The Olde Bar

Review summary

1. J

   John

   Philadelphia

   30 reviews

   vip
   3.0

   30 reviews

   Dined on November 9, 2024

   1. Overall 3
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 4

   We went there with gift cards for Garces restaurants. The Old Bar is listed on the gift card and their website as one of the restaurants that will honor the gift cards. We had drinks and food only to learn they do not honor the gift cards. It is similar to fraud, plain and simply. Two unhappy customers.
   

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2. J

   Joel

   Dallas

   13 reviews

   vip
   5.0

   13 reviews

   Dined on November 6, 2024

   1. Overall 5
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 5

   Great food, great drinks. Sad to hear this location is closing
   

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3. J

   Josh

   Philadelphia

   1 review

   5.0

   1 review

   Dined on November 3, 2024

   1. Overall 5
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 5

   Came into the olde bar for a late night dinner. Dom took great care of my boyfriend and I. The lobster bisque was phenomenal along with the west coast oysters. They tasted so fresh. Can’t wait to be back for their happy hour!
   

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4. J

   Jessica

   Philadelphia

   1 review

   5.0

   1 review

   Dined on November 1, 2024

   1. Overall 5
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 5

   Came into the olde bar today and everything was so good! Staff was so kind and friendly and the food was delicious. The steak frites was cooked at a perfect temperature and the crab fries were to die for. I will be back!
   

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5. K

   Katie

   Tulsa

   13 reviews

   vip
   2.0

   13 reviews

   Dined on October 29, 2024

   1. Overall 2
   2. Food 2
   3. Service 1
   4. Ambience 2

   This place is in the old Bookbinders location, but it is most definitely NOT Bookbinders. Made reservation. They wanted $175.00 deposit to hold the reservation. Are you kidding? Reservation had to be modified. It was a catch 22. Open Table said for modifications, I had to call the restaurant. When I called, the recording said I needed to handle modifications through the Open Table app. ??? When we got there, the hostess who was also our server had no knowledge of the change. Server approached a table she sat after us to get their drink order after we had been sitting there for 20 minutes. It took 45+ minutes just to get drinks for six people. They were not crowded. If we had not ordered our food as soon as the server brought the drinks, who knows how long it would have taken to get food. We were all starving. It’s hard to screw up raw oysters, but the shrimp cocktail presentation was very odd. They managed to make it almost impossible to get to the cocktail sauce without digging through the whole cup it was in. Lobster rolls were good, but nothing special. Cod was very spicy—so much so that one could hardly taste the fish. For dessert, the chocolate cake was frozen solid. Description never mentioned that fact. The cherry sundae had some sort of compote on it that tasted very strange—definitely not like cherries. Total bill for the evening was just shy of $800. What a colossal waste of time and money. Dinner took all evening, which was never the intention. A credit card was left behind accidentally. When we tried to call about it, no one answered the phone. We got the same recording we got earlier in the day. We went back and knocked on the door since it was slightly after closing, but customers were still in there. We were let in and the search began. It took the staff several minutes to check all of their hiding places for the card. It was found right where it was left, in the folder that contained the bill. Bottom line: most definitely NOT Bookbinders.
   

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6. F

   Frank

   Philadelphia

   10 reviews

   vip
   2.0

   10 reviews

   Dined on October 19, 2024

   1. Overall 2
   2. Food 4
   3. Service 1
   4. Ambience 5

   I appreciate that they are trying to keep the tradition of Bookbinders alive but this place has really gone downhill in my opinion. Menu selection is really sparse -- only six entrees offered, three of which are not seafood, and only two varieties of oysters. Food is good but significantly overpriced. Service on our recent visit was exceedingly slow. Waited thirty minutes for oysters at the outset and thirty minutes for dessert at the end -- took three hours to complete dinner. Will only visit the bar in the future.
   

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7. L

   Laurie

   Philadelphia

   3 reviews

   5.0

   3 reviews

   Dined on October 15, 2024

   1. Overall 5
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 5

   Quaint , cozy, great food , great value and we were offered more bread for dipping into our Mussels if needed …..BEFORE we could have asked … we didn’t need more but it was nice to be offered
   

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8. T

   Thomas

   New York City

   1 review

   2.0

   1 review

   Dined on October 12, 2024

   1. Overall 2
   2. Food 2
   3. Service 2
   4. Ambience 3

   Service ok but a bit clumsy (no cutlery). Food menue super short and a third not available. A crab cake served with few green leafs at $38 ridiculous. Will not return, weird place.
   

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9. M

   Mark

   Philadelphia

   1 review

   5.0

   1 review

   Dined on September 28, 2024

   1. Overall 5
   2. Food 4
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 5

   Always a pleasant experience. Whether you’re at the bar, a high top table, or the study, the ambience is lovely. The food was excellent tho the portions a tad small, though that could’ve just been me being hungrier than usual. The tuna poke appetizer was wonderful. I highly recommend a booth or high top table seat in the bar. The trappings of that room in particular add to the chill yet lively ambience.
   

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10. A

    Annieflo7

    Philadelphia

    5 reviews

    vip
    1.0

    5 reviews

    Dined on September 7, 2024

    1. Overall 1
    2. Food 1
    3. Service 1
    4. Ambience 1

    Showed up to our reservation to find the usual door and hostess stand has been closed and now there is no hostess stand. You are left to enter a side door and awkwardly stand in the bar area waiting for someone to notice you. We then got placed outside of the bar (when this is where I booked our table) in a private room with no one else there and terrible ambience. We asked to move they said they couldn’t. So we left. This place has really gone downhill. Such a shame, this used to be a regular spot for us but the quality has been so lacking and clearly degrading, we won’t be back.
    

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