pod

amazing food, great cocktails especially the emporer’s apothecary - quite a spectacle and a process to make. shrimp salad and wagyu beef is molto bene!!

pod is an overall eating experience. from the contemporary decor to the welcoming staff, the restaurant is really a treat. as for the food, the prices are a bit high, but the food is good. i just wish there were more vegetarian and vegan options. their sushi rolls are made to order and delicious (the shrimp tempura and tnt rolls very tasty. i'll have to come by to try their cocktails at happy hour!

fantastic surprise. i enjoyed an amazing 7 course dinner over valentine's day weekend at pod and can't rave on it enough. each course was artfully prepared, and i enjoyed each course just a tad more than the previous. cocktails were delicious, and our server was wonderful. very knowledgable staff on the food, and also on the image of their company. i highly recommend this place for a fun dinner out! expect to spend about $50 per person if you plan on having a couple drinks.
** came back for my birthday and had an equally amazing time. this time i was actually in a "pod" and it made it more like an experience rather than just dinner.* a new favorite of mine in university city.**

what piqued my interest was the sushi class being offered this summer which included sushi plates from the conveyor.

pod, a restaurant opened by stephen starr, is certainly one of the larger sushi restaurants in philly. the modern atmosphere draws in the young, hip crowds that like to hang out in the university city area. this modern atmosphere is reinforced by martinis with names like blue and orange. however, the menu is extensive and there is much more than just sushi on it. when i went, i got the rainbow roll and the calamari salad.

was one of my faves..... used to go to pod several times a yr. my favorite is the chicken lettuce wraps, their signature drinks and the seafood rice. the one time i had a complaint, it was about the seasoning of my sea bass. i asked two other people to taste it to make sure and we all thought it was off, i just ordered something else. the waitress took my plate and stated 'sometimes the ingredients taste different depending on an individuals taste buds'. she was pleasant, but 2 mins later, the chef came out of the kitchen with his arms folded and stared directly at me for about one minute.... so weird & unprofessional. that was 1 yr ago, haven't returned or recommended the place since!

please better air. pod, i like you, but you need two things:
1. an appetizer menu. you have barely anything for people to share and having formal dinners are difficult for that reason. please go back to your old longer menu.
2. every time i eat at you my cloths and my hair smell heavily food. i need to send everything to dry cleaning. please, some better exhaust system.

love it!. a little expensive but overall great experience, hung out here with a few friends after work and the drinks were fun and good. the food was good, duck and lamb are on the top of my list

fantastic service and great quality food! you have to try the mango ginger "mocktail". goes sooooo good with sushi!

my colleagues oleg sokolsky and insup lee took me to a stunning restaurant located on the u penn campus. pod is one of the creations of philadelphia restaurant mogul steven stark. it specialty is sushi and the decor is jetsons modern. i apologize for the horrible quality of this photo (no flash on an iphone) but this is our sushi assortment. as you can hopefully tell, it is served on a multi-tiered carrier from a tea service, which was a very elegant touch. the sushi was of very high quality. my first piece, salmon, set the mood for the evening with its buttery softness. the sushi went quickly. we also had several other items. the roast pork was competent but not exciting. the mushroom fried rice was very light and refreshing. the desert, chocolate chocolate chocolate, was an excellent trio of chocolate items. such a rich dessert coupled with excellent asian food is a rare treat. 0 comments: post a comment

pod is a gussied up american take on asian food run by a well known philadelphia restauranteur, stephen starr. it has a 60’s retro-chic interior with a smattering of dim bluish and purple light cast over white furniture. it is a glissile place where, by the looks of it, there appears to be no friction: a bottle of beer could just slide forever down the long bar. to me the place feels like the womb of an enormous whale deep under the arctic waters. it is a cold ambiance. cozy is not the word that i would use for it, but some folks like it (including my son).

cauliflower robata with balsamic teriyaki glaze the most surprising dish of the night. this totally vegan dish is incredibly meaty! the combination of balsamic and teriyaki is a double dose of umami, and paired with tender, almost creamy cauliflower, it’s an undeniably decadent tasting dish. yet, it’s so light that it could be a diet food. cooked on the robata, which is a japanese charcoal grill, the outside is charred and crisp while the inside becomes soft, though not mushy. the glaze is sweet, sour, and piquant, and the result is memorable in every way.

this restaurant looks great, but the service is not good by any measure, and is overpriced for what it is.

hmm.... pod was saved in this review by their fantastic shrimp tempura sushi and mordern decor. there were a number of issues.
the service was very slow. yes, it was a saturday night, but we would even strategically tell the waittress "we will only take a minute to decide..." and 10 minutes later she'd return.
the skirt steak was overpriced for the quantity served. i don't have a problem handing out big bucks for food, but the amount of steak served to me for $32 was skimpy. i had no been planning on ordering dessert but was forced to do so by the fact that my beef was shrimpy.
all-in-all, i'd suggest that pod reevaluate itself. yes, it has potential, but let's be realistic here. i'm all for a chill, modern atmosphere, but the cool furniture does not merit the inflation in their prices. at the same time, i believe that other reviews, such as food critic, are overly harsh and should learn to stick to food and leave gaga alone (obviously doesn't understand her either). i would probably give them another try.

horrible. total waste of money. ambiance is acceptable. we were in a private pod. other than the lights which change into different colors the place is a garbage. the food tasted like lunch special from a local chinese restaurant. sushi was ok. but overall if you want to blow some money you won at the casino go for it. overall experience 3 out of 10