West Chester Restaurants Yum!
Teca
Teca, West Chester’s Euro-style cafe, has tripled it’s seating area with a stylish addition into the historic Goodwill Fire Company structure next door. Along with the Italian tiles, designer Barbara Balongue used chandeliers imported from the Italian island of Murano to create an ambiance where couples and small parties may enjoy a glass of premium wine from the most extensive list of reserve wines outside of New York City.
The menu selection is reasonably priced and gourmet all the way. You’ll enjoy a wide variety of Italian tapas-style appetizers and salads, all under $10. Fuller meals are served in the evening and include a selection of fish and pasta dishes.
Expanded outside seating is available when the weather is nice.
24 Reviews So Far Newest First
-
Didn’t want to like TECA, but thought we would give it a try…
It was the right time to go, not too busy for a Saturday. We ate inside, no wait. I would have to say it was good.
We didn’t expect much, service was slow, we did get two drinks (good), a brushetta (excellent), and small dinners (both very good).
don’t go there expecting a ton, drinks small meals, and you’ll be set.
next time we may just order appetizers, they had a great selection of those and sandwiches.
-
2 glasses of wine + 3 pieces of cheese = $100 later…still have to get pizza…at Culinary of course! Enjoy the over price experience…never going back….ever.
-
What a sad group of low life wanna-be parolees hang out at this place. If fake NJ shore tough guys and skanks are your idea of a good night, you’ll love Teca.
-
What’s happened to Teca? This had been a favorite spot but I’ll think twice about returning after my lunch there a few weeks ago. Had the special sandwich - roast beef and bleu cheese. It was priced at almost twice that of any other sandwich on the menu - it was dry and tasteless; if there was blue cheese on the sandwich I never tasted it. At over $14 for the sandwich, it was served with a quarter slice of a grape tomato, period, pathetic. You can’t even call that a garnish - it looked more like a mistake, plate litter. Also had the same experience of being charged for iced tea refills.
-
They recycle their cheese!! Gross!!!
-
I usually go to Teca for a couple glasses of wine and some light food. The food is decent and the wine is good. The last time I went, I got soda instead of wine. So did the person I was with. The waitress egarly refilled our sodas before they were empty. When we got the bill, we were charged $12 for diet soda!!! I was never told refills were not free (the glasses are half the size of regular glasses).
When I spoke with the owner about it, he was very rude. This really surprised me because I always see him there working very hard to run his restaurant. He actually insulted me by telling me most people don’t drink that much soda (two normal sized glasses each doesn’t seem excessive to me) and told me that Teca is a much classier establishment than I must be used to dining at!!! Then he took my soda charge “down” to $7. I was insulted and felt tricked. I will NEVER go back there.
-
So this review isnt necessarily for Teca, but for their upsatirs establishment Mezzanine. My buddy and I had a friend come in from out of town who is interested in moving to West Chester permanently. We decided to show him some West Chester night life starting with Mezzanine. We arrived at the door with sharp blazers, designer jeans, and nice shoes….nothing ripped or torn. We are all in sales/finance and generally are a clean cut group of guys. Well, we were denied entry b/c we were wearing t-shirts under our blazers!?!?! and nice t-shirts…once again, nothing torn! WTF? We were so ready to spend lots of cash on some good drinks! Mezzanine, this is not Manhattan, nor will it ever come close to it. You know this b/c you used to charge $20 cover and now you dont b/c people werent coming to your bar! Please, get a clue. Train your bouncers to know how to view class in people. you lost our business for life. I guess you’ll make up for it from the restaurant downstairs, which is good, but way overpriced.
-
I went to Teca and the service was S-L-O-W. It took forever to get food and drinks. I do have to say the bean puree was fantastic. However, either the owner or the owner’s father (?) came over to speak to the people at the table next to us, and proceeded to wedge himself between our tables, so we had to eat our meal with this guy’s rear-end about 10 inches from our faces. RUDE. That pretty much ruined the whole experience for me. Would not go back.
-
I TOOK A FRIEND TO TECA’S LAST NIGHT TO CELEBRATE HIS BIRTHDAY. WE HAD A GREAT TIME…GOOD FOOOD AND DRINKS, ATTTENTIVE WAITRESS AND A PLEASANT CONVERSATION WITH THE OWNER. I WILL CERTAINLY GO BACK. I DON’T KNOW WHERE ALL THESE NEGATIVE REVIEWS ARE COMING FROM, BUT I HAVE SOME IDEAS.
-
We go to Teca often and think it is great. It is one of our favorite places in town. Robert the owner always says hello and works amazingly hard. The bartenders are always friendly and willing to make drink recommendations. We love the food (especially the cheese platters).
We normally go during the week when it is less crowded which may be why we enjoy it so much. The new wine area is fantastic and the wine selection is amazing.
It is a Euro cafe (and much faster service than traditional cafe’s we have visited in Europe). We were amazed to see the negative comments about the service as we have never experienced that. I guess when we go to a European style cafe we expect to have slower service because that is what a Euro cafe is all about - slowing down the pace and having time to catch up with friends.
We never thought of it as a ‘trendy’ place or a place to be ’seen’ or even noticed the ’snobs’ people are talking about. That’s not quite our style and we are normally focused on the people we are with - so guess we must have missed it.
In terms of the long wait, I have waited longer for the Olive Garden so guess that doesn’t bother me either.
To A. Wagner, You can get Robert’s full name very easily off of the downtownwestchester.com web site when you look under Teca. It has his phone number (and even his picture so you’ll know what he looks like). It’s a shame you had to wait, but I guess if my friend was 9.5 months pregnant, I probably wouldn’t be taking her her out on a Friday night at 8:00pm… although the hospital is close by. Fiorello’s up the street does great take out if you are interested.
-
Nice spot for a glass of wine–just wish the pour was a little more…
-
Teca had been a favorite resturant of mine for years. However, I believe it lost a lot of it’s character and quality of food once it expanded and the “non-smoking” section was added on. Before this addition, Teca was a this great little place to get lunch and catch up with a friend or go for a quiet dinner but now it’s just full of loud people and snotty individuals looking around the room to check everyone else out. I tried to embrace the change but I’ve moved on, it’s just not the amazing place it used to be.
-
This has been a favorite restaurant of mine for the past two years. True - there is a wait and it can often be very long on the weekends but with such a small dining area, it is something we have come to expect (more time to enjoy a glass of wine!). We waited for a table once for over an hour and the staff was so accommodating that they served us a complimentary panini due to our extensive wait (while we waited for our table) - I thought that was a nice gesture. I have always liked the wine and the menu selections - great salads and bruschetta! Great place to try!! Disappointed to hear that others have not had a positive experience at Teca.
-
This is a place for people who like to be seen. The food is good but I think they try a little too hard to be European. Everyone seems to like it. Just a touch too trendy for me. I don’t like the fact that the “In people” get preferred service. That’s ok as long as you don’t make the rest of feel like outsiders. Don’t go on Friday or Saturday night.
-
Now let me think, Gee everyone complains of long lines. I have one remark. Amateur dinners go out for dinner on Friday and Saturday night. Intelligent people know that a weekend night is usually a restaurants busiest and slowest service of the week. You all sound like a bunch of complaining Amateurs. If you want to choke yourselves on Gilmours French food then do it. How do you compare the two they are not even in the same league. It’s the city man, Your gonna pay a premium for a glass of water, But all you pros know that right.
-
Teca is good for drinks. Good wine and beer selections. But the food is awful. The menu sounds good but the portions are too big and I use better ingredients at home. I’ll go elsewhere…Spence Cafe and Gilmore’s are right across the street.
-
I like Teca, and I’ve had some great food and wine there. It’s beautiful.
However, the gossip from foodies in the surrounding CC area is that the products and ingredients are not of great calibur. Gossip around the WC area is that the bar upstairs is a flop.
Anyone agree/disagree? Has anyone voiced concern with Teca, or possibly forwarded them a link to this website? It’s great to have a forum to praise and criticize, but it would be even better to make our concerns and pleasures loud, so that everyone’s experience can be improved!
-
Teca is my favorite pre-movie dining place. I love the selections of foods, they are always wonderfully prepared and matched. This is real food for real foodies. Those who think it is “snobbie” just don’t like food enough, in my view. Of course, I get there early, before the crowds, but I have never waited for a table. The wait staff doesn’t know as much about the menu as I do sometimes, but they are always willing to go to the back and find out from those who do–the owners and chefs, who obviously really care about offering high-quality, interesting, and unusual food at a reasonable price. Too bad the majority of the reviews are by people who didn’t like the place, rather than the hundreds who keep returning, as is obvious by its popularity. If you like food, like to be able to sample a wide variety of foods in one sitting, and enjoy eating nicely balanced and paired tastes and textures, this is the place for you.
-
These reviews are dead on. Where do these people think they are? Everyone was so snotty and the food wasn’t anything to write home about. I got a panini because I couldn’t decipher anything else on the menu…it was alright. Our waitress was cute, but she sure did know it, and had her nose so high in the air it was a wonder she could see our table to take our order.
Another problem we had was the slow service. I went for a business lunch and we were there well over an hour. Some people need to get back to work! Also, my panini was extremely spicy. I resorted to drinking a coworker’s water when the waitress was MIA for twenty minutes.
I wouldn’t go back to this place.
-
I went to Teca after hearing so many people talk about it being the “it” restaurant in WC. I will not be going back. I think the snob-factor is the only thing keeping this place in business.
My associate and I went on a Thursday night and waited for a half-hour (considering there are maybe 10 tables, I guess this was actually good). We were seated next to the bar, which another reviewer mentioned, left us staring at the posteriors of uppity and obnoxious patrons who mistakenly thought they were in a trendy Philly lounge, not an overhyped Mediterranean version of a NJ diner.
The sandwich I had was Teca’s version of a Ham & Cheese and I think Oscar Mayer does it better, but my associate’s salad was tastier though a far cry from being worth the rather pricey charge.
Our waitress was friendly, but like everyone else has said, it’s like they hired gloomy & inexperienced college kids, which does not bode well for a place trying to make its bones as the upscale dining alternative in WC.
Overall, I’d say if you are already a fan of Teca or just going there for street cred among, kudos. If you haven’t been there, don’t waste your time or the money. There are far better alternatives.
-
We ate at Teca with another couple in January in the newer, non-smoking section. We were able to get a booth with just a short wait. We were puzzled by the menu, but the waiter was extremely helpful, and we just put ourselves in his hands for the most part and had a delightful meal. We shared several appetizers and then five or six small entrees, and everything was very enjoyable.
We tried to eat there again a few months later, and it was mobbed beyond belief. Bodies were jammed in everywhere, and everyone seemed harried and miserable. We were told they only took reservations for parties of six or more (we were four). We waited in the doorway for almost an hour after being told it would be about a 20 minute wait, and then gave up and went somewhere else.
Our first experience was later in the evening on a weeknight, and the second was earlier on a Friday - maybe the answer is to avoid the place on a weekend?
-
The food at Teca has been good. The prices on the lunch salads are a bit pricey. But there are less expensive items. Wish the service was - little bit too snotty here for my liking and if they aren’t aloof they look miserable - could we get a smile in this place. They just don’t make you feel welcome. And the waitstaff is not that knowledgable or helpful with the menu. The decor is nice enough chandeliers in the bar area are funky. I like the music they play pretty good mix - the bossa nova music is cool.
-
I am sorry to read such a bad review of Teca. I can only offer information about my experience and say that I can only imagine it was a really off day for Teca. To A. Wagner, I would suggest writing a letter to the owner (Rob) who is there almost everyday because of his dedication to the restaurant.
I have been visiting Teca a few times a month since they opened. The restaurant could be referred to as specializing in tapas. A very Italian menu, offering excellent selections of meats, cheeses, bruchette, salads, etc. The atmosphere is dark wood with interesting Murano glass lighting.
The left side of Teca is smoking and the right side is non-smoking offering options for anyone. There is a wide selection of beers and quality wines that compliment the food. The service I have received has been excellent everytime, and the owner, who is there most everytime I have visited, has personally seated us and checked in to make sure everything is to our liking.
Note - this is not a ravioli and spaghetti type of Italian restaurant.
-
Teca is the worst dining out experience I have EVER had. After waiting 45 minutes (we had reservations for 8:00) by 8:45 I was left BEGGING the hostess for a place to sit for my 9.5 month pregnant friend (the reason we made sure we had a reservation to avoid such a wait). The hostess was actaully beligerent when I confronted her with the excessive wait and the reason for our distress. When we finally were seated we then waited another 2 hours at the table before the food (which was NOTHING special) came. I repeatedly asked to speak to the owner, I was told he was not available so I asked for his name and phone number - no one could give me that. After another 30 minute wait a man comes to the table and tells me he is the manager when I tell him I want to speak to the owner - he tells me he is the owners father- and yet STILL he could not give me the last name of the owner!! The wait staff became downright nasty. I would never recommend this restaurant to ANYONE. Please think twice before considering going. The food was in no way worth the money or the wait. And the waitstaff are not worthy of serving dogs. Futher, the entire set up of the place is horrific, they actaully have low tables right next to the bar so people are forced to eat with the crowdes butts in thier face. Again, THE WORST experiece eatting out of my entire life!
Pingbacks & Trackbacks
- [...] 38 E. Gay Street West Chester, PA 19380 610.738.8244 More Restaurant Info [...]