El Techo — Restaurant in Philadelphia

My friends and I came here Saturday night anticipating chic rooftop vibes. Outside there is barely any signage to direct you to the restaurant. Once you finally find the place, you have to add your name to a waitlist for a table on the rooftop and they text you when a table is ready. My friends and I went to get drinks at the bar while we waited. We tried the mezcal margaritas, which one of my friends and I didn’t end up liking. One bartender was able to swap my drink to tequila no problem, while another bartender gave my friend a hard time, stating he would ‘ have to ask someone’ if he can switch it. I finally receive a text that our table is ready , and that it would be held for ten minutes. Now I saw this message without actually opening the text, so we close our tab and head upstairs. Once we head upstairs, the host proceeds to tell us that since we didn’t confirm our table he gave the table away , and admitted ‘ alot of people don’t open the text to confirm’. Moreover, my friends and I were upstairs well within the ten minute time frame, so beware it is a lie that your table will be held. The host gets us another table and doesn’t explain that you have to scan the QR code to order your food for the table since waiters don’t come around. We only found this out by chance and doing more waiting. The water they serve you tasted unfiltered. Once our food finally arrived, I requested small plates and napkins and the waiter gave me a nasty look as if I was bothering him by asking. Majority of the staff is rude. Vibes are not grown sexy and chic. Rooftop is small. Music isn’t great. I gave this place a one star only For the guac otherwise it would be no stars. Don’t...

El Techo is on the 11th floor of the Pod Hotel in Center City. I ate at Condesa (on the 1st floor) before making my way up to El Techo. I was excited to check this place out after seeing all the beautiful photos and because there's not many rooftop bars in Philly.

My first impression was that it didn't look like the photos. The place is pretty small and definitely has that hotel bar vibe. The bar itself is small and has maybe 15 chairs or so. There's also a lounge area with small tables and couches where you can sit at to drink or eat. The drink and app menu doesn't have a lot of options. I ordered the "Frozen Dos" drink and wasn't impressed for $13. The decor was really nice and the space felt cozy, chic and modern.

The retractable roof was closed because it's winter but I thought it would at least be see-through. When you look up, the roof is covered and you can't even see the sky. That was deceiving because El Techo has been advertised as an all year round rooftop bar but it definitely isn't. There's also only one side of the bar with glass windows where you can see the city. There's tables alongside the glass windows so unless you get to sit there, you won't be seeing the city. This "rooftop" bar might be nice when it's warm out but it's just another bar when the roof is covered.

This place is loud. I get that it's a bar but the music is way too loud that I could barely hear my friend.

I only went here because I wanted to try Condesa. At both places I felt like I was on a business trip and just wanted to eat/drink at the hotel I was staying at because it's convenient. Between the lack of a "rooftop" and the hotel-y vibe, I would...

I came here for my husbands birthday!

It was such an amazing experience. Honestly, this was one of the best dining experiences. I love the idea of ordering your food/drinks from the phone. You can choose to keep tab open and add items as you go.

It felt so chill and not rushed. I literally would add a cocktail or an extra taco from my phone. The items will come quickly - no issue .

The quality of the food/drinks were so good! I am pregnant so couldn’t have a cocktail but I have a delicious mangonada (mango lemonade ). It was delicious!!! The tacos were so tasty and filling! We had chips and gauc and a bunch of tacos- that was so filling!!!!

The service! Amazing! I came from NYC to take my husband here for his birthday (he is originally from Philly). And I emailed management in September and when I came they knew my name, had table ready and super nice! Shout out to Emily, Josh and Stephen! Soooooooooo nice and professional! I can’t say enough!!!!!!!!!

This is honestly such a great place to have cocktails and yummy tacos! A great date place! Great girls days out! Great for literally anything! I would recommend this place to everyone!

I would just say to place make sure there is toilet paper in the restroom. There was only one roll of paper that we had to pass around to other girls in the restroom. But that could’ve been something that just happened that day. Who knows! Just worth calling out.

All in all- it was beautiful views/ amazing service/ diversity in the crowd and staff/ yummy food/ wide selection on drinks . Brunch at El Techo...