Fri night restaurant inquiry (Philadelphia, Newtown: appointed, university, restaurants)

[chessimprov]

Any thoughts about good restaurants that are in Philly that won't be mobbed on a Fri. night? lol.
Serious question, but I'm not expecting any good results. But figured I'd try. I could and would probably have to eat later with a new friend.

[Hannah5555]

Originally Posted by chessimprov

Any thoughts about good restaurants that are in Philly that won't be mobbed on a Fri. night? lol.
Serious question, but I'm not expecting any good results. But figured I'd try. I could and would probably have to eat later with a new friend.

Any particular area? I like Jones on 10th and Chestnut, not too pricey. Also Chris Jazz cafe on Sansom, there are tables in the bar so you don’t have to pay the cover for the music. Bunch of nice pubs in and around Rittenhouse Square, too.

Kinda depends on your budget.

[NewtownBucks]

Originally Posted by Hannah5555

Any particular area? I like Jones on 10th and Chestnut, not too pricey. Also Chris Jazz cafe on Sansom, there are tables in the bar so you don’t have to pay the cover for the music. Bunch of nice pubs in and around Rittenhouse Square, too.

Kinda depends on your budget.

Jones is at 7th & Chestnut, but I agree, it's a good place. It can get crowded sometimes, although I don't know what a Friday night would be like. I have occasionally bailed and gone to La Scala's across the street if Jones is too crowded.

[cpomp]

Valanni is a nice restaurant that never feels packed and actually takes walk-ins.

12th and Spruce I believe.

[kyb01]

Originally Posted by chessimprov

Any thoughts about good restaurants that are in Philly that won't be mobbed on a Fri. night? lol.
Serious question, but I'm not expecting any good results. But figured I'd try. I could and would probably have to eat later with a new friend.

Go to the Philadelphia Magazine site.

Tons of stuff about restaurants. Look at foobooz.

My advice( you will probably ignore it(lol)) is to go early not later. Invariably going later means crap service and crappier food with less attention to presentation, etc. It's almost guaranteed you will be disappointed.

Right now, even without everything being open, my favorite place is the Bourse. However it's more of a daytime/early evening place for now.

[kyb01]

Originally Posted by NewtownBucks

Jones is at 7th & Chestnut, but I agree, it's a good place. It can get crowded sometimes, although I don't know what a Friday night would be like. I have occasionally bailed and gone to La Scala's across the street if Jones is too crowded.

Actually any of Starr's restaurants are pretty good and it's HARD to stay relevant. but he"s continued to do so, imo. My fav of his El Vez.

[KansastoSouthphilly]

Depends on your budget and where in the City you are wanting to go. Most good restaurants are going to be pretty full on a Friday. Reservations are a must. One exception may be Rangoon in Chinatown which never seems to be busy. Get the thousand layer break with the potato curry!


If you like French style food I recently went to Louie Louie in University City. It wasn't overly crowded and our meal was very good. It was a bit pricey but we were celebrating so we went all out. The décor is beautiful.


We also had a great meal at Libertine a couple of months ago and it was not very crowded. I really liked the secret chicken.


Since you said you will be eating later I would also recommend trying to get a reservation at Suraya in fishtown. You might be able to still get a later reservation on open table. I think it is worth the hype. The restaurant will most likely be full but it doesn't feel packed in my opinion.

[Hannah5555]

Originally Posted by kyb01

Go to the Philadelphia Magazine site.

Tons of stuff about restaurants. Look at foobooz.

My advice( you will probably ignore it(lol)) is to go early not later. Invariably going later means crap service and crappier food with less attention to presentation, etc. It's almost guaranteed you will be disappointed.

Right now, even without everything being open, my favorite place is the Bourse. However it's more of a daytime/early evening place for now.

That's not true at all. smh.

[chessimprov]

I have to work until 6 PM. I probably won't be able to meet my friend until 7-8 PM. I work in CC and the friend is in Pennsport, and we want to meet in-between us. The restaurant ideally would be in chinatown, near Broad St., or Independence Hall area, but that is pretty flexible. For payment amount, ideally no more than "$$" out of 5 dollar signs.

[Pennsport]

Originally Posted by chessimprov

I have to work until 6 PM. I probably won't be able to meet my friend until 7-8 PM. I work in CC and the friend is in Pennsport, and we want to meet in-between us. The restaurant ideally would be in chinatown, near Broad St., or Independence Hall area, but that is pretty flexible. For payment amount, ideally no more than "$$" out of 5 dollar signs.

If you want to make it easy for your friend and shoot down to Pennsport (very easy and quick trip from CC area), you should definitely check out Cafe Valentino (3rd and Wharton). It's classic Italian, but you can also get Mediterranean style including fish and seafood. Excellent food, solid service, nice ambiance, open relatively late and not typically packed. One of the best kept restaurant secrets in the city IMO. Although I will say that word is starting to get out, so I would recommend calling ahead for a reservation. Also, it's BYO, so if you bring your own wine or beer you save the substantial alcohol mark-up most restaurants with liquor licenses charge...