A Destination

The Original Spence Cafe is a BYOB restaurant and has been a tradition in West Chester since 1996. We specialize in the finest quality meats and seafood, as well as locally sourced produce and other ingredients. 

MEET CHEF ANDREW PATTEN

For 15 years, Andrew Patten brought life into the West Chester food scene with Spence Café. Today, you can visit The Original Spence Café for delicious handcrafted entrées, like his famous crab cakes, along with many more locally sourced, fresh from the kitchen dishes. Don’t leave without sweetening your palette with Andrew’s seasonal desserts like the house favorite, crème brulee!

Andy is excited that The Original Spence Café is a BYOB. “I’m concentrating on the food, and focusing on both lunch and dinner,” he said. He explained how the goat cheese was sourced from Lancaster, and the short rib was braised for four hours.

THE HOUSE THAT SPENCE BUILT

A hundred years ago, if you were anyone important in West Chester, native or stranger, and you wanted a good, quick meal, you knew where to go.

A century ago, if you walked down Gay Street you certainly would catch the salty satisfying smell of cooked shellfish. From 1849 to 1910, the Spence family ran a succession of oyster houses and restaurants considered the best in town. The café, which apparently catered to the professional elite of West Chester, flourished until the time of World War I. Specializing in oysters, fried clams, snapper soup, and an excellent chowder, spiced with horseradish grown in the restaurant’s basement.

The first floor of the building had a dining room on the right-hand side, which was open to ladies. On the left was the saloon bar. The second floor housed two banquet halls and the third and fourth floors Spence’s family.