Lauren M.
Yelp
We are BIG FANS of PJ's. We typically go to the one near our house in West Chester, which we love. It was my first time coming to this location. I was extremely underwhelmed.
First of all, it looks ancient. I was wondering if this was the first location ever built. Ours looks so much newer...and cooler...and more fun. This reminded me more of a Bennigan's than a PJ's.
We came for lunch and there was a sign to seat ourselves. I rarely see this sign unless at a diner (which I never dine at) so I found that interesting. We seated ourselves and were greeted right away. Our server was nice enough. She was quiet. She got the job done.
There was no silverware, napkins or plates on our table and the person that brought out our appetizers didn't notice so I had to get up and ask the bartender and the server she was talking to as they walked away. I told them I wasn't sure where our sever was just so they didn't think I was chasing them down and asking them for no reason. They were nice about it and brought us some right away. Afterwards, our own server brought us a giant stack of napkins, silverware and wet naps. I was wondering if this was passive aggression or just a coincidence?
I noticed their ancient sign out front said they were known for their world famous crab cakes. I didn't even know they had crab cakes let alone the fact that they are famous for them. Not sure if this is specific to this location or what because ours definitely doesn't advertise that.
I got what I always get...a buffalo chicken salad with blue cheese instead of ranch. They do their salad in a weird sectioned off way which I never understood. This seemed much less fresh than the salad at our PJ's. The lettuce was limp, the tomatoes were squishy and seemed old, the chicken was mushy instead of crispy. There were no croutons. There was hardly enough lettuce to constitute a salad. They always use a flat plate, too which makes it difficult to mix a salad that isn't mixed to begin with. Things start falling off everywhere. I never understood the concept behind their plating of this salad. Anyway, their fries were good. My brother got Buffalo shrimp and a wicked chicken sandwich which he said was good. My cousin got wings and loaded tater tots. I tried one of his tots and I thought it was mushy and not very good. He didn't finish anything.
The bathroom is a single stall which I didn't realize had a lock on the main bathroom door. I figured since there's an actual stall inside it that I was just supposed to use the lock on the stall door (which was broken). So I took my chances that no one would come in since it was pretty dead in the restaurant. Once I was washing my hands I realized there's another lock on the main door. Oops!
Outdoor seating is available but you are sitting up against a gate where cars park in the lot. It's nice to be outside but not when people keep smoking, taking phone calls and turning their cars on and off with fumes coming your way.
Three appetizers, one soda, an order of fries, one sandwich with onion rings and one salad, $52 without tip.
Overall, I was very underwhelmed by this place. It wasn't very busy and we were there from 2pm -5pm. It looks very dated. The food wasn't very good. I know what a PJ's experience can be and this isn't it. I would never return to this location again and I definitely wouldn't recommend it to anyone. They need a makeover...and fresher ingredients...and to find some cooks that care about the product they are putting out...and managers that care if the cooks care. None of that is going on here.