Avalon Restaurant

Place is terrible. Is this Sbarros? No thanks. Too much cheese. Core De Roma is muchhhhh better. Also i-​Pasta is heavennnnn. No thanks Avalon!!!

We came here for a family birthday dinner, delicious food, although small menu, cute atmosphere, only reason for 4 stars was once it started to get busy it got super loud!!!

Great atmosphere. Service was so so. Food was not good. Rubbery calamari. Bread and oil on table was plain. Red sauce was bland.

Went there for an impromptu Friday happy hour and was pleasantly surprised with the amazing offerings of free appetizers and their interesting and extensive drink menu! The service was wonderful and the atmosphere was warm and friendly. The owner even stopped by and chatted with us for quite a while. This could be our new favorite home town happy hour spot. (Also check out the cutting boards and table tops the owner made… fabulous!!).

Hands down, our favorite restaurant in town. We eat here regularly because Avalon consistently delivers the best food and service in West Chester.
We enjoyed Chef John’s 5 Course Tasting Menu last night for the first time. It tickles every taste bud! Each artfully prepared course is perfectly paired with each wine and the experience is out of this world.
We have been here for lite meals, heavy dinners, just cocktails, celebrations, business and pleasure. It’s all good.

Drinks were great, food was delicious! The pasta is made from scratch and really makes the food outstanding here.
One note: their pasta menu is designed in the traditional way where pasta is a small/​medium sized course before a meat entrée, so the portion size may seem small compared to some other Italian places. Keep in mind it’s handmade pasta though so quality over quantity.
But I will say I was very content with the pasta portion size after sharing a couple appetizers with the person I was with, especially since they serve complimentary fresh bread and dipping oil as well. Overall I left very happy and satisfied, definitely recommend this restaurant.

Food was great. Atmosphere was good as well. Service was a little slow. They overcharged me for my meal, but the owner was really good about correcting it when I called.

We recently celebrated a 40^th birthday at Avalon for 30 people. They delivered a very memorable evening from start to finish and as the host, I really didn’t have to worry about anything. John and his staff, especially Alejandra (sp:?:) and Jen did an amazing job planning the event with me and were ready as soon as the guest started to arrive.
The staff greeted the guests, took their coat, and their drink order during cocktail hour. John worked with me on the location of the cocktail hour and it worked out perfectly. It was impressive as the staff remembered what the guests were drinking and promptly refilled them.
We then moved into another room for dinner. The décor in our reserved room (middle dining room) was suitable and the candlelight on the tables and the wall added a special touch. They allowed us to add centerpieces to the table earlier in the day.
The service was prompt, polite, and efficient. A nice bottle of Schafer was opened for the Birthday Guy and the food started coming out in no time. The risotto balls appetizer were crispy and really tasty for a fried app. The Calamari with the dipping sauce was perfectly cooked. The big hit was the effin’ hot lobster which was a complex blend of various peppers to create a really spicy, yet flavorful relish on the crab and lobster. We would definitely order that again!
The guests raved about the evening, the food, and what a pleasant waitstaff. See you soon!

Pretty disappointed. First table was so loud, we asked to be relocated. Service was so slow. Don’t ask for a minute to review menu. You won’t see your waitress again for another 20 mins. Both bottles of wine we ordered were unavailable. Food was average at best. Limited menu. Couldn’t find the chicken in the chicken Marsala. Won’t be going back here.

I’ve eaten at Avalon many times (over 30) at the prior 2 locations and at their new location.
The food is very good, without a doubt. I enjoy it very much… however, the wine list is not up to par for anyone who really enjoys wine. Let me explain… at our table, you would likely be pouring Sassicaia, Ornellaia, Tignanello, Shafer’s Hillside Select and a much earlier vintage so that it was properly aged. Here, you have to drink what they have (and I get it) but it’s ruined the experience for me.
Just charge a reasonable corkage fee on Friday and Saturday night ($ 25 a bottle) to cover your bar expenses and I’d be happy…
Please note that JBL did respond and there is a 5 dollar corkage fee on Sunday and Tuesday. All other nights are 20 dollars. Thank you JBL, we will see you soon!

Food was very good, unfortunately service was very slow. Many waiters and waitresses standing around. We ordered truffle fries but they did not come out until the end of the meal. Overall good food poor service

4 because I haven’t tried them at their new location just yet but have very fond memories from their old one. So yummy and cozy atmosphere.

I was on the way to the US Rowing Masters National Championships in New Jersey last week, and one of my rowers and I decided to stop in West Chester most of the way way through our very long drive to have a sit-​down dinner and avoid the Philadelphia rush hour. West Chester, unlike nearby King of Prussia, looked cute and promising on Trip Advisor and Unilocal,so we decided to get off the highway and just walk around looking for a place to eat. Avalon had a pleasant-​looking sidewalk dining area with available seating, so after a few minutes of deliberation we settled on it. The staff seemed friendly enough, and we immediately scored an outdoor table. It wobbled pretty significantly, and after two reminders our server eventually came back and fixed it for us.
Since it was early on a Wednesday evening happy hour was in full swing, so we were able to take advantage of discounted food and beverages. There was a nice little wine and beer list, and the entire menu looked delicious and very inspired by dining in Europe. I ordered a burger and my friend got the unlimited mussels. She chose the red sauce with tomato and chorizo. Her food arrived within ten minutes and urged her to begin eating, since I naturally assumed mine would be out shortly. It took maybe fifteen to twenty minutes more for mine to arrive unfortunately. Our server was also MIA during this time, so I was unable to check in with him and get the status of my food. Once it did arrive, I found that the fries had cheese all over them and had to be sent back due to my allergies. It took an additional ten minutes to receive more fries, during which time I occupied myself with my burger. I was starving at this point and certainly enjoyed it for that reason, but the patty seemed cheap and the bacon on top was definitely of the microwavable variety. The best part would be the sautéed yellow onions it was topped with… they were sliced in medium pieces and lent a nice depth of flavor to an otherwise unmemorable burger. I was grateful I’d only paid the happy hour price for it! The fries were delicious once they arrived, but I do wish the menu had said something about them being topped with cheese. I felt terrible having to send them back! My friend enjoyed her mussels but had just eaten a far better serving of them at a different restaurant the previous week, and therefore was underwhelmed. That sort of sums up my experience at Avalon in a nutshell. The space was gorgeous, the outside dining option was great, (once the wobble in our table was fixed) and I really liked the Dogfish beers they offered, however the spotty service, bland food, and miscommunication about allergens left a little something to be desired. Improving some of those things would make it a wonderful little restaurant!

We had our son’s wedding rehearsal dinner here on August 7^th. We had dinner for 25 including 4 entrees: Grilled Portk Tenderloin with Cippolini onions and Balsamic San Marzano sauce, Sauteed Flouder with Lemon White Wine Suace, Trotelle with tomato basic cream sauce, pancetta and peas and Rigatoni with Lamb Bolognese, several appetizers, a apple tart, and Prosecco and Italian wines. Everything was delicious and the service was excellent. I would not hesitate to recommend.

I’d cry if I didn’t laugh. Décor was just ok nothing special. The service was mediocre at best and made me want to bite my own toes off at worst. Me and jeff (my lover and committed partner for life) ate here last week on a slow tuesday (the place was dead) and ordered the crab stuffed lobster tail w/​pecan pie glaze and porcini mushroom crumble as well as the chicken makhani with sage butter sauce.
To summarize the crab tasted like a pile of nail clippings but in a blender and mixed with pure powdered sugar in a ravioli. The chicken tasted like a leather boot dipped in moose urine. The only good thing that happened during our visit was that I didn’t every swallow anything they prepared. The awful flavor combined with the stench of inferiority was enough. We immediately left and headed over to mercato on 34w market street

This is an update. After a disappointing opening we have the relocated Avalon a try.
I tried their Tawny Manhattan, which was nice. Ordered calamari and toasted long hot appetizers both good.
My wife had the seafood pasta and I had short ribs over risotto. Both ok. No complaints. But the seafood was lackluster and lemon– edged. Short ribs done right can be wonderful, falling off the bone in a beautiful reduction. Mine was chewy and bland.
Service was good. No real complaints, many might like the new (very noisy) Avalon. We miss the edgy old BYOB version as well as the old school Italian Nonna’s once in this spot.

Continues to be a great choice in my mind. Have been twice recently and fully enjoyed both meals. Both the pasta and main courses have been excellent. Last time in we got a cheese/​meat plate and the longhots for an appetizer. Both were fantastic and I would highly recommend. Wine and drink selection is good and not overpriced. Service has been hit or miss but nothing bad.
I ate at both Avalon and Mercato this week and would chose Avalon every time for almost every reason– food, drinks, service. I did think Mercato was more interesting inside.

Bryce is EVERYTHING! I had the best wine experience in my life. Based on the highly informed recommendations from Bryce, I tried the PlumpJack cab and it literally changed my life. Enjoying his company is worth every cent. The food was also fantastic. Did I mention the apple wood smoked Manhattan?

My favorite place in West Chester to grab a bite and drink. The dining area is is very nice and relaxing. The wait staff has always been very knowledgable and attentive. The food is too die for as well, I would recommend all the appetizers and pastas any day! They have installed a stone pizza oven and I can’t wait to try their pizza as well!
My favorite part is the bar. They have incredible bartenders who like to talk to you, recommend new drinks, as well as ensure you are never short on beverages. The bar menu is an incredible deal and the parmesan french fries are to die for! A great place for college kids on a budget with the bar menu and an amazing place to grab a bite with friends or family

Love, love, love the new place! We have dined at Avalon a handful of times including the Downingtown Boro one when it was open. Chef John continues to impress, not only with the great space they now have but with his amazing menu. We were there a couple of weeks ago without reservations during the Christmas parade when my sons and I decided to have a sit down dinner while watching the parade since it was raining out. John and his staff were so accommodating and found us a great seats close enough to the windows to watch the parade go by. We ordered several apps and then some basics. Each plate was better than the next. And our server really knew her wines. Im making reservations for next week for my husband and I and some friends. Cant wait to go back :)