Skyhigh — Restaurant in Philadelphia

Sky High Restaurant Review - Four Seasons Philadelphia Visited: December 29, 2024

In what should have been a showcase of Four Seasons' legendary hospitality, Sky High Restaurant manages to squander its greatest asset - its magnificent setting - with disappointingly mediocre service and underwhelming cuisine.

The Good The restaurant's saving grace is undeniably its breathtaking setting. Perched high above Philadelphia, the panoramic views create an undeniably impressive backdrop for any dining occasion. The elegant interior design complements the vista, promising an experience that, sadly, the rest of the operation fails to deliver.

Service Shortcomings The service falls woefully short of Four Seasons' typically exacting standards. During our brunch visit, we encountered a series of basic service failures that would be unacceptable at a casual diner, let alone a luxury hotel restaurant. The most glaring example: a 20-minute wait for coffee, which arrived lukewarm, as if it had been forgotten on a service station. For a high-end brunch service, where coffee is a fundamental element, this is simply inexcusable.

Food: Style Over Substance The culinary offerings prove equally disappointing. The "fresh" grapefruit juice - a simple yet telling indicator of quality - was clearly not freshly squeezed, betraying a corner-cutting approach that seems endemic to the operation. The remainder of the food menu hovers around average, lacking the refinement and attention to detail one expects from a Four Seasons dining establishment.

Value Proposition Given the premium pricing typical of Four Seasons restaurants, the mediocre execution of both food and service renders Sky High a poor value proposition. While guests are paying for the view - and it is spectacular - the core restaurant experience falls far short of justifying its price point.

Bottom Line Sky High Restaurant is a testament to squandered potential. With its stunning setting and the backing of the Four Seasons brand, this should be one of Philadelphia's premier dining destinations. Instead, it delivers a frustratingly average experience marked by service lapses and uninspired cuisine. Until management addresses these fundamental issues, the restaurant will remain a mere observation deck with food service, rather than the fine dining establishment it aspires to be.

For out-of-town guests or special occasions, you're better off seeking out one of Philadelphia's many other fine dining establishments where the quality of food and service match the price point. The view here may be sky high, but the standards,...

On a positive note, the food and views are great. One of the bellhops we met in the elevator as we left was pleasant and did a great job promoting the hotel.

Unfortunately though I have had two terrible experiences with my most recent leaving my wife half in tears which leaves me to tell about my one star experience.

Today my wife had made reservations for brunch celebrating our 5 year anniversary. We waited quite a bit of time for our server to greet us and offer us something to drink. We put our order in at the same time. We are always polite, help with handing plates to our server, and will move our glasses over when getting refills to keep the server from having to reach over us. Our server was quite stoic and seemed to be on top of the other tables she was serving, one of which was 3 feet away as my wife and the other guest were sharing the same long couch.

While the other table was getting drinks and we had gotten our food and we’re out of water, our server did not ask if we need anything to drink or for our meal (we did need both). We asked the busboy for the check and had our card ready and a different server came over with the bill. She was friendly, but as we walked away our actual server simply said “right behind you” as she was going to assist one of her other tables. My wife was almost in tears thinking we did something wrong to have a cold shoulder towards us.

We had gone here once before for drinks with friends, two other couples to be exact. While our wives were in the bathroom we asked for 6 margaritas to which point the server made us point out who they were for. We mentioned they were in the restroom as we just arrived to which point he later asked for our IDs. I handed him both my wife and I’s and he mentioned that he was actually only talking about hers because I already looked old enough.

Shame on us for going back to try a more formal setting, but I am absolutely appalled by the customer service. For my wife to be in the car with tears in her eyes is absolutely unacceptable. I work in the business world (and also teach at a university) and joke that, to a sense, business is easy for the fact that you need to strictly stay customer-focused and make people feel good. This message will no longer be said in a joking matter as some really need to learn and adopt this.

What my wife and I experienced isn’t expected in the lowest quality restaurant or customer facing atmosphere let alone this premium location in the heart of Center City. We are extremely...

I’ve been here many times over the past few months between Skyhigh and Jean-Georges. These restaurants have become my favorite places for dinner and drinks in the city. The atmosphere is beautiful and the food is wonderful at both restaurants. The staff is also wonderful at the restaurants. I cannot speak enough good on that part.

Usually the staff beyond the restaurants is wonderful too, but I had a very confusing experience when visiting tonight after my dinner at Skyhigh. I was celebrating on occasion with a friend so after dinner we went on the lower floor (where the bathroom closest to Jean-Georges is) to take a few pictures on my camera.

No one had stopped us and there were no people in this lower area either that we could have been disrupting. This floor is not part of the restaurant floor, it is nearby where another bathroom is. As we were finishing up our pictures a gentleman very rudely came up to us saying that we were already told we cannot take pictures on my camera. He acted as if we were doing something wrong. Even going as far as to claim that “he was just on the phone with an “officer” who told us we couldn’t take pictures on a camera.

We were very taken aback because we just finished dinner & were celebrating something so obviously we wanted to take some pictures. Second, we were out of anyone’s way on the lower level not disrupting anything. I can understand it being annoying if someone is using a camera around others. We purposely went where no one was. No staff member had come up to us to tell us we could not take pictures on my camera either, otherwise we would not have been doing it.

I found this extremely odd as this restaurant and hotel is a beautiful atmosphere where many people take photos. Go on their Instagram geotag and you will see many people posting nice photos clearly taken on a camera, even on the main floor of the restaurant around other people. Apparently going out of the way and taking them downstairs, where no one is, is an issue? The staff member lying to prove a “point” is also very weird. I guess don’t come here if you want to celebrate and...