The Choice, located in Bryn Mawr next to El Limon, is a Eurofusion restaurant in its fourth year of operation.

This restaurant, open every day from 5-10 p.m., is BYOB and offers a range of meals. The Choice offers customers a seemingly satisfying experience. It was recently named the best seafood restaurant in Brynn Marr by the popular website The Restaurant Guru and has been named one of the best restaurants in the area by Yelp and TripAdvisor. 

The rave reviews about the food attest to the talent of the head chef, Vladimir Hyvel, who was previously a chef at one of the famous Nobu restaurants in London, a restaurant famous for Japanese fusion. 

Originally from Ukraine, Hyvel now owns The Choice with his family and another Ukranian. 

Nelya Naida, a friend of the owners and senior at the University, shed some insight on Hyvel, who grew up in the same town as her father.

“He has always had a passion for cooking and serving people,” Naida said. “Whenever he would get together with his friends he was always preparing something new and exciting. Throughout his career, Vladimir has worked in Nobu and many high class resorts and restaurants throughout Ukraine.”

The warm atmosphere of The Choice, along with its highly rated food, has gained loyal customers over the past four years. However, the owners have recently been hoping for something different. The Choice owners have been reaching out to Naida to help promote the restaurant as a new spot for Villanova students. 

“They’ve been reaching out to me to help advertise and bring in more college students…they would love to cater to a younger crowd as well as to help with business given the current circumstances of COVID and everything,” Naida said.

The Choice, like many small business restaurants this year, struggled with the rise of the pandemic. While their first few years of operation were successful, the restaurant owners had to adapt to COVID-19 restrictions that were hurting business. To help with these struggles, the owners created a “special discounted take-out menu” as a means of attracting younger college students. Although not the same as serving food hot on the table, the owners hope that it will offset the losses from the pandemic.

With a warm atmosphere, the restaurant provides an ambiance perfect for a Friday night on the town. There is a three course meal available for fifteen dollars that includes a soup, main dish and salad of one’s choice. Reasonably priced, located in the heart of Lancaster and with owners that dreamt of a future of success all the way across the ocean, The Choice is the perfect choice for satisfying both the stomach and the heart.