West Chester dining

[keby]

What are the best dining options in the area - whether it casual or fancy?

[collih]

I've had some tasty meals at The Mediterranean on Gay St. BYOB. Lamb kibee, kebobs, and this weekend they had an awesome crab cake with no filler at all. Family-owned.

[DrZibbs]

My picks are High Street Cafe and Spence Cafe. I've been to High Street Cafe at least 20 times and have had great meals. One of the best meals of my life was a blackened tuna topped with a crawfish au grautin. I've asked for it several times (when it wasn't on the specials list) and they made it for me - no problem.
Spence is also a great meal everytime.

[becky315]

I second High Street Cafe- I'm not even a huge fan of creole, but found something very tastey - It used to be BYOB, so feel free to do so, or you can order of their drink menu (fun dessert drinks!) Anyways, pretty casual, but it seems like a lively place. YUM!

[JanR]

I would definitely go with Gilmore's over Avalon. The atmosphere in the garden at Avalon is nice, however.

[idia]

No question: Gilmores (2 seatings only - 6:30 or 9)

[JanR]

Just to clarify, the two seatings are 6:00 and between 8 and 8:30. Mrs. Gilmore waits for the entire dining room to clear from the first seating, and then seats everyone at once. I have never been seated later than 8:30pm.

[keby]

Hey there, thanks a million!! Gilmore's seems more special/fancy occasion, and Avalon more of a date night BYOB, something to look forward to at the end of week.

[idia]

I detest heavy stuffy French places and almost never use sauces on my food.
Gilmore's still ranks as the top restaurant in the area to me.
It is anything BUT pretentious!
The wait staff is knowledgeable along with warm and fun to kid with.
You don't find that at stuffy French restaurants!
Most important of all -- the chef has a superb palate.
All this and it's BYOB!
A winner.

[JanR]

Very well said.

[Prax1134]

I've read plenty of praise for Gilmore's, followed by just as many "and good luck getting a reservation on the weekend without three weeks notice." Gilmore's or Avalon seem to get a lot of praise for the fancier food in the borough. High Street Cafe is good cajun/creole in the borough and Crawdaddy's is good not far up Rt. 3. For casual there are a lot of good options depending on what kind of food you want. Iron Hill has decent bar food and beers. Wave Noodle is probably the best Asian around. There are a lot of options in the borough and beyond; If no one else chimes in with recs I'd suggest doing a search as WC has quite a few topics.

[CindyJ]

I've had good luck from time to time by asking Gilmore's to put me on a wait list for a Friday or Saturday reservation. There are the inevitable last-minute cancellations, and they're happy to fill those tables in that way.