White Dog Cafe University City — Restaurant in Philadelphia

The first thing I did not realize about White Dog Cafe was that it was the "first farm-to-table restaurant in the East Coast." This was a wonderful thing to discover about White Dog Cafe. By the way, the real name should be White Dog Fine Restaurant. Cafe is a bit of a misnomer, but I distract you from the important details.

The food. Delicious. Easily the best I had in Philadelphia when I visited. And I got breakfast at a fancy hotel which was so yum. It was amazing to realize that the random place that was picked also got all of their food within 50 miles (50!) of the restaurant. The lamb shank I had with polenta was a wonderful blend. The polenta was adorned with a maple-flavored sauce that brought out the creamy texture of it. The lamb shank was mouth-watering and easily fell off the bone. It being a dog themed restaurant, there was a suggestion to save the lamb shank bone for a dog. Very thoughtful!

I did want to say that I was lucky enough to be at the restaurant on the first day of their spring menu. This felt very special as I was able to try the newest things and give feedback. This included cocktails. One was called a Hibiscuits, and the other Day At The Dog Park. Both of these, crazy enough, were dog themed. Lol.

Both cocktails had a tea themed. The Hibisucits was fruity and not overpowering. It hid the flavor of the alcohol well. The Day At The Dog Park was sweetened, but had a chamomile accent which brought seemed to be an Old-Fashioned elevated to a higher level. I want to go back for another one of those. Excellent yum!

I have to borrow my partner's hands to give this place 4 thumbs up in terms of sustainability. They were a lot of firsts for more sustainable food practices, and there was a thoughtfulness to a lot of the place. They market their sustainable food practices very well, which connects to the freshness and quality of the food on their menu. Businesses looking to elevate their marketing, and their impact on local food systems should look to White Dog for a bit of inspiration.

The restaurant itself feels like a house turned into a large dining area. Portraits of dogs adorned the walls, and several small rooms hosted a handful of tables. It makes for private parties and small, cozy dates. They also had what looked like a whiskey barrel inspired basement dining area with the feel of a speakeasy from colonial days. Their bathrooms were small, with some of the smallest sinks I've ever seen.

Overall, the experience was amazing. And it was reason for me to rush to Google Reviews so I could share the experience. I hope you will consider White Dog Cafe as a restaurant. If you are a food business owner, I hope you will be inspired by White Dog's business model. A localized food system incentivizes local farmers, which is not just bark, it also makes for some...

After a very emotional day at the hospital visiting a very ill young family member, my siblings and I were hungry. Not being from PA., I decided to Google “Restaurants Near Me” and the first restaurant that came up was, The White Dog Cafe. It was just a short walk from the hospital so after reviewing the menu we decided to give it a try. Well, all three of us can be very particular when it comes to where we eat. However, I must say that the White Dog Cafe exceeded our expectations. For starters, we are dog owner’s and lover’s. Therefore, coming into the restaurant and seeing all the smart doggie decor was pleasing. We were greeted with a smile and immediately seated at a comfortable table. Our waiter, Matthew, was an absolute delight! He was courteous, patient, knowledgeable, attentive and very pleasant. He provided us with top notch service that was refreshing! The food, cocktails and dessert were all delicious and very filling! We were pleased to learn that the food is Farm to Table which would explain why everything was so fresh! My sisters and I appreciated the delicious and well prepared meal, the very courteous and professional service. We were so busy chatting as we left that we forgot to take our boxed up leftovers. I did not realize it until we walked half a block. I ran back to the restaurant but the very efficient bus boys/gals had already cleaned off our table. I was about to leave but then the manager came out and asked me to wait and he will check on what happened to the food. To my utter surprise, would you believe that in no time my waiter, Matthew came out with a bag containing a fresh order of the French fries and Brussel sprouts? I was so moved and grateful for this kind gesture. They did not have to do that but, and I was not expecting it. However, by doing so they won my heart, my business and my sincere recommendation. Thank you Matthew, White Dog Cafe Manager and staff. My family and I really appreciated the love today and we really enjoyed our food and visit. We will be back! Sincerely, G....

Am a regular customer along with my friends that I dined with today. Every time before today that we've been to White Dog Cafe has been great. Unfortunately, the service today was disappointing and frustrating. Upon being seated at the bar for happy hour and placing our drink orders, the bartender asked to see our IDs which is fine. As graduate students, we look young and I understand. However, the bartender believed that one of the IDs we gave him (a valid, vertical non-expired one) was a fake and that he needed someone to check it more thoroughly. We understood that it is his job, but I feel that some critical thinking could have been used because why would someone give a bartender a vertical fake ID? Nonetheless, we let it slide as he said it would just take him a moment. It took at least 10 minutes before a different bartender came back with the ID and asked my friend for their birthday and address. When my friend gave their answer, the bartender simply looked annoyed, gave the ID back, and did not apologize for the inconvenience. My friends and I found this odd as the bartender who gave the ID back was the one who served us the week before and we had no issues then.

Fortunately, the food we ordered arrived quickly and was delicious. However, after the initial incident, the bartenders seemed to be ignoring my friends and I as we were never asked if we wanted refills on our waters or needed anything.

Finally, when we went to pay, we had a gift card that we wanted to use. For context, this gift card was used on the previous trip to this White Dog Cafe location with no issue- we were able to pay for our tab in full. We wanted to use the remaining balance on the card to pay for a portion of the tab and the bartender kept telling us that he could not use the full amount on the card left. Eventually, we just agreed and were just grateful they even charged the gift card at all.

While the food is pretty good and worth the money on the happy hour menu, be prepared for some...