Irwin's — Restaurant in Philadelphia

A perfect spot to start or end the night.

This dinner lounge is open all year and right adjacent to the popular Bok Bar - delivering views, chews, and brews!

We came here for a happy hour and I was even happier to know that there is free parking onsite available!

As with Bok Bar, it's inside the Bok Building - a high school in its previous life.

Upon entering, we were greeted by the hostess and we made our way to the bar to grab a drink. The "bar area" and the formal dining space meshes together seamlessly which is nice aesthetically but confusing from a patron standpoint. Since there weren't many people when we had arrived, we thought to take our drinks to the formal seating area, but were told by a server that the hostess will had to lead us to a table. This got a little confusing since the hostess was sitting outside the doors and unaware of this responsibility. I think some general understanding of how the flow works would be helpful.

Once seated (finally), our server was quick to hand us the menus and offer us water while we perused the menu. The menu is mainly Mediterranean inspired and I am here for it (so many veggie friendly options!) After speaking with the server, who recommended the carrot fritters, we also ordered some flatbread and hummus.

The food came out pretty quickly, and the fritters were definitely the star. They came with a vegan, coconut dipping sauce which complimented the fritters well. I also enjoyed the hummus and ended up using that as another dipping agent after we had finished with the flatbread (the server was nice enough to offer more of the bread after we finished the first one - holllaaa).

The view here is awesome! We had come around sunset and it was a great way to enjoy it. The motif inside is open and urban. The large windows on the outside perimeter allows for great visuals - 'gram worthy for sure.

I can see myself coming back here for a happy hour or night cap especially as the good weather starts...

My daughter’s boyfriend made reservations for 5 at Irwin’s, since we were in town from Phoenix. After taking drink orders, explaining the menu, and giving us time to decide, the waiter came back and apologized that he should have informed us of their policy that “large” groups of our size we’re required to participate in the tasting menu. The waiter explained the tasting menu, that it was $75/person (showed $70 on the menu), and he left us to decide. We declined, so the hostess came out to explain that we had no choice, that it was their “policy”, and that we could not order “a la carte”. The only requirement my daughter’s boyfriend saw in the numerous texts he received from Irwin’s that day was that we needed to order 1 meal per person (~$15 for half plate and $28 for full plate). He also checked their website and found no such tasting menu policy. When we tried to pay for the drinks, the hostess said we would still be charged the $30/person cancellation fee. After much discussion they finally agreed to waive that fee and let us leave to find a place that understands what customer service truly means (Mifflin Tavern). I would love to report how Irwin’s food was, but since they would not let us give them $30/person to try it “a la carte”, I have no idea how it is. The only reasons they get 2 stars instead of 1 star from me are the rooftop atmosphere and that my wife liked her aperol spritz. Don’t let this review deter you from going to Irwin’s, but call them, get the name of who you are talking to, and be crystal clear on their ordering policy of the day before booking reservations. One last warning is that when you look Irwin’s up online, their old menu (Mediterranean?) is still showing on some search links, but they now offer modern Sicilian...

I honestly don't write reviews all that often, and only when I feel really compelled to. My friends and I found this place through instagram, and noticed it was right next to Bok Bar. Upon getting seated, we were immediately disappointed with the view, which faced towards south philly instead of center city. Shocked by the prices on the menu, our server gave us a hard time when we opted to only order as little as we did, which we thought was an appropriate amount. On top of that, my girlfriend decided she didn't want a drink either. The waiter came back to our table shortly after and let us know he accidentally put an extra drink in and asked if she wanted it. She politely refused at first, but he insisted, and so she said if he really did have an extra that she would take it. He brought the drink, even though she didn't really want it, nor would have ordered it on her own. When the bill came out he had charged us for the drink.

From a food standpoint, it was OK, nothing to write home about. But the portions were TINY! For a $30 entree we each (4 people) got 1 piece of gnocchi or 5-6 pieces of penne. Broccoli rabe was burnt. Only thing we enjoyed was the focaccia.

Ultimately, fair warning about this place. It may be rated highly online and by magazines, but if you are even remotely hungry it may not be the...