Best Historic Restaurants in South Philly

It was bustling at 9:30 pm but felt cozy and charming given a fairly substantial space. Service at the bar was excellent..Txakoli rose paired well with all the dishes Oysters were well balanced with the white sauce(usually smothered on chicken -crab claws with chives were well paired - swordfish belly was succulent but could use a little punch ( shaved ginger or horseradish?) - seared mackerel was nice but maybe a little smoke or calamansi? - the crispy hashbrown with uni/crab- PERFECT! - toast with lobster was decadently tasty but the escargot got a little lost..a sprinkle of seasoned salt? Overall a unique and wonderful menu which we cannot wait to eat the rest of the dishes😋

We had a wonderful dinner and a very lovely romantic setting. The restaurant has beautiful old world charm, and details with exposed brick and the beautiful old bar, the iron staircase and the cellar. We all enjoyed our food, and the wine selection was very nice. My seafood risotto was loaded with seafood and my husband’s veal shank was big and very flavorful. And I’m glad we each saved room for dessert.  The only downside was there were no specials. And I regret not getting an appetizer because there was no bread or salad. We just waited for our entrées.

John our server and Matt our busboy were amazing! Food was incredible as always.

It was a great dinner a great experience. It was a first date with the beautiful young lady and she had an amazing time. It made it so much easier to connect being in such a great restaurant with such good food and service.

Lots of people eat here just for the experience…. And rightly so! It is quirky and fun but we have eaten here a number of times with many different people and the food is always really good… just keep in mind that fresh tomatoes in the winter aren’t great. Wished I had ordered the beet salad rather than the Victor salad.