Bistro 7

We came here for my birthday and were incredibly impressed with everything from the atmosphere to the service to the last bite of dessert! I enjoyed all the food and finished every bite! We’ll be going back for Valentine’s Day and I can’t wait!

Dropped in because I felt very hungry from a fun time during «First Friday» in Old City.
Nice small BYOB located on 3^rd Street. Very comfortable décor. Staff were very friendly, patient and welcoming. There is also an upstairs dining area for large parties/​special events.
I got very lucky getting in since reservations are recommended, especially if you plan on dining after 6:30.
I ordered the chicken dish. It was served in a cast iron skillet perfectly cooked surrounded by tasty mushrooms, onions, brussel sprouts and potatoes. Very tasty!
I can’t wait to go back to explore other items on this menu.

For bistro 7 to have been in the Philly mag top 50 two years ago is petty surprising. The food was all just ok and certainly nothing to write home about. I hope they turn things around because it would be a great go to BYOB with its location and ambiance. Unfortunately for me nothing would bring me back at this time.

I wasn’t all that excited to find out that my parents had selected Bistro 7 to celebrate my dad’s birthday recently, since French bistros are notoriously difficult obstacles for the veg-​minded like myself. However, I have to say, I was pleasantly surprised not only with the quality of the meatless fare at Bistro 7, but also their willingness to modify so many of their plates to suit my dietary restrictions that I actually had some tough choices to make about what to order.
The vibe of this place is understated, from the not-​so-​memorable name to the hard-​to-​find storefront. The façade is elegant yet subtle– covered with sleek light blue tiles and a tiny sign. The façade is so unassuming, in fact, that we drove right past it at first! I actually enjoyed the decorative restraint quite a bit. The restaurant itself is very cozy and intimate, with ~30 tables and an open kitchen. The noise level is pleasantly quiet.
The members of the waitstaff were all very polite and helpful. We were immediately given hot, freshly baked bread with herbed butter to start. I selected the celery and fennel salad as an appetizer and had a choice between the Parisian-​style gnocchi, the goat-​milk ricotta and spinach lasagna, and the wild mushroom crespelle. My mom raved about the beet terrine appetizer, but I passed on it because it contains gelatin. The salad dressing was on the bitter side, but it was overall crunchy and delicious. I ended up with the Parisian-​style gnocchi sized as a main course, which was one of the most decadent pasta dishes I’ve ever eaten. The gnocchi was fried in a brown butter sauce, creating a textural contrast between the crispy outer coating and the warm, soft interior. It felt like enough butter for a week, but so, so worth it. Didn’t try the fish or steak that my family members ordered, but everyone seemed more than satisfied.
It’s also BYOB! Definitely a nice date spot or a place to take your parents when they are in town. Accommodating for vegetarians, but probably tough for vegans with all that cheese and butter in the pasta dishes.

Excellent small dining in this cozy little spot. The modern french fare was so good and its byob so it is good for the wallet. I will most definitely be back! So yummy and fresh. Great service as well. One waiter in the whole place and I never felt ignored great place. :)

Nice little dinner spot with friendly service and great food. Highly recommend for an old city dining byob spot. Split the gnocchi as an appetizer. Very good. Lancaster chicken dish fantastic.

Came here for Valentine’s Day. Place was very modern. Ate upstairs so the noise level wasn’t loud. Food was okay. But other than that it was a pleasant experience. Would come back again for little dinner date. If you’re trying to impress a girl

What a great meal, we had to get an early reservation but we didn’t want to be done by 7 so we ordered each serving separately. The poached egg appetizer was a a zing and so was the beet terrains, absolutely delicious. Then the pasta with the mushroom ragu fantastic. The short ribs fell off the bone only issue was with the pork chop. The chop was moist, the sweet potatoe great but the cabbage slaw made it a little salty.
The rice pudding dessert was yummy.
It is a byob, ask to sit by the window if you can the sites are amazing.
We had an awesome server too, she was great.

My boyfriend and I went to Bistro 7 during Restaurant Week for a date night, and it was wonderful. Bisto 7 is a small place with a lovely ambiance. Not too many tables, open kitchen, which we always like. As it was restaurant week, the menu was pre-​set with three-​four options for first and second course, and two options for dessert. If you are going for restaurant week, they certainly have options for everyone.
We both got an herbed gnocchi with toasted garlic, sage and brown butter for a starter. For the main course, my boyfriend got short ribs braised with red wine, garlic and rosemary over home made papardelle pasta. No knife necessary for the braised ribs, they were so tender and delicious. I got pan-​roasted Lancaster chicken in a delicious sauce, over mashed potatoes whipped with crème fresh, roasted brussel sprouts and wild carrots. The chicken was cooked absolutely perfectly. For dessert, my boyfriend got a coconut jasmine rice pudding, and I got a chocolate cremeux, which is a pudding-​like mousse dessert, with vanilla whipped cream and coffee bean powder. Both were fantastic. They were not too big, but a perfect ending to the meal. Five stars for the meal. My boyfriend and I are a bit picky, as we both love to cook and try different restaurants, and we were happy with everything we had.
It is also a BYOB, which is always great. I don’t even want to include a negative, but if I had to give one, I would just say that while the service was great, we did feel a little bit rushed. That’s the only reason I gave four stars, and not five. Our dinner, which we were hoping to take our time through, was over in less than hour, and it was a Tuesday night, so it wasn’t overly crowded at all, and no one was waiting. Again, the service was very good though. Attentive, but not overly so. I would stringy recommend this charming little French Bistro, and we hope to return soon after trying some other places in the city we have yet to try.

i do like their ambiance. i was excited to try this place because i read all about how they get their fresh ingredients and how green and locally harvested they are… blah blah blah. i was sold. my bf and i went and we ordered some soup with caviar it was interesting and i had their rainbow trout filet – it was too salty. the bf ordered duck. it was ok. i prefer matyson to bistro 7.

French bistrots are my favorite places to dine, so I really wanted to enjoy this place more than I did! My boyfriend and I had an enjoyable evening, but there were certain aspects that fell a little flat. The restaurant has a very relaxed atmosphere and great service. The kitchen is open and the chef periodically checks in with the diners, which I always welcome. The bread and salted butter to start was delicious. I had the escargots to start, which were incredible. I had the duck and my boyfriend had the chicken entrée. Duck is my favorite, so Bistro 7’s was disappointing. It was overcooked, chewy, and the accompaniments were lacking. I tried the chicken, and it was much better– the sauteed vegetables it came with were great! We split the chocolate mousse dessert, which my boyfriend enjoyed, but I didn’t think was anything exciting. The cappuccinos were good, and the staff didn’t rush us out at the end, which was nice. All in all, some things were great and some things fell short. I’d probably give it another chance.

Bistro 7 — Philadelphia

7 N 3^rd St, Philadelphia, PA 19 106 (215) 931‑1560
A true hidden pearl of the Penn’s Landing area, Bistro 7 needs to be on every Philadelphian’s bucket list. Nestled just off of Market St on North 3^rd, this home-​converted-​to-​restaurant is an intimate space with seating for roughly 30 on the main first floor area. There is an upstairs banquet room available for groups up to 35. Dinner is served Tuesdays through Saturdays with the first seating at 530 and the last at 930. A late seating at 1030 is offered on Friday and Saturdays.
This is a BYOB restaurant, so a nice bottle of Cabernet (or your choice beverage) will do swimmingly.
OFFERINGS:
crunchy salad: organic celery, fennel, green apples, frisee, spiced walnuts, blue cheese, sherry vinaigrette. Pretty good. Nice start to the meal. Little FYI: Frisee is a member of the endive/​chicory family with finely curled leaves and a slightly bitter flavor.
poached farm egg, parmesan cream, black truffle, toasted quinoa, brown butter hollandaise. This was absolutely fantastic. Probably horrible for the arteries, but I practically inhaled it.
free-​form goat milk ricotta and spinach lasagna, n’duja ragout, toasted almond pesto, burrata. Nduja is a soft, spicy hot, spreadable salami considered one of the most famous, if not the most famous, of typical calabrian (Southern Italian) foods. Burrata is a fresh Italian cheese made from mozzarella and cream.
Parisian-​style gnocchi, butternut squash, spiced walnuts, green apples, sage, garlic, brown butter. This is hailed as the signature dish of Bistro 7, and for good reason. As soon as that hit the table, I was practically drooling. Mouth watering squash, the sweetness of the brown butter, and the mixture of gnocchi, walnuts, sage, and garlic. Ugh. Need to go back.
Slow roasted black pearl organic salmon: white beans stew with rock shrimp, spicy pork sausage, rosemary, baby arugula, lemon-​black pepper aioli
Chinese five-​spiced duck breast duck confit risotto, toasted hazelnuts, swiss chard, yellow beets, sundried cherry gastrique

The starter is good, especially the oyster is amazing!
However, the main course is average level. Pork belly would be the best choice!

I really wanted this place to be good. Surprised my boyfriend with a weekend in Philly for his birthday and this was dinner.
BYOB so I brought two bottles not knowing what we were going to order. We had trouble identifying the place from outside because there’s no sign plus the construction that continues to the corner of the block. When we walked in we were immediately greeted and seated.
The waitress was clearly running around a little bit but they were busy and the space is small and loud. She asked how we wanted to do the wine (open both, open one, etc). We told her that we hadn’t decided and so she gave us more time to look over the menu.
After having time to look over the menu and choose a wine the owner, I presume, came over and immediately opened the bottle for us, let us know that everything on the menu was still available but there were no additions.
Took us a few more minutes but once we decided the waitress took our order. I had the escargot appetizer and the duck entrée while my boyfriend ordered the foie gras and lamb entrée. While we waited the waitress brought over bread and butter, someone periodically refilled the water. The staff was attentive but not invasive.
The escargot was good but not great. The sauce was a little overwhelming to the amount of snails. My boyfriend enjoyed the foie gras but, again it was nothing special. The lamb entrée was hearty but not overly enjoyable. It needed more spice. More something. The duck was a bit dry and the cherry glaze really pulled the dish together. Without it, there wasn’t much flavor. When the waitress asked how everything was I couldn’t really hide my disappointment of the duck and she offered to have it either made again or to get me something else. I was just hungry at that point so I declined, but the offer was nice.
We opted for no dessert or coffee. We were given a complementary chocolate mouse of some sort that I didn’t care for but the birthday boy enjoyed.

This restaurant is not wheelchair accessible despite the business listing saying so, please update accordingly. There is a step at the entrance and no ramp.

I really wanted to be blown away by this place! Loved everything — the oysters with pickled apple and horseradish (presentation impressive!), and coconut jasmine rice pudding were superb — except my entrée. Scallops were overly salty, and couldn’t get past it, despite the delicious bean, corn, mushroom, potato purée that accompanied the scallops.
So, overall 4 stars. Liked the atmosphere — good vibe — and waitstaff very good. Will probably give it another go since so close to home.

The restaurant is small, warm, and adorable! But, I guess everything in that neighborhood is. It was pretty quiet with an older crowd, and my friend and I got a few glares for our (admittedly loud) chatter after a bottle of wine. or two. Because it’s BYOB, so of course. We opted for the 10-​course tasting menu because we were sort of celebrating.
Ok, full disclaimer, I do not have the most… developed palate. It may have been a bit fancy for us, so we may have just missed the point, but WHY ALL THE BEETS? What is a «beetsicle»? Also, almost every course was eaten with a spoon. By the final one, we laughed at the sight of more spoons. More variety would have been appreciated, maybe with another meat course. But, beets aside, the food was delicious. The gnocchi was my favorite course.
I’m not sure if I’d go back or not given the lengthy list of restaurants I want to try in Philadelphia, but it was a fun experience to get a 10-​course meal for $ 65 and bring our own wine!

Another fairly ok byob in philly… nothing special… we reserved the seating upstairs for group 15 people… food was ok… bit boring… servers were friendly… only problem i had was that they charged us flat $ 200 dollar rate for gratuity even though total bill was around 450… that’s bit too much no?

Awesome pre-​theatre dinner nestled in the midst of one of the most historical areas of the country. The non-​descript façade of the place doesn’t do justice to the ambiance and food quality. We made early reservations through Open Table and arrived even earlier to ensure a nice dinner before the Arden’s performance, and were seated on the spot. We also brought over a bottle of a great Beaujolais and it did the trick with the dinner.
The restaurant is a row-​house width, so it may not be suitable for a large party, and the center aisle is a requirement, since the kitchen is in the open rear, so if one has a party larger than four, I’d recommend making earlier reservations. We began the faire with home baked bread and cultured butter, shared a delicately sautéed oyster plate that was delicious, and then enjoyed our piece de resistance. I had the black pepper seared culotte of beef that came deliciously accompanied by potato purée, asparagus flan, charred asparagus, mushroom cream, and sauce bordelaise. My partner had the butter poached halibut filet which was also delicious. Dessert was the coconut rice pudding and the blood orange sorbet. Both were delicious.
I can see how on a busy, busy night, service could suffer. But nonetheless, as we came early, we had an absolutely great evening, super and attentive service, exquisite food and got out of there with plenty of time to enjoy the performance.

Tried Bistro 7 during restaurant week. The server seated us immediately as soon as we walked in and the store was relatively small. There were a few selections to choose from the menu for each course. Elegant interior and the best thing is the chef prepared the dishes right infront of us. The gnocchi was buttery and flavorful. The duck mousse were heaven and riched in texture. The dessert, caramel poached apples was too sweet; like literally putting a spoon of melted brown sugar into my mouth.
Dinner took us 2 hours to finish and good for small talks. BYOB is a plus.