Devon

[brescd01]

I used to love Devon. Its service was excellent, the food was very good, and it seemed to fill a niche for a seafood restaurant that Oceanaire does not with its location, disappointing service and even more disappointing food (experienced on several visits and across multple dishes).

Last night I went with my wife after a failed attempt to get into Parc without a reservation.

I thought the food was mediocre, service was abysmal (though friendly) and atmosphere had taken a dive. The music was very Old City and not at all Rittenhouse Square. The crowd was wearing sweatpants and beepers.

Did I have a bad night or get a bad seat, or was I in a bad mood? Did I overate Devon all these years (say, back to 2000)?

[Andrew Fenton]

I've only been to Devon once. It was probably five years ago, and I don't really remember too much- my wife had a coupon of some sort. Other than the biscuits served with the meal, I remember the food as being pretty mediocre. I got the sense that their business model is based on location (and probably, drinks) rather than food.

[sockii]

I've always had kind of a mixed experience with them. Certain "standards" I've found they do quite well - the oysters are always very good, the simply grilled fish perfectly fine, etc. But the service is sometimes spotty, I've repeatedly had (simple) orders come out wrong, and fancier dishes are pretty hit-or-miss.

But the SO and I have a birthday coupon to use there before the end of the month, so we'll see how it goes on this visit...