The Porterhouse — Restaurant in Philadelphia

Date: August 10th, 2024 Hospitality and Service: Utterly deplorable

As a Southern travel blogger from Mississippi–born and raised–who has also lived in Tennessee, Illinois, Internationally, and back home again...I've never had such rude service that poorly exemplifies the idea of "Southern Hospitality," which as a region, we usually aim to exemplify. And the crazy thing is...this lack of Southern Hospitality occurred before we were even seated 🫠.

My family and I visited The Porterhouse yesterday for the 1st and last time, due to the following:

The 3 of us (this information is very important) arrived and were told that it would be a 15-minute wait, which wasn't a problem, as we were in no rush—however, I did find this time estimate odd, considering that upon arrival there was literally a cleared table that could seat at least 3-4 people, in plain view...I thought that maybe there was some logical reason why we were not seated at that table, since it had enough space. But again, we were in no rush so I didn't think too much about it, until what happened next.

There were two separate couples (of 2) who came in before us and were seated right away...this may have made sense (because it's easier to seat groups of 2 vs 3, If you have a smaller table), but again–the 3 to 4 capacity table I saw upon arrival, was still vacant. What happened after this, made the least amount of sense and can only be explained by rudeness and bad service—a bigger group of people (4 instead of our 3) came in after us and were seated IMMEDIATELY, even though we'd already been there for over 9 minutes–I know because as a travel blogger, I rate waiting times just as I do the food and atmosphere.

Now, while I can possibly understand the 2 smaller groups of 2 people being seated before us...how does a bigger group of 4 people (1 person more than ours), get seated before we were, when we arrived first and had been waiting longer?

Seeing that us, our money, and time were obviously not a priority...we walked out and fortunately, a couple who saw what had happened (as others did) followed us, and suggested that we go to City Limits instead, stating that the food and service was much better–it 100% was 😌 and you can see my review on their establishment soon, but back to wrap up this horrible experience...

The hostess did come out and apologize, saying something about how they try to seat larger groups at the bigger tables that they have...but as we expressed to her, whether in or out of the states, we have never been to a restaurant where both a smaller group and a larger group, has been seated before groups that arrived first. The logic just didn't make any sense.

All this is to say, as a person who grew up in the South, came from a family of chefs, learned at a young age what Southern Hospitality is via serving in kitchen/restaurants environments myself, and as someone who professionally rates restaurants and businesses...I would give this place a 0 If I could.

But shout out to the customers who suggested City Limits (which was an all around better experience, with great food and service) and to The Porter House...thank you for such deplorable and lackadaisical service; without it, we wouldn't have been introduced to City Limits as soon. Please treat people better in the future: or don't–we won't be coming back...

The reason I give it ⭐️ is due to the blonde female owners attitude.

The steaks, service, ambiance, and prices are spot on for a GREAT steak restaurant. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

However, when the owner walks by your table on multiple occasions and talks under her breath about you still sitting at the table…. While still having an alcoholic beverage on your table that is more than half full and just spent $350 on dinner and drinks for 6. And does not offer a table at the bar to finish our drinks… that’s a problem and BAD MANAGEMENT!!! ⭐️

My husband and I had been to this restaurant about two years ago at the tail end of our honeymoon with some friends, had great food and a great experience. We were back in town and we specifically asked our friends to go back to have dinner. We were there about 2 hours (your page states :45 to 1.5 hrs) and sad to say… we will NOT be back. We will go to The...

Absolutely love to eat here. It is a little pricey but is worth it. I enjoy the lobster and the pasta. Always good. The steaks are yum. I enjoyed the loaded baked potato once. The crab dip and chips are good. Place is spotless. 10 out of 10 on how nice the staff were. The place isn't too hot. Tvs to watch things on. They do have delicious drinks. They have a bar. All drinks were good. Thank you. They helped cater to my allergies. I cannot have cinnamon and the server made sure by the chef that I didn't have it in my order. That was wonderful. The food didn't take all that long. May mbe 20 minutes to 30. Perfect time to wait. I enjoyed my anniversary here with my husband. It was perfect. 😊 I will 100% be returning. Thank you kindly Porterhouse. You got all 5's from me. I rarely give. You meet in all levels perfect...