ISO Restaurant Suggestions for 2 Group Dinners in Philly

Regional Dining Discussions DC, Mid-Atlantic
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Planning two dinners for a group of 10 to 20 (rsvps still in flux).

Flexibility is more important than price or cuisine — no tasting menus, vegetarian-friendly, a la carte ordering vs a set menu forced on groups, etc.

Within a 10 minute cab ride from Penn campus preferable, and within walking distance would be a bonus for at least 1 of the 2 meals.

We have eaten in the past at a wide range of places, from BYOB neighborhood italian to Han Dynasty to Starr establishments.

Ease of reservation is a significant consideration these days, given our group size.

I haven’t organized one of these in a long time, so I will refresh myself on current options, but I thought I’d put this out early for any suggestions local folks might have.

Thank you!

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A few nearby thoughts to start:

  • Co-Op at The Study - some of us might stay here, so this could be an easy option, but also the menu looks good.

  • Dim Sum House – never been, but it looks lovely and the menu (incl the Jiang Nan bent) appeals. Might not work as well for the drinkers, though.

  • Walnut Street Cafe - easy out, but the menu does appeal.

  • Han Dynasty — I’ve been many times, so it’s easy and tasty, but boring.

Will expand search to a 10-15 minute cab ride next.

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SInce you mentioned Han Dynasty, I’ll suggest E Mei , its in Chinatown - 915 Arch Street and fabulous for groups EMei Restaurant – Philly Chinatown’s Most Authentic Szechuan Style Restaurant (emeiphilly.com)
Two Locals Brewery is a nice casual spot with great beer and good food that is provided by Liberty Kitchen.
Also Vietnam Cafe is nearby. I have only been to their sister restaurant, Vietnam, in Chinatown but it is excellent and received a James Beard “Classics” award this year.

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Thanks @Bigley9 !

I did look at Emei, but i am herding cats and it’s just beyond my radius this time.

I did look at Vietnam Cafe — my concern was whether there’s enough for vegetarians to choose from (plus fish sauce and shrimp paste and chicken stock are in so many things that if it’s not an obviously vegetarian-friendly Thai or Viet place I avoid it with vegetarians in the group).

Two Locals looks great but I took it off because I think we need more of a sit-down food place - more eaters than drinkers at this point.

I also went down the current Starr lineup and there are a few that might work (if they don’t insist on a group prix fixe menu) — don’t know if you have opinions on any of these:

  • El Rey
  • Talula’s Garden
  • The Dandelion
  • The Love (spendier than I want though)

Italian in Philly would be so easy and so delicious, I’ll take a look at that filter when I have some time.

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I’m not a huge Starr fan, but both Talula’s Garden and El Rey are nice.
Not sure if High Street (9th and Chestnut) or a.kitchen (18th and Walnut) would work for your group? Both from Ellen Yin whose original restaurant, Fork, has been excellent for over 25 years but it’s in Old City.
L’Anima or Melangrano might work for Italian not too far from Penn.

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Thanks so much!

Agree on Starr, but for a large (and changing) group they used to make it very easy and the food was usually good.

L’Anima or Melograno could work, but with all normal-sized places I’m wary of taking over most of the room (it’s not a quiet group :joy:).

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Reporting back on two successful meals that were even larger groups than my overestimate.

We chose Co-Op for the first, and it was lovely. They were incredibly accommodating and patient as our group grew from 16 to 25 over the evening.

Food ranged from good to good enough, with the scant missteps being over-cooked salmon and very slow service, but they get a full pass for handling our chaos with aplomb. They also did a great job of splitting the bar tab upon request, which made things a lot easier at the end.

The second meal was at Dim Sum House, which worked out fabulously after an initial hiccup. The person who made the rez while I was away decided to book for 20 instead of 30 for some unknown reason, even though we had 26 rsvps. So we had two 10-top rounds, onto which we squeezed another 3-4 people, but the later arrivals had to eat at a separate table (even though they had confirmed attendance, which was frustrating).

The food was a very pleasant surprise — everything from dim sum to Sichuan dishes to duck were much better than I had expected. Portions were very generous, so we sent a few locals home with a LOT of food.

All in all, two very successful and fun group meals!

On the way in, some of us stopped at Ba Le for banh mis and more. I thought they were fine but not as good as I had expected. I had the char siu with added nem, and both fillings were disappointing. The cha gio, on the other hand, were fantastic, best I’ve had in a long time. Viet coffee was short on condensed milk even after asking for it light, but the coffee itself was good.

We missed cheesesteaks, which was a first for us. Guess we are getting older, and cheesesteaks used to fulfill the 1-3am craving, which we are in bed for these days.

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