Double Knot — Restaurant in Philadelphia

A friend and I arrived out of town for an event. We found Double Knot walking down the street from our hotel and perusing what was available. It was about 7 pm. We entered the door closest to the sign and were very confused. It was very dimly lit. There were two small seating areas which were filled with couples and it looked like we had stepped into a kitchen area. We hesitated for way too long in the open doorway when a pleasant gentleman approached us. We explained we were from out of town and wanted to sit. He stated happy hour was first come first serve and only reservations were able to sit. After some discussion and walking around with him, another hostess explained there were first come first serve tables open and we could pick any one we'd like. We sat at a small table with a tiny lit candle and 3"x8" menu. It was so dark I couldn't see to read the menu. My friend found her phone's flashlight and we tried to understand it that way. A waitress greeted us and asked if we'd been there before. We stated no, and she said she'd get some water and be back to explain the menu. She seemed hurried. After an explanation we chose wine, two appetizers and two "meals". One appetizer came quickly, but wasn't quite what we expected. I had ordered edemame gyoza, which came in a broth, 4 of them. They were delicious. I asked for a fork as nothing but chopsticks were found on the table. The person who provided it handed it directly to my friend, which puzzled me. Our second appetizer took longer, the spicy scallops and crab (picture included), but it was good too. I found it odd that our appetizers came separately and weren't delivered by our waitress. It made our meal start to feel disjointed. While our dishes were cleared, I asked for "another fork" anticipating needing one for my friend once our meals arrived, and the waitress agreed, but seemed confused, and reached across me to take mine - leaving me with no fork. Shortly after, my side dish was delivered to the table (by itself, but with a fork) and promptly plopped down in front of my friend. We weren't sure whose dish it was so when my meat was delivered I asked the server. It took him a minute to understand what I was asking, but he confirmed it was mine. I thanked him, retrieved my udon, and looked at my meat, an $18 dish. It was literally 3 bites of (very yummy) meat on a small skewer on a small tapas plate. We laughed. It was ridiculous. My friend's meal came, some sort of seafood combination, and we ate, never once being asked how our meal was or if we needed anything. A couple was sat next to us on one side and our waitress had pleasant interaction with them. A little later another couple was seated on the opposite side and the conversation was even more lively with our waitress. When we finished our meal, the busboy came for our plates and we asked for more water, which he kindly brought. He even graciously refilled my friend's glass when we realized she hadn't told him she didn't want ice. Then, we waited - and waited. Finally, we asked for the bill and then flagged the waitress down again to take the payment. My friend expressed to the busboy and the waitress as we left that she was upset at the whole experience. While the busboy apologized, the waitress's response was that she was the only person waiting the entire room and we should have a good day. The whole situation was a shame. It set the waitress up for failure and topped off our poor dining experience. We would not return. If you go, our advice would be - be sure to check any expectations...

I have never written a review before but even a day later I'm in disbelief by how rude the server Ms. Sierra W was. I will start off by saying I love the Michael Schulson restaurants and have had happy hour at several of them but have always walked past Double Knot to go to Sampan but I finally got curious enough to try it out. Myself and 2 friends got to Double Knot at 4:45pm. I asked the hostess if happy hour was at the bar only, I was told no but seating at a table had about an hour wait, that was fine and I put my name down and went to Graffiti Bar to wait. Got the txt that our table was ready at 5:25pm, we were seated and ordered food and drinks with Sierra at 5:36pm(bill timestamp). I'd say our food came at a normal waiting time, our drinks came a while after we had started eating though but after we ate some of our food Sierra came and asked us if we wanted to put more food in, we told her we did but not just yet. Then she comes back like 10 min later asking again? And she was sounding pushy about it but I just politely said once again that yes we will but in a little bit. And then at this point my friend asked how long happy hour was until and Sierra said 7pm. After she left we looked at the time and it was 6:11pm, so we thought there would be no issue with getting more food still during happy hour. Well, boy were we wrong because Sierra comes back and haughtily asks if she can start clearing our plates???? And I said "sure, but we'll need more when we get another order" and she clears the plates away. Well maybe 10 min later despite our voicing of wanting more food and I'm only halfway done my tall drink, at 6:30pm Sierra promptly throws down a receipt on our table and we were appalled. She also gives receipts to two tables on our left so I asked our neighbors if they had asked for theirs. They told us that they had, but they had also been told that apparently for happy hour you can only sit for 1hr 15 min (which would have been nice to know when I put my name down for an hour wait time, why would I wait an hour to only sit down and eat for an hour?). At no point had our table been informed of this and that doesn't even matter because Sierra was so rude as though she was never taught how to politely speak to people, she had SEVERAL opportunities to bring up this so called time limit but not once did she say anything. Instead she just marched around and loomed over us like a dark specter waiting to spy a credit card sitting on the bill we never asked for. I'm actually mad at myself for giving her any tip at all, my tip should have been to tell her to not be so passive aggressive. I also wonder if she was trying clear out her tables so she can get another round in before hh ended, because why did we all get served our bills at the same time? and the 2 tables next to us were seated after us, and she took our plates at like minute 50?????? We for sure will never come back and am debating if I should ever return to Sampan as well, Sierra might walk through the connecting door to serve me my bill over there as well. It's a shame because I really do like this restaurant collective and the atmosphere at DK is quite nice, despite the...

RECOMMEND

If you want a nice, upscale place with good quality Japanese, Asian fusion food, this place is for you. This two story restaurant consists of a cafe seating area upstairs and a dining room/bar seating area downstair. Unfortunately bar seating is unavailable during this time, however, the dining room experience is just as pleasant. The decoration, layout, and vibe of the restaurant is comparable to an izayaka, but a bit more upscale. The dimly lit dining room ambiance is definitely great for a date or a cool hangout place to grab a drink and eat. The menu is quite extensive with lots of options. There is a chef's choice option where you get one dish from each of the 10 categories for $60 per person. However, we decided to get a la carte so we are not limited to just one dish per category. They have many premier meat and fish selection that you would not see often at a standard Japanese restaurant such as Kobe and Wagyu beef and hirame. They also have fresh wasabi!!! The quality of the food was definitely there. Highly recommend making a reservation in advance and let them know any dietary restrictions because not all of the items on the menu have descriptions underneath them.

DINNER

fresh wasabi - first time trying it and it was good, a bit sweet and not too pungent

Tuna Tartar: tuna was very fresh, the chili oil was flavorful but a bit too salty Japanese Fried Chicken: lightly crispy and has a good chew. I like the mayo it came with, a bit tart. A bit lacking in seasoning, prefer a bit more

Unagi Donburi - the eel and the sauce on it was done really well, I really like the light but not too overwhelming umami and sweetness. It came with a good amount of rice, maybe a bit too much

Robatayaki - Kobe Beef - tender and soft, not too chewy and has a good char

Robatayaki - Scallop - soft and fresh, taste like any other scallops I've had

A-5 kobe Sashimi - GET THIS Literally melted in my mouth

Yellowtail Specialty Sashimi - fresh yellowtail works so well in the citrusy ponzu sauce

Double Knot Big Eye Tuna Roll - Shrimp tempura on the inside and tuna on top. Pretty standard sushi roll

Mochi ice cream (matcha, lychee, vanilla chocolate chip) - Vanilla chocolate chip one was my favorite followed by matcha and lychee. Good dessert to end with

VERDICT Overall it was a really nice experience and the food was pretty good. I would...