DePaul's Table Steakhouse — Restaurant in Lower Merion Township

This place has potential, but being newer it doesn't not have the attention to detail of the top center city steakhouses yet (our go-tos for celebrating big meals). It is all image and attention to detail on the food that make a steakhouse stand out. Maybe we got a bad night (6/12) as I saw the only negative review ("super expensive for mediocre food") was commenting about the same night. We'll try it later eventually hoping it improves, but as of now it's not yet ready to be a go to if looking for a top notch steak dinner. I gave it 4 stars given they are new, and giving the benefit of the doubt that it was just an off night. They got a lot right, but as stated, a top notch steakhouse is about details.

Drinks and cocktails: I had an old fashioned and a glass of wine was also ordered. The old fashioned was very good and strong. The wine was poured generously. It seems like a decent place for cocktails. My only comment, which I saw someone else pointed out is clear ice. It's about image and supposedly the ice melts slower. Not fatal in my eyes bc I use clouded ice (air bubbles) at home but it does make a difference for presentation. Besides that drinks/cocktails seem good for what we had. Prices weren't out of line for quality cocktails and they didn't skimp on volume or alcohol like some places do.

For appetizers, we ordered calamari and eggplant. The eggplant was good. It probably could have been hotter once it came out, but was still solid. The calamari wasn't hot/crispy and was a bit soggy/oily on the bottom. It was decent flavored, but, again, for a steakhouse you're not going for decent, especially something basic like calamari. Maybe it wasn't drained after the fryer properly, needed another 30 seconds to crisp it up, or needed to be put on a paper towel first to suck up extra oil. A minor adjustment will make a huge difference.

For our meals, we ordered a strip steak, filet, and crab cakes. The 14oz steak seemed on the smaller side but the real issue is both streaks were overcooked. We both ordered medium rare and the filet was maybe slightly over medium and the strip steak was medium well on the one half and slightly over medium on the other half. It was still well flavored and "good" but for $55 a steak (usually higher end steakhouse prices) ideally it should be cooked to order or slightly undercooked. Yeah, they did come around and ask how everything was but it's a social faux pas to be that nagging person who sends everything back fifty times especially when it still taste decent. If it was a tomahawk ($125) or a double porterhouse (they didn't have it) I definitely would have sent it back though. The crab cakes were supposedly really good though but I didn't try them.

For sides, the garlic mashed potatoes were very very good and different from the ho hum steakhouse mashed potatoes. The creamed spinach was flavored well but was liquidy. It either needed to be boiled down or more flour to thicken it up. It was good, but it was just odd as it's usually creamy not liquid creamy. If that's what they're going for so the cream sauce mixes with the steak when on the plate then fine, but if not it needs to be tightened up. If it's supposed to be liquidy, servers should let people know it is. Again image and perception.

Last for dessert was generally good. We had cream brulee, and dulce de leche ice cream and the coffee was good.

In the end, it was a decent steakhouse meal for a newer restaurant possibly on an off meal/night. If this is how it is consistently it's a place to get a steak in the neighborhood without dealing with the hassle of the city but to truly compete with the top city steakhouses and become a place to celebrate big meals at they need to tighten up the ship a bit. It's definitely within reach but without positive and negative feedback or won't happen (hence my review). I'm hoping they do whatever they need to do as a center city quality steakhouse in the mainline without having to drive to KoP or deal with the City will kill it and it'd be good to have one within...

Took my wife for birthday dinner. From the start it seemed as our waiter was in a hurry, but having been in the service industry before i didnt blame him too much, i can understand, but it wasnt a welcoming start, which could have been overcome. It was not. Let me just say that the building and decor are beautiful! Its truly a stunning restaurant aestetically. We ordered cocktails from the bar to start, 3 appetizers to share, a bottle of Barolo and entrees. The drinks were well made and the appetizers were OK, but nothing that i would go out to have again. We were having a nice time until we got our entrees which were a dissapointment. I orderes the 12 oz filet mignon au poivre with the demi and when ordered the waiter did not take a temperature on it, my fault too for not stating one. It arrived rare. As i ate it it was clear this steak had been dethawed quickly or microwaved, and not fully at that hence why it was so rare and over seared on the outside. The meet had become stringy which in my experience shows it was not properly prepared. The "demi" was the consistency of water, which anyone who has cooked knows should be able to coat the back of a spoon. My wife had the special halibut and when it arrived it was over cooked. I tried it and the fish just sucked all the moisture out of your mouth. Parts of the fish was ok, but again much of it was inediable. We sent it back and the next one came out the same. So we ate what we could, got some sorbet and left. The steak with 2 sides, brussel sprouts and mashed potato, was $82 with my wifes fish coming in around $50. With the $100 bottle of wine and all told we spent over $400(with tip) on 2 people. I am ok spending that kind of money on a meal and do it often in philly. However if you are charging those prices everything needs to be spot on perfect. From service to food to atmosphere. Here we got the atmosphere but not much else. I would not reccomend to anyone, other than maybe a good place for drinks at the bar and...

Have to give a 5-star shout out to DePaul’s. Was driving home this past Friday, talking to my husband on the phone when it became clear the work week had us exhausted and we would be staying in for the night. Knowing the cupboard was bare we thought about take/delivery options but my husband was really craving a legit steak. As I passed through Villanova headed into Gladwyn we discussed options as there are no real steakhouses east of ‘Nova…then I wondered if DePaul’s was set up for take out yet (they weren’t the week they opened, understandably). I hung up with hubs, called DePaul’s and sure enough, take out was available. As I was driving & couldn’t review the menu, I asked the hostess if she could help me order. She said, of course! She was so helpful and patient, reading me the menu, suggesting options, etc. whe I asked if she needed me to pay then, she said, whatever is easiest. I had the option to pay upon arrival. They said 30 mins and sure enough, I pulled up to valet (she told me to go to the valet and tell them why I was there), he ran in and came back to say the order was on its way out! Just then a well dressed gentleman came out with my order as I got out of the car. I said thank you but I still need to pay you. He said, no problem I’ll go run your cc for you while you stay in your vehicle. I believe he said he was one of the owners or the manager. That showed me everyone working there doesn’t seem to act like “oh, that’s not my job/department”, but rather as a full service team for the customer. Brought the food home to hungry hubby and we both could not believe that the cook temps were perfect, the seasoning on point, everything! He got the bone-in rib and I had the New York strip. Awesome! Also, the Kobe meatballs were the bomb! Hands down, fantastic customer service and spectacular food! Such a much needed and well executed addition to the eastern mainline dinning scene! (Insert happy...