4 Best Restaurants in Brandywine Valley, Pennsylvania

The chef-owners of Philadelphia’s acclaimed Vedge, Kate Jacoby and Rich Landau, bring their mind-opening vegan cooking to the Brandywine Valley countryside at this intimate, prix-fixe restaurant in a historical building, part of the former Dilworthtown Inn complex. The modern farmhouse vibe—Instagram-worthy with fireplaces and wooden beams, floors, and tables—creates an inviting but not intimidating setting for the plant-based, multicourse (and quite filling) tasting menu, a sophisticated feast that changes seasonally but always includes global influences and local and organic produce. A vegan cheese plate is available for an extra charge, as are tempting sorbets and ice creams. Besides dining tables, there’s a chef’s table, bar area, and seasonal outdoor porch seating. Those not sure if they want the full experience can have a drink and order items from the short snack menu, but the Farmer’s Feast is a marvel. 

The pricey, farm-to-table eight-course prix-fixe dinner at this cozy, cult-favorite market and eat-in spot in the heart of Kennett Square requires advance planning, but fortunately Talula's offers its own artisanal cheeses, house-cured meats, and handmade breads and pastas throughout the day, along with a coffee bar and prepared meals for takeout. Breakfast and lunch at the communal table feature seasonal soups, salads, and sandwiches using local ingredients, or you can just pick up the makings for a picnic. The four-hour-long dinner—about 20 people maximum at two tables—is a special treat that is so popular you have to book a year in advance, making it one of the Northeast's top restaurant reservations since 2007.

Garden admission is required to eat at this elegant fine-dining restaurant below the Main Conservatory and overlooking the Main Fountain Garden, where the fare is as elevated as the 240-seat space with its vaulted ceiling, lounge and bar backed by bottles in gleaming glass cases, and dining areas with sleek wood tables, comfy seating, and greenery. The seasonally changing menu is split into sections called Flora (bread, salads, and vegetables), Funga (dishes from soups to mains using the area's famous mushrooms), and Fauna (good-size starters and mains featuring fish and meat); dining is à la carte or a chef's-choice tasting menu, and helpful servers explain the different-size dishes so guests can put together a satisfying, always artfully presented meal. During Longwood's Christmas season, a fixed-price menu of three or four courses is the only option. Desserts aren't neglected, from house-made gelato to a sticky toffee pudding with pumpkin. Typical of the thoughtful touches here, leftovers can be refrigerated (a claim check is provided) and picked up later if people are continuing their garden explorations. There's even a fixed-price children's menu. As for the name, 1906 comes from the year Pierre du Pont purchased the first part of the land that would become Longwood Gardens. 

Only its name in fairly small lettering on the door announces Andiario, a 24-seat restaurant that has attracted national attention for its brilliant use of seasonal regional ingredients in weekly-changing four-course prix-fixe menus featuring fish and seafood, poultry, and meat. The setting for each night's sophisticated feast is simple: a gleaming open kitchen faces the small dining room with its clean lines and well-spaced tables with white tablecloths, and large windows overlook the street. It's a chic backdrop for chef Anthony Andiario's creativity and the bounty of the state, from mushrooms to trout, served by knowledgeable staff.