Fine option, not amazing but good. Nice environment, solid beer list, fine food, ok (slow...) service.

I think a gem just opened blocks from me, here in Swarthmore its a dry-town and BroadTableTavern seem to have obtained a liquor license b/c the delicious food comes with a full bar. I live here mostly winter/spring season and last year I came when the Inn had recently opened so I went to try it for dinner with my family. The service was remarkable and though each plate was delicious we all found it pricey yet again, they're located in the only hotel in Swartmore so they can charge whatever they want. The lighting in the back of the restaurant felt like cafeteria-lighting, total different feel than the front by the lounge, there's outside seating too. Seasons change and now went to give it another try for lunch, it was so good I went twice in one day. Lunch prices are reasonable and the menu changes periodically, always fresh food. A must try if you haven't, brunch on Sunday seem outstanding as well. Not only will I return but most probably will become a seasonal-regular. read more

Broad Table Tavern - Bar scene - Bars Near Me - Swarthmore, Pennsylvania

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I am so disappointed in this restaurant. I keep going with my friends and family, hoping it will get better. But it never does. We just had lunch there and the fresh fruit and the avocado were not ripe. No one could eat the potatoes on the side. My mother's muffin was inedible. I left feeling sick, despite the kind waitress's attempts to fix things. Seriously, I have had the worst restaurant food of my life at the Inn repeatedly. Yet I keep going, hoping it will get better. Why can't they get wonderful chefs that make delicious food? Why is that not happening? The place was practically empty--doesn't the manager wonder why and want to make improvements? It's such a lovely space and environment. Why is no one doing anything to improve the food? And then they have the audacity to charge these expensive prices? Our community wants to support you but you make it so difficult. read more

Slow service, wrong orders, bacon found in a sweet and sour broccoli order twice (literally after they replaced the order, the replacement, (manager checked my order) still had bacon in it as well) ) I appreciate that they honored a free meal afterwards (I don't eat bacon and it is not supposed to be in that dish) -but that order came out wrong as well - no bun on my "impossible burger" - 3 messed up orders is enough of a red flag for me to not come back - sorry Broad Table - read more

Located on campus and attached to inn. Modern interior with some rustic touches. Good beer selection and decent wine list with something for most tastes and price ranges. Started with hummus. Came with warm, grilled pita. Server offered more. Hummus may have been too salty for some, but we liked it. Salads were large and a decent value considering. Looking forward to trying some of their creative menu selections. read more

Great service, food, and atmosphere! Our waitress was friendly and attentive. The hostess also checked in on us with a smile. The burgers and Philly Cheese Steaks we got were very tasty. The place has an upscale, well-maintained look about it inside and out that puts you at ease. I mistakenly left my credit card there. Would you believe the general manager, Rob McDevitt, was nice enough to mail it to me! Now that's putting the customer first! I'll be sure to eat at the Broad Table Tavern when I'm next in Swarthmore, PA. read more

The service here is amazing and the staff are very kind and helpful. The food is also delicious and very filling. I had shrimp and grits with an English muffin and it was some of the best food I've ever had. I had a simple iced tea and it was great and my waitress always kept plenty of water at our table. I will definitely come back here! read more

Not to be missed. The service was attentive, atmosphere comfortable and very clean. Salads are great! We had the hanger steak which was the best we've had in a long time. Don't miss the carrot cake: moist, delicious and innovative. Very good drink and craft beer list. My only regret is that it's 400 miles from home. read more

They get one star because there is nothing lower. Party of 9 for brunch the day BEFORE mothers day. Service sucked......coffee was served without cream/milk without even asking. Plates came out piece meal, pancakes were served dry. Management couldn't care less. Typical Swarthmore Snobbery. You'll get a better breakfast at Cracker Barrel. Manager was a condescending dolt. Party of 4 arrived after us, and was leaving before we were all served. Portions skimpy and do not order what they call "hash browns". The worst. Blanched potato slices then burned on the flat top. One of the 5 worst dining experience in my life. Wait staff was miserable, and to the girl stomping around miserable, either quit or at least try and fake being nice. 0 stars. read more

We were here for supper tonight. Our server was pleasant and promptly took our drink order. She returned and we gave our food selections. After the appetizers were served she disappeared and did not return for 45 minutes with the entrees. The restaurant was about 25% occupied so there was no apparent reason for this long delay. The manager apologized but had no explanation. The food was palatable but just barely. The chicken I had was dry and was only a breast not a half chicken I was expecting. No reason to return any time soon. read more

Great eats are offered at very reasonable prices in this large, airy restaurant/bar. The staff was friendly and attentive. Huge selection of beer on tap. Dinner choices include delicious fresh fish. The breakfast is very well priced: eggs, toast, potatoes and meat choice (bacon, chicken apple sausage, etc) was $10. I'm from the West coast so I tried the "pork roll", not known to us in California -- very tasty! Helpful, friendly, attentive staff. read more

Great food and nice atmosphere but horrible service. Staff is not friendly and do not seem to care at all about their customers. If they were just a little bit more efficient they would do so much better. They are the only place in swarthmore that does sell alcohol so that helps them gain profit but I would only recommend this place if you don't want to go into philly or you are feeling particularly patient that night. read more

The Inn is lovely. The food is less than ordinary. Things are overthought and overpriced. A simple but refined menu would be a welcome change. read more

This new restaurant has everyone beat! The staff, including the two hosts, were absolutely wonderful. The food was quality in every way and so delicious. The waiters and waitresses: SO poised AND gracious. Loved the way the rooms/bar were arranged. A fireplace, too! This makes all the fancy restaurants on the main line and in the suburbs seem ordinary and uninspired. Question: can you keep it consistently wonderful? Very impressed. read more

Absolutely terrible, do not go. We went for Father's day brunch. I had to track our server down just to place our orders. We didn't get served our beverages for 30 minutes, over an hour for food. Only 6 people and we placed simple orders. We asked for the manager after watching other tables get their food even though they came after us. Our server told us he wouldn't come out and only gave us his card for us to call him. It's inexcusable that he couldn't even come out to explain why the service was so slow. When the food finally came we were missing an order and our poached eggs were hard boiled. I was embarrassed I brought my family and will never go back again. May have been the worst restaurant experience I've ever had. read more

We heard that the food had been improved and decided to give this place another try. We were sadly disappointed. The food was lukewarm and mediocre, not anything I would ever come back for. The service was unimpressive, they mostly slung our food down in front of us . They didn't even have the vanilla ice cream that was supposed to come with the dessert. How hard would it have been to walk over to the Co-op and buy some? read more

The food is original and inspired. The service was fantastic. The ambiance is very comforting. The Bloody Mary was very in-inspired. Needs work. Everything else was very, very good. (That just made the Bloody Mary look worse). read more

The food was ok but the service was incredibly slow. To give you an idea, it took them over 10 minutes just to take our credit cards. We spent over 2 hours at this place... read more

While the locale and decor are quite charming, it is never a good sign to start off a meal having the server tell you that this is the first day they've been a server. Over the course of our meal we had three different servers who were each as unorganized, uncharismatic, and seemingly inexperienced as the others, none of which put in an appearance for quite some time. Which all would be fine and dandy, if half the food had tasted better than cardboard. My understanding of an omelet is that the ingredients are sautéd together with the eggs, as was the case with the Spanish Omelet. Apparently, however, the BYO omelet is some foreign kind of omelet, in which the ingredients, almost uncooked, are placed on top of a bland and rubbery slab of eggs. I was not aware that you could mess up breakfast potatoes worse than a college cafeteria, however, Broad Table Tavern has managed to do just that. Instead of crisp and pleasantly seasoned potato chunks, my potatoes were soggy blocks of fiber. Luckily, not everyone at this table disliked their meal. The Spanish Omelet, and the "grits" were good enough to pass muster, but not good enough to take home leftovers. Thank goodness we didn't have to empty our wallets for this one. It's such a shame that this long awaited and highly touted restaurant, does not live up to it's promise. We endured many months of construction, noise, and traffic congestion for this, and hopefully one day it will have been worth it. read more

I gave it two stars cause the wait staff are great, and the bartender does a nice job. But I've been to this place many times since it opened, because it is close to my home, and the food has gone straight downhill. The burger i had tonight tasted like they ran over to the college dining hall and grabbed one from under the heating lamps. Gross. Won't be back. read more

Everything looked lovely, but after a 10 minute wait at the bar I was finally acknowledged. I then ordered 2 drinks -but the bartender either forgot or decided to ignore me after I mentioned we already had dinner and were there for drinks only. I guess they are catering to the college. This is the only place in town that serves alcoholic beverages so I guess they can slack. Headed to media where customers are treated like, well, customers read more

Very good overall, food offering is very current and of high quality. Service was very good. Will certainly return.

I've been to the BTT 3 times on the weekends, twice for brunch, once for lunch. The food is rather good, but the service is sorely lacking. Some servers seem to have no idea what they are doing and lack social graces. I won't be back. read more

Breakfast - The main restaurant was not busy but the waitress told us there was a large group being served in a banquet room - thus our food was very slow in arriving and our service quite poor. The food was good when it did arrive but we had to ask for more coffee, more cream, the milk that should have been served with the oatmeal and then hunt down someone to take the credit card. Also, I would consider it overpriced with regular coffee at $4 and pancakes at $12. read more

Amazing! Beautiful setting . Farm to table fare. Whipped ricotta appetizer was unique and delicious. Goat cheese ravioli were perfect. Wines offered a good selection and decent pour. Staff very accommodating. Nice place to go for a special evening out with friends. read more

Love it! The manager, Chris, was so friendly and I love the fact that they locally source as much of their food/drinks as possible.

I LOVE the vibe of this place - everything from the dishes to the decor to the wait staff was top notch. It is beautiful and a very welcome addition to the area. We had breakfast there, but I will definitely be back for dinner. I ordered oatmeal that was absolutely delicious. My dining partner had grits and she said they were very good. We both ordered tea, which is a loose tea served in a french press. Their menu is a bit limited (in a good way), so may not appeal to everyone. Worth a visit. Although we sat inside. they have a beautiful (but small) outdoor seating area. read more

I had dinner here with my wife on the evening of New Year's Day 2017 -- and it was outstanding. I found this a testament to the professionalism and excellence of the restaurant. This was a Sunday night, a quiet evening at the end of a long holiday weekend -- and the place was not full. The kitchen and the service could have been forgiven for dropping a notch or two. But the service was first-rate and the food was as good as anything you can get in Philadelphia at, say, Southwark or Supper, on a Friday or Saturday night. The beer on draft was really fresh (I had Sly Fox Saison Vos) -- and the cappucino after dinner was quite good. We really enjoyed ourselves and highly recommend this place. This is an oasis of quality that is a gift to the community here. read more

Amazing atmosphere! Great food and heartfelt service. One of our favorite new spots. Great beer selection on tap as well.

Went here to celebrate my birthday with my husband. We have a toddler and a newborn and rarely get out so I was really looking forward to trying out Broad Table Tavern. The restaurant was beautiful and cozy. I ordered a basil specialty drink to start that came out so unbelievably boozy with no taste of basil that I had to send it back (I should note I am a former server and would never send anything back unless it was truly horrible). Our waiter was so nice but very inattentive. I had to flag down another sever to replace my drink with a glass of wine. I ordered the Branzino which ended up being most expensive on menu. It came with whole head and everything on it. I was so turned off, in the past I've had it filleted table side at other restaurants. I switched with my husband and ate his swordfish (on special that night) which was very bland. My husband ate the branzino which was so small and left him hungry and was also bland. We skipped dessert to avoid another disappointment. Then our bill arrived with my first drink that I took one sip from still on it. I was so disappointed and will not return. read more

Great atmosphere, new place, good look. Indoor and outdoor seating with gas fireplaces. Service was good, but the food wasn't great. I got the scallops with sweet potatoes, which weren't amazing. Steak was a little bland and green salad wasn't great. Overall okay, but wasn't worth the price payed. Steak entree was $26. Salads $7 and appetizers around $10. read more

PROS: Great, "sustainable chic" decor (think local artists, handblown glass fixtures, farmhouse tables -- like Anthropologie and Restoration Hardware got married); sophisticated but approachable farm to table menu; reasonable prices (with many entrees in the $22-25 range, some are more); a truly excellent bar; and a fun atmosphere. CONS: 1) Can be very loud, which is fun when you're at the bar, less fun when you're out to dinner trying to have a conversation. This is directly related to problem #2: The experience of making a reservation. The woman on the phone can't hear a thing you say; every time I make a reservation I consistently have to repeat myself several times. She gets names wrong, numbers wrong, not her fault she just can't bloody hear. She kept apologizing and saying, "I'm sorry it's really loud in here I can't hear you." And indeed the noise coming from the phone was deafening. Highly unpleasant. 3) Some waitstaff are not "polished" enough for this type of restaurant plain and simple, and/or they need a lot more training. Examples: "I was calling them 'burned marshmallows' til I found out they were 'toasted marshmallows' hahaha", "Yes the octopus salad is real great [sic] I mean if you like that - I'm not sure, I never had it - but if you like, kind of, seafood and stuff you'll love it!" "Ok hi I'm just checking back with you to let you know I'm putting your dinner order in now." Uh yeah okay do that (??!). So they're nice and eager (perhaps overeager) but some of them simply need more training. Common I suppose in the early weeks post opening. But it's something that should not be overlooked for much longer. read more

Food was ok but service was awful. We sat for a long time and never really had a waiter...we constantly had to ask other waiters to get us food, drinks etc. it was weird. They totally forgot we were there. Would not go back there. read more

While the decor is amazing, the food and the service are not. Today, I asked for a green salad with dressing on the side with grilled shrimp. First of all, the shrimp was not grilled. I've had it there before and it was grilled perfectly with char marks. Secondly, the salad came already dressed. When I told the waitress, she asked if I wanted another. YES! Ten minutes later, the salad was brought back to the table with dressing on the side. However, it was the same greens fully dressed!!! When I gave it back to the waitress AGAIN, she said she asked the kitchen for a dry salad. Anyway, after a total of twenty minutes of waiting I finally got what I requested. The saddest part is, it was not worth waiting for! read more

Offensive, bigoted, & inappropriate language for dinner?? It took me a few days to fully process this experience, but I feel obligated to forewarn diners of the hostile atmosphere this establishment had to offer my friend & I last week. While dining, albeit uncomfortably close to what one can only assume is the kitchen entrance, we couldn't avoid hearing the unprofessionally loud "conversation" taking place throughout the majority of our meal. At first, it was merely staff banter. However, the situation went from bad to unacceptable when a portly man who appeared to be in his mid to late fifties emerged from the kitchen & proceeded to use language wrought with racist undertones & bigoted innuendos. Looking back, I wish I would have interceded, but we hastily paid the check & discussed the scenario our entire ride home. Both of us are from the area, but have relocated, & as we drove back toward the city, I felt relieved...& very disappointed. The food was mediocre, the service was slow, & regardless of the quality, I left feeling sick to my stomach. read more

We went with a part of five and as others mentioned we really wanted to love this place. We moved from CA about a year ago and when we go out to dinner we almost always head to Philadelphia where there are so many great options. We were really looking forward to having a great local place. We still hope it will get there. The restaurant is modern and well laid out, we enjoyed all of the natural plants and light. We ended up in a very comfortable booth and our waitress could not have been nicer. The wait staff is a little green but incredibly nice and pleasant. I would give the staff and the room experience a 4/5, it was the food and drinks where things were a bit disappointing. I ordered a mixed drink with Gin. I usually get Gin because I don't enjoy sweet drinks, it ended up being one of the sweetest drinks I have ever had in my life. It tasted like a class of sugar syrup with some cranberries and a touch of gin, it was not drinkable. The waitress brought some nice bread to the table and it was warm and soft. We ordered two appetizers a hummus dish and a dish of pancetta on plums. The pancetta and plums was a hit, the hummus tasted grainy and tasteless. For the main entree three of us ordered the burrata salad with tomatoes, I guess I am used to Italian restaurants where you get nice large tomatoes with thin slices of fresh burrata, this was quite different it was a mound of very overdressed basil and tomatoes and the biggest mound of cheese I had ever seen on a plate. The basil and salad looked stale but it may just have been sitting in a sea of dressing for too long. The cheese was quite good, the salad was too overdressed. I would have loved a really fresh salad with real tomatoes, a drizzle of dressing and 1/2 the size of cheese would have worked. This is farm fresh - it is great if you can actually taste the vegetables. Similar feedback on the rest of our dinners, the steak would have been great but it was covered in very heavy cream sauce, I had pasta that looked fresh but it was covered with a very very heavy tomato paste and very salty olives and capers. If they tossed the fresh pasta in a little oil with a few capers and olives it could have been perfect but it was just too much, almost inedible and I love salt but it was overwhelmingly salty. My daughter order goat cheese raviolis and could not eat hers, it was piled high with, once again 'overly salted' mushrooms and some other heavy sauce. To my surprise my kids did not even like their signature smores dessert. The thought it was once again just too much, very heavy and the graham crackers tasted burnt not smokey. I really hope they continue to improve, just feels like they are trying too hard and serving dishes that are way over complicated. Prices were on the high side which would have been ok if the food was awesome but we felt we overpaid, several in our party barely touched the food. We will wait a few months and give it another try, we do want to support a local restaurant. read more