City Tavern Restaurant in Philadelphia

I went to City Tavern Restaurant for the first time weeks ago and I have to say, Im hooked.I had heard about the place through a friend who recommended it and was intrigued by its history. I love learning about how restaurants got their start, so this was right up my alley.My waiter was very knowledgeable about the menu, which is always appreciated because it shows that they care about their customers experience. The food was amazing, but what stood out to me was how accommodating they were to my dietary restrictions. They knew how much time and effort it takes to make something gluten-free, so they didnt hesitate to do what they needed to do to make sure my meal tasted great too!If youre looking for an incredible dining experience with authentic decor (and no pretense), then City Tavern Restaurant is worth checking out!

First time visit to Philly and wasnt disappointed. We stopped at City Tavern for dinner. It was like going back in time to the colonial era. The foot was great!!!! Recipes from that time period. The staff wear authentic colonial costumes and and the furnishings right down to the table ware was from that era. We will be back in July to enjoy it again.

Don’t bother during Covid restrictions. I made a reservation and was informed the day before that my party of 5 (just 5, not 8 or 10couldn’t be seated together unless we ate outside. As I have 3 children and we wanted to sit together on our FAMILY VACATION, we chose outside. We were led upstairs and seated alone on the veranda, which was completely dark (no candles on the table or other lights at alland looked out onto a parking lot. the whole point of eating at the City Tavern was the ambiance and experience of a historic place and eating like outcasts in the dark wasn’t exactly the ambiance I was hoping for. I requested to have us moved inside and the staff was very gracious to move us inside. We had to sit at two tables, even though we were the only diners in the room. Heck, we were the only diners on that whole side of the building, possibly the only diners in the upstairs, but we couldn’t pull the two tables together and eat as a family. The room was very dark with only 1 taper candle on each table and zero other lighting. It was completely silent as well—no music or anything. It was so dark I couldn’t really even see my food. Our server was kind and did a great job. The food was fine, but not amazing especially considering the price. I was very disappointed in the whole experience. I was willing to pay inflated food prices for a restaurant that was an ‘experience’—but unless your idea of a fun dining experience includes isolation, silence, and darkness, I’d skip City Tavern until things go back to normal and dinner feels like a fun evening out and not like solitary confinement.

The atmosphere was energetic. The service was excellent. The food was delicious .

We were in the expansive and shaded garden. Service was friendly and attentive, but not intrusive. We shared the seafood pasta special (loaded with crab claws, scallops, shrimp etc), the smoked salmon and smoked trout appetizer served with Irish style soda bread and all the nosh garnishes, and the Romaine and roquefort cheese salad (had to have at least 5 oz of cheeseand an ale flight. Not inexpensive, but generous quality food and drink.

Not many places in this country where you can get a flight of beer based off the founding fathers favorite recipes. This is a MUST GO if you are a fan of both history and beer. Its expensive, but well worth the price.

Helloooo. My friend and I had the pleasure of having lunch at city tavern.The restaurant is an old house with an entrance, room, stairs, etc. On the first floor you will find three rooms which one of them is a bar. In the other two rooms there are chairs and tables like any other restaurant has.Food was good honestly. We had two soups, mine was the corn with other vegetables. Then smoked salmon and trout appetizer. Main course was med rare salmon with sautee vegetables. All these three course were really nice.Service was casual but pushy but I dont blame my waitress because I found this behavior in almost all the restaurant I visited on my stay in philadelphia.See yall in my next trip!!!

Theres no better place to finish a historic Philly tour, than an elegant dinner at the City Tavern. Its a near literal jump back in time to 1773 - the staff in period clothes, metal goblets. The atmosphere is period perfect. The menu is pricey, but worth the money for the sheer pleasure of the ambiance and attention to detail. My soup, though small was very savory (corn chowder), my chicken breast mount vernon, a combo of lightly breaded chicken breast and lump crab was luxurious and the bread pudding was a sweet finish. Do visit - the lighting with a harp for entertainment is also perfect for a winning date.

excellent lunch with family.Bonus,Chef Walter sat down with us after lunch for about an hour to discuss food & history.

Service is ok, but she did not provide the bread until I asked. But she served each table at the beginning. Food is delicious.

Its located a little far from downtown. Staff are so friendly, and there are original foods and drinks. I enjoyed Beer set like a picture.

Great experience and dishes with old world recipes done right. Quiet, candlelight, well crafted menu.

Colonial style dishes at their finest. Food was top notch and the staff and atmosphere made you feel like you were back in time. Everything I had was phenomenal, bit the Pepperpot Soup stood out.

What a cool experience. I was in town at a conference and they fit our entire group of 70 people in there upstairs dinning area. The West Indies Soup was fantastic. Only reason for a 4 star is because if you have a group this big They can only do cash for alcoholic drinks but food was amazing. They also talk about the history of the building which was awesome!

Really cool place! Walking distance from many other attractions around the Liberty Bell. Really good food, moderately priced. White tablecloth service and atmosphere were spot on! Lots of history in the building. They invite you to walk around to see other rooms. Only drawback is the restrooms are on the third floor.

Good food, good service and interesting experience. Worth the price for the experience and trying unconventional dishes. Traditional beers are a nice addition.

Delicious food and refreshing libations in a wonderfully colonial establishment. Service was excellent as well! (Thanks for taking such great care of us, Kelli!!! I thoroughly enjoyed the beef bourguignon, while the hubby feasted on seafood pasta. The finishing touches to our meal were the wonderfully creamy vanilla creme brûlée and peach and ginger cobbler with pecan topping.

History nerd here. Brought a friend visiting the US for the first time and this was exactly the perfect kind of touristy historical place. We got the turkey pot pie and rabbit, both were delicious. Portions were huge (so much pasta, why?? HaEnjoyed the array of breads in the beginning.

I came here through recommendation and was intrigued by the history of this place. The service was good and the food even better. My waiter was very knowledgeable about the menu and was very enthusiastic in giving me a little history lesson on some of the beverages. My crab cake appetizer was soft, moist and flavorful. My salmon main was cooked perfectly. The waitstaff was dressed as if we were in the 1700s which I found quite entertaining. This is definitely a place to check out if staying in Philly. I will come again the next time I am in the area.

Food is fantastic. Historical recipes, old tavern atmosphere and wait staff in period dress really add to the Philadelphia experience.

Love the history of the City Tavern. The food was was wonderful & our server was knowledgeable and efficient. Location within walking distance to other historical sites.

Very good beer selection. I had the mushroom toast and the sampler beer pallet. Very historic location in Philadelphia. Definately a place to visit.

Portions are generous , the food tasted good. The service is where we had a real problem. Waiter had to come back twice to confirm our order, we asked to substitute vegetable for the egg noodles/ we didn’t get either. All of Our water glasses were empty several times- to his defense ( how could he know when they’re not see thru glassbut if he was around more often he would have caught it.Then time for coffee and desert- we received our desert but never received Coffee- yes it was on the bill. (Water glasses were empty again also)So Food is Good( a little high price for my likingespecially based on the service. The history content in the restaurant was an added surprise.Probably won’t be going back “on my Dime”.

Convenient location, colonial era theme dressed waiters and good food. We took smoked salmon salad , salmon entree and shrimp cocktail . Be careful with a shrimp cocktail )it comes with a spicy sauce )

Loved the atmosphere. The waiter was very attentive and told us the history of some of the food.

We only get to dine at City Tavern when we come to Philadelphia for a concert or museum. We wish it were in Chester County so we could take advantage of the expertly prepared historic cuisine more often.Although a reproduction of the original building, the atmosphere is authentic.I chose two appetizers: My favorite cornmeal fried oysters and the Seafood Melange salad. Both came with the House Remoulade and were expertly prepared.My husband, a meat and potatoes man, had the Medallions of Beef Tenderloin- another winner.I truly wanted to forgo dessert, until our server presented the dessert tray....and there it was, a huge Creme Brulee.Thank you Chef Staib -Again it was "Spectacular!"Spectacular!

It was an incredible experience. The corn chowder is simply excellent! No complaints from anyone else on the food. Seafood was fresh, rabbit was cooked well.

Very nice historical tavern with period recipes. Quiet when we visited late afternoon. Conveniently situated and walking distance to other attractions. Food was unique and tasty.

This is one of my familys go to spots in the city. They dont come to the city often but when they do, they come here. Its a historical landmark turned restaurant and even the servers are in traditional dress. The food is rather tasty. I would recommend the Mushroom Toast for the appetizer with the Lobster Pot Pie for the entree. As for dessert, the creme brulee is good but I found the sugar crust on top to be too thin and not caramelized enough.

The food was incredible and our server Jay was fantastic! Great recommendations, cocktails and desserts. Certainly a great meal to celebrate our anniversary!

Had the AMAZING pork chop w mashed potatoes. Opted out of the sauerkraut, not a fan. Really fun with the candlelight and the ghost ladies serving you. Lol. Great fried oysters and the Marthas raspberry shrub to drink!

Fun place to eat! This was a favorite place of Ben Franklins and our founding fathers. The food is authentic colonial food and the serving staff are very knowledgeable.

Food was good and the atmosphere was neat! Worth checking out if you are visiting the area. I particularly enjoyed the special brews.

Very nice, cozy themed restaurant with decent beer and wine selection. Pricey, but not over the top. Food was excellent but wait staff seemed to struggle keeping caught up. Seemed a bit short-staffed. Lighting was a bit of an issue. Had the pork chop which was excellent.

Delicious food, great atmosphere & server! I organized an event for a fanclub of a show set in late 1700s. The event coordinator (Philtook care of everything & all went well.I highly recommend one of their specialties "Turkey Pot Pie w/side of noodles". The noodles are served with brown gravy, but I asked for butter & they were accommodating. Great atmosphere for a luncheon or a romantic dinner 😊.

We were there for the experience. The employees were dressed as they would have in the colonial days. We both had the sampler flight of each beer they had. It wasnt great and wasnt terrible. No real complaints. It just wasnt by thing.

Food was really good, the atmosphere is great. Be sure to get the Ales of the Revolution sampler. Also, the trout was quite tasty. $$$

Just came in to try the revolutionary ale, but the atmosphere was so immersive. Ended up talking to the harpist about the history clock for an hour. Bought a tankard too!

A very unique and cool dining experience. We stopped in here to eat after touring independence hall. It was really interesting to see all the wait staff in period clothing. The decor was also period and the plates and goblets were a nice touch. The food and service was good. We would go here again and recommend to anyone visiting the area try it out for the experience.

Fun experience and a taste and atmosphere of Colonial times. Different seasonal beers this one Thomas Jeffersons beer recipe

This was my first visit to Philadelphia. We came here for a traditional lunch. We were not let down. The staff was very friendly and dressed peroid correct which made the experience so much better. We sat on the upstairs balcony. The food every bit as delicious as it looked. There was also a beer tasting of 4 different local and time period correct beers.

We found this restaurant while taking a walk during our visit to Philadelphia. It has rich history, and even though it is not the original building (rebuilt in the original style in 1975), it still had a really nice antique-feel to it. The building is quite large with several levels.The moment we walked in, we saw the staffs dressed in the 18th century attire. I saw on their website about this, but it is so cool to actually see them.The room we were taken to had a nice, old-fashion dining room feel to it. high ceiling, fire place, wooden structure and large windows. The room was nice and bright with natural light flooding in from the windows.The water was served in the pewter silver goblet, which was really cool. It made the water taste somehow extra tasty. Our server was very informative, explained their menu and offerings really well.I ordered their popular Hot Cider. You can have it hot or cold, with or without Rum/Brandy/Whiskey. It was served warm-to-hot, it certainly warmed me up from the inside. Very comforting and tasty.Here, you can experience authentic 18th century American food. Their dishes are made fresh daily from scratch with local ingredients. First, we received complimentary bread platter, which was also served on pewter plate. It had assortment of colonial breads, awesome!We ordered Fried Tofu, Pork Chop “Apple-Wood Smoked” and Creme Brûlée. The main dishes were huge, especially the pork chop. The pork chop was the biggest hit, perfectly cooked and super tasty. We enjoyed everything though.Our server was polite and efficient, she checked on our table often to make sure we are well taken care of, and we have water in our cups. She was friendly without being too friendly. The food takes a bit to come out, but you get very good quality food, so it is totally worth the wait. If you are in the Philly area and enjoys food and history, don’t miss this lovely and delicious spot!

The amazing history of City Tavern makes it a do not miss when in Philadelphia. Add on beer from recipes created by our founding fathers where the Continental Congress met and it is simply incredible. Excellent gourmet food with choices like rabbit, crab claw pasta, and two types of beef tenderloin. Not what I would have pictured a historic tavern to be.

You will never go wrong choosing City Tavern for a meal! The ambiance, authentic menu, and courteous service is spot on.

Oldest tavern in the city. Many will think there is a bar in this establishment. Remember this a tavern going back to the colonial times, employees dress up from that era. It is a good experience. Only 4 different kinds of beer,but the recipes are based from the colonial times.

We felt like we were going back in time and unlike many tourist places that try to make up for sub-par food with costume and decor, the food at City Tavern was outstanding! I dont know why we waited this long to try it.

We really loved this restaurant! The food is super delicious and the experience of eating in a restaurant where George Washington ate at is incredible.

Whatta a great & fun place to eat! The food was Exceptional (I had West Indies Pepperpot Soup & Colonial Turkey Pot PieThis is not a gimmicky place, but Chef Staib has the talent & passion to recreate real 18th Century meals in the real ambiance. The waitstaff, servers & live music was terrific!!!

Extraordinary restaurant. One of the jewels of Philadelphia. And Emmy-winning chef Staib still works there! Wonderful food from the Revolutionary War period, replete with waiters that wear costumes from the time, telling you all about how various American luminaries enjoyed the particular dishes youll be ordering. And the food itself is fantastic, great dishes varying from chicken to lamb to even the occasional deer or rabbit fare. And the desserts- wonderful. Fantastic place. And dont forget, the building youll be dining in was the favorite watering hole for all of the dignitaries from Independence Hall! Awesome!

Attention to detail, warm service, great food. Our family get together was a big hit: 12/12 loved it. Chef Staib greeted our group and took us on an amazing journey.