[3] Of the album, Dean stated that "Things come and go so fast, but I wanted to make something authentic, raw",[4] describing the title as "encapsulat(ing) the bittersweet memories of past relationships".

AllMusic critic Neil Z. Yeung gave A Place We Knew an overall positive review, commending the lyrics, saying it shows "simple yet evocative storytelling, resulting in painfully relatable snapshots of times when things just don't work out".

[8] Cameron Adams from Herald Sun gave the album 3.5 out of 5 stars saying "Vance Joy, and before him Ed Sheeran and The Lumineers, [have] set the sonic blueprint for Lewis' who is 'seizing the moment' for super-ultra-non-toxic masculinity in music."

[9] Gavin Scott from Who Magazine gave the album 5 out of 5 stars saying "Thanks to both the deeply personal nature of Lewis' lyrics, inspired by his own real-life relationships, and the pain and emotion that comes through in his vocals, it's impossible not to feel moved by A Place We Knew.

[11] Brodie Lancaster from The Saturday Paper said "The appeal of Dean Lewis's debut album is that the earnest musings on broken relationships can be moulded to anyone's story.