Broad Table Tavern — Restaurant in Swarthmore

On our way home from the airport, we decided to stop and have dinner. We chose this place because the name sounded cozy and traditional. We arrived from the parking lot through the hotel checking area. Tried to make a reservation online but the soonest we could get one was 45 minutes later. We decided to go anyway and we’re seated right away. There was plenty of seating. First impression, the place was very simple and nice. The host was very pleasant and accommodating. Ok, so now the not so good stuff. The place was well lit, maybe to well. I felt like I was at a turnpike rest stop or a cafeteria. There is a fireplace that was not lit even though it was chilly and damp out. It would have given a ton of ambience as would turning down the lights a bit. The bar area looked great and the lighting was perfect. We arrived during happy hour, so dinner turned out to be 4 appetizers for dinner which turned out to be more than we could eat. It was a good value for a wide variety of foods. We both had a one glass of wine. The food was less than impressive. Again, the presentation was lackluster. We had meals at the airports that were served with more flare. The food was just ok and disappointing at the same time. This place seemed to lack passion from who ever is in charge. One note: everyone at the bar seemed like they were enjoying their time there. That part was done right. Even the lighting was perfect. By the way, we did ask if they could light the fireplace. They said they would but never did. My wife asked if I would come back. My answer, I wouldn’t make a special trip here for the food but if I was in the area and just wanted a simple lunch or dinner, I would possibly stop back, possibly but unlikely. Remember, you only get one chance to make a first impression. For me, it wasn’t a very good one. Potential is there but the...

Almost every piece of this meal missed the mark.

This is based off the brunch experience.

Service was extremely slow. Brunch cocktails came out in two waves, the first wave had a French 75 (curiously made with Italian sparkling rather than French sparkling) and mimosa that came out several minutes after the order. However, the Bloody Mary second wave came out much, much later because they ran out of the house made mix.

The food took an extremely long time to come out and was improperly prepared. The poached egg on the Eggs Benedict was overcooked with a rock hard yolk. The French Toast was supposed to have a creme and berry compote (compote for an additional charge). The compote translated into some defrosted (or otherwise poor quality) berries without any sort of maceration, sauce, or reduction and the creme was completely absent. The other two dishes were okay, but hardly anything special.

Honestly, it seemed like they were expecting us to be so relieved to have anything to eat by the time the food came that we wouldn't even notice the substandard quality. And you better nurse your drinks because you will go quite awhile between seeing staff, so frequent refills are out of the question.

I can't give a one star review because not everything was terrible and the restaurant was clean with a nice atmosphere. However, this is definitely not a place we will be trying again...

This place is really difficult to capture in a short review. The ambience is truly fantastic, and they have a few knockout dishes on the menu. Also, if you're vegetarian, they have the rare and excellent Impossible Burger. I strongly recommend this place for brunch; as far as I can tell, everything on the Brunch menu in excellent, and the prices are better than their lunch and dinner menu.

The only major issue with the place is inconsistency of service. The hosts and servers vary, but across maybe 10 visits, I've been served by several people who I would describe as unusually apathetic and disinterested. There are some absolutely lovely people working there, but I will admit that I don't think I've had a meal there where a significant error wasn't made with our order. (Really weird things, like serving tea in a pot with no spout, or water not being ever served despite ongoing promises and apologies over the course of the meal). At first I chalked it up to a rough launch, but it still seems to be an ongoing issue well over a year since they opened.

All that said, I do think it's a beautiful and comfortable place to have a fancy dinner without having to drive to Media, and would recommend a visit if you are willing to go in expecting a few rough edges. Moreover, I have great hope they will continue to improve and eventually invalidate this review...