The Paddock at Devon
Quick Take: Though one can’t always judge a restaurant purely on its burger, the one we had at The Paddock certainly suggests that someone in the kitchen knows what they are doing. It was a perfectly cooked medium-rare, charred on the outside and pink throughout — one of the best we’ve had in the area. The fries that came along with it left something to be desired (battered to be a bit crunchy, something we can live without), but the truffle oil-scented fries offered as an appetizer were out of this world.
Staff was very helpful on a busy night, though we were just seated in the bar. Beer selection is just ok — could use a couple more specialty brews. Overall, worth a try and we’ll be back.
http://devonpaddock.com/
December 13, 2008 @ 8:41 pm
Casual atmosphere, food is good. Nothing too fancy. Complementary hummus was delicious! I always thought of hummus as boring, but not here. Chicken parm very good and crispy.
December 28, 2008 @ 4:00 pm
Great music, good food, nice bar equals a winner
January 23, 2009 @ 5:08 pm
Agreed, comp hummus was excellent. Had a kick to it.
Tried the ribs and the beef sandwich. Ribs were good, melt off the bone, good sauce, Beef was good, not as good as Nick’s, but whose is?
Very lively and loud on a friday, beats the old John Harvard.
Will go back.
March 11, 2009 @ 7:54 am
Had dinner there last night, a few pros and cons.
Pros:
~The size of the meals is more than ample. Took half the meal home as lunch the next day and was still full.
~The complimentary hummus and flatbread was wonderful, albeit a touch oily.
~Very nice decor, promoted intimacy within a group
~The cheesecake was utterly fantastic
~The wait staff was very responsive to requests, and cheerful.
Cons:
~We waited upwards of 8-10 minutes for the hostess to show up at the entrance and show us to a table. We watched it happen repeatedly with others who came in. She simply was not there, or talking with two customers off to the side for several minutes, completely missing that people wanting to be seated.
~Even with the restaurant only 1/3rd full and the bar perhaps 1/2 full, conversation was very difficult. It was incredibly noisy even though there was no major sporting events going on, nor any parties. This was a Tuesday evening after 8, not your usual rush time. I will not go there at a time when it might be busy, as it would be utterly deafening. The acoustics allow the noise to seep everywhere and make it too hard to hear people sitting right next to you at the table.
All in all, I would take a group of friends here on a non-weekend night and prepare to shout while having decent food that is relatively good tasting, but it will probably be a while before I return here with my significant other for a night out.
March 16, 2009 @ 9:29 am
My husband and I stopped by yesterday afternoon to watch the Flyers game. The bartender, Steve, very nicely changed one of the tv’s for us so we could watch the game. We ordered the truffle fries and the club sandwich at the bar, both of which were excellent and would order again. We look forward to coming back for a real meal and really enjoyed our time there!
April 13, 2009 @ 8:34 am
Popped into this newly opened “gastro pub”near my house in late 2008 when the power went out one night. Thought I’d give it a try as it is always nice to have new options close to home.
Bottomline: Don’t waste your time and money.
The decor is nice, the bar is large. They did a nice job renovating the space. The hostesses, like at many restaurants, seemed more interested in their personal lives than the patrons-not that it was busy, not by a long shot.
The menu is uninspired, which would be fine if they served great versions of classic dishes. They do not. My Ceasar salad was fresh but forgettable. My pasta dish was memorable, but not in a good way. The chicken in it actually had that “too long in a freezer” taste to it. The sauce it swam in was bland yet garlicky. It was reminiscent of a bad frozen entree. Perhaps it would have been better to order a chop or steak, but I don’t think so. My dining companion’s entree was no better than mine.
Honestly, my friend pointed out the local diner served much better food. It appears that people behind The Paddock put all their efforts into the decor and forgot about the quality and taste of the food.
May 20, 2009 @ 10:58 am
Friend and I went last night and very disappointed. Truffle fries were ok, nothing special. Pork Sandwich very dry when I asked for some pork gravy, they brought me scolding hot beef au jus. Friend’s salad was also disappointing. They better watch it, or they will be another Maia. Atmosphere was like a big beer hall. We will never go back there. Good luck!
May 22, 2009 @ 1:20 pm
I love the Paddock’s ribs along with the crab appetizer (it may be called a crab fondue?? You dip crackers into it). My hub ordered the meatloaf and he said it was very good. I think the place has alot of good things going for it; we’ve gone a number of times and will return. Bar’s a great place to watch a game, too.
August 4, 2009 @ 12:56 pm
Went for a light lunch last Saturday with my wife and daughter. Service was great, but not overly impressed with the value. We had the Greek Steak Salad which was pretty decent, but the steak was very chewy – the salad was difficult to cut up without a steak knife. My wife had the scallop appetizer which consisted of 4 small scallops – at $13 – hardly worth it. We all shared the onion rings which were very good – the dipping sauces were tasty – but again, $8 for onion rings? $3 for a chocolate milk kids cup? – I don’t know – just very overpriced for what we received – we left disappointed and both said “Well, we won’t go there again”
September 3, 2009 @ 10:14 am
I went to The Paddock at Devon last weekend and absolutely loved it! Everything from the food to the service was out of this world! I would highly recommend this restaurant to friends and family and basically anyone who wants to a wonderful evening! Great Service, Great Food, Great Atmosphere, Great Crowd… I will have defiantly be returning soon
January 14, 2010 @ 12:10 pm
I ate at the Paddock a week ago with my wife and two other couple and we were blown away. From the free valet outside to the quality of the food… everything was beyond our expectations. The service was wonderful… the restaurant itself is very unique and beautiful… Our meals were all outstanding from the appetizers to the main entree. After a great dinner we wondered over to the bar where there was a great scene- live music and a large crowd. Dinner turned into a night on the town at the paddock and we will be returning and suggesting this restaurant to our friends. highly recommend it
February 4, 2010 @ 1:09 pm
Paddock is OK,but the several times I was there, it was far too noisy for my mature ears. I’m talking about the clientele, not the music. Also nothing really specially stands out on the menu. Like I say: OK. By the way, although its in the name, the Paddock is not in Devon. It’s in Strafford. (Trying to play off on the Devon Horse Show, of course, but misleading to someone who doesn’t know the area, one would think.)
March 6, 2011 @ 9:17 am
I went to the paddock for lunch it was 2 pm
On a saturday No one paid any attention to me
I finally sat in a booth never got a menu the bar was
Lively a waiter was busily talking to a customer
My husband joined me and we left. It is a shame we have had
Good food in the past but we won’t be back
January 12, 2012 @ 10:00 am
According to the Main Line Times, the Paddock has closed.
“The Paddock, a restaurant at Lancaster Avenue and Old Eagle School Road in Devon, closed on Saturday evening. A sign was posted on the door saying it had been sold to new owners and the last night of operation would be Jan. 7, 2012. It has been reported in financial difficulty for the past few months.”
http://www.mainlinemedianews.com/articles/2012/01/12/main_line_suburban_life/news/doc4f0dda6c4b7b4605995821.txt
January 12, 2012 @ 8:16 pm
Yep, paddock is closed. Rumor says PJ Whelihans up next.
February 13, 2012 @ 9:40 am
Main Line Times has another update on The Paddock location.
“After months of speculation about the direction/fate of The Paddock Restaurant & Bar, the guessing game is over. The ownership of The Paddock has sold the operation to the “Landmark Americana” regional chain (www.landmarkamericana.com ), who have locations in West Chester, University City (Drexel), and Glassboro, NJ (also coming soon to St. Joe’s University).”
Link to new place, Landmark Americana:
http://www.landmarkamericana.com/
Source article:
http://www.mainlinemedianews.com/articles/2012/02/12/main_line_suburban_life/news/doc4f3533ee68041838382769.txt
February 13, 2012 @ 10:11 am
Thanks Sean. Of course, if you follow us on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/mainlinedine), you would have heard about this 3 weeks ago! ;o)
February 14, 2012 @ 3:57 pm
Thanks for the tip. I was under the impression that this site would have the info (I obviously missed your Jan. 25th posting).
Just an FYI, my work blocks access to Facebook and Twitter…not sure if others are in the same situation. I get around it with RSS readers on my iPhone like “Pulse”.
February 15, 2012 @ 9:19 am
So why have this website if it’s not going to be updated?
February 15, 2012 @ 10:24 am
If you’d like to donate some cash so we can work on this site full-time and publish a full report on every rumor and news tidbit that comes up, please contact us here: http://chi17.stablehost.com/~undiscov/mainlinedine/contact-us. Otherwise, you can follow us on Facebook or Twitter.