the dandelion

so so good. the house made ricotta, sunday roast, and duck bolognese are to die for. the drinks are great too. my go-to place in center city.

this is for a series of posts for stephen starr restaurants including:alma de cuba, barclay prime, butcher and singer, continental midtown & martini bar, the dandelion, el vez, jones, parc, pizzeria stella, route 6 [1], route 6 [2], & square burger. one of the gf and my favorite stephen starr restaurants is the dandelion - the very definition of a gastropub. it leaves pretension outside while providing great food and drink. chef robert aikens was at the helm when we first visited a few years back and since then, cia-trained joe minnich has taken over. the gf and i came here recently with a friend to celebrate her birthday and it's clear the dandelion is in great hands!

one of my favorites spots to grab a drink or dinner. cute atmosphere with separately rooms. do get the pimms. the crab risotto, burger, welsh rarebit (not rabbit!), & of course fish n chips are not to be missed! one of the better starr joints.

good place but not for folks who want to have conversation or sit in comfortable chairs. party of eight celebrating an event was seated promptly and we paid a corkage fee of flutes for expensive champagne we broought. enjoyed two pitchers of pimms cup #10 for the table and assorted appetizers with tasty bread and butter. main dishes were almost all good. except the crab risotto. way too spicy to be enjoyable. risotto and crab are usually subtle dishes. not this one. sent it back after two bites. chose not to order another choice. manager insisted on providing gratis a welsh rarebit order; which i let others partake as i didn't want to push my lactaid pill to it's helpful limits. would i go back, no; but, would recommend it to friends who want the experience of british pub food at almost reasonable prices. service was fine and we left full. the mini pastry plate was a smart move to share for the table for dessert.

my wife & i went here tonight and had a great time (at least until we started talking about our 5 kids). but that was only for 15 mins n dandelions had no part in that. great time, great food, great drink and atmosphere. ate at the bar & the bartender comped us a dessert. great move on her part and our tip reflected it. rarely go to philly but will be sure to go here again next time here and will recommend it to friends traveling to philly.

the dandelion first review. this is my first foray into the dandelion and upon arrival the wait staff member was attentive but came off a bit pretentious guiding me to the hostess, who was located on the second floor. most diners came in the same door i did, located on the corner and right into the dining room, having to go through the same routine as i. my original server was slow on the initial greeting at the table and since they did not appear to be that busy judging by the number of seats available i am not sure why. food delivery was a touch slow, but giving them the benefit of the doubt due to my being there about 1/2 hour after opening i will forgive that. a more attentive waitress checking on me would have been in order to avoid appearing like such a long wait. when my order of eggs benedict arrived, they were slightly above average. for the price charged i would expect slightly better or a little something extra on the side. my second waitress, jennifer, was excellent. jennifer started attending to me toward the end of my meal and i had been observing her doing just what excellent wait staff does. she was very attentive to her tables and continually checked on them prior to them receiving their meals and during the meal itself. overall i would give the dandelion a 7 out of 10. still trying to figure out the mishmosh decor on the first floor though.

the overall verdict is positive. with no complaints from a party of 6 it looks like joe monnich is doing things right. hopefully british food will continue to have a philadelphia cheerleader for some time to come.

delicious! loved the elderflower soda. cool presentations and nice atmosphere.

good, but pricey. the fish and chips were top notch and my friend liked his rabbit pie. trouble is the portions were quite meager for the price. too bad as the place has a nice vibe.

great beer selection and the chicken and duck liver parfait was absolutely amazing!

great vibe. every time i travel to philly, i always make sure to grab a bite here. it's a traditional british restaurant/pub with an extremely authentic vibe. the decor is really cool and they have the best fish and chips. i recommend going for dinner and hanging out by the bar afterwords for a few drinks.

dandelion doesn't disappoint for a great lunch on a hot day. i have been here for drinks before (they have a nice happy hour menu too) and wanted to give lunch a try. good traditional pub food with unique twist

this restaurant is by far one of my favorite starr restaurants when i think about overall experience. personally, i found the dogs that decorated the walls of one room cute and i think they added character to the restaurant. while the atmosphere does remind one of the united kingdom, the food also adds to this atmosphere as well. to start, we ordered the butter lettuce salad and the terrine of hen, ham hock and foie gras. while these two starters were good, out of the two, the terrine is not to be missed as it is an incredibly flavorful dish. as both a lamb and a meat pie lover, the lamb shepherds pie i received here was delicious and filling. the food here clearly has an emphasis on english pub food with an american twist to it, so there is something on the menu for everyone. i have a whole list of foods that i now hope to try there including the rabbit pie, bangers and mash, and sticky toffee pudding, a dessert i ate many times while i was in the u.k.

clockwise from left: the townhouse which houses the dandellion. second floor bar. sitting room with a fireplace on the first floor.   i’ve always wanted to try the food at the dandelion since i moved to philadelphia. the restaurant offered an interesting center city restaurant week menu this winter so off i went after work. the menu did not disappoint.   the atmosphere: it’s a disney version of an irish pub. it’s charming and clean. a real irish pub is a bit of a dive bar. the staff is friendly and courteous. my server followed me to the street to make sure i didn’t leave my umbrella.   my picks: clockwise from top left: bread basket with sea salt and butter on slate ware to taste. sticky toffee pudding. pan fried sea scallops. beef cheek and rib pie.   verdict: i loved everything i was served. the meal was perfectly seasoned. the dishes served pipping hot which was just what i wanted on a rainy day. the sea salt with butter was a treat. not a lot of restaurants have this. must try !!

very good but still love monk's. this was our first time and it was definitely a hit. the service was spot on and friendly. in fact our server fielded and answered a somewhat obnoxious foodie/ingredient question from one of our party with grace and humor. food itself was tasty and well prepared. nothing special, but then again, it's a pub. my wife was quite pleased with the shepherd's pie. the only let-down was the sticky toffee pudding which was "ok." the place gets very crowded and loud and definitely is not a place for kids or a romantic dinner. monk's remains my favorite gastro pub in philly.