with Sautéed Spinach, Yukon Gold Mashed Potatoes in a red wine sauce ($24), was expertly prepared and quite tasty. A seared snapper special was the best meal I’ve had there, exellently prepared with sweet roasted peppers.
Ambiance: Upscale but comfortable, The room creates a nice balance between fine dining and neighborhood dining. Outdoor seating is available during the summer on a lovely garden patio.
Service: Waitstaff very attentive and supportive.
Value: The prices at Avalon are not cheap, but consistent with similar BYOBs in the area. The overall value proposition is reasonable.
Details:
# of times we’ve eaten there: 2
Reservations: Yes - Recommended (available online)
Payments: Cards
Bar: BYOB
Website: http://www.avalonrestaurant.org
May 12th, 2006 at 5:51 am
Avalon makes a wonderful neighborhood place, but it’s not really worth a trip. Our meal was nicely executed and our server both knowledgable and personable, and the overall experience was very pleasant. I had a giggle at the pretension of the water steward - so very California - and my only complaint is about the very pedestrian bread basket. One might do better at the local Giant and I wonder why they bother with such a mediocre offering. Other than that, a nice meal in a nice location.
June 4th, 2006 at 9:32 pm
Thank you for the review, I will take this into consideration. However I am a little suprised about the bread. We receive alot of compliments on our Sarcone’s seeded loaf and I think saying Giant’s bread is better than Sarcone’s (one of south philly’s best) may be a little harsh.
John Brantd-Lee
Owner
June 5th, 2006 at 4:33 am
Agreed, it is pretty tough to top Sarcone’s bread.
March 16th, 2007 at 6:28 am
Since re-doing their dining-room to make it trendier and bringing in a new chef I think it is one of the best restaurants in the area. It is great to have a restaurant with a Manhattan type of feel to it in West Chester. Aside from great atmosphere and great food, everyone from the staff to the owners go way out of their way for the customers.
September 20th, 2007 at 3:54 pm
My wife and I make a this our regular night out in West Chester as the selections, preparation, and service have always made this a great dining experience. The owners are doing a wonderful job and we will continue to come back.
September 25th, 2007 at 6:42 am
PROS: Good Service. Nice location. Free and accessible location. BYOB. Excellent Ambience - nice patio. Bread is exceptional. Seasonal menu with local ingredients. Food presentation is elegant.
CONS: Inconsistent execution of dishes. Many of the sauces weren’t balanced the way that we like. The lemon was too dominant in the shrimp scampi. The cider reduction and butternut squash was too sweet for the pork tenderloin. The mushroom ragout on top of polenta had an unintersting texture. The homemade mango sorbet had ideal consistency, but didn’t have a great taste. I have had store bought sorbets with just as good flavor.
Food was reasonably priced. Because of the ambience, convenience and price, we will try this place again. We want to like this place. Some of the dishes we ordered showed potential.
October 21st, 2007 at 6:17 pm
We dined at Avalon this Sunday evening and had mixed feelings about our experience. While our service was very personable and professional, and the outdoor seating area is hard to beat, the food sorely lagged behind. The menu was a bit redundant and repetitive. For instance, 3 dishes were served with the same yukon gold mashed potatoes, and two were served with the same butternut squash puree. Also, there was a chicken dish on the menu and also a chicken offered for a special. The menu is fairly limited, and I don’t think it’s too much to hope for a different meat as a special… maybe duck or even pheasant… but why two chicken dishes? The whole point of a special is to offer something that’s not already on the menu… that coupled with the fact that they were out of several dishes made for very limited choices. As for our food, the appetizers were good. We had a goat cheese and beet napoleon that could’ve used a little more seasoning and zip, and actually wasn’t a real napoleon (meaning 3 layers). This was just beets topped with goat cheese, but it was good none the less… albeit a bit bland. We also had seared scallops with a red onion marmalade which tasted nice, but for $15.00, I expected more than 2 smallish scallops and a tablespoon of onions. Like so many other restaurants we dine at today, the entrees disappointed. One was a poached fish “stew” which was bland and unremarkable, and the other was a grilled pork tenderloin which was very sloppily presented and failed to impress us. Desserts were fairly average with not a lot of choices (2 pear desserts on a limited menu… one poached and one as a tart). One other thing I’ll mention, we chose Avalon based on their web site which is quite impressive. The food photos shown there are beautiful and very clean looking… all the presentations look tight and well thought out, but in person the food fails to match up. It’s sloppy with the exception of the apps. All and all it was ok. The saving grace is that the outdoor seating area is very beautiful and romantic and the service was very nice. We, sadly, are more concerned with the food. There are so many places out there with better execution, that it’s hard to justify a return trip for quite a while.
January 17th, 2008 at 9:08 am
My husband and I frequent Avalon often. We love BYOBs and this one is the best. It has a great prixe-fixe menu that can’t be beat. We ALWAYS order the calamari (it is my husband’s favorite) and the mussels appetizers (my favorite.) The specials menu always has some interesting things to offer and we have never been disappointed. The service is always great, especially Teresa. We often have her as our server and she makes great recommendations and always greets us with a smile.
If you haven’t tried this place, do it! You won’t be disappointed!
March 25th, 2008 at 7:38 pm
I would never return to Avalon. The food tasted rancid, it was over priced and the owner an absolute jerk. When we complained about our food he started to yell at us. Scream and yell. I have never in my life seen or heard anything like this. You would receive better treatment at fast food joint. I would not recommend this place for any reason, it was awful.
April 23rd, 2008 at 5:24 pm
We used to go to the Avalon once a month and moved to Montgomery County. Just went back for a recent visit, and apparently the economy hit them hard as well. The appetizer was small, a cheese plate with barely any cheese on it for $15 and then the rest of our meals were forgettable. I usually leave there feeling wowed and I just left feeling ripped off. The chef needs to return to his roots