Murph's Bar — Restaurant in Philadelphia

Came to Murphs on 2 occasions and had drastically different experiences service wise. My advice is to come on a weekday and early with the exception of Tuesday when the kitchen is closed.

1st visit: Came on a Saturday evening. Wait was out the door but was told a table for 2 would take an hour and half. Ended up taking 2.5 hrs but we stuck it out and only got lucky because a bar seat opened up which is open for anyone walking in or on the waitlist if seats accommodate. However this caused miscommunication with the host and the bartenders because they were also cutting off the kitchen for any new walk ins so even though we were seated and on the list prior to cut off they basically paid us no attention in regards to drinks or foods. After 20 mins and finally clearing up the situation we were able to order but most items were already sold out. Luckily the items we wanted, aside from the appetizer, were available. The food was really good but the overall experience was a terrible way to end our night and in my opinion hindered my opinion on the food itself at the time. I could sense the workers were spent based on how busy it was but it would have felt great not feeling invisible after a 2.5 hr wait and when 2 customers have nothing in front of them while 3 bartenders pace the bar.

2nd Visit: Came on a Thursday evening and there was still a waitlist but not nearly as long as before. We were told 45 mins so we came back in 30 to ask for an updated wait time. There were 2 groups in front of us on the list and only a 4 seater table available so we stood by the bar. This awesome dude from behind the bar asked us if we needed to be seated to which we told him we were still on the waitlist. The guy said to not worry about it since there was no one else waiting and sat us immediately at the open table. Both our server and the host came over in light speed and were extremely hospitable in every aspect to the point that I was shocked considering our last experience. The same app was still sold out but this experience made me genuinely enjoy the everything in its totality and makes me want to come back until I get to try the fried smoked mozz.

Aside from the differences in service the food is consistently solid. Perfectly cooked pasta, great sauces, great desserts. Cash only but decently affordable for the quality of food in my opinion. I wish I got the names of everyone who was part of the experience on our second visit. Certainly deserved the tip but would have loved to have acknowledged them personally for making our dinner...

This was our second time coming. First time, it was our group of friends and we were able to reserve.

Tip: if you have party of 6 or more, you can reserve a table ahead of time. Otherwise, you might have to wait for a table.

This time, my husband and I went on Thursday dinner time for the valentine's day dinner.

They don't do reservation. You have to wait. We arrived around 6:40pm, waited around 30 minutes and had an option to sit outside (insulated, hanging heaters) or wait longer for a table inside. We didn't want to wait longer, so we went outside. I had to wear my winter jacket whole time, but overall good experience. I just had cold feet.

Food was amazing.

For the appetizers, we got arancini and fried burrata. Those two were amazing. (It was so amazing that I forgot the take photos before eating lol)

The pasta and vodka with sausage was amazing (we got this menu last time as well). It's little spicy but I would eat this again next time. Pear and cheese fiocchi was much sweeter than expected with honey. So, I didn't like as much, but my husband said that sauce with the bread was amazing. The fiocchi had crispy pears inside, so the texture was nice and interesting. But I consider pear and cheese fiocchi as more for appetizer or dessert than entree as it was very sweet side than savory (which I look for in entree)

For the dessert, we got lemon marscapone cake and it was amazing.

The service was VERY FAST. Even though we were outside, the waitress and waiter will come periodically and the food came out really fast. Waiting for the seating was the longest thing we waited for.

The atmosphere was very hectic as there are people waiting inside the tiny restaurant and waiters and waitress are walking around and all. But it's a "bar" not a fine dining restaurant. The atmosphere...

hi, i have never written a negative review in my life so you know its serious.

my friends and i (4 of us) went to murphs on wednesday night and were sat at a massive 9-10 top table, we instantly know this was a little weird but we think nothing of it and carry on. we ordered appetizers and a first round of drinks. i work in a restaurant so i know ordering light always causes an eye roll in the back so we immediately let our server know we'd be ordering another round or two of drinks as well as dessert and she tells us this is fine. within not even 5 minutes of us getting our drinks and food, the chef/owner comes up from the basement and without even looking at us touches the table and says "i need this back" to the server, who then a minute later brings us our check and tells us a larger reservation is waiting for the table and since we're not ordering entrees we need to find seats at the bar (which was full). we're not stupid and know that murphs does not in fact take reservations of any kind. we were straight up being kicked out lol. mind you we had all barely touched our drinks by the time she dropped the check. no blame on the server whatsoever she was incredibly apologetic and this was in no way her fault, she was clearly embarrassed. again, i work in the industry, i live off tips and deeply understand how annoying it is when tables don't order a full meal however...you can not kick people out with full drinks and food still on the table unless something absolutely egregious or illegal has happened lmfao. it was disrespectful, hostile and horribly mishandled. yall need to get...