Laurel Restaurant — Restaurant in Philadelphia

Food: 3, Service: 3, Decor: 4, TLDR: "Left me wanting something they didn't offer". Can't recommend and won't be back.

Went for dinner on a Friday night for my wife's birthday. We were able to get reservations at 5:45 the day before and there were empty tables at our seating. Outdoor dining was available at 7:30 on the Friday as well, so it's not a sold out place, much less "reserve two months in advance" sort of thing.

To preface this review...we paid $550 for two people. If you are going to command a premium, you need to deliver comparable food to others in the same price range - Daniel, Le Bernardin, Jean Georges, etc. I've been to those restaurants many times and have dined all over the world, so I am pretty familiar with what a $550 dinner should be. This wasn't it. I wished it was. After moving to Delaware last year we have been looking for a great fine dining experience and we had really hoped this would be the go to place.

The decor is simple and rustic. It's a small intimate place. No white tablecloths or comfy plush chairs, but its nice enough. The atmosphere is cozy although the music choice was odd.

The service is mechanical. I would have given it a 2, but at the time of our dining, many macro-economic events are still causing labor shortages in the restaurant sector, so I'm giving them the benefit of the doubt. They brought the dish, made a brief explanation and hurried away. Attempting to engage in further dialog about the preparation or sourcing yielded few details, so after a couple of courses I gave up. I think each course was brought by a different server. It was pretty clear that they were trying to turn the table as quickly as possible to be ready for the 7:30 seating.

For drinks we had Grey Goose cosmo. It was ok. I prefer mine with white cranberry which they didnt have. At $18 each they really should be outstanding. I've had a better cosmo at Two Stones Pub.

The first dish (not on the menu) was a small chip with some sort of jam. It was the best item we tasted, but unfortunately, the only memorable morsel of the entire meal. It wasn't a traditional pallet cleanser, just sort of an introduction.

We had the 6 course taking menu and added gnocchi with black truffle.

Course 1 - smoked king salmon with apples. The apples were semi-tart and ok. The salmon was tasteless. Sunchoke chips were sort of like pita chips but no salt or seasoning of any kind.

Course 2 - caviar egg with brioche toast. The toast was huge - maybe 2.5 inches - meaning the amount of bread you get per part of caviar was overwhelming. The caviar was just ok - I've had better at a sushi place like Masamoto. There's a little poached egg at the bottom which really doesnt add anything. It's cute, but I don't get the preparation.

Course 3 - poached cod on a bed of rice. The rice was really good. The cod was bland. How do you make cod bland? The onions were not really caramelized, just sort of steamed or something - no texture, no flavor. I wanted more of the rice but there was just a tiny bit hiding under the fish wheel of blandness.

Course 4 - turbot, nettles and some kind of sauce. Everything was boring on this plate. Zero flavor, nothing more to say.

Course 5 - duck and rhubarb. The duck was tough and hard to cut. The rhubarb was ok, but really should have been more bitter. The buttermilk sauce did nothing for the plate.

Course 6 - gnocchi and black truffle. The truffle was absolutely tasteless. This is totally on them. If you are going to offer black truffle, you need to sample it. There is no way this truffle should have passed their QC. No aromatic. No earthiness. Nothing. The gnocchi was tiny and drowning in a cheese sauce.

Course 7 - honey curd something dessert. Another boring bland dish.

Normally when you have spent $550 on a dinner, the staff might ask you "hey so how did you like it?". Here - nope. Guess they just dont care if you enjoyed yourself or not. Gave us the check and said thank you.

Had high hopes but totally...

Laurel restaurant, a recommendation from my fiancée for a memorable date night, offered a blend of experiences that left us with mixed sentiments. Despite the initial excitement, regret set in as the reality of the place didn't align with the online imagery. My fiancée, expressing disappointment, even questioned if we had arrived at the correct Laurel, prompting her to inquire with the server about alternative options. The server explained that the establishment had recently undergone remodeling, providing context for the disparity between the online portrayal and the current ambiance. Our server recommended ordering 6 to 8 courses simultaneously, a suggestion we dismissed after perusing a disappointingly mundane menu. The lack of variety made the decision-making process unusually prolonged for us. While the ambiance received a modest score of 40/100 due to its small and cramped setting with no standout features for a good vibe or photo opportunities, the service stood out positively, earning a commendable 80/100. The staff exhibited professionalism and efficiency, contributing positively to the overall experience. The cleanliness of the establishment received a high rating of 90/100, maintaining a hygienic and pleasant environment. Delving into the culinary experience, the food portion size was satisfactory, earning an 70/100 rating. However, the flavors of the dishes scored a middling 40/100, and the food quality, particularly the clams, fell short of expectations, garnering a mere 20/100 They served littleneck clams (less than 1.5 inch) or smaller. The Parisian Gnocchi provided a modest redeeming factor (but with lots of salt that suggested not to take any leftovers), and a standout recommendation was the Sourdough bread, the only delight soaked in oil (unusual but taste good). Pricing was considered reasonable for good restaurant (but an overkill for this restaurant), earning a score of 50/100. However, the overall value proposition was overshadowed by challenges in ambiance, food quality, and menu variety. Despite these concerns, the wait time received a notable 90/100, contributing positively to the overall experience. One unique feature that caught our attention was the credit card clip for payment (that is the only thing unique about this place). While Laurel has its merits, especially in service and cleanliness, addressing concerns related to ambiance, food quality, and menu variety could elevate it to a more memorable dining...

“Trust the chef.” When I go to restaurants like this, I like to trust the chef and the flavors they put together. Thank goodness I did, because otherwise I wouldn’t have tried the Celery Salad. Y’all, I said Celery. Salad.

We liked the first incarnation of Laurel, but could really only afford to go once a year for special occasions. While I maybe shouldn’t “afford” this incarnation, we’ve been at least once per month since it opened.

We have dishes we love, but we know and appreciate that they will be moved off the menu based on the availability and freshness of the provisions. The chef and the kitchen are creative, imaginative, and inventive, so… trust them.

Here’s some highlights from our experiences:

Boquerones-the toast under the fish is covered in butter. It’s delicious. The clams with trout roe-the cream sauce that the clams are in! You’ll need more of the Mighty Bread to soak that up. It’s salty, not too creamy. And I do love how the trout roe pops in my mouth.

The Celery Salad-talk about elevating celery! I have dined with a lot of folks here who don’t like celery, but they love this. Dates, hazelnuts, covered in cheese… Yum!

The scallops-people can absolutely do scallops wrong. The way they do the scallops here… I almost never want a pan-seared whole scallop again. The presentation is gorgeous and the scallops themselves are sliced thinly and placed over the rest of the preparation.

The bar also does a great job being seasonally relevant and using items from the kitchen in their drinks. The first week there, I had a bourbon drink with a wagyu fat wash and later there was a different drink with a coconut oil wash or some such. Additionally, they are more than willing to entertain teetotalers with delicious non-alcoholic mixed drinks.

The service is also great, but go with the low estimate of their number of dishes suggestion because you cannot miss dessert! We’ve only gotten dessert once because we never have enough room! They ask about allergies when you first settle in, and they’re very knowledgeable about the menu. The service is not disruptive unless you want to engage with the servers. People have different expectations of servers, but part of being a great server is essentially having an emotional intelligence to read your patrons. Our fave server at Laurel is fantastic at this.

I’m sorry I don’t have pics of all of our dishes. We are too busy enjoying and...