Best of the Best: New Locations/Expansions
Hank’s Place
201 Birch St., Kennett Square
610-448-9988 / HanksPlaceChaddsFord.com
“Art, handcrafted food and history” continueto meet but now temporarily in Kennett Square, a few miles from the iconic Hank’s Place in Chadds Ford that was devastated by the floodwaters of tropical storm Ida in 2021. Honoring its 70-some-year history, Hank’s is still the place where friendly people meet and hungry people eat, temporarily from a food truck and now in leased space during reconstruction. Reopened in October 2022, initially for breakfast and lunch, with plans to add dinner service. Locals show up for scratch comfort food from menus filled with categories like Basics, Old-Fashioned Breakfast and Hank’s Classics. Stop by to support this local classic.
Byrsa West Chester
34 Street Rd., West Chester
610-701-8969 / WestChester.ByrsaBistro.com
The newest location from the folks at Byrsa Bistro, formerly on State Street in Kennett Square and currently also in the train station in Glen Mills, Byrsa West Chester offers the beloved western Mediterranean cuisine, with plenty of vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free options. House-made pasta specialties, handmade brick-oven pizzas and flatbreads. Order from the bar, sip their Byrsa-label wine or BYOB.
Mercato Ristorante & Bar
4799 West Chester Pk., Newtown Square
610-723-6589 / MercatoNewtown.com
Red sauce fans mourned the closing of Edgemont Square’s sprawling institution, Tratorria Guiseppe. With a planned revival in 2021 under the name Toscana Modern Italian Steakhouse, fall 2022 saw the current reincarnation as Mercato Ristorante & Bar, from the folks behind the popular Italian spot with one of the liveliest patios in West Chester. Look for modern Italian with casual yet refined atmosphere and a menu with plenty of pasta, Italian American dishes, main courses (stuffed pork chop, brick chicken, salmon), dry-aged meats and pizzas.
White Dog Café
192 E. Welsh Pool Rd., Exton
WhiteDog.com/ChesterSprings
The latest news about the much-anticipated opening of the newest pup in the White Dog franchise — this one saving the former historic Vickers Restaurant location — is early 2023. This fifth addition to the litter is taking some time refurbishing the 1820s farmhouse and stop on the Underground Railroad. Expect the same quaint rooms, canine portraits and American fare that characterize other branches of the Fearless Restaurant group.
Ground Provisions: Market & Dining
1388 Old Wilmington Pk., West Chester
On Facebook
The former Dilworthtown Innkeeper’s Kitchen space is being reinvented by the owners of Philly’s vegetarian mecca and award winner, Vedge. A plant-based market-restaurant will be part country store and wine shop, part eight-table restaurant (plus patio dining). Expect Vedge-style specialty groceries and local products, grab-and-go options and other takeout, including veggie charcuterie, pickles, olives and dips, as well as breads, much made in house. The farmhouse cuisine restaurant will serve five to six courses of rustic, elegant yet modern fare ($75), featuring local, seasonal, organic vegetables, some from the owners’ nearby micro farm, Lost Glove Garden. Natural wines, beer and cocktails.
Amada Radnor
555 E. Lancaster Ave., Radnor
GarcesEvents.com/Amada-Radnor
Double the pleasure with a second Radnor restaurant from Jose Garces, James Beard Award-winning Iron Chef. In addition to the more informal Buena Onda (see New & Noteworthy), a new Amada is planned to open in early 2023 in the former Harvest Seasonal Grille location, with room for 200 diners inside and more on two patios. Sharing the same concept as Garces’ 2005 hit Amada in Philadelphia’s Old City, the new spot will have an open kitchen, wood-fired ovens and classic Amada dishes (Andalusian cuisine, traditional empanadas, paella Valenciana), plus new onsite exclusive dishes. Sip 100 Spanish wines, red and white sangrias, and cocktails inspired by Spanish ingredients, seven days a week.
Santino’s Tap and Table
40 E. Market St., West Chester
610-738-5491 / SantinosTapAndTable.com
Taking over longtime West Chester neighborhood bar, Rams Head, Folsom-based Santino’s will bring it’s old-school Italian “gravy, not sauce” menu to town. New owners, the DeMarco family, have restaurant roots in Delco dating back to father Charlie’s 1987 eponymous restaurant. But it’s son C.J. who brings family recipes to West Chester. The menu is stacked with Italian classic comfort food, from chicken parm eggrolls to short rib ravioli. And the Rams Head spirit lives on in The Rathskeller, a BYOF operation downstairs.
