Sovana Bistro
696 Unionville Road
Kennett Square, Pennsylvania
(610) 444-5600
If you’re contemplating a visit to the Galer Estate Vineyard & Winery (which was mentioned in a previous post), or Longwood Gardens, perhaps… or maybe you’re just out for a pleasant fall drive in search of a fresh batch of Kennett Square’s claim to fame and are looking for a suitable place to chow down, I highly recommend Sovana Bistro. Keeping its legions of loyal patrons happy since 1998, this charmingly casual restaurant is tucked away in an attractive little shopping center just two miles from the aforementioned winery (and approximately the same distance from Longwood).
The rather generic exterior belies the comfort that waits just beyond the threshold. To the left as you enter is the stylishly modern dining room; to the right, the bar/lounge and a diminutive chamber suitable for small gatherings and lunch and/or dinner overflows. There is also ample opportunity for al fresco dining with several outdoor tables in front of the restaurant and a spacious covered patio, which may also be enclosed and heated during the chilly onslaughts of fall & winter.
Sovana boasts an intriguing collection of cocktails, as well as a select group of craft beers. But the real joy here is the wine list. Sommelier Adam Junkins has put together a superb catalogue of vintages that is sure to please even the most demanding of oenophiles (and since the restaurant was originally a BYOB, you may tote along your own for a corkage fee of $8.00 per bottle).
… And the food is every bit the equal of the liquid libations. You don’t remain in business for fifteen years unless you’re doing something right. And there is no question that Sovana has improved dramatically with the passing of the years. Linda & Nick Farrell’s eatery had rather humble beginnings … but as Mr. Farrell’s culinary vision expanded, so did the bistro – gastronomically as well as spatially.
Diners have long raved about the kitchen’s exemplary farm-to-table dishes and seasonal menus; and that continuing devotion to sustainable agriculture and local foods is readily apparent in its creatively consistent cuisine.
If you drop in for lunch, salads – especially during the warmer weather, or if you happen to be watching your waistline – are highly recommended. But don’t expect the typical tangles of greenery and bland-leading-the-bland dressings, as the kitchen always manages to spruce things up with its own unique blend of innovative embellishments. The apple salad, for instance, incorporates peppery arugula, Gorgonzola cheese, golden raisins, and spiced pecans tossed with an ebullient cider-lime vinaigrette. And the local watermelon salad, available during the summer months, combines generous watermelon squares with arugula, pickled rind, feta cheese, and a zesty black olive tapenade.
My personal fave, however, is the recently sampled turkey burger “chopped” salad. Here you have chopped lettuce and seasonal vegetables tossed with red wine vinaigrette and crowned with a luscious grilled Eberly Farms turkey burger. Add a sprinkling of feta cheese and this dish might be more than satisfying as is. But the kitchen goes one better. No cheese… but it adds not only a dollop of crushed avocado but also a generous dab of irresistible bacon-tomato-jalapeño marmalade. And it is this latter ingredient that truly propels the presentation into orbit.
Sandwiches are equally up to the mark. My wife especially enjoyed the local turkey BLT. The turkey is freshly roasted, thickly sliced, adorned with avocado & zippy chipotle mayo, and served up on grilled rye. Excellent… Ditto the prosciutto & fresh mozzarella panini. In my opinion, however, nothing quite tops the scrumptious corned beef on grilled marble rye. Embellishments include a spicy whole grain mustard sauce, Swiss cheese and a fabulous rutabaga-infused sauerkraut.
If you’re a burger fan, Sovana’s char-grilled version with the works is first-rate. On the other hand, if you’re in the mood for something a bit lighter, the fish tacos are an excellent choice. Moist & delicate white flesh filets recline on three soft hand-pressed tortillas gently embraced by the usual suspects and a dynamite cumin-lime vinaigrette.
Lunch at Sovana, which is served Tuesday – Saturday, 11:00 a.m. – 3:30 p.m., is an unmitigated joy… and, given the outstanding quality of the food, quite reasonable. Sandwiches and salads are all priced in the low-teens, pizzas in the mid-teens, ditto a select number of entrées. The “Sovana Express Lunch,” which includes a petite sandwich, soup, salad, and dessert goes for a mere $15.00.
That being said, however, when you move over into dinner, the ante is raised significantly. Entrées proper, for example, hover in the high twenties; specials hit thirty and top out at $35.00 for the veal tenderloin and $36.00 for the New York strip. Given the kitchen’s incredible capabilities, I don’t think these prices are out of line… but just be prepared – should you opt for the traditional appetizer-entrée-dessert-bottle of wine route – to part with a substantial amount of long green.
A recent evening’s sojourn began with an amuse-bouche, a bite-size gift from the chef that incorporated pearled couscous with dried cherries and olive oil. A previous amuse, served during one of our luncheon visits, had teamed diminutive cubes of local watermelon with a pungently pleasant cilantro pesto. Needless to say, when a kitchen catches your attention right at the outset, you know your palate is in good hands – and that is certainly the case here.
Ever since our several visits to Richmond, Virginia, a few years ago, my wife has had this thing for fried green tomatoes. So when she spotted them among the appetizers, there was little doubt as to how she’d start things off. This particular presentation was a triptych that sported toppings of tiny pickled shrimp, sweet corn salad, and roasted garlic aioli. If you’ve never indulged in pickled shrimp, trust me, you’re in for a real treat, especially in the context of this recipe, which is a picture perfect amalgam of tastes and textures.
I, on the other hand, was in the mood for pasta. There were a number of interesting choices, including paparadelle with wild boar Bolognese and spinach & goat cheese ravioli with black olives, both of which piqued my interest… perhaps for another visit. As a prelude, though, simpler sounded better… and the rigatoni with tomato-basil sauce & Locatelli cheese did not disappoint – Perfetto!
When it came to the main courses, at the very end of the summer season, matters piscatorial seemed to beckon. My wife’s swordfish – a rather unusual presentation – was something of a revelation. The fish was grilled and placed on a seabed of black bean purée, which added a decidedly spicy note, and embellished with diminutive red peppers stuffed with an utterly delicious salmon mousse. Local pico de gallo, roasted tomatillo sauce, and fried corn tortilla strips played supporting roles.
My salmon, a nightly special, continued the kitchen’s exemplary work. The filet was pan seared, set on a pillow of roasted Brussels sprouts, and splashed with lemon and brown butter. The coup de grâce, however, was delivered by an incredibly delicious dried cherry-pear chutney.
To round out your meal, several side dishes deserve mention. If you’re a Brussels sprouts fan, nothing quite beats Sovana’s combo of roasted sprouts and applewood smoked bacon. On the other hand, the couscous mac ‘n’ cheese, oozing the subtle complexities of Gruyère cheese, is simply not to be missed. The hand-cut house-made chips and shoestring fries are also worthy of your attention.
Desserts offer a number of possibilities. There are items that change with the seasons, such as peach cheesecake and blueberry crisp, and also menu constants that include a classic vanilla bean crème brûlée, chocolate ice box cake, and house-made ice creams and sorbets. There is also an absolutely decadent – and I do mean decadent – liquid center butterscotch cake teamed with vanilla bean ice cream. Trust me, if this doesn’t satisfy your sweet tooth, nothing will.
But the restaurant also serves up an interesting selection of eleven artisanal cheeses. And, for my money, when a cheese course is available, it is really the only civilized way to end an evening at table. My wife and I shared a flight of three ($12.00) garnished with the usual accoutrements and were certainly not disappointed.
If you note the photograph, at two o’clock, opposite the bread, is the Quadrello di Bufala, a buffalo’s milk cheese from Italy. This is a full & creamy Tallegio-style cheese with a hint of salt and healthy tang at the finish. At five o’clock between the ramekins is the mitibleu, a sheep’s milk cheese from Spain. This is a soft, spreadable, and delightfully funky blue cheese with a salty finish. At nine o’clock is the funkiest of all, the Monje, a raw cow’s milk cheese also produced in Spain. This is an aggressive, piquant, and intense blue cheese that exhibits a delightfully complex flavor and, because it has been wrapped in maple leaves, a slight vegetal edge.
Just one or two closing notes… As you can well imagine, Sovana is exceedingly popular and reservations are highly advisable, especially at dinner. The restaurant recommends that you use the Open Table feature on their website.
The main dining area, as noted at the outset, is stylishly modern… It is also typically “bistro,” which means the tables are closely clustered and, since there are a great many hard surfaces and a rather high ceiling, can be extremely noisy. In addition, early in the evening and during Saturday lunch you can count on a number of young children being both seen and heard.
If you’d prefer an atmosphere that’s a bit less frenetic, I’d make the following suggestions: Unless you’re dining at off hours, avoid the main dining room. At lunch, head straight for one of the two high-top tables in the bar area, as it’s usually quite calm in here during the week. Even the diminutive bar itself is quite comfortable for a casual bite. On a Friday or free-for-all Saturday night, on the other hand, the bar is something of a mob scene, with a great many people milling around waiting for tables in the dining room. On those evenings, I’d definitely reserve a table in the enclosed outdoor patio. The tables here are nicely spaced and the decibel level comparatively low. Even in chilly weather, this should be no problem, as the area is heated.
The cuisine at Sovana Bistro is infinitely superior to anything I’ve sampled in a long, long time. If you’ll be visiting anywhere in the vicinity of Brandywine Valley area, this fine restaurant is most assuredly worth a detour.
Bon Appétit!
TAD
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