THEA — Restaurant in Lower Allen

I work at a doctors office in the area and I was given a business card for Thea by AnnMarie‘s mother who’s a patient of ours. Her description of her daughter’s restaurant was intriguing to say the least. I shared the description with my girlfriend and we were excited to give it a visit. A few months pass by and our schedules finally permit us to have a night out so I make reservations for a Saturday evening after work. We walked in and the atmosphere did not disappoint. It was a pretty packed house. The hostess was very friendly and sat us right away. After we were seated our waiter Andrew introduced himself and started thoroughly going over soup and dinner specials all while opening our bottle of wine and serving it. We were impressed yet again. At this point I’d like to step back and say that before coming this evening I had read a list of glowing reviews all within the past few days about the service and had a pretty good look at the menu. We already knew what we wanted for our appetizer. (CHARCUTERIE BOARD) it was delicious. A few minutes after being served our app Andrew asked if we needed a few more minutes. We said yes. After this point we didn’t see our waiter for almost twenty minutes... I’m a firm believer in the saying “great service can make a mediocre meal seem great and poor service can ruin a great meal.” And when I say “didn’t see him” I don’t mean we saw him helping other tables and not us. We simply didn’t see him. I noticed this because I watched the other four waiter/waitress’s CONTINUOUSLY going in and out of the kitchen doors the entire twenty minutes. Wether it was with appetizers, entrees’s, or just to have a quick friendly conversation with one of their tables... I point this out because it is clear that there are tables of “regulars” and first timers like us getting clearly above and beyond service. And that’s what was so disappointing... Waiting for so long just order while you see every other table getting some of the best service I’ve seen in this area is... simply that... disappointing. As for the food... my girlfriend ordered the SALMON DU JOUR*. She loved it and let me try it. It was very good. Taking the service out of the equation at this point, I had the DUROC PORK CHOP... one of the most expensive entree’s on the menu. I would not recommend this to anyone unfortunately... it was simply bland, the brussel sprouts were over powering and the pork chop was barely seasoned if at all... this is my first ever review of a restaurant and/or an establishment of any kind so i apologize for it being long winded. I’m not saying don’t try Thea. In fact I’d like to think I’d give it another chance... but after spending almost 100.00 on a dinner for two and being so very disappointed... I can’t promise anything.

Best wishes...

My wife found a TikTok about this fried chicken sandwich that was gluten free and sent it to me. A little backstory to this… My wife was diagnosed with celiacs disease earlier in the year and it had been extremely hard on her. We have tried so many places by us that had gluten free items on their menu but with cross contamination it became a struggle to find a true gluten free kitchen. Going out to eat was becoming impossible. I thought back to the TikTok she sent and I went on Thea’s website and started looking into everything. I was getting excited, everything about Thea’s was what I was searching for. I set up a blind date night with my wife, not telling her where we were going. When we pulled up after a 2+ hour drive her frowny face lit up. She was so happy, she was smiling ear to ear! Little did she know her experience was just getting started… from the moment we walked in the atmosphere was very pleasant. We were greeted with smiles the entire time, it felt like the staff were one big family and we were guest in their home. When our server Tini came over, she introduced herself and that’s when we told her about my wife and her celiacs disease. Tini did not miss a beat and started going over the menu with her options and explaining the processes, how everything was made, that everything was separate and in doing so put my wife and myself at ease. We were left to decide, which to people without Celiacs disease it may be a normal thing to do but to her it was the first time in months she COULD be “normal”. At that time Annmarie came out and once again went over the menu and to reassure my wife that everything was 100% gluten free. They chatted for awhile and we put our order in with Tini. When the food came out, from apps to entre’s it was the best food we’ve ever had. Tini and Annmarie came out to check on us and we couldn’t stop expressing to them how good the food was. My wife had the fried chicken sandwich and when she bit into it, tears slowly came about. She was so happy, no words had to be said. The entire dining experience was nothing short of extravagant. You can tell that AnnMarie truly cares about her craft and her passion about food. Her heart and soul goes out on every plate that is served. I cannot thank Tini, AnneMarie and the entire staff of Thea’s for one of the best nights of our lives. We will be back, it was worth every second of that long drive. We’ll be seeing...

This was our first visit in some time. We were looking forward to returning based on prior experience but unfortunately, this visit was a big disappointment.

I am not sure if there was a change in ownership or management, but the place was definitely not functioning well.

First... good service to me is at least the server returning to your table at least one time after you've ordered to at least ask how your meal taste, anything I can get you.... But never, come on!

Good service is informing the customer when they order a soft drink specifically by name... Diet Coke in this case... and that the server would politely inform you that they do not serve Coke or Pepsi products but locally provided soda products and perhaps offer a sampling before being disappointed.

Great Service is when you have a visit from the kitchen, and ask how your meal is as was done with other tables that same night. Again, no one came to the table.

Quality of food served was marginal at best.

Bathrooms were in need of an attendant as they were a mess.

There are many more actual upscale restaurants in the area that will hold up to that claim from start to finish.

Additionally the price paid for the food and service level provided was not aligned. Aka way overpriced.

Oh and servers...how about an offer at the end of the entree for desserts, coffee, or at least a "thank you for joining us" at the end of the night, rather than dropping the check and doing a UTurn!

....

Prior review below kept for reference with the hope that this place will get back to that level again..... otherwise I will not be back and would not recommend either...

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2020-21

Thea is a great full service restaurant offering fine menu choices for all palates.

As shown in the photos they have added outside dining ala-yurts. Each is lighted and individually heated.

The also provide an extra touch with blue tooth speaker for playing your own musical selection.

Reservations highly recommended.

Family owned, individually...