William Penn Inn

We had the Sunday brunch today and thoroughly enjoyed it. The place was packed but we lucked out with a very cozy table in a corner. Everything we tried was very good, some of it more so than others. The variety of foods available was remarkable, ranging from standard breakfast items like french toast and eggs benedict to hearty lunch items like tortellini and steak or turkey freshly carved. The service was excellent and very personable. We ate at a leisurely pace for two hours and no one rushed us. I loved the ambience. It was our first time for the Sunday brunch and we’ll be back for more.

My wife have been there 5 times now. My review is only based on dinner and not some of the other meals they offer,(brunch, ect…). We have had stellar meals each time and the service has been excellent. I have gotten the prime rib 3 times and all 3 times it has been at the perfect temp. My wife loves to add a lobster tail to whatever she is getting. We usually sit in Penns tavern so we can get the salad bar which is very good but not great. The raw oysters leave a lot to be desired. Other than that the bar is good.
The menu is very traditional which is why the crowd can be a bit older sometimes. If you are looking for a trendy dish that you will see on iron chef than look elsewhere. What you get is a very traditional menu (filet, lobster, prime rib, crab cakes ect…) but the courses have always been prepared perfectly for us.
Prices are where they should be, not too much but not cheap. Service is very good as well.

Today my new husband and I celebrated our marriage with a lunch with 16 friends, 2 Grand children and family. We had a wonderful private room on the 2^nd floor and the staff was warn and welcoming. The food was terrific and our servers Bryan and his partner were super efficient and never let our Champagne glasses get empty. We would definitely recommend the William Penn Inn for your next event.

A must do during the holidays.
Decorated beautifully from top to bottom.
While serving one of their legendary meals.
They truly set the standard.

Great reception service. Food was delightful and the host brought an entire plate of crab cakes due to them being out when our table circulated through the buffet. Excellent food and service here most likely I will come here again.

Not sure how to rate the Inn. Beautiful setting and some of the best service around. Two outstanding meals, one average and one horrid. Had the Veal Oscar last year but appeared to change presentation with marsella sauce and VERY heavy hollandaise. Mad everyone who tried it sick. Expected to pay top dollar but also expected consistency in the quality.

Best brunch I have ever had great food great sweets and fantastic service I have never had a nicer waiter ever sure me and my husband were each $ 30 and the kids were each $ 15 but it was worth it most definitely because it was all you can eat buffet I have to go back and with it my birthday it was even more fantastic

Beautiful atmosphere, great service, and delicious food! We tend to order the filet and the Penn’s Surf & Turf when we dine. I especially love the special anniversary dessert and flowers for frequent diner members!
We also chose the WPI for our wedding reception. The service was A+, I didn’t worry about anything that day, our coordinator had everything under control. The cocktail hour was amazing, and the food was great. 4 years later, and we still get compliments from our friends. Another friend recently booked her wedding there because ours was so amazing!

Had a great dinner this past Tuesday night. First off, great top notch service, Kudos to Brian our waiter and the rest of the team there. Had the prime rib which was amazing, cooked perfectly, medium rare of course. Just as good were the garlicky green beans, mashed potatoes, and crispy onion rings on top. Just all around an outstanding meal. If I had one suggestion, it could only be to increase the choices of craft beer.

The family came here recently to ring in my grandparents’ 65^th wedding anniversary. It held a lot of memories for them, which made for a meaningful dinner celebration.
The service was great and you are definitely treated as a dining guest in a way that I believe one should be treated in a formal environment such as this.
The food was «eh». We had the buffet and salad bar. Being a huge fan of raw seafood who can stomach just about anything from the ocean, even I found the raw oysters and clams to be too salty to even eat. That said, the king crab legs were very good, as were the grilled vegetables. Maybe we just caught the raw bar on an off night.
I think the WP Inn has a very old school Pennsylvanian elegance to it and would be eager to see what a wedding in their separate hall might look like. While the food wasn’t anything to write home about, I would still consider it as a venue for a wedding or large celebration.

Had a business lunch and ordered the crab salad. The salad was great! Crab meat not over cooked nice sized salad. The bread delicious and the setting great for a business meeting. Not noisy at all. The service was great and we were seated immediately.
Definitely will visit the restaurant again.

We had our nephews graduation dinner here on a Thursday night. Seafood buffet night, this was my third trip to the inn for their seafood buffet. If you like a quality raw bar this is the place for you. My parents are are tough critics on seafood and they could not stop themselves to the raw oysters and clams. There oysters were perfectly shucked and the meat plump. The clams just the right size for having raw. When you are full of raw bar move over to the hot foods. A great selection of flank steaks with the best gravy, baby back ribs and crab clusters. Our family had a great evening and left with full bellies and great memories of my nephews night.
Service is great, with a very attentive well dressed staff. Professional and polite. I would defiantly recommend this fine establishment on Thursday night for there seafood feast.

Holy smokes, this place is great! I was here for a wedding. This review is primarily on the food and service. The food was fast, still hot, and de-​licious. I haven’t had salmon that yummy in quite a while. I love it when a place isn’t stingy with the spices. The staff were helpful and kept the wine flowing. I really enjoyed the lemon palette cleanser between salad and entrée, a pleasant surprise. Excellent place to host a wedding.

DINNER REVIEW
We have a classy, wonderful meal each and every time we dine here! Definitely a splurge type of place for a romantic fancy date or night out with the parents. We came for good Friday and the food was outstanding. As always, so was the service, even for large parties such as ours. The service here never disappoints!
I got the Granny Smith Apple Salad to start, this upgrade from the house salad that comes with your entrée is an amazing choice. Sweet and tart at the same time, and very light! I love how fresh it is.
Next I got the twin 6oz lobster tails, perfectly cooked (as if I would expect anything less) with mashed potatoes and green beans as my side potato and veggie. I cleaned my plate and everything was cooked to perfection and the presentation was gorgeous. I know the filet mignon and duck are also incredible dishes, they sure know how to prepare everything on their menu so so well!
So of course as the wine flowed we decided we NEEDED dessert, since they make all of these in house as well. We all shared the molten chocolate cake with vanilla gelato as well as the key lime pie — ugh, I would go back just for these! So friggin good.
I cannot wait for another occasion to return!

My wife and I here for the Easter buffet earlier this evening. This place tends to fill up way ahead of Easter and so when I called the restaurant the day before, the only time of the day that was available for a party of two was 5:30 p.m. We took it because I found that other places I had called were also short of spots. Besides WPI had solid reviews.
We got to WPI around 5:30 p.m. and found the parking lot very full. The parking attendants offered complimentary valet parking but we were comfortable finding a spot by ourselves and so we went with that. Once in, we were promptly seated. The area of the hotel where the Easter buffet was being served was choc-​a-​full with people, many of whom were dressed nicely (formally?). A server came and described the layout — three sections — one of cold items (primarily salad), another of hot items, and finally the dessert section.
In terms of selections, I found the salad section to be small in relation to many buffets, including the buffet I find at my workplace cafeteria. The hot food section was the section of most interest to my wife and myself (hardly surprising) but we found few items on it that we truly liked. Here were some of the things I tried out — au gratin, lobster mac n’ cheese, country ham, sausage and peppers, crab cakes, crispy duck, and roasted leg of lamb (from the carving station). Of those items, the only two which I enjoyed were the sausage and peppers and the au gratin and those are both items that are relatively easy to make. The two items I had been most looking forward to as a lover of seafood were the crab cakes and the lobster mac n’ cheese and sadly, both of them were very uninspiring. I have had crab cakes dozens of times but the crab cakes here on the buffet tasted nothing like crab cakes elsewhere, including frozen crab cakes that I regularly buy at grocery stores. The lobster mac n’ cheese likewise had hardly any traces of lobster meat which was a disappointment. My wife had two servings of the lamb and on the second occasion, she found the lamb so tough to cut that she gave up but not before spilling some of the mint jelly on her nice dress. Boooo!!!
Thankfully we had better luck at the dessert section than in the two other sections. There were many desserts that we enjoyed and that alone pushed my ratings from a 2-​star to a 3-​star. We enjoyed the pecan honey squares, the vanilla hazelnut bombs (bombes?), and the fruit tarts. They were the right size, not excessively sweet, and most importantly hit the right taste buds.
Our final bill (including 2 Diet Cokes) came to $ 98 including taxes. I found it annoying that soft drinks were not complementary to a buffet that costs $ 43 per person. This at a time when some restaurants offer a complimentary Bloody Mary or Mimosa on their Easter buffets. All in all, while I don’t mind having come here once, my wife and I are unlikely to try out William Penn Inn again. If we did want to venture out again for an Easter buffet (next year perhaps), we might be tempted to try out places like Azie on Main /​Black Powder Tavern, both on the Mainline where prices seemed a bit more reasonable, in the low $ 30s.

The William Penn is a nice treat for lunch around the holidays. While I do find the prices fairly expensive, the ambiance is interesting, the service is excellent and the food is above average.
Located in a historic inn is this mixed used restaurant and party venue is a very popular spot in this part of the Philly suburbs. I’ve heard that the Sunday brunch buffet is great and the weddings here are nice, but I’ve only made it for lunch.
On the last visit I went with the lobster bisque and the salmon stuffed with crab meat. The bisque was ok and could have used some more lump lobster. As for the salmon, it was very good. The asparagus were a nice touch too.
I would not make it a habit of coming here, but once in a blue moon it isn’t bad.

I’ve been coming here for more years than I will admit, being that my doppleganger is only 38 years old. ;-) I go mostly for business meetings or banquets, and last night, a business dinner for two was no exception. Upstairs you can hear each other speak, the tables are spaced nicely and the service I found better than a floor below.
BTW, stay clear of the front door at around 7PM as you will get run over by the exiting stampede of FOP’s (fucking old people). WTF time did they start eating, sheeesh, shoot me if I ever get like that.
Now the William Penn Inn is normally an A-​OK 3 stars, with a huge attraction around the holidays because of their outdoor lights (year round), their xmas décor inside, and consistent food year in and year out. But I had to bump to 4 for the food and service upstairs last night.
Rachel was excellent, professional, careful not to interrupt conversation, very high marks for this server… she’s a keeper.
I had the baked chilean sea bass crusted with pine nuts, with pesto and leaks. This was simply delicious. Don’t let the word «baked» scare you. The fish was fresh, tender and delightful, perfectly cooked.
The dessert was a tad above average, a chilled chocolate pudding/​mousse type thing. Not sure I would order that again.
This place is there when you need it, I prefer it way more than that black hole up the road, the Joseph Ambler Inn.

My parents took me out for a fancy birthday dinner here. I had always driven by this place and admired how beautiful it looks from the outside.
Needless to say the inside did not disappoint. I was immediately in love with the cozy interior, it felt like I was thrown back to a different time with so much history and beauty I was in awe. Just walking up and down the hallway was an experience alone. Atmosphere alone is 5 stars.
The buffet style food is certainly impressive. The options are diverse and fancy, especially for a seafood-​y like myself. My problem is that there wasn’t one particular stand out dish I was like «ermergd must eat again.» It was more like, there’s a lot of fancy food here, I could sample a bunch of things and be very satisfied. I guess my problem is with buffet style dining in general. I think that providing so many options, you inevitably compromise the quality of the food. I guess personally I would rather have one great dish than a lot of okay ones.
The service was pleasant, but again with buffet style service, there’s very little for you to actually do except occasionally fill up water. There were times when plates were still on the table when we returned to our table for seconds and etc, but whatever they were a busy establishment and it wasn’t like it was an inconvenience. Again pleasant service but nothing much to mention.
(Also my dad ended up getting food poisoning from here and had to be hospitalized so it’s not exactly the BEST first impression. But whatever freak accidents and things happen, so I didn’t let that factor TOO much into my rating.)

Probably the best brunch buffet in the area. Sure, it’s about $ 30 per person, and I can definitely order a la carte brunch for less than $ 30 somewhere else. But you’re paying for the variety!
I want an omelette. And then an eggs Benedict. And then some flank steak. Sure, I’ll take bacon too. And oh why not, sausage and French toast too. I’ll wash it down with coffee. Now I’m in the mood for orange juice. Next I’ll take apple juice. You can have this freedom of choice all for a flat $ 30.
The staff is very nice and very accommodating (requested slim milk with coffee). One ding was that every time our drinks were empty, we had to ask our server for a refill. For upscale brunch places like this, I’m used to getting my coffee refilled without even asking.
But overall, the food is great for the price. For a buffet, the food was still perfectly cooked. My eggs Benedict was the perfect consistency. And the dessert spread had something for everybody — from flan to fruits to chocolate covered strawberries to French macarons to lemon squares… the list goes on! You couldn’t not find something you didn’t like.
Reservations are highly recommended, since they will get busy. I also recommend men wear a button shirt and if possible, a blazer. The patrons dress pretty well here for the Sunday brunch.
I look forward to dining here again!

I have been here many times over the years. The food is always good, the service was always up to par, they have always been an easy 4 stars for me every visit, no matter who I was with, no matter when.
What makes them a solid five stars for me is the depth of their professionalism. Not long ago my father passed away, and we chose the William Penn Inn as the place to hold the reception as it was a very special place for my family, especially my mother and father. The people we dealt with were absolutely amazing, from the manager on the floor to the waitresses, the chef, even the bus people. The food was probably one of the best buffets I had ever had, and keep in mind, I had no appetite.
The bartender was perfect, classy, appropriate and kind, and being client facing, as all bartenders are, he was what needed. This was the tipping point. We had a lot of things on display in honor of my father’s many accomplishments, the least of which were his Military awards. The bartender inquired about my father, and he knew that he was a Lieutenant Colonel in the Army, which helped us in the transition from the second most emotional thing I had ever experienced, my Dad’s military interment, which was overseen by fellow high ranking officers in the Army. I was broken after that, but that bartender’s one inquiry and help with setting up that table was what turned an incredibly sad day into a celebration of life.
The good people at the William Penn Inn were amazing, they were the right people at the right place at the right time.