Best of the Best: West Chester

Morning: Market Street Grill

6 W. Market St.
610-429-5328 / TheMarketStreetGrill.com

If you want true insight into a town’s must-hit morning spots, walk the streets on Sunday morning and look for the line. In West Chester, it will take you to the Market Street Grill with its red vinyl booths and walls peppered with pop art paintings. There’s a breakfast bar to the right and one too many tables squeezed down the middle, but you don’t mind because you came for a hot cup of coffee, a pancake as big as your plate and one of their outrageous breakfast specials. Bacon-honey-banana-peanut-butter French toast, anyone?

Morning: Two Birds Cafe

653 Downingtown Pk.
610-222-6200 / TwoBirdsCafeWC.com

Fans of Two Birds Cafe’s velvety eggs Benedict, to-die-for cinnamon rolls and rotating seasonal menu are so devoted that the cafe recently had to leave tips for the best way to park in their always-crowded Downingtown Pike parking lot. So it’s probably not surprising that not too long ago, this from-scratch kitchen was named one of Yelp’s Top 100 Places to Eat in the country. A labor of love from husband-and-wife team Jess and Justin Minchak, Two Birds serves breakfast and lunch six days a week (closed Tuesday) against a modern country backdrop. Head over now. The coffee is waiting.

Morning: La Baguette Magique

202 W. Market St.
484-947-5024 / @LaBaguetteMagique

Not every meal requires pomp to be memorable. Sometimes, it’s the simple things. Quality ingredients, proven techniques and a charming backdrop that ushers you to a world a thousand miles away. For a decade now, La Baguette Magique — affectionately known simply as the French Bakery — has been that place. Whether you choose to people-watch by the window with a cappuccino and a thick slice of vegetable quiche, or dash home with a white bag full of flaky croissants and whatever treasures you find that day, a stop into La Baguette will leave your day a little brighter. And sweeter.

Noon: Roots Cafe

133 E. Gay St.
610-455-0100 / RootsCafeWC.com

With only 11 tables until spring weather opens the patio, Roots Cafe may make you wait, even for a mid-week meal. But don’t worry, it will be worth it. Located at the eastern end of Gay Street, Roots has been serving up farm-to-table classics like rainbow carrots in a delightfully tangy tzatziki sauce and light-and-airy mushroom omelets for more than a decade now. The lovingly created dishes, the friendly staff and the overwhelming floral prints can give the distinct impression that you’re visiting grandma’s house. That’s assuming grandma makes a perfectly juicy breaded fried chicken sandwich and her own hot sauce.

Noon: Taco Mar

122 E. Gay St.
610-455-1400 / TacoMar.com

Some say you need to go to Kennett Square to find authentic Mexican food. Well, Taco Mar would beg to differ. The Gay Street taqueria has gained a reputation and solid 4.7 Google rating by consistently dishing up freshly made Mexican classics like their savory red chili birria and crispy fish tacos served with cilantro, onions and salsa (or, for American-style, lettuce, tomato, cheese and salsa) in a vibrant, casual environment. Pair with homemade guacamole or a side of the rich, creamy queso, and finish with everyone’s favorite cinnamon-and-sugar-coated churros.

Night: Opa Taverna

40 E. Gay St.
610-696-4100 / OpaTaverna.com

With many long, narrow spaces to work
with, restaurants in West Chester definitely have a signature feel. They’re often energetic and buzzy, flush with waitstaff dodging traffic and delivering patrons and platters in equal parts. That’s the feel of Opa Taverna, West Chester’s popular Greek restaurant, on a Friday night. Bring in a group and order for the table. Start with the freshly made hummus platter and indulgent moussaka. And don’t forget the bar — the drinks all feature fresh-squeezed juices and housemade syrups. End the night with a slice of baklava. The flaky, sweet Greek classic is a perfect treat to share.

Night: Limoncello Ristorante

9 N. Walnut St.
610-436-6230 / LimoncelloRestaurant.com

Limoncello is a good meal any time of year, but there’s something special when you tuck inside on a January evening, closing the cold behind you and giving into the warm embrace of the surely overstuffed restaurant. While you wait for the hostess to ready the table, pop to the bar and order up a glass of wine or, if you’re feeling festive, a limoncello cocktail with prosecco and lime. Then peruse the menu with winter abandon, swaying between tender clams, homemade gnocchi in a San Marzano tomato sauce, or juicy, breaded chicken stuffed with mozzarella and asparagus.

Night: Bar Avalon

116 E. Gay St.
610-436-4100 / AvalonRestaurant.net

Started a quarter of a century ago as a BYOB eatery, Bar Avalon has gained quite a reputation for its popular cocktail list. Made with fresh ingredients by a knowledgeable staff, drinks here make it hard not to think back at a memorable Bar Avalon night that lasted for hours. Start the evening with a signature smoked Manhattan, or if you are abstaining, one of their equally well-thought-out mocktails, before moving on for an elegant meal served beneath the long arms of their trademark painted clock. The bacon-wrapped dates are a treat, the crispy calamari a favorite and any of the pasta dishes a worthy indulgence.

Happy Hour: Slow Hand

30 N. Church St.
484-999-8638 / SlowHand-WC.com

When you enter Slow Hand on Church Street, you’re confronted almost immediately with throwback vibes. Perhaps it’s the large picture of Conway Twitty that hangs over the main bar or the fact that there are no TVs in Slow Hand. That situation has a way of nudging you ever so subtly into a conversation with your bartender, who will explain, if you let him, the magic that goes into each expertly made drink. Ease into the post-work world with a paper plane and an order of the addictive pimento cheese dip, and relish the reminder of an era that did Happy Hour right.

Happy Hour: Sedona Taphouse

44 W. Gay St., Ste. 1
610-738-5104 / SedonaTaphouse.com

Sedona Taphouse’s Happier Hours have become so popular, you might not be able to get in, but at least they’ll be honest with you. Perhaps it’s that attention to capacity that allows the servers to keep serving, the vibe to stay hopping without turning claustrophobic, and those who make the cut to understand why the place is so popular. Pop in early — Happier Hour at 4 p.m. — to beat that rush, grab a seat at the contemporary stone-backed bar and lean into their signature Southwest style with a craft-made prickly pear margarita and a BBQ chicken flatbread to share.

Happy Hour: Good, Bad & Ugly

158 W. Gay St.
484-999-0922 / GoodBadUglyWC.com

As they like to say at West Chester’s Good, Bad & Ugly, “There are three sides to every story, and we’ve told them all.” Have one of those nights when you just want to let off some steam? Sneak downstairs to GBU. Located in the lower level under Stove & Tap, this lightly country, mostly modern bar offers games to play, music to dance to and a surprisingly good array of apps and cocktails to choose from. Try the sticky garlic chicken wings with a WC Ranch Water — Hornitos Plata, sparkling water and lime. Happy Hour runs late here, 8 to 10 p.m. So no need to rush. And no excuse not to stay.

Happy Hour: Barnaby’s Restaurant & Pub

15 S. High St.
610-696-1400 / BarnabysWC.com

Pick your poison — football, basketball, hockey, baseball, MLS, West Chester University games? It doesn’t matter. If it’s streaming somewhere, Barnaby’s Restaurant & Pub, a multi-floor sports bar housed in a historic building once home to the Borough’s municipal offices, can likely find it for you. The rich mahogany live-edge bar (one of seven) is already a welcoming beacon off the cold street. Add a $4 draft of your favorite domestic and the lively commentary of like-minded fans, and really, it can’t be beat. Not a sports fan? There are seven other rooms, each with a different vibe to choose from.

Gem: 9 Prime

9 N. High St.
610-365-3309 / 9PrimeWestChester.com

Some nights you just want to feel special. Those are the nights you break out the sparkles, the velvet, your Saturday night best, and saunter up to 9 Prime’s grand bar and order a martini, extra dry, two olives and savor the crisp, cool liquid while embracing that Bond feeling. Once here, you must stay for a meal. The charred octopus salad, light and refreshing, is a perfect place to start. Add to it a selection from the in-house dryaged beef program. Aged for up to 50 days, these cured cuts deliver a more tender, flavor-rich steak. Now that’s sophistication.

Gem: Ground Provisions

1388 Old Wilmington Pk.
610-355-4411 / GroundProvisionsPA.com

For three years now, Philadelphia restaurateurs Rich Landau and Kate Jacoby (of Philly’s James Beard-winning Vedge) have been defying suburban expectations by consistently delighting and surprising diners with what can be done with an all-vegan menu. Ground Provisions features a rotating seasonal tasting menu served in the best kind of rustic country setting. Think late afternoon light, copper pots on the wall, fresh flowers on the table, and a glass of all-natural Sicilian wine in hand. Reservations often need to be made weeks in advance, but the effort is a small price to pay to partake in this culinary adventure.

Gem: Bier and Loathing

113 W. Market St.
610-289-0079 / BierAndLoathing.com

Until Bier and Loathing opened in 2024, West Chester was seriously in need of some gaming action. Well, no more. Bier and Loathing on Market Street combines classic bar games — think multiple pool tables, shuffleboard and darts — with over 30 of your favorite arcade classics, all in the backdrop of a laidback bar. Come early with the kids and enjoy a pour from their rotating draft menu, while the little ones entertain themselves bopping between pinball, Pac-Man and the various racing games. Or come later (kids are out by 7 p.m.) for a surprisingly good cheesesteak, karaoke, tiki drinks and to relive your youth at this barcade.