a.kitchen

This lively, vibrant, lightly dim restaurant serves incredible food!
Starting from appetizers and ending with a dessert, they delivered on point!
Loved everything about this place!

I am not surprised this place only has 3 stars on Unilocal.I’m going to give it even fewer. It is a solidly 2 – 3 star experience.
Food
Nothing remarkable except for one ricotta on toast appetizer which was like crack. Everything else was too dry, too fried, hard to eat, not properly seasoned, I didn’t want to finish anything. Even the wine wasn’t good.
Service
Off putting from the start. When we arrived, the hostess said she «was going to have to relegate us to the bar but she was glad we came back inside so she could give us a table.» Uh thanks? The table service was fine. Unremarkable.
Vibe
The vibe is fine. Dim lights. Romantic. But oh my god whatever they are cooking lines your hair, your skin, your clothes. I smelled like a cigar bar.
I’ve heard brunch here is good, but there’s other places to try. I won’t be back.

a. Kitchen lives up to the hype. This Rittenhouse Square eatery is filled with sunlight, flavorful food, and friendly vibes. A meal here is such a rewarding experience. Don’t miss the Smoked Char on toast. This is a very tasty appetizer. The entrée of grilled chicken with sweet & sour eggplant was perfectly prepared — tender and succulent. A nice oat streusel & apple pudding completed the meal. Their wine list is equally impressive — especially when I saw several Austrian wines on the drink card and in talking with the sommelier I could tell she was enthusiastic about Austrian wines. The wait staff was incredibly friendly and attentive. Now all this does come at a price… a. Kitchen is not priced like your neighborhood diner. But if you have a chance to splurge and want a feel good meal, head to a. Kitchen!

Excellent service… our server was very attentive. We had a new year day brunch reservation and were seated promptly. Limited breakfast choices. Coffee was delicious… too bad there weren’t any refills. Very expensive meal for basic egg, bacon & home fries. Had to pay extra for toast. Was very surprised they wouldn’t poach the eggs. Only negative was that someone in the kitchen was a little too eager with the salt shaker… even the bread tasted salty! Our most expensive and least favorite meal.

Impressive. Visited during Restaurant Week to try this gem and walked away very, very happy. Three courses with wine pairings … all delicious, perfectly conceived and prepared. The wait staff were friendly, knowledgable and attentive. Be aware that the environment is busy and a little loud so not appropriate for romantic evenings, etc. However, for innovative, delicious food … very much recommended.

Every dish exceeded my already high expectations. Innovative and friendly with a great atmosphere.

The setting is attractive, small and intimate, good for a romantic tête-​à-​tête although the spaces between the tables are also a bit small, so you’ll have to softly whisper those sweet nothings unless you want to be overheard. It adjoins an extended stay hotel, AKA Rittenhouse Square, and provides the hotel’s room service meals, so if you really get carried away you can make a night of it.
is place to go when you want to be surprised. I’ve had absolutely fabulous and creative meals there, with ingredients never before seen on the same plate, and I’ve had some real misses, meals with ingredients that never should have met and probably won’t ever talk to one another again. Portions are on the small side, but flavors are intense and usually cleverly melded. Service is excellent. I think that prices are a bit high for the fare, but they are not unreasonable given the location, the service, and the size of the venue. Definitely a keeper.

This review is purely about their lunch special. Had pleasant experience there. Their lunch special is great deal. Big portion and great service. I had smoked charr flat bread and Tuna. Hubby got steak tartare and octopus. I liked my tuna a lot. They served 3 huge chunk of tuna pieces. I have big portion but this satisfied me :-) Smoked char, I normally love this dish but this one was too salty. Couldn’t really taste fish be cause it was too picked.
I did not enjoy hubby’s tartar, raw meat was very chunky, piece was too big for steak tartar but hubby enjoyed it. Octopus was my favorite dish there.
Chef must love pickle so much. Our dish was full of prickly flavor. I love them so had no problem.

You can’t beat the location of this quaint romantic spot in the center of center city. The food is delightful but don’t come here hungry as the portion sizes are very small — for that I took off a star. A great standby.

Clever flavor pairings. Extraordinary service!
The restaurant features modern finishes and warm, natural accents. It is easy to talk and enjoyable to watch the chefs if you sit at the bar. The menu is impressive from the start. It showcases a well curated selection of innovative dishes with plenty (but not an overwhelming number) of options.
It was the warmth and friendliness of the staff that ensured an over-​the-​top and memorable afternoon dining experience for this newcomer to Philadelphia. We were lucky enough to be served by Adrienne, whose passion for food and her customers is unmatched. Adrienne talked us through the menu and gave on-​point, personalized suggestions.
I chose the to-​die-​for warming onion soup (talk about a fresh take on a go-​to classic) and the truly exciting octopus dish featuring pomegranates, coriander and sweet potatoes. My dining partner went for the decadent duck confit topped white bean hummus and satisfying turkey club. We both enjoyed wine suggested by Adrienne. This is definitely the place to take dates, clients, family and friends for a stellar meal any time of day in a friendly and beautiful setting. We can’t wait to come back.

A kitchen
This was probably my third time eating here and it is high time I wrote a review.
Tonight I tried their house made nocino for the first time. It is spirits that are allowed to sit with unripe and green walnuts and then the walnuts are removed and the spirits mixed with simple syrup to give it a very sweet taste. At a kitchen the nocino is mixed with coriander.
The wine was a sweet Cabernet blend château LaRocque 2013 cotes de France. ‘Twas an ancient working farm in the heart of armagnanc, cassis tobacco, cloves silky tannins.
Started within the amuse bouche thin cracker with a black sauce. Very tasty.
High Street sourdough– vegetable ash house made butter. The most interesting thing here was the vegetable ash which is grilled vegetables that have literally been burnt to ash which I sprinkled on the bread which gives it an earthy flavor.
Sweet Amalia oysters half-​dozen grilled lime mignonette. Wianno cape cod were served in lieu of the amalia oysters. Still a suitable substitute.
Grass fed PA beef Tartare– crispy potato skins béarnaise. The beef tartare was very flavorful and the presentation with the potato skins soaked in a malt vinegar sauce was very interesting.
See scallops roasted cauliflower curtido Aji dulce. Probably my favorite dish of the night the cauliflower purée was fantastic.
Rutabaga gratin sweet potato havilah brown butter. Interesting take on sweet potatoes. Very tasty, loved the grated cheese on top.
Spiced cauliflower black garlic avocado. Very good the avocado sauce was very tasty it seemed to be spiced with jalapeño pepper or something because it had quite a kick to it at the end. It was also very sweet. Greek yogurt avocado lemon purée shallots on top the black garlic drizzle and the grilled pickled peppers give it the spice.
Overall excellent as usual and service was impeccable as always.

This is a wonderful spot in a great location next to Rittenhouse Square. The service is excellent and the menu is innovative and fresh. This should be on everyone’s list of restaurants in the city. The bar is outstanding and they can mix any drink or pour any wine or beer you would like.
I had a wilted lettuce salad that was excellent with a ranch dressing that was both subtle and tart. My entrée was an free range chicken breast with garlic smashed potatoes and I had a side of the grilled asparagus. Wow it was great. The dessert was «meh» so that is why they get a 4 rather than a 5 star rating.
The service was attentive but not hovering over us. I also enjoyed being able to watch the chefs prepare our dinner.
Yumb factor is quite high here!

Went here to eat brunch on a last-​min whim (orig was gonna go to Hip City Veg, which is around the corner). It was a gorgeous day and they placed us at a table that was basically in between indoors and outdoors, so it was perfect. We shared a grapefruit juice, which was refreshing and an eye-​opener. I got the crispy shrimp. Expected some shrimp placed over grits, but was surprised to see it deconstructed. The crispy shrimp was on a separate plate, and garnished abundantly w/​grilled scallions and some watermelon radish. The shrimp was perfectly crispy and bursting with flavor – I ate the whole thing (except the head). The grits were in a separate plate; can’t comment too much on the grits. They were on the coarser side, not cheesy. Both the shrimp and grits were drizzled a little too much w/​buffalo/​hot sauce, which I did NOT appreciate.
My bf got the tuna melt sammy. It looked good, but I’m not the biggest fan of tuna so I didn’t try it.
Service was excellent, except when the waitress poured water into my glass and didn’t notice that the water hit my phone.

Nestled in the heart of bustling Rittenhouse Square, this place even has outdoor tables, where the people watching on a weekday for lunch is outstanding. Even though you feel completely detached from the restaurant itself, the service is fantastic, as at least two people seem to be watching over the outdoor tables at all times.
The food is the invention of Eli Kulp, who has won many awards for Fork and the place next door. He keeps having success after success. He was also badly hurt in the Amtrak crash and we wish him well. The food here was inventive and very very good, with a few caveats.
The onion soup with burrata in it was amazing! So many beautiful flavors, and the burrata added an interesting element, the «cream» to a non-​cream soup. The broccoli and grain salad, although great flavors, the grains were incredibly tough and chewy. The barley was not thoroughly cooked and although this seemed intentional, it was a bit gummy and very chewy. The burger was very tasty, but raw in the middle. (I had asked for medium) I didn’t send it back because it was a locally sourced beef which I considered safe.
All in all a great experience, would love to try dinner and sample more of the menu.

First of all, I was impressed by its deco which made me very comfortable. Second, I was impressed by its menu cause they are charcoal grilled. I love all grilled dishes on the menu and its hard to pick one of them. After hearing the server kindly explained their special dishes for today, I decided to have grilled rabbit. Definitely, rabbit is a special dish for me.
We had Fried Oyster Tartine and Grilled Octopus as appetizers, and shared the Grilled Rabbit. For Tartine, except the bread was over-​toasted, it was good. Griiled Octopus was very special cause it included peanuts and yogurt. And the Grilled Rabbit was incredibly good! I will come next time to try other grilled meat. Love
!

is one my favorite places to grab a bite of pretty decent food in the Rittenhouse square.
Yes, food is very expensive for the portions they serve. I guess they have their own clientele who can really afford it. In my case, I’d like to go there for a couple of bites and enjoy their drinks. On my last visit, I tried their grass-​fed beef tartare which caught my eyes pretty fast. Extremely amazing. It came with crispy, nicely cooked potato skins. Cocktails are pretty delicious as well. They taste very light but are full of rich flavors and the alcohol kicks in quite well. My favorite is Ashes to Ashes. Also, they are known to have a great selection of wines from around the world. Their wine glasses have two measurements in case you’re trying to either save money (lol) or if you’re trying to go easy on drinking for the occasion.
Service is really great. Waiters have been all great. Same goes for the bartenders in case you like to sit by the bar.

Nom nom. what can I say.
Top eats:
–kale salad (better then it sounds)
–hamachi
–side of mushrooms
–spice cauliflower
–wagyu steak

If you want cheap food and ridiculously sized portions… Please don’t come here and write a whiny review. This isn’t Golden Corral.
On the other hand if you want masterfully created and well thought out dishes… This is your place.
We sat at the chefs counter and had the tasting menu with the wine pairing. The counter menu is not the same as the main area menu. Each dish highlights the skills of this most remarkable team and is served to you and explained by the chef who prepared it. Each and every dish was amazing and perfectly portioned. The wine pairing was spot on. We had the best view in the house watching the choreography of the kitchen.
Great décor and professionally trained waitstaff who are very friendly make this place a go-​to when you want to experience something special.

The food here is very good but unfortunately I probably wouldn’t come back. Here’s the «skinny:»
What did I order: 3 Oysters, soft shell crab sandwich. Comes with homemade potato chips. Two beers.
The good: Oysters were delectable — fresh — excellent. Nice beer selection — I had a beer I never heard of — Birra, and Italian lager. Sandwich was good — crab was fresh. A nice combination of flavors including a little spice, but not too overpowering.
The bad: The portion size! And the price for that portion size. I’m embarrassed to admit that after spending $ 43.00 on my meal. I stopped in a fast food restaraunt on my way home and had fries. I was still very hungry.
Overall: Go for a beer and an app. Wouldn’t recommend for a substantial meal.

I treated my friend for a sunday birthday brunch and it was great. The place was chic and cozy. food was delicious. I had the poached Eggs with a side of baked and grilled potatoes, yummy. My friend got a perfect Steak and Eggs. Our server was so friendly. I will for sure go back again, to try the dinner menu perhaps.
Four Unilocal