Restaurant Review:
The Original Spence Café
131 N. High Street, West Chester, PA 19382
610-918-1272
www.spence.cafe
Andrew Patten, renowned West Chester chef and restaurant owner, has emerged again in the charming café formerly known as The Three Little Pigs near the corner of High St. and Chestnut Sts., across from the Hotel Warner.
Ambiance: Warm and casually elegant, with butter-colored tablecloths, nice cutlery, terrariums decorating both the tables and the walls. Oh—and there was hot sauce on the table, but no personal pepper grinder. Just ask the wait staff. There is lots of room, and an outdoor patio for warmer weather.
Service: Very good and personal. I liked that the owner, Andrew, came around to each table when he had a breather. Our coffee cups were regularly refilled, and the food was brought hot and came quickly.
Experience: We were there for lunch on a weekday, and I opted for a salad of house-roasted turkey, which proved to be really flavorful with big, thick and tasty slices of it, along with dollops of goat cheese, almonds, and fresh sliced strawberries and plump blueberries. The poppy seed dressing was served on the side, and I didn’t leave a drop of it behind. Generous portion and delicious! There was no bread served, but the salad was so big, I was fine with that. Presentation was nice: the salad arrived in a huge shallow white ironstone bowl filled with spring greens and all the other goodies.
Fellow Cheap Eater Bob got a “Pick Two” lunch from three selections of soups or chili, salads and ½ sandwiches. He chose a ½ sandwich and a cup of chili. The chili was a very good chicken and black bean variety, and for once Bob didn’t miss beef. The sandwich was a generous whole wheat pita with albacore tuna salad stuffed full, with lettuce. The coffee is a locally roasted coffee and was quite good—we drink it black, so good coffee is easily detected.
Then I made the mistake of spotting the cookies. We each had one for the modest price of $1.00—for two! Honestly, they were ambrosial, with big chunks of white chocolate, whole macadamia nuts, and were perfectly baked—by Andrew himself.
What we paid: I should mention that Spence Original Café is BYOB, but it was a working lunch for us, so we abstained. Our lunches were $12 each, coffees $4, cookies $1.00 and a fairly generous tip (for us). Total, with tip, $37.74. More than we usually pay for a lunch out, but a whole lot classier than a slice of pizza eaten on the run.
The full menu for lunch and dinner will be posted on the website TheCheapEater.com
Disclaimer: The Original Spence Café is a sponsor of Welcome Neighbor’s welcome basket for new homeowners, and they provide a very generous gift certificate.
The Original Spence Café
131 N. High Street, West Chester, PA 19382
610-918-1272
www.spence.cafe
Andrew Patten, renowned West Chester chef and restaurant owner, has emerged again in the charming café formerly known as The Three Little Pigs near the corner of High St. and Chestnut Sts., across from the Hotel Warner.
Ambiance: Warm and casually elegant, with butter-colored tablecloths, nice cutlery, terrariums decorating both the tables and the walls. Oh—and there was hot sauce on the table, but no personal pepper grinder. Just ask the wait staff. There is lots of room, and an outdoor patio for warmer weather.
Service: Very good and personal. I liked that the owner, Andrew, came around to each table when he had a breather. Our coffee cups were regularly refilled, and the food was brought hot and came quickly.
Experience: We were there for lunch on a weekday, and I opted for a salad of house-roasted turkey, which proved to be really flavorful with big, thick and tasty slices of it, along with dollops of goat cheese, almonds, and fresh sliced strawberries and plump blueberries. The poppy seed dressing was served on the side, and I didn’t leave a drop of it behind. Generous portion and delicious! There was no bread served, but the salad was so big, I was fine with that. Presentation was nice: the salad arrived in a huge shallow white ironstone bowl filled with spring greens and all the other goodies.
Fellow Cheap Eater Bob got a “Pick Two” lunch from three selections of soups or chili, salads and ½ sandwiches. He chose a ½ sandwich and a cup of chili. The chili was a very good chicken and black bean variety, and for once Bob didn’t miss beef. The sandwich was a generous whole wheat pita with albacore tuna salad stuffed full, with lettuce. The coffee is a locally roasted coffee and was quite good—we drink it black, so good coffee is easily detected.
Then I made the mistake of spotting the cookies. We each had one for the modest price of $1.00—for two! Honestly, they were ambrosial, with big chunks of white chocolate, whole macadamia nuts, and were perfectly baked—by Andrew himself.
What we paid: I should mention that Spence Original Café is BYOB, but it was a working lunch for us, so we abstained. Our lunches were $12 each, coffees $4, cookies $1.00 and a fairly generous tip (for us). Total, with tip, $37.74. More than we usually pay for a lunch out, but a whole lot classier than a slice of pizza eaten on the run.
The full menu for lunch and dinner will be posted on the website TheCheapEater.com
Disclaimer: The Original Spence Café is a sponsor of Welcome Neighbor’s welcome basket for new homeowners, and they provide a very generous gift certificate.