Insatiable — Restaurant in Philadelphia

Tried this new spot in South Philly with a few friends. There was some good and some not so good.

Good: French onion dumplings were probably the best thing I have ever eaten. We couldn't stop talking about them after. Focaccia and other tapenade was good. Focaccia was very thick though which is unusual. Tapenade was very flavorful. Someone in our party got the shrimp tostadas and loved them. Fries were delicious and perfectly seasoned. Food service was pretty quick. We were able to get a reservation easily and didn't wait at all once we arrived.

Not so good: Lobster roll was meh. Presentation made it almost impossible to eat. Ratio of filling to bread was way off - you had to eat it with a knife and fork. Lobster filling desperately needed salt. Drink service was SLOW! Two people in our party don't drink alcohol and never were offered refills until right before leaving. Chairs are incredibly uncomfortable. It's expensive so not going to end up being a regular place but more of a special occasion spot.

I could have forgiven all the not so good until the end. They had dessert options - one was an apple crisp with vanilla ice cream. My weakness!

Issue #1 - apple crisp had no crisp. It arrived cold with the crumble on top raw. Apple crisp has a crumble typically made from flour and butter that has to be baked to be crispy. Instead mine had just raw flour topping on it. I said something and they took it back and cooked it.

Issue #2 - the apples had the peel on them. Baking 101 of apple desserts is that you HAVE to peel the apples first. If you don't, and cook the apples with it on, the peel becomes leathery and almost inedible. This is not at all something I would have expected at this type of restaurant and was a pretty egregious error to have made. That essentially ruined the entire evening. They took it off our bill which was nice but appalling it...

We had a party of 6 first timers here for a celebratory family style meal... And this place totally blew us away.

The cocktails were great, the food was excellent, and Chef Denise was wonderfully hospitable. The drunk text was my favorite cocktail of the evening.

I lived in Boston/MA area for a while and partially wanted to come here because the lobster roll looked more appetizing than anything I've seen in the city and it was fantastic. I'd put it up there with stuff I've had in Portland, Maine.

The Brussel sprouts were perfectly seasoned and crunchy, the tuna wontons were delicious, the shrimp tostado was so flavorful, and the mushrooms came in this amazing rich sauce. The fish en papillote was just juicy and tender.

Save room for dessert though since it's worth it. We had the cheesecake, ice cream and Belgian waffle, and affogato.

I think this place is going to be added to my rotation when I'm feeling fancy. Looking forward to trying the happy hour!

Thanks for your hospitality Chef Denise. My family couldn't stop saying nice things about our meal and you. We'll...

I'm really sad to be writing this review, as I wanted so badly to love this restaurant. First & foremost, I will say this review has absolutely nothing to do with the service. The host, bartender & servers were all so lovely & so kind!

We tried the french onion soup dumplings & the pastrami egg rolls as our appetizers - the flavor was there but they didn't come out hot. Both appetizers were lukewarm at best & it wasn't because we were chatting & letting the food sit - we began to eat right away.

For the entrees, we had the steak frites & the ribeye. If you've seen videos, the steak frites comes with the torched bourbon butter. Even with the torch, the butter did not melt & the steaks also did not come out hot - everything we had was lukewarm from the moment it hit the table. The golden whipped potatoes & the fries that came with both dishes were pretty good, but that was about it.

I truly hope with time & feedback this restaurant does great...