Darling’s Coffeehouse & Famous Cheesecakes

Good cheesecake! We tried the bananas foster and cherry, and the foster was slightly better.

This place has its flaws, but overall, is still my favorite café in Philadelphia. They have the friendliest group of guys behind the counter who make you feel welcome every time you visit. They serve La Colombe coffee, which rarely disappoints.
I dropped a star because the food can be dicey — I’ve had better breakfasts at other places nearby. But the cheesecake is amazing, and the baked goods are delicious and thoughtfully made.
The menu has vegetarian options!

What I ordered:
1. banana foster cheesecake — ~$ 5
2. morning drip coffee — $ 1.99
Thoughts:
Came in to escape the rain and get a quick snack. Got the banana foster (recommended by server) and coffee. The cheesecake had a nice consistency, with the middle being very soft and the crust not too crumbly or hard. Can’t say the taste is out of this world enough to fully justify the $ 5/​slice though.

Super-​friendly staff, delicious sweets and yummy coffee drinks. The coffee is a bit pricey so that’s why I gave them 4 stars instead of 5.

The food was great, crossaints were delicious and the coffee was great. Little pricey but you get what you pay for.

I came in looking for a quick breakfast. The cook was very knowledgeable and professional. He offered me an array of options. What I wanted wasn’t exactly on the menu, but he mixed and matched and created something even better ! Low prices, and quality food. Free wifi, and you aren’t rushed to leave after a meal !

This place is located in a quiet and quaint neighborhood. I’m not sure if this place isn’t well known or if it was just the times that i went there, but at most, there were only 2 other customers inside.
They only have 4 different smoothies, and though they were pricey for their size, they were out of this world! Their coffee is amazing too. I’m not big on cheesecake, but all their cakes looked very delicious. They definitely have a wow factor for presentation. You can tell just by looking at them that a lot of skill and quality were put in them.

Chef Harry saved the day and helped me avoid a ‘Cheesecake Emergency!’
My boyfriend is serious about cheesecake. Seriously! He was in Philadelphia, on business for 2 short days, and I could tell his energy was fading fast. I called his hotel concierge and was told that no local bakeries delivered. I checked the reviews on Unilocal and discovered that Darling’s has the stuff I was looking for. I was told by the very polite man who answered the phone that they did not deliver but he put me on hold to ask for suggestions from the staff.
Chef Harry got on the phone and once I explained the situation, he offered to make a delivery exception… because this was one of those special times when only cheesecake would do! Harry walked me through the menu and everything sounded so delicious that I decided on a 5 piece platter. Harry delivered the platter himself and even called the next day to make sure my boyfriend received his cake!
Besides making incredibly delicious cheesecake, Chef Harry and Darlings Coffeehouse is a true gem!
BTW — my boyfriend and his colleagues raved about all 5 choices and told everyone at the conference about the incredible service. Please support this very special restaurant!

I work very close to this café and went to this unassuming café once to grab a quick lunch. Not only did a become a huge fan of this place and their sandwiches, I discovered only later that they claim to have the best cheesecake in all of Philadelphia. A few trips down-​I am a huge supporter of that claim!
The chai tea latte, chocolate ganache, chocolate mousse, baileys cheesecakes are some of my many favourites. Getting back to sandwiches-​I always get the turkey, arugula and goat cheese. It comes with this gem that is the cranberry mayo, and tastes heavenly. Surprisingly, I also love the balsamic vinegar-​ish dressing they serve with their salad.

We love coming here! If we are grabbing a quick coffee on the run or sitting down to eat, it is always a great experience. The staff is wonderful!!! I have loved every sandwich I have had here! My favorite is tomato, pesto, egg, and cheese on a croissant –amazing!!!

I couldn’t help but Unilocal it out right now. Just got a regular iced coffee and the most delicious FAT cookie from Darling’s and I am so happy. This cookie is like a cakey donut with coconut and vanilla inside drizzled with chocolate ganache. It was warm, fresh out of the oven, when I got it. LOVE.
The owner (I suppose, I need to get his name next time) remembered who I was, and is extremely pleasant.
So lucky that this is a 3 minute walk from my work!

Stopped into Darling’s for a quick breakfast Saturday and was incredibly impressed with the breakfast sandwiches, the coffee, and the espresso. The staff was super friendly and seemed to know most of the people that came in (and supplied their dogs with turkey bacon)– so cute. Great experience, will definitely be back and getting my coffee here on the weekends. Didn’t get to try any desserts but the cheesecakes and pies looked AMAZING!

When you think of amazing cheesecake and coffee in Philadelphia, you think of Darling’s café. It’s just that easy!
With the traditional flavors like pumpkin cheesecake, cheesecake with cherries on top, and all of your favorites, you have to come check them out!
They keep you wanting more by their unique flavors like baileys Irish cream, Santa baby, and the seasonal «Navidad pie» is actually to die for. I can’t wait til Christmas 2014 just for Navidad pie!
The flavors are so apparent but not over powering whatsoever. There’s just enough. Just like I said to the owner when I had the pleasure of talking to him, I told him his cakes are like Yankee candle flavors for your mouth. Very apparent and incredible but never overpowering.
Unless you go there a lot, you may not know that they also make sandwiches. It’s not your regular coffee shop anymore. Darling’s café exceeds all expectations!

My gosh, I was exhausted walking from Center City to the Franklin Institute and then walking through the entire museum. What is nice about Darling’s is that it is a nice pit stop for you if you are making your way through museum parkway. Darling’s is situated right behind the Franklin Institute.
When I got there it was empty as I was the only customer. I got their seasonal Pumpkin Cheesecake and a large iced coffee. Both together was less than $ 10.
I wish I had gone here with a friend because there were so many other flavors of cheesecake I would have loved to try!

came here with two of my best friends after the Barnes Museum.
We came here because we didn’t want to juts go home after filling our mind.
we also wanted to have some nice cheese cake.
We ordered 3 cakes and shared all.
The Chef of Darling’s was very kind and friendly with comfortable distance, he even shared us samples of cakes, and they were all so so so good.
Cheese cakes here is creamy but not too dense, so even my friend who wasn’t into cheese cake truly enjoyed.
I would love to come back, maybe after another Barnes, or with same friends.
I would recommend to order just simple coffee than café latte here.

Coffee and cheesecake: 2.5 stars
Service: 3.5 stars
The waiter was a little flustered and made the wrong drink, but he was really friendly. The original cheesecake ($ 5) we got was good but definitely not worth $ 5… it tasted like the recipe you’d get off of Philadelphia cream cheese packages. Yes it was creamy and soft with a good amount of sweetness, but didn’t wow us at all. The cappuccino was ok ($ 4), foam was not too consistent and not hot enough. Overall, I’m being a little strict just because it’s so pricey I expected better!

The desserts are overrated. The cappuccinos are bland.

When you mention cheesecake in Philadelphia, almost everyone I’ve talked to mentions Darling’s as THE place to get cheesecake. I’m not a big cheesecake person myself, but the rest of my family LOVES it, especially my brother who always asks for it as his birthday cake, so I know some damn fine New York City cheesecakes. I finally decided that it was time to check out the infamous Darling’s, and I hiked up past Trader Joe’s to reach the small corner café.
Seating inside is limited, and the interior is cutesy quaint, making it seem like very much the neighborhood hidden gem. The display case of cheesecakes is very unassuming, although the gigantic chalkboard hawking all of their different flavors lets you know this is the place to come to for this treat. Everyone seems to talk about their bananas foster cheesecake, so I bought one slice to take home from the exceptionally friendly and cheerful staffer behind the counter.
I broke out my surprise dessert to share with my fiancé, and we delicately dug into the pretty little slice of cake. It was very light in texture, and the sweet caramelized banana flavor lingered a bit (or perhaps I was just savoring each small bite). I guess the word on the street IS right: Darling’s is the Philadelphian cheesecake queen. My fiancé did exclaim with his first bite that it’s the best cheesecake he’s ever had — high praise from the man I can barely ever get to eat dessert!

Darlings has everything you would want in a friendly neighborhood coffee shop. … Then you discover the cheesecakes and pie.
I want to stop for a minute and linger on the pie for a moment. Heaping. Burgeoning. Fit to bust would be accurate descriptions of these confectionery wonders. Weighing in at more than 5 pounds with fresh wafer-​thin cut fresh fruit it is needless there will be plenty leftover for breakfast if you try to tackle one at a dinner party.
The cheesecake and pastries provide a perfect complement.
This location (not to be confused with it’s full-​service cousin in Northern Liberties) specializes in lunch and offers a fine assortment of paninis with inspired ingredients and neighborhood monikers. Better still they come in crêpe if you are feeling frisky.
Recent renovations and improvements have been made to spruce the shop up and allow for a more customer friendly experience. Prints and paintings from local artists brighten the space while the addition of a new iPod POS platform has allowed Darlings to drop it’s previous minimum charge for credit card transactions.
All and all, no visit to the Parkway would be as enjoyable without stopping in for a sip.
Did I mention they have pie?

Nice! On that day in Philly, this place was like finding water in the desert. I had done a lot of walking and was really in need of food. Not knowing the city much, I didn’t see any restaurants around and was getting worried when all of a sudden I spot this darling little place on a corner.
Everything about my visit here was awesome. The girl behind the counter was very friendly. The wrap sandwich with turkey and brie was so tasty and she prepared it quickly. Great selection of coffee and teas and sodas. AND last but not least the cheesecake! So many flavors to choose from, i had a mini heart cake which was cherry ganache and had a chocolate top.
They also had photography from a local (i think) artist displayed.