My experiences at P&K have been very inconsistent with many sloppy and tepid (both literally and figuratively) dishes, and even when good, a questionable value for the money. Aloof staff and an obnoxious crowd subtracted from the experience too.

Freedman’s opinion aside, is it worth going back? I remember he beer program sucking too, is it really better?

I’ve always found the food very good but also very overrated. I do, to echo BarryG slightly, find the crowd a little Rittenhouse bland, but to each his own. It’s still a nice spot. What really shocks me is Freedman calling the beer program “well considered.” I haven’t been in five or six months, I can’t imagine that much has changed. While the beer selection was fine, to be called “well considered” in Philly is biting off more than P&K can chew.

Neither the crowd nor the service bothered me on my 2 visits here. However, the limited menu and so-so beer list didn’t do anything for me.

Have you seen Brian Freedman’s headshot?! http://www.brianfreedmanphiladelphia.com/bio.php
He rocks a pompadour and sports a goddamned pocket square christsakes! I think that explains all of his reviews…

@Dan, haha it really does.

yes…and like i said, the food was “meh”…the crowd just made the experience that much more unbearable…
and to top it off, it was hot in there…going out to dinner is usually composed of several apects…environment is one of them

out waiter could not be bothered…i mean…get over yourself…you’re a waiter…in a bar…OFF rittenhouse

Why is it that we have gotten to a point where we don’t pay for quality? Pub and Kitchen is a New York quality restaurant down to it’s burger (Pat LaFreida) and ambiance, yet in Philly we blast it on a comment board. In Philly if it’s using cheap meat and has pbr pounders, you are ready to give it accolades. Not everything has to be the pope or sptr. Don’t get me wrong, I love those places. But it’s nice to treat yourself to the best burger in the city (read Philly mag: people’s choice). On top of that they have a custom beer from sixpoint. Its like if you are progressive and don’t celebrate mediocrity, people are so eager to downplay it’s right to a good review.

I love this place, it’s my bar after a long day at the office. The staff is amazing. They always know what I like to drink. But it’s a step above the rest in food and service. Maybe it’s not in the Philly DNA to respect a restaurant that’s trying to do more than pbr.

i didn’t like the churchill burger when i had it. cooked well, but the bone marrow was too strong and overpowered. I liked the idea, but i’ll stick to the normal burger.

i’ve also routinely had bad service there over the years. routinely.

@JA, atmosphere is a huge part of dining, especially when the prices are in the P&K range.

Oh lord Andrea. More than PBR? Do I have to remind you that P&K had two of their drafts devoted to commercial bs drafts until Laban of all people shamed them out of it: ” presence on such a small list of so many commercial beers, from Miller Lite to Corona, is a glaring shortcoming in a city obsessed with craft beer.” That said, still think the food’s good, and never mind stopping by. But it’s far from the be all end all that some make it out to be.

Wait, what? Philly doesn’t want to pay for quality? Vetri is one of our longest running and most successful restaurants. Ditto Osteria. Bibou is critically lauded across the U.S., and Le Bec, a legend in the industry, keeps chugging along.

Oh, have you eaten at Fish? We can keep going…how about Jose Garces restaurants? The last time I checked Starr’s crown jewels will also put a severe dent in the rent kitty. Oh, and there’s a little place called Lacroix right near P and K.

All of these restaurants are busy, pricey, and highly regarded. Ask the owners of any of these outposts if the food-obsessed Philly public aren’t willing to pay for quality.

Your ‘assessment’ that Philly doesn’t know what’s good is made by someone who spends every evening at the same bar.

Also, I love Pub and Kitchen. I go for the Fish and Chips and the burger.

P.S. Price doesn’t equal quality. Working examples: Serafina, Estia, The Fountain

@WTF, no shit, and also you can great values in this town. SPTR regularly puts out dishes on par with high-end restaurants for a fraction of the price of P&K–and uses quality LOCAL ingredients and supports our local breweries.

There is still a set of Rittenhouse folk with the 1990s mentality that everything hip and trendy needs to be imported from NYC. The fact that P&K’s response to criticism of their beer list is a house brew from a Brooklyn brewery shows that they don’t get it.

That doesn’t make it a bad restaurant but get over yourself Andrea.

The BS classicism card? Case dismissed.

people here already should have gathered I’m not a hipster. I’m put off by P & K’s atmosphere too. There are bars where you have to fit a vibe to be considered a part of the crowd and that’s a bad atmosphere, be it scenesters, hipsters, yuppies, hip hop, etc. A good restaurant is welcoming to people who want to eat good food and have a good time.

I hate the bro bars, the hipster bars, and the yuppie bars. P+K’s definitely got a yuppie bar vibe. Bizarrely, I’ve had equal parts of problems with annoying yuppies around me and with hipster rudeness by some of the staff. It’s weird to combine both.

Bottomline, if I feel uncomfortable in the crowd, it’s a bad atmosphere, imo. That’s true for both P&K, PYT, and…tries hard to think of a third bar starting with “P”…P.O.P.E.

Actually, P.O.P.E.’s not been too bad…though that might have been because I had girl scout cookies with me, and everyone–hipster or yuppie–loves girl scout cookies.

“@Barryg
Sixpoint Brewery, Barry…Sixpoint Brewery, which is a brewery IN Brooklyn….NOT Brooklyn Brewery.”

I’m guessing that’s why Barryg said the beer is “from a Brooklyn brewery”..

@Buckethead,@Barryg

I apologize for that error Barryg; I missed the “a” part in your sentence. Thank you for pointing it out Buckethead. By the way Buckethead…great guitar stuff in Limp Bizkit….whatever happened to you guys?

Last thing….despite people often making the lame comment of “just like NY or ‘in NY’, NY blah blah blah” there are an equal amount of great things that come from & that are in New York & Philadelphia. The whole Local Food & Drink ethos covers anything within 100 miles, which New York is; so nothing wrong with serving QUALITY beers, wines, cheese, & Foie Gras from New York in a Philadelphia establishment.

And those places don’t sell much, or any, PBR.

Pub and Kitchen tries to be something it isn’t, and never will be. It tries to be a hipster fine dining like bar, but instead it attracts all the 30 something former frat boys who think they are so cool. and the food isn’t that good for the chef to act like his is serving at a fine dining establishment where nothing can be substituted or changed. and the service seems like a cult. i will never return. royal burger here i come.

@WTF
It’s interesting that all the restaurants you mentioned have staff members that are regulars at P&K. I have chatted with people at the bar numerous late nights that just got done done their shift at Vetri, Osteria and Fish that swear by Pub and Kitchen. Not to mention that Pub has a Chef in the kitchen that came from Le Bec. Haters will always hate but I don’t think any of the restaurants you in your negative comparison would agree with you. Pub and Kitchen offers a consistently will thought out, made from scratch product and if that isn’t worth your money, they don’t want you in their seats anyway.