Berks County Restaurants Open Thanksgiving Day
Updated: October 11, 2026
Celebrate Thanksgiving without the hassle this year. Some of Reading and Berks County’s best restaurants are open on Thanksgiving or providing takeout meals. See our list below, and make plans for Thanksgiving 2026.
This page will be updated as restaurants announce their Thanksgiving hours and specials. Reservations can fill up quickly. Be sure to check with individual restaurants for availability.
Thanksgiving Buffets
Reading Country Club
Exeter Township
The Reading Country Club is hosting a Thanksgiving Day buffet from 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The buffet features three carving stations – sage and thyme roasted turkey, prime rib au jus, and bourbon glazed ham – along with a selection of sides and desserts. The cost is $60 per person for adults, $25 for children ages 5-11, and free for children ages 4 and under.
State Hill Craft Cocktails & Kitchen
Wyomissing
Celebrate Thanksgiving with a buffet meal at State Hill Craft Cocktails & Kitchen in Wyomissing. The buffet is $60 for adults and $30 for kids and features a carving station with turkey, ham and prime rib plus two additional entrees: baked salmon with lemon butter capers and roasted tomato basil sauce over cavatappi pasta. A variety of classic sides and dessert are also included. Reservations are available between 12 noon and 6 p.m.
Stokesay Castle
Reading
Thanksgiving gets the royal treatment at Stokesay Castle. This year, the restaurant and event venue will host a buffet from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. that includes four chef-attended stations (omelette, pasta, carved turkey and beef sirloin) with four additional entree options, a seafood display, salads, sides, desserts and a kids’ corner. The cost is $55 for adults, $25 for children ages 5-12, and free for children 4 and under. Reservations are required.
Stouch Tavern
Womelsdorf
The Stouch Tavern is bringing back its popular Thanksgiving Day buffet. Seatings are available from 12 noon until 4 p.m. on November 26. Buffet options include roasted turkey, homemade bread stuffing, baked ham in pineapple sauce, broiled haddock in lemon better and assorted sides and desserts. The cost is $38.75 per person, $15.50 for children 10 and under.
Bear Creek Mountain Resort
Macungie
Bear Creek Mountain Resort in northeastern Berks County is hosting a Thanksgiving buffet with seatings from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. The buffet includes mains like deep-fried turkey breast, chicken marsala and Atlantic salmon Florentine; a carving station with roast turkey, ham and prime rib; a potato bar; a pasta station; and a kid-friendly buffet with chicken fingers, hamburger sliders and ravioli. The cost is $65 for adults and $20 for children ages 6-12. All kids ages 5 and under are free.
DoubleTree by Hilton Reading
Reading
The DoubleTree by Hilton Reading and Cheers American Bistro are hosting a Thanksgiving Day buffet. Two seatings are available: 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 1:30 p.m. to 3 p.m. The cost is $55 for adults, $48 for seniors, $25 for kids ages 6-12 and free for children five and under.
Kempton Hotel
Kempton
Thanksgivig dinner will be served buffet style at the Kempton Hotel this year. The buffet is open from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on November 26. The menu includes turkey, ham, PA Dutch chicken pot pie, and assorted sides and sweets. The cost is $25.95 for adults and $15.95 for children 12 and under. Reservations are required. Takeout is also available.
Washington Grille & Pub
Bechtelsville
The Washington Grille & Pub will be open from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. with their annual Thanksgiving buffet. Entree options include turkey, ham, prime rib, beef brisket and penne vodka (chicken fingers and fries are also available for the littles) with myriad sides and desserts. The cost is $39.95 for adults and $16.95 for children ages 6-12. All kids ages 5 and under are free.
Special Thanksgiving Meals
Dans at Green Hills
Flying Hills
Dans at Green Hills is offering a four-course prix fixe menu for Thanksgiving this year. There are nine entree options to choose from, including the farmhouse turkey dinner, rack of lamb, twin crab cakes and vegan stuffed pepper. Each meal includes a sweet potato soup as a starter, choice of house or Caesar salad and a choice of dessert: cheesecake, pumpkin pie or chocolate cake. The cost is dependent on entree selection, either $75 or $90. Reservations are available from 12 noon to 7:30 p.m.
Ozgood’s Neighborhood Grill & Bar
Robesonia
Ozgood’s Robesonia location will be open on Thanksgiving with seatings from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. The set-plate meal includes turkey, ham, mashed potatoes, stuffing, sweet potatoes, roasted vegetables, cranberry sauce, a served salad, rolls with butter, and a choice of dessert. The cost is $29 for adults and $17 for children 10 and under. Takeout meals can be preordered through November 22.
Thanksgiving Takeout Meals
Kauffman’s BBQ Restaurant
Bethel
While you can’t get a full Thanksgiving meal to-go from Kauffman’s, you can get their potato filling with chicken or beef gravy and their homemade pies. Filling is available in pints, quarts or pans. Ten-inch pies are available in 11 different different flavors. Pick-up dates are Tuesday, November 24 and Wednesday, November 25.
Kempton Kitchen
Kempton
Ham, filling, corn and green beans are on the menu for the Kempton Kitchen’s annual Thanksgiving takeout dinners. Meals feed a family of four and also include rolls and butter, cranberry sauce, salad and dessert for $45. Cash only. Orders must be in by November 18. Pickup on Wednesday, November 25 from 3 to 7 p.m. Facebook
All Restaurants Open Thanksgiving
- (610) 641-7149
Thanksgiving Hours : 11:00 AM to 3:00 PM
Thanksgiving Menu : Buffet Meal | $65 for Adults, $20 for Children
- (484) 491-1257
Thanksgiving Hours : 11:00 AM to 8:00 PM
Thanksgiving Menu : Regular Menu
- (610) 702-2039
Thanksgiving Hours : 11:00 AM to 4:00 PM
Thanksgiving Menu : Buffet | $39.95 Adults; $16.95 Children Ages 6-12
Know of another restaurant open for Thanksgiving? Or someone else offering Thanksgiving takeout? Email us at zach@berkscountyeats.com, and we will add it to the list!
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Review: Kutztown Tavern
I’ve made many visits to Kutztown in recent years, but I spent a lot of that time trying the new and new-to-me restaurants in town that I haven’t made many return blogs. Recently, though, I got an invite to revisit the Kutztown Tavern, and I couldn’t say no.
It had been more than a decade since my last visit to the Kutztown Tavern. Things have changed since then. Last year, a new ownership group took charge of the restaurant and brewery that originally opened in 1999. That team includes Chef Aaron Hoppes, Bart Fenstermacher and Darren Calaman.
Bart’s wife Erin was the one who extended the invitation for a special tasting of their menu.
After we arrived, Erin showed me around the restaurant. It’s much larger than I had remembered with a spacious main dining room and multiple additional seating areas.
To the left is the tasting room. When I was attending Kutztown, this was the takeout area. Later, it was converted into a tasting room with a separate menu and tasting experiences. The full menu is now available to those dining in the space, though there is a unique drink menu.
On the other side of the waiting area is the Club Room, a private space that can accommodate up to 36.
Another private event space, the upstairs dining room, can seat up to 100. (This is actually where I sat the last time I visited the Tavern).
When you arrive at the Kutztown Tavern, it’s impossible not to notice the large vats where their signature Golden Avalanche brand beer has been brewed since the Tavern opened. Today, they have six flagship beers and a rotating list of seasonal brews, all made in a traditional German style using German equipment.
A long, wooden bar sits to the right of the vats. While there are a couple TVs, the Kutztown Tavern is not a sports bar and you won’t see TVs strewed about in the dining area. Instead of play-by-play of the day’s games, we heard acoustic renditions of pop songs coming through the speakers throughout the restaurant.
After my tour of the restaurant, including a quick trip downstairs to see Shorty’s Bar, we were ushered back to a booth near the rear of the spacious dining room. Sunlight poured in through a nearby window, giving us more light than the bulb that hung above our table.
Appetizers
The kitchen started us off with a trio of appetizers: cheesesteak eggrolls, hummus and chili.
I thought the eggrolls and hummus were both good, but the chili was excellent. Whenever I return to the Tavern again, I will be ordering a bowl of chili as part of my meal. It was hearty with plenty of beef and beans. But instead of heat coming in the first bite, there was a hint of sweetness that I loved. Julie and Jakob agreed, too, as we fought over who got to keep eating it.
The cheesesteak eggrolls were solid. They’re made in house with a thick, crispy outer shell stuffed full. They needed the marinara sauce to bring it all together. While I liked them, Jakob thought they were the best thing we tried.
We really enjoyed the hummus – it tasted fresh and homemade. The addition of some fresh basil on top and throughout was a nice touch. At the restaurant, I just wish it came with pita chips instead of the little naan pieces that didn’t have much flavor to them. And even with 10 pieces of naan, there was so much hummus that we still took half of it home. (I used some of the leftovers in a wrap the next day).
Sandwiches & Salad
The second wave of dishes included a burger, a sandwich and a salad. All three were very good, and I could see myself ordering them in the future.
The Tavern offers seven burger varieties on the menu. We had the Avalanche burger which came topped with Swiss cheese, sauteed onions and mushrooms. The burger patty, itself, was excellent. It was cooked perfectly with a little caramelization on the outside to hold in the juices. And it had a nice salty taste to it. It’s a great base for a burger, and the toppings worked well to give it a steakhouse-like feel.
Our Mediterranean salad was also very good. The blackened chicken on top was perfect – well-seasoned on the outside and perfectly cooked inside. It came atop a bed of baby spinach and assorted vegetables with bleu cheese, walnuts and a cup of creamy poppyseed dressing, which was also good and had a nice little tang to it.
I was pleasantly surprised by the French onion steak. While it comes topped with cheese, this is not a cheesesteak. It featured a black diamond filet topped with sauteed onions and a horseradish sauce, all smothered in melted Swiss atop a slice of toasted panini bread. The steak was nicely done and flavorful on its own. I was worried about the horseradish being too pungent, but it was actually flavorful without being overpowering. It added enough to make it feel like I wasn’t just eating a deconstructed French onion soup.
Thankfully, Erin was kind enough to provide us with plenty of to-go boxes so we could taste everything without having to finish it. Despite that, we were definitely starting to feel full by this point, but there were still two entrees left to come.
Entrees
First, we had the braised pork shank which came served on a bed of Yukon gold mashed potatoes. The pork pulled right off the bone and had good flavor, especially with the herbs that stuck to the outer skin. The potatoes were excellent. Yukon golds have such a distinct flavor that I was instantly transported back to the early days of the blog and meals at Muddy’s. I think I’ll need to order the shepherd’s pie, a dish where potatoes really shine, the next time I go.
The stir-fry was good, but I didn’t enjoy it as much as the rest of the meal. All the ingredients were there – chicken, rice noodles, onions, peppers and broccoli in a sweet and tangy sauce – but it didn’t feel like a “tavern-style” dish to me. That said, I did use it for lunch a couple days later.
On the day of our visit, the Tavern was featuring corn-on-the-cob from Heritage Farm and Market in Fleetwood. It doesn’t get much better than local sweet corn, and Lukas agreed as I got just one bite before he claimed it for his own.
Dessert
Because this wasn’t enough food, we also had to try two of the tavern’s signature desserts: chocolate peanut butter pie and coconut cream pie.
Chef Aaron’s background includes a stint at the former Arner’s (now Crossroads Family Restaurant) on Route 61. That influence shows in the homemade pies.
The coconut cream pie was a mountainous slice piled high with coconut cream filling and topped with a mound of whipped cream. The coconut flavor was more of an undertone to the light and airy cream, but it was absolutely delicious.
And the chocolate peanut butter pie was just as good. The Oreo cookie crust was topped with the peanut butter and cream cheese pie filling, which was then topped with chopped peanuts and chocolate drizzle. It’s decadent, but worth the extra calories.
Needless to say, neither of the desserts lasted long enough to go in a take-home box.
But we did take a lot of food home, and we did our best to get through all of the leftovers. In the end, we got to sample $135 worth of meals from the Tavern. I’ve included the prices (as of September 2026) below:
Cheesesteak Egg Rolls – $13.95
Hummus with Naan – $9.95
Chili – $5.25-$6.25 + 75 cents for “the works” toppings
Mediterranean Salad – $13.95
Avalanche Burger – $13.95 + $3.95 for fries
French Onion Steak – $16.95
Braised Pork Shank – $25.95
Stir-Fry – $17.95
Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie – $7.95
Coconut Cream Pie – $7.95
Realistically, we would likely spend around $50, maybe up to $70 if we were splurging, for four meals if we were ordering off the menu.
After a delicious meal (and many more with our leftovers), the Tavern is definitely back on my radar for future visits to Kutztown.
BCE Rating
Food: Good to Very Good
Service: Very Good
Ambiance: Very Good
Price: $$
Kutztown Tavern
272 W. Main St
Kutztown, PA 19530
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Original Review: March 2015
Kutztown’s Main Street is one of the busiest in Berks County. An array of storefronts: shopping, services and restaurants (with a few residences thrown in) line the blocks from the edge of Kutztown University’s campus to the railroad tracks that bisect the town.
The more than a dozen eateries along Main Street cover just about every type of cuisine you could want: Chinese, Italian, sushi, barbecue, sandwiches, salads: you name it, and you’re likely to find it.
One of the most popular restaurants downtown, the Kutztown Tavern offers one of the most diverse menus in town.
Known simply as “The Tavern” to residents and students, alike, the Kutztown Tavern is housed in one of the largest buildings on Main Street. With a seemingly endless bar, a nice sized dining room and large upstairs event space, the restaurant is expansive. In addition, the building (which is actually two connected buildings) includes Shorty’s Bar, the Tavern Take-Out counter service and the Golden Avalanche Brewing Company.
Brewery equipment becomes part of the decor in the bar area as the system of vats and pipes that create the signature brew are in plain view just inside the front door.
Not being a fan of beer, myself, I was pleased to see Kutztown Red Cream Soda—a personal favorite of mine—on the beverage list.
A deep menu provides a wide range of appetizers, sandwiches and entrees. Everything from soft pretzels and 10 flavors of wings to Black Diamond steaks and seafood scampi. For me, a 9-ounce burger topped with Avalanche chili sounded like a winning combination.
The burger arrived on a toasted sesame seed bun. Chili poured over the edges and onto the plate below. All tavern burgers are served with lettuce, tomato and onion on the side, and I was more than happy to pile them on.
The burger was cooked perfectly with a nice little char around the outside. The mild chili added more flavor without being overwhelming (messy, yes; overpowering, no). And I certainly did not regret the curly fries, perfectly crisped, zesty additions to an already full plate.
Among the multitude of menu options are the “house smoked” offerings, three barbecue selections that are smoked in-house at the tavern. One of those—the brisket, cheddar and onion—caught Julie’s eye immediately.
Meat and cheese more than filled the toasted ciabatta roll. The brisket was flavorful, with a fair amount of fat left on for extra flavor. The sharp cheddar worked well with the sweet barbecue sauce and grilled onions to create a delicious sandwich.
The only part of our meal that I thought could have been better was the price. The $2.89 charge for fries (instead of the standard potato chips) brought our total bill up to $35.00 for the two of us. I guess that is the cost of quality, however, as we were treated to excellent food and surprisingly speedy service.
For the past 15 years, the Tavern has been a popular go-to spot along Main Street. After our visit, it was easy to see why. When food, location, ambiance and service come together all come together, it makes for a great restaurant.
BCE Rating
Food: Good
Service: Good
Ambiance: Good
Price: Reasonable
Review: Tacos El Gordo – Shillington
I love almost everything about food trucks: the convenience, the speed, the price. But I always struggle to keep up with knowing where to find them, if they are even out on a given day.
But Berks County’s newest food truck is easy to find: Tacos El Gordo has a permanent location at the corner of Lancaster Avenue and Museum Road in Shillington.
Tacos El Gordo officially opened on September 1. It’s the fourth location for the Lancaster County-based Mexican restaurant fleet. In addition to a brick-and-mortar location in Ephrata, there are two other food trucks with permanent locations in Lancaster and Lebanon.
I stopped by on a Wednesday afternoon, a week after opening day.
It was around 11:30 a.m. when I pulled in. An inflatable tube man emblazoned with the words “tacos” flailed in the breeze to beckon in customers.
The truck is located in the parking lot of Jade Garden. The restaurant, with its low-slung awning and dark windows, stood in stark contrast to the bright yellow truck with the mural of cacti and dessert dunes wrapping around the bottom.
When I stepped up to order, I was told about the Wednesday special: $12 for a burrito and soda. According to the menu, burritos are regularly $15-$16 so it was a great deal that I couldn’t pass up.
(I was also told about the Taco Tuesday special: four tacos for $8, which I will certainly take advantage of in the future).
After placing my order, I grabbed a drink from one of the two coolers sitting in front of the truck and just a couple minutes later, I had my food. Outdoor seating was limited to a single picnic table under a canopy along Lancaster Avenue. Rather than hang out, I took my food back home to Wyomissing.
I unwrapped the burrito which was still hot inside the foil wrapping. All burritos are filled with beans, lettuce, tomato and your choice of protein – chorizo for me.
The burrito wasn’t huge, but it was stuffed full. The chorizo was finely ground and not very spicy and it felt like a good ratio of ingredients inside.
Unlike most places that I’ve visited, the yellow rice was served on the side instead of wrapped in the burrito. It also came with a small cup of guacamole on the side. I put a scoop of guac onto every bite until the green stuff was gone and took a forkful of rice after every bite. The guac was definitely a welcome addition, helping to bring everything together while adding the distinct creaminess of the avocado and herbiness of the cilantro to it.
Overall, I was happy with my choice and would go back again, especially for the $12 deal.
Tacos El Gordo provides all the advantages of a food truck – fast service and lower prices (thanks to the lower overhead) – with the predictability of a set location. And you’d be hard-pressed to find a more high-trafficked location for a food truck in Berks County.
Hopefully, those ingredients all come together for a long-lasting business.
BCE Review
Food: Good
Ambiance: Fair
Service: Excellent
Price: $$
Tacos El Gordo
450 W. Lancaster Ave
Shillington, PA 19607
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Review: Sly Fox Wyomissing Taphouse
The summer was a busy one for our family. It started with baseball tournaments as Jakob and his teammates took on the world (or at least, Berks County) for two full weekends in June. Exhausted after their last game, the parents decided to get together to celebrate the season. The chosen destination: Sly Fox Wyomissing Taphouse.
Sly Fox Brewing Company started in Phoenixville in 1995 and now has four locations, including the Wyomissing Taphouse which opened for business in 2019.
The Taphouse is one of the cornerstone businesses in the Knitting Mills complex, formerly home to the VF Outlet Center and before that, Wyomissing Industries. In addition to the restaurant and bar on the main floor, the location is home to the Foxkeller, a lower-level bar with golf simulators, and the neighboring event space, Eight-Twenty at the Mills.
Julie and I had visited Sly Fox once before, shortly after they opened. Sitting in the industrial-looking main dining room, we only ordered some drinks and wings – very good, but not enough to write a blog about.
This time, we had the whole family in tow, sitting amongst the other families from Jakob’s baseball team. Jakob sat with half a dozen other eight and nine year olds at one table while we sat nearby with some of the other parents.
I was impressed by Sly Fox’s organization and service. Including parents and players, there had to be close to 30 of us on the patio. The servers started tabs for each family using the player’s uniform number to keep track of who ordered what.
The only hiccup was that I was charged for two iced teas because two different servers added it to our tab.
Otherwise, it was as flawless as could be expected, and food started pouring out of the kitchen, one family at a time, with ours toward the end of the group.
I ordered the Main Line cheesesteak and fries. It came with grilled onions and Cooper sharp cheese – my go-to cheesesteak toppings – served on a seeded roll. It was everything I wanted out of a cheesesteak.
It wasn’t as large as you would get at a true cheesesteak shop – much more manageable for a single person – but with the fries, it was more than filling.
The fries were also very good. They were battered and fried golden and crispy. Julie, Jakob and I each had fries with our meals, and we ended up taking a good amount home for the next day.
For her meal, Julie went with their chicken and guacamole wrap. It features grilled chicken, bacon, guacamole, chili lime ranch and pico de gallo wrapped in a tortilla.
The wrap was very good. The chili lime ranch had a little kick to it, but not too bad. The guacamole was flavorful and the bacon gave it nice savory and salty notes.
Jakob ordered their chicken fingers and fries which came with four big tenders and a heap of the same delicious battered fries.
The chicken fingers were good, though nothing particularly noteworthy. He enjoyed it (and the leftovers), and that’s all that mattered.
For Lukas, we got a plain cheese pizza. With him, we knew we would be taking slices home for later.
I first tried Sly Fox pizza at their flagship location in Pottstown and was pleasantly surprised. Lukas’ pie had the flavor I remembered, but the crust was way too big with the toppings stopping well short of the edge (especially for a two-year-old who doesn’t eat crust).
Overall, though, our meal was very good. And I have to give credit to the servers who handled a rush of families as best as they could.
The meal was north of $80 for the four of us, but that included drinks – a mixed drink for Julie and soft drinks for the boys and me. And while their meals were kid-friendly, Jakob and Lukas had adult portions (hence the leftovers). So I would say it was fair for the amount of food that we had.
Overall, Sly Fox delivered quality in both the food and the service. I look forward to taking the boys there again in the future for a (hopefully) quieter family meal.
BCE Rating
Food: Good
Ambiance: Good
Service: Excellent
Price: $$
Sly Fox Wyomissing Taphouse
820 Knitting Mills Way
Wyomissing, PA 19610
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Review: Mom Chaffe’s Cellarette – West Reading
While there are plenty of places in Berks County for a date night, there are far fewer places that Julie and I choose to visit for special occasions.
One of the restaurants that has become a celebration spot for us is Mom Chaffe’s Cellarette in West Reading.
It has been more than a decade since our first visit (and first review) of Mom Chaffe’s. Our last visit came three years ago during West Reading Restaurant Week.
Three years is a long time so we were ready to go back, and with our anniversary approaching, Mom Chaffe’s felt like the perfect place to celebrate.
We arrived about 15 minutes early for our 6 p.m. reservations. We were surprised to find the dining room mostly empty. Apparently everyone else had reservations for 6 or 6:30 because it quickly filled up behind us with just a few tables left open just a short time later.
The restaurant is celebrating 90 years in 2026, and the dining room maintains a lot of historic charm – from the ornate bar to the framed oil paintings that fill the walls to the chandeliers that hang from the textured ceiling. The table linens add to the upscale feel, but Mom Chaffe’s still feels approachable and there were plenty of diners in the room dressed casually.
Our server was with us quickly. Even after the room filled up, she was never far when we needed something.
Mom Chaffe’s has a relatively small menu, especially compared to other Italian restaurants in the area. That’s not to say there aren’t plenty of choices – from traditional pastas with red sauce and choice of meat to more creative seafood and veal dinners. And there are always great specials.
We ordered one of the restaurant’s appetizer specials: prosciutto-wrapped melon.
It was a very different, but very enjoyable, dish. It featured three thick slices of cantaloupe wrapped in thin slices of prosciutto atop a bed of greens. Everything was then drizzled with balsamic vinegar.
There were moments with the balsamic and the general brightness of it that it reminded me of Caprese, but the sweet and salty combination of the melon and prosciutto was unique – and very enjoyable.
For my main course, I again ordered off the specials menu – penne pasta with hot Italian sausage in a vodka sauce. It was excellent – exactly the right amount of spice to add flavor and make me feel it while not being unbearable. The vodka sauce would have been good even without the meat, creamy and delicious. And the pasta held it all together well. If it were a regular menu item, I would order it again.
Julie went with one of Mom Chaffe’s classic entrees – the lasagna. Only available Thursday through Saturday, it’s a favorite of many. And you can include us among those after this meal. The lasagna comes in a large crock with layers of noodle and ricotta cheese topped with a delicious red sauce.
Our meals also came with salads, and Julie and I both decided on the Parmesan peppercorn dressing. The salads are simple – greens with onions, a couple cherry tomatoes, some cucumber and sliced carrots. The dressing was delicious, a little thick, but with the nutty notes of Parmesan with the little spice of the pepper.
Because of the salads – and because we wanted to save room for dessert – we both took half of our meals home for dinner the next night.
The dessert options change regularly. On this night, it was the coconut cake that caught our attention. Layers of white cake were separated by frosting with coconut flakes on the icing and the plate. There was also a dollop of whipped cream that added just that little extra decadence to it. Overall, it was a great way to finish the meal.
In total, including an iced tea for me and a mixed drink for Julie, we spent about $100 on food and drinks, but that included four courses and enough entrees for leftovers. The food was excellent, too, so I would say it was well worth the price.
At 90 years old, Mom Chaffe’s is as good as ever – good enough to keep us coming back for more.
BCE Rating
Food: Excellent
Ambiance: Excellent
Service: Very Good
Price: $$$
Mom Chaffe’s Cellarette
148 Tulpehocken Avenue
West Reading, PA 19611
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Original Review: February 2014
For such a small town, West Reading has a seemingly endless array of restaurants.
No less than 30 restaurants and cafes are packed into the town’s 1.5 square miles. From French cuisine to fried chicken and from vegetarian to Mediterranean, foodies can find a world of flavors in this tiny borough.
While most will never venture from the Penn Avenue and the vibrant downtown area, there is much more to this wonderful small town.
Tulpehocken Avenue shoots off from the 5th Avenue traffic circle. Blink and you may miss it and the hidden gem that it holds.
Mom Chaffe’s Cellarette looks like every other home on the block, except for the brightly lit sign proclaiming “Italian Food” and “Cocktails.”
A small brass plate on the front has a simple inscription: “Mom Chaffe’s Est. 1936.”
It is amazing that any restaurant could survive for nearly 80 years, especially one like Mom Chaffe’s, which still does not have a website, a Facebook page or any other online presence. What it does have are loyal customers and 78 years of history on its side.
Like West Reading, itself, Mom Chaffe’s packs a lot into a small space. At times it is too much as the wait staff is forced to navigate a maze of tables and chairs in the main dining room. Even the walls are cramped, with dozens of paintings fighting over the limited space.
What’s not cramped is the menu. It’s very limited-two pages of pasta, antipasto and entrees with a handful of specials added daily.
One of the specials on this night was the Italian fried hot peppers, which were served as an appetizer with sliced tomato and mozzarella over lettuce.
Though the dish was served cold, there was no escaping the heat. These were some very spicy peppers, loaded with heat and flavor. The creamy chunks of mozarella were a perfect compliment to the peppers, and along with the tomato and lettuce helped cool the taste buds.
While I was adventurous with the appetizer, I played it conservative with my meal and opted for fedelini with tomato sauce and meatballs.
The two meatballs were massive, clearly hand-formed and full of flavor. The sauce was bright red and thick, one of the best I have found in the area. My only complaint is that there was enough of it to mix with the mound of pasta that was buried underneath.
Across the table, my wife went with the lasagna (which is only available Thursday through Sunday). I wish I had made the same decision because the one bite of hers I tried was delicious. The lasagna featured both ground meat and thinly sliced sausage layered with pasta and cheese and topped with the same thick tomato sauce as my pasta. It was a meaty, yet balanced dish that I enjoyed as much as any lasagna I’ve tried (and was enough that she took home half for the next day’s lunch).
The dessert tray was sitting on a table near us, and after staring at it for most of our meal, there was no way we were going to be leaving without some. It was all fairly standard cakes and cheesecakes (I would venture to guess that these were not made in house, but at another local business). I went with a chocolate cake with a filling of ricotta and dried fruit. The cake itself was very dark, but the filling was incredibly sweet, with pieces of pineapple, apricot and other fruit mixed in for added texture.
In a restaurant with such limited seating, I had expected the prices to be higher to compensate. Instead, I was pleasantly surprised to find that the prices were in line any other restaurant with entrees falling in the $15-25 range. For our appetizer, two entrees and two slices of cake, our final bill was just over $50.
Overall, Mom Chaffe’s is a great little place for fine Italian food. If you go, make sure you save room. And be sure to call ahead or there may not be room for you.
BCE Rating
Food: Excellent
Service: Very Good
Ambiance: Excellent
Price: Very Reasonable
Mom Chaffe’s Cellarette
148 Tulpehocken Ave
West Reading, PA 19611
Review: The Philly Jawn Cheesesteak – CLOSED
Editor’s Note: The Philly Jawn Cheesesteak is closed. The last day for the restaurant was September 20, 2026. The family continues to operate Peppe’s in nearby Gilbertsville, Montgomery County.
Berks County has no shortage of places to get a cheesesteak – Philly-style, Berks County style, and everything in between – but that doesn’t mean there’s not room for more.
In July 2026, Boyertown got a brand new cheesesteak shop with the opening of The Philly Jawn Cheesesteak.
Philly Jawn is from the family behind Peppe’s Pizza and Grill in nearby Gilbertsville. While you can get a cheesesteak at Peppe’s, the two restaurants are very different.
First, Philly Jawn doesn’t offer pizza or pasta. It’s strictly cheesesteaks and sandwiches with an assortment of appetizers and sides. Second, Philly Jawn also houses a full Italian deli and market with meats, cheeses and assorted imported foods.
I made my first visit to Philly Jawn on a weekday in mid-August. It was around 11:30 when I arrived, and the restaurant was already busy. A family was spread across a pair of two-seat tables out front while inside there was a line to order and a handful of others waiting for their food.
There is no seating for dine-in, just a row of about a half dozen chairs in a narrow hallway for those waiting. I ordered at the counter and grabbed the last seat while I watched customers coming and going.
It took a little more than 10 minutes for them to call my name and hand me my cheesesteak.
I ordered the namesake Philly Jawn which comes with fried onions and Cooper sharp cheese – my favorite toppings – on a seeded roll.
The ribeye was cooked well and the onions added little hits of flavor throughout. I know there are debates on seeded versus non-seeded rolls, but I liked the seeded roll here. It held up pretty well despite being over-stuffed with steak.
It wasn’t my favorite cheesesteak I’ve had, but it was good, and I would go again.
The sandwich comes in 12” or 24” inch options so even the small was too much for me to handle, but at least I knew going in that I would have leftovers for the next day. That meant that I got two meals for the $16.75 price tag.
The biggest downside for me is the lack of seating. Because I don’t live in Boyertown, I’m limited to the row of two-seater tables outside or takeout. But the sandwich was wrapped well so I think it should travel well.
I look forward to trying more of what The Philly Jawn Cheesesteak has to offer. I’ll be sure to bring an appetite – and maybe a friend or two – next time.
BCE Rating
Food: Good
Service: Very Good
Ambiance: Good
Price: $$
The Philly Jawn Cheesesteak
159 S. Reading Avenue
Boyertown, PA 19512
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Review: Archie’s Taqueria in West Reading
West Reading has been a hub for Berks County’s dining scene for as long as I have been doing Berks County Eats. We’ve reviewed more than 26 restaurants in West Reading since 2014.
Some of our favorites are still going strong; unfortunately, others didn’t last.
La Abuela Mexican Restaurant was an early favorite of ours with our first visit coming in 2015. The restaurant had a good 10-year run before closing in late 2025.
The space has new life with the opening of Archie’s Taqueria in 2026.
Archie’s began a soft opening in late June after several months of renovations. I was invited by the restaurant to come try the new Mexican spot.
The restaurant has a more modern feel than the last time we ate at La Abuela. White shelves, smartly adored with succulents, pottery and sculpture, pop against a dark brown wall. The tables and chairs are a lighter wood, matching the new floors.
The restaurant is full-service, though counter-order takeout is available, too. I decided to dine in and quickly brought a basket of chips and salsa.
Archie’s salsa is thick, but not chunky, with a little more than a mild spice. It’s been run through a food processor so it’s smoother and more consistent.
With the heat on the back end, I was glad to have a glass of horchata to wash it down. The horchata was also very good with just the right amount of cinnamon.
The service was very fast. Less than 10 minutes after I sat down, my meal arrived.
While the restaurant had a limited menu for the soft opening, they were featuring three items in the “house of birria” section – birria tacos, birria quesadilla and birria pizza. I had opted for the classic birria tacos.
Served three to an order for $15.99, the birria tacos featured the namesake braised beef with cheese, onions and cilantro. The tortillas were grilled crispy and filled to the brim. On the side was a cup of consomme for dipping (along with red and green salsas).
The tacos were delicious on their own – incredibly hearty and savory. The consomme was loaded with onion and cilantro, slightly salty and very savory. While it didn’t need any additional salsa, I still tried both the red and green salsas. Both had a smooth consistency that was more like a sauce. The green was light, salty and mild with a slight kick at the end while the red was medium to hot. Both were good, and I would definitely enjoy them with other menu items. For the birria, though, the consumme was enough.
My meal was very good and quite filling, and it arrived incredibly fast. My horchata and tacos would have cost about $20. It’s not the cheapest meal in town, but it’s in line with the price at other local Mexican restaurants.
New additions are always welcome in West Reading and across Berks County. And after my first visit, I would say Archie’s is definitely a welcome addition.
BCE Rating
Food: Very Good
Service: Excellent
Ambiance: Good
Price: $$
Archie’s Taqueria
448 Penn Avenue
West Reading, PA 19611
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Restaurants Open Mondays in Berks County
For many Berks County restaurants, weekends are the busiest time of the week. Mondays become a day off to restock and recharge. But not every restaurant closes to start the workweek. Here’s our guide to restaurants open on Mondays in Berks County.
Top Picks for Monday Night Dinner
Austin’s Restaurant & Bar
West Lawn
For more than two decades, Austin’s Restaurant & Bar has been a favorite in the West Lawn-Wyomissing area. Their ribs are some of the best around, but we’re also fans of their chicken bruschetta pasta, Texas tenders and their signature potato soup. Wyomissing seafood spot Coastal Grille – part of the same restaurant group – is also open on Mondays.
Copperz Brewing Company
Hamburg
Copperz is open for dinner every Monday night where they serve up the crowd-pleasing giant pretzels along with burgers, sandwiches and flatbreads. Monday night is also Pizza Monday at Copperz where all of their flatbreads are just $10.
Ganly’s Irish Pub & Restaurant
Sinking Spring
Sinking Spring’s Irish pub, Ganly’s does a “Burgers and Beers” night every Monday starting at 4 p.m. Of course you can always get Ganly’s Irish favorites like shepherd’s pie and bangers and mash.
Henry P. Robeson House
Robesonia
The Henry P. is known for their pit beef which is available on its own, in a sandwich or on a cheesesteak. On Mondays, the Henry P. hosts smashburger night with a different burger special every week.
Jimmie Kramer’s Peanut Bar
Reading
A staple in downtown Reading for nearly a century, Jimmie Kramer’s Peanut Bar is still a great place to grab a meal. The historic bar and restaurant is open Mondays so get a table, toss your peanut shells on the floor, and enjoy their Monday wing special or some of the restaurant’s classic American dishes.
Louie’s Kitchen & Bar
Flying Hills
Known for their award-winning burgers and unique takes on cheesesteaks, Louie’s Kitchen & Bar is open daily for lunch and dinner. The restaurant is located at the Flying Hills Golf Club but is open to the public.
Mom Chaffe’s Cellarette
West Reading
One of Berks County’s longest-running Italian restaurants, Mom Chaffe’s maintains a speakeasy vibe with its lower-level location. While their famous lasagna is only available on the weekends, you can still enjoy other delicious pastas, along with seafood, steaks and chicken.
Shirley’s Cafe & Tequila Bar
Laureldale
Shirley’s brings the flavors of Latin America – both traditional and modern – to the forefront. Enjoy a hearty cazuela (steaming stew served in a clay pot), tacos and fajitas, and kicked up burgers. You can also enjoy Monday night dinner at Shirley’s sister restaurant, the Pike Cafe.
Stefano’s Ristorante & Bakery Cafe
Wyomissing
One of Berks County’s newest restaurants, Stefano’s in Wyomissing serves their rustic Italian cuisine every day. Be sure to save room for dessert – Stefano’s has their own on-site bakery where they are crafting delicious cheesecakes, cakes and pies.
All Restaurants Open Mondays
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Review: The Inn on Main in Oley, PA
It often takes a while before I get to return to a restaurant. Even if it’s a great meal, there are so many restaurants to try that I can go years in between meals at a given place.
Two years ago, we visited the Inn on Main in Oley for the first time. We had a great meal, and the historic inn was a beautiful setting, but we hadn’t found a time to return.
Recently, though, I was invited back to try some of the Inn’s new menu items, and I couldn’t pass it up.
We arrived on a Thursday evening and were greeted by Lexi, who was serving as hostess, server and bartender. She seated us at a high top in the bar room, which was surprisingly full. (There were only a couple tables taken between the two larger dining rooms). Almost all of the barstools were taken, as were most of the other tables.
The bar area captures the 140-year-old charm of the inn. The original stone walls are exposed above the chair rails, and the wooden beams are visible as well. The wooden floors and ceilings are contrasted by the more modern light fixtures that hang above the bar.
Our meal started with a delivery of bread and butter, two slices with a seeded crust that helped tide us over until the appetizers arrived.
The chef had selected two apps for us to try – coconut shrimp and spinach balls.
The spinach balls were like a spinach dip rolled up into six meatball-sized balls and served with a cup of homemade honey mustard, which was actually the best part of the dish. It looked nothing like store-bought honey mustard – dark in color with tiny mustard seeds. The taste was more sweet with the flavor of the mustard seeds with mild acidity. The spinach balls, themselves, were good, but a little dry. But the honey mustard took care of it while adding its own flavor.
While the spinach balls were good, the coconut shrimp was our favorite of the two. Five large shrimp were breaded, deep-fried and served with sweet chili sauce. I don’t like seafood, but I actually really enjoyed it. The panko breading was light and had the bright notes of the coconut. The sweet chili sauce wasn’t overly sweet, but I liked the little bit of heat that it brought.
We were already starting to feel full after the two appetizers, but we were still looking forward to our entrees – tenderloin tips for me and lobster roll for Julie. The meals arrived a few minutes after we finished our appetizers.
My tenderloin tips were served on a bed of mashed potatoes and topped with frizzled onions and a gorgonzola sauce. The tenderloin tips were cooked perfectly to order and flavorful on their own, the bites where I could get a little bit of everything were the best. The potatoes were garlicky, and the frizzled onions had a little unexpected kick to them. The creamy gorgonzola helped bring everything together.
The only thing I didn’t love were the green beans, the day’s seasonal side. With such strong flavors in everything else, it felt like the beans were just there because they had to be. As much food as I had already, I didn’t feel bad about leaving some green beans uneaten.
Julie loved both her lobster roll and the OV fries that came with it. The Inn on Main has three options for lobster roll. Julie got the Connecticut style with warm butter. (They also serve Maine style with chilled mayo and OV style with warm garlic butter). There were large chunks of lobster on the classic New England-style roll. The butter perfectly complemented the rich meat. Though the sandwich wasn’t large, it was filling and satisfying.
Her OV fries, the Inn’s signature style, were also very good. The waffle fries came tossed in Old Bay with a side of cheese sauce for dipping. Simple, but delicious, we took more half of them home to enjoy the next day.
In addition to the meals, I had an iced tea while Julie tried one of the Inn’s signature cocktails: the Oley Valley pomtini – vanilla vodka, limoncello and pomegranate juice with a sugar rim. It was strong and a little sweet – a really good drink.
Our entrees would typically cost $32 each while the spinach balls and coconut shrimp would be $11 and $15, respectively.
We spent $75 for two entrees on our previous visit so the prices feel comparable to two years ago and a good value for the quality and quantity of the food. (Because I ordered off the “highlight menu,” my meal didn’t come with a side salad like the filet and other entrees).
Despite working multiple tables and the bar, our server was attentive all evening, and the kitchen kept pace – we were finished with our meals after a little more than an hour.
Two years was too long in between meals at the Inn on Main. The food, the setting, service – it’s all good enough to keep us coming back.
BCE Rating
Food: Very Good
Ambiance: Excellent
Service: Very Good
Price: $$$
The Inn on Main
401 Main Street
Oley, PA 19547
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Original Review: November 2024
While I love exploring “new” and modern restaurants, I will never tire of the dining experience at a historic country inn. There is something about the ambiance that just makes it feel like a special experience.
And that was certainly the case on our visit to the Inn on Main in Oley.
Julie and I had a rare date night in early November and decided to make the trip from our home base in Wyomissing to the village of Oley. Driving up Friedensburg Road from Route 73, the Inn appears directly in front of you, a historic welcome sign of sorts.
Formerly known as the Oley Valley Inn, the historic property dates to the late 1800s and it maintains many of the charms of yesterday. The floor, though stained a dark color, appears to be original. As do the wooden walls. An interior window near the entrance features a stained glass image of the US Constitution.
But there are modern touches, as well. The retro Edison bulbs overhead light a dining room filled with dark wooden tables with black accents. And a large mural covers a dark painted brick wall near the entrance. On it, the state of Pennsylvania with hex sign designs and a bottle pouring a drink that is spilling toward Oley.
The menu is a mix of old and new – American comfort food but with a few more modern additions. There are steaks and chops and chicken dishes. But there are also truffle fries, surf and turf chili, and garlic Parmesan shrimp.
I ordered the Italian stuffed chicken breast from among the four chicken dishes on the menu. The Italian stuffing consisted of prosciutto, Italian cheeses, and sundried tomatoes. It was topped with red sauce, but served over a bed of pesto pasta.
It was a unique take on chicken Parmesan that I really enjoyed. The breaded chicken was delicious on its own, but the saltiness of the prosciutto and the creaminess of the cheese added more depth to the dish. And I love how sundried tomatoes provide such an intense flavor in small bites.
The combination of red sauce and pesto in the same dish was different, but it was a nice contrast. And I would definitely order it again.
Pasta dishes come with the choice of a house or Caesar salad. For mine, I chose the Caesar. I was a little disappointed in that it took longer to come out than I would have hoped. (I was still eating it when the main course arrived), but it was a good salad.
We did get a plate of bread with herbed butter before our meals, though.
For her entree, Julie decided to splurge on a steak. It did not disappoint. The 8 oz. filet was cooked to a perfect medium. It came topped with butter that quickly melted over the cut of steak. And while Julie ordered – and enjoyed – a side of chimichurri sauce, the steak ultimately didn’t need any more flavor. It was perfect as it was.
The sides for the evening were a baked potato and broccoli. Both were good, but easily outshined by the steak.
Unfortunately our meals left us with no room for dessert. (Julie brought a little bit of her steak home to have with a salad at lunch later in the week).
All told, our meal was about $75 which felt in line for the elevated meals that we were served.
It was a nice night out at the historic inn. At 140 years old, I’d say the Inn on Main is about as good as ever.
BCE Rating
Food: Very Good
Ambiance: Excellent
Service: Good
Price: $$$
The Inn on Main
401 Main Street
Oley, PA 19547