Twenty 9 Restaurant and Bar

Located in the middle of corporate office complex, Twenty9 fits the bill inside, with ample bar seating and tables designed for happy hour interaction.  

We went there for dinner on a Saturday night and the restaurant was only half full when we got there just before 7 p.m.  (It did fill up over the next hour.)  The service was very friendly and the management and staff were attentive.  

I ordered the crab cake, listed as "crab cakes" on the menu.  I was assured when I ordered it that it was sizable.  There were some other typos on the menu that gave us and the server a laugh.  The food was well-presented.  The crab cake was excellent: big chucks of crab, very little filler.  I would return to try some other dishes and possibly sample the raw bar.

This place used to be called the Boathouse.  It's a very popular place for the Great Valley Corporate Center types.  They welcome local bands and have a nice patio to perform on.  I watched a band perform and they had to stay inside due to very bad weather.  The ventilation is terrible.  The bar was very hot & muggy on the inside.  They also need more wait staff.  The service is very slow and you may find yourself walking over to the bar to get a drink.  I've been to worse places but for the area and location, this was disappointing.

Yeah - that's about it for me and Twenty9. I tended to come here a lot since it was right next to the office park (Great Valley Corporate Center) where I worked, but at this point, there are enough other locations in the area (The Office, Classic Diner) in the area that I'll get my fix elsewhere.

I hear stories from old colleagues about how the place used to be back in the day when it was under a different name and ownership, but at this point, my experiences here have helped seal my opinion of it. Maybe I'll come back in the future if things improve - let's see.

What's wrong, you ask? For one, I've rarely ever had to ask for water to be refilled at a restaurant. Let alone ask 4 times over the course of 45 minutes before it finally happened. And that too on a rather empty-ish day. I know your gossip over there in the corner must be interesting, but for christ's sake, I just need some water!

Further, the food is still good, but the silverware at our table was downright grimy when we got there. We had to ask it to be swapped out, and even then, we got a look as if it were our fault that their dishwasher didn't work correctly.

Finally, to top it all off, after being there for an hour and 45 minutes, predominantly due to having to wait such a long time for the water and the check, we still ended up leaving a solid 18% tip at the end. My de-facto is 20, but I vary it between 18 and 20 depending on how the service went. After all, I've been in a server's shoes before, and I know that folks may just be having a bad day.

Regardless, if you're going to audibly call me a "cheapskate" as I'm leaving for leaving you an 18% tip for a table of two that had downright bad service during a rather empty lunch hour, I'm not coming back. I don't think it's ever justified to say something like that, but even as such, this was certainly not the case for me, and all set and done, they've lost my business.

TLDR: Bad service, rude, would not return or recommend!