a.kitchen+bar — Restaurant in Philadelphia

I've been here a few times and the food is consistently creative and always unbelievably delicious, that should be said. It's expensive but worth every penny. I truly think it's some of the best food in the city. The reason for my mid rating is that the dining experience itself is not great. There is an effort from the moment you sit down to just get you out the door as soon as possible. I've experienced this every time I've been here, by myself or with others, so I think this is what the wait staff is told to do. I was here this weekend right when they opened - the dining room was empty when I arrived and mostly empty when I left, so there was no pressing urgency to turn tables. But within 60 seconds of sitting down the waitress asked what I wanted to order. I asked for a cocktail and within 90 seconds of getting the cocktail she asked what I wanted to order. I said I wanted more time, so 2 minutes later she asked what I wanted to order. After 1 or 2 more rounds of this I ordered so I wouldn't snap at her, but this is just haranguing. Let people sit with their drink and unwind for a few minutes, holy cow. I had half my food packed to go because I wasn't hungry enough to finish it, and I wanted to try another cocktail, because their cocktails are also very creative and tasty. This perplexed the waitress and after about 20 minutes she asked if I was getting hungry again and wanted more food, despite my food sitting in a bag next to me. But then of course I had to ask twice for my check. They are just absolutely determined to not let you relax at this place. You have to just hoover food and go I guess. One time they actually rushed me out from start to finish in 45 minutes, which is crazy for an upscale restaurant. This is so unpleasant it keeps me from coming here as much as I would otherwise, as I only live 2...

Enjoyed a lovely casual late brunch and cocktails seated in the corner of their bar area. The cocktails were great; service was swift and accommodating; and we shared several items off the Sunday Brunch menu. We started with an order of the Amalia Oysters on the half shell. They were perfectly plump, icy cold, sweet little morsels served with a very unique strawberry gazpacho mignonette. We ended up ordering a second round to close our meal because they were such a treat. As a tourist, I am quite sure the golden beet salad featured in my attached photo, will haunt me with cravings for years to come. They were perfectly roasted and tossed in a refreshing citrus dressing with a fresh dill yogurt. I’m salivating just recalling the experience now. The chickpea panisse was an explosion of flavor and the curator creatively produced a dish I don’t think I will find on too many other menus in my future. Our final bite was the Chicken Liver Toast, which like the rest of the menu, used ingredients in a very unique palatable manner. The toast was sturdy, crispy, and soft all at the same time. The dish used peanut butter in a manner that was subtle and made me want to rethink how I use the household spread in my own repertoire. I was inspired by all of their dishes, and will hopefully return if I find myself back in Philadelphia. I highly recommend to anyone in search of a creative, satisfying, high quality meal. And we loved our bartender! Thank you for a...

If you are not a vegetarian, please take this review with a grain of salt since we did not taste the meat dishes.

We ordered three things - the gougères, crispy oyster mushrooms and the panisse.

The gougères were bland. Not only did they lack any flavor whatsoever, but they also weren’t seasoned adequately. For a dish that sounds so good on paper (choux puffs stuffed with cream and cheese) we were extremely disappointed and despised the dish.

The crispy oyster mushrooms were….well crispy oyster mushrooms. They did not have any flavor that stood out because the aioli served with them was also just okay. My issue with this one was that they had a meaty taste which seemed like it was a result of frying them in the same oil as meat.

Panisse was good because it was served with this lip-smacking creamy eggplant dip in the base alongside some cherry and sundried tomatoes. The panisse themselves could do with more seasoning and adding some herb to the chickpea batter would have taken it to the next level. I have had the real deal in South of France (the place where it originated) and adding herbs to the panisse makes a monumental difference in the flavor.

We ended up spending ~$35 per person for three dishes which was absolutely not worth it. My advice to the management would be to season these dishes to add some more flavor and price them appropriately. As for all vegetarians reading this review - give this place a miss. You...