Chef Eric Yost grew up in Chester County, Pennsylvania, and has a long history in the local culinary world. He’s worked at Philadelphia’s White Dog Café and Chadds Ford’s The Gables at Chadds Ford, was the opening chef at Wyebrook Farm and even worked as a personal chef for a local movie director. His stints in these kitchens taught him about sustainable cookery and utilizing locally grown organic produce and pasture fed livestock. Now he has brought his culinary point of view to Eagleview Town Center at his new Exton eatery, Suburban Restaurant & Beer Garden.
Suburban is really two distinct restaurants—the Beer Garden and the Farmer’s Room. The Beer Garden serves an exclusively Pennsylvania-brewed 24 beer tap list alongside a menu of light bites like cheese and charcuterie board, pierogies and mussels. Other highlights of the menu include several varieties of homemade mac & cheese (yes, the macaroni is made on-site!), a few types of hand cut fries (trust us, get the short rib), sandwiches, burgers, salads and more. Entrees include pork schnitzel and shrimp and grits.
Now that summer is in full swing, Suburban is the perfect place for family-friendly fun all season long. Gather outside the restaurant at long communal tables or around a barrel table with market umbrella and sip on the best all-local beer list in the area.
Get comfy on the sofas that surround one of two fire pits or play games like cornhole, giant Jenga, board games and more. Suburban even has bubbles for the younger set—just ask. The restaurant is dog-friendly, too. Feel free to bring your well-behaved, leashed pup along with you and ask your waiter for a dog bowl.
Yost is also in the process of planting an on-site hop garden. He plans to harvest the hops in the fall and make a beer with one of the local partners that brews exclusive beers for Suburban, Levante Brewing Company and Stickman Brews.
Eagleview hosts many fun activities all summer long and Suburban is your go-to spot for food and beverage needs. If you’re headed to a Tuesday night Concert in the Park, movie night or live theater presentation, visit Suburban for carry-out beer in cans or growlers and wine growlers. Suburban will also have to-go packages including cheese and charcuterie boards, pretzels and bratwurst. Grab a growler of wine and some light bites and hang out in the park listening to music or watching a movie.
Suburban serves brunch on Sundays from 10 a.m.–3 p.m. Menu highlights include scrapple sliders with quail egg, pork roll and cheeses, yogurt parfait with fresh fruit and housemade granola and brioche brown butter French toast.
You’ll find plenty of entertainment, too. From live music on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays and Sunday brunch to Quizzo on Mondays beginning at 7:15 p.m., there is plenty of fun for all.
Suburban Beer Garden also has an alter ego—The Farmer’s Room—an intimate dining room featuring a refined menu complemented by a selection of craft cocktails and wine. The menu is different than that of the Beer Garden, yet it remains true to Yost’s desire to serve dishes made using fresh, local, sustainable ingredients. All pasta is handmade daily, all meats are ground on-site and all meats and produce come straight from the farm. Definitely swing by on Thursdays and check out specials for the day. Yost plans to hit up the Eagleview Farmers’ Market and incorporate his finds into the menu.
Highlights from the current Farmer’s Room menu include Yost’s signature spicy lamb bolognese made with organic baby spinach, Jersey tomatoes, Shellbark Hollow Farm goat cheese ricotta, local lamb and housemade rigatoni. This satisfying dish was rich, yet light enough for summer. The bright and summery Arctic char was served over sweet pea and bacon spaetzle and creamy roasted beet yogurt, then topped with pea tendrils and crisp, smoky bacon lardons.
While you can still order a brew from the Beer Garden in the Farmer’s Room, the craft cocktails and wine are the perfect companions to pair with the more sophisticated menu.
In keeping with the environmentally friendly theme of the restaurant, the wines available by the glass are served from kegs. Each keg holds approximately 30 bottles of wine. Yost shares that by having four different wines available from the keg, it saves 120 bottles from entering a landfill.
The cocktail list was created by bartender John Reddon and bar manager Gina Terra using all Pennsylvania-made liquor from distilleries like Dad’s Hat, Brandywine Branch Distillers, Faber and Boardroom Spirits. To keep is as local as it can get, Reddon also barrel ages and infuses spirits on-site, too.
We suggest trying the refreshing Bee’s Knees made with Faber Gin, housemade lavender bitters, fresh lemon juice and Green Meadow Farm honey. If you want a little spice with your cocktail, order the Fire on the Mountain made with J Potts White Whiskey from Manatawny Still Works, housemade cucumber and jalapeno puree and fresh lime juice surrounded by a cayenne and sea salt rim. This cocktail is cool and fresh with light heat and a subtly spicy rim.
When asked why he chose Eagleview Town Center, Yost shares, “The Hankin Group does so much for the community and they are a great company to work with. We both want to make our local community better, so it’s a great fit!”
Head to Suburban Restaurant & Beer Garden for a stellar craft beer list, inventive cocktails, delicious farm-to-table fare and lots of fun all summer long!
Follow Suburban Restaurant & Beer Garden on Facebook for up-to-date information on events and menu additions.
Find Suburban Restaurant & Beer Garden at 570 Wellington Square in Exton; phone: (610) 458-2337.
- Beer Flight, Beer To-Go and Cocktail Photos: Suburban Restaurant & Beer Garden
- Farmer's Room Interior: Hankin Group
- Remaining Photos: Ronna Dewey
