Bardot Cafe

My first time here was for brunch one random winter morning last year and the place was totally empty, which made my brunch nice and intimate. The mimosas were more OJ than champagne (boo!) but still pretty good. I ordered eggs benedict with arctic char — which I wasn’t really a fan of, but I think its because I found out later that I am not a fan of hollandaise sauce. The side salad was TOO good — I would have had that for an entire meal. Also, the fries. THE FRIES — get them. They are so good. The second time I went, I got an omelet, which was pretty delicious as well.
Take home message: This place is great for a once in a while meal. For brunch, I definitely recommend café la moude, which is a 5 min walk away.

Ok. We had really high hopes for Café Bardot. Unilocal reviews were pretty good – but oddly the most recent one was from October 2015, a bit long ago. From the outside, and the inside, it’s exactly what you want to see – a small, hidden gem, on a side street, with a nice bar, great lighting, good music and a special, fun side area with curtains, to hang out and drink in private. And then, it all fell apart. There’s something wrong with this restaurant, as we were told, with «staff issues». That may have been the reason why it took 25 minutes for one of our party’s drink to arrive well after the other ones were – and, oddly why there was only a bartender, a barback, and a hostess (no wait staff) to handle the whole place. But that was just the beginning of a night of total failure unlike we have seen, ever. We knew something was up when we were told that it would be 45 minutes to an hour for food to come out, even though the restaurant was ¹⁄₃ full (about 15 people). Then, we saw a whole table get up because they were told about food not even being able to come out – and they left right in front of us. So, we ordered more drinks to wait it out – but even then, they took forever again, sitting in view at the bar, until finally one of our table just went up and got them. Something was totally wrong and so we finally had enough – after watching an incredibly valiant hostess fight back tears to try to explain it all and make it all good. And so we left, 90 minutes after getting there, with the most difficult time ever getting drinks to the table, let alone any food. So, until this restaurant gets itself fixed – check before you go – beware. Don’t get me wrong – this little gem has incredible potential and probably was something wonderful before. But something is wrong when a restaurant less than half full can’t even get food out (with a very limited menu) or drinks up (beers!) in any kind of timeliness. I was so mad, I wanted to find out the owner’s name and call them up and ask – «What’s going on with your restaurant?” – «You’re blowing it.» And then, we gave up, and we left. And just to be clear – we’re not people that really complain a lot and we gave it every chance.

Not nearly as kid friendly as Northern Liberties competitors… I recommend it to anyone wanting a good meal and ambience without their kids.

The menu is sparse, but you honestly can’t go wrong here. The two meals I’ve had here thus far have both been memorable and well-​crafted. My first meal here was back in January (char, duck, and pork belly) — again, very memorable. My second was last night — arancini, mussels with chorizo, and butternut squash risotto. Even though they were «all out» of our first choices, our second choices on the menu were excellent and the drinks were very creative (keep your right up and sympathy for the devil).

Wow. Totally blown away. Space is beautiful, music was great, and the service was excellent. Drinks were on point and the food was out of this world! Every bite is like wtf is going on? How do you taste so good? I can’t believe I waited so long to stop in. A definite repeat. This place is a combination of Emmanuelle and Johnny Brenda’s with the best bar food ever. Amazed.

I love this place hard. Especially for brunch. Next for cocktails, but also for dinner.
There are so many wonderful reviews for this spot and I’m going to say many of the same things: great space, great staff, great menu, and and great cocktails. Such a lovely, tucked away NoLibs spot that I hope they stay here for a very long time.
One menu item I have to call out is their Eggs Benedict. The most perfect poached eggs I’ve had anywhere in Philadelphia and wonderful, fresh, rich and lemony Hollandaise. In a neighborhood of great brunch spots this is one you need to check out (plus, no wait!).

This cozy place has really good food and great cocktails. I love the atmosphere and the my few experiences so far have me as a fan. This is a perfect weeknight date destination, because it’s not loud or crazy expensive. I really like this place and while Im glad it’s off the beaten path, and less mobbed, I also want them to stick around a long time, for selfish reasons, of course :)

Bardot is a super solid brunch option. It is located right off 5^th tucked away from the crowds and long waits of the 2^nd street brunch train.
I’ve gone several times at around 11:30AM with a party of 6 – 8 and we were able to be seated right away every time. The menu consists of a few petit plates and a handful each of breakfast and lunch options. They usually have a special or two to choose from as well. Everything I’ve tried so far has been delicious. The food is well cooked, well seasoned, and portioned properly. Coffee is great, I believe it is La Calombe. Lot of cool artwork and décor and kind wait staff.
A few solid go-to’s are:
Pork Belly Biscuit (Pork Belly, grits, pickled vidalia onions, hot sauce, fried egg) and my personal favorite the Salmon Benedict (citrus cured salmon, hollandaise, homemade english muffin and potatoes).
Happy hour is 11AM-​1PM, half off brunch cocktails.
While it is not the best brunch I’ve ever eaten, it is an easy choice if you have a larger party and would like to be seated some time this century.

This is a very, very good restaurant, and it’s a total bummer that I’ve never seen the place more than half full.
It’s great for us, being close by, never having to make reservations, always getting a good table, but heck, this place is far better than most of the other seemingly more popular in the neighborhood, and it’s only *slightly* off the beaten path (2^nd street).
I want this place to stay open, so please give Bardot a try…

I’m not too sure how this restaurant has so many positive reviews, but I’m going to unfortunately go against the grain and write a less flattering one. First off, the staff seemed friendly and accommodating, the food came out much more quickly than I’d expected and the service overall was excellent. The restaurant, on the other hand, was much less pleasing.
It seems to advertise itself as a «French New Wave-​inspired restaurant,» but, really, it’s just a run-​of-​the-​mill bar with a few cheap tables and some cheap, bright damask wallpaper. It seems to want to strive for a Hop Sing ambiance, but unfortunately falls short — very short — of achieving such a feel. It isn’t as decorated as it should be and I don’t see the French New-​Wave inspired ambiance that they pride themselves on (personally, I think the name «Jean-​Luc Goddard» just ropes in some hipsters in that neighborhood). I want to say that the furniture and the decoration of the place had a certain «je né sais quoi,» but I know what I want to say and that is «cheap.» This place is to a French café what Olive Garden is to an Italian trattoria.
The food was also cheap and poorly done — I ordered a Bardot burger, which was much smaller than the bun and tasted odd. The dish had some pommes frites on the side, but even those just tasted outright bad. (There are other places in the city with great pommes frites — Monk’s and the Belgian Café both have pommes frites that are to die for.) Couldn’t finish the salad, since it was soaking in dressing and the saltiness of the dish actually made the skin on the inside of my mouth start to peel. The «house red» was also scanty and a bit stale.
Overall, I’d neither recommend this restaurant for a date nor for general dining. It’s sort of off-​the-​beaten track, somewhere in the developing parts of Northern Liberties where there’s a lot of construction going on, and it’s not worth the long trudge. The food’s overpriced, not worth the value; the ambiance fails to achieve what it sets out to do.
Bardot Café is cheap in many respects and no, it didn’t even have a French New Wave film. And to make matters worse, I went there at 8PM on a Friday night and only 3, maybe 5, out of the 35 tables were filled and one or two hangers-​on were sitting at the bar.
This place didn’t do it for me – and seemed to fail so miserably at what it sets out to do that I just needed to write a review to make sense of it all.
But again, the staff was great; this place just wasn’t to my taste.
Cheers.

I’d like to say I’ve become a regular here. The bar area is great with good beers on tap and very friendly bartenders. What makes this place get 5 stars is their brunch. I’ve been here every Sunday for the past 4 weeks now and keep coming back because every meal there is fantastic. First time I was there for brunch I got the Cinnamon Raison French Toast. Amazing and such a huge portion. The maple marzipan is what made it so great. Next week was when I got the Classic Breakfast. Classic, simple, delicious. Then is was the Pork Belly Biscuit. My god that was the perfect meal and the perfect amount of food. Make sure you get everything in each bite. Come before 1 and you get $ 5 brunch cocktails.

When crepes had to be on the menu for Mother’s Day brunch it was immediately on my mindset to book a reservation for Beau Monde. but being the likely 500+th person to come up with that plan that stood no chance in getting a table, McThrill had to act fast in researching the next best destination. Fortunately it lead to my discovering a new spot from the owners of a forever favorite Pub on Passyunk East (
), that resided inside the spot that used to house one of my former favorite’s Ministry of Information (
), and was completely inspired by timeless actress Brigitte Bardot. With a resume like that it seemed a little to perfect to believe, but those things led to a bit of a hidden gem (
), that delivered on all fronts.
Upon first entry I was able to notice borrowed things like the Octopus Chandelier and exposed brick wall, and new things like the Bardot inspired décor and chic «waiting area where you could lounge around until someone finished up in the water closet. add in the attentive and informative customer service, French bistro inspired menu, and solid beer & cocktail menu; and you had welcome features throughout.
The delicious crepes that brought us here came with Fromage Blanc and a strawberry/​meyer lemon jam that heightened the flavor. The spicy hangover cure Hail Mary was fully loaded with Habanero vodka, horseradish, tabasco, black pepper, and a meaty olive. And the well rounded draught menu had solid choices from Nodding Head, Ommegang, North Coast, and Duchesse Du Bourgogne. But for me the main feature by far was the BEST frittata I’ve ever had that was filled with duck confit, baby kale, toulouse sausage, and more.
With even more examples of standard bar fare being French elevated, solid beers and cocktails, and good happy hours during regular and brunch hours; Bardot is a perfect destination to visit no matter what occasion.

Beautifully appointed bar and café in a quirky building (see pic) tucked into an odd intersection in Northern Liberties.
French-​inspired brunch was outstanding. Excellent Counter Culture coffee. Very reasonable pricing, too.
I had the mushroom omelette, which also featured asparagus and goat cheese. Delicious flavors and perfectly cooked eggs (no browning or burning, as so often in restaurants).
Have to go back for drinks from the impressive beer, wine, and cocktail lists sometime.

Came here 2x this past weekend! Once at night for drinks and then the following morning for brunch. At night its a really nice chill ambiance. We sat at the bar with very friendly bartenders and ordered wine and dirty martinis. Drinks were good. Next morning we all had bloody marys which were really good with an awesome presentation. For my breakfast I ordered the lamb omelet, it was amazing and I really liked that its not salty. My options were very limited because it was passover. My cousin ordered the mushroom omelet and said it was amazing. This is a great local bar «hole in a wall» and its very enjoyable. Coming back here for dinner in the near future.

My boyfriend and I had a great experience at Bardot Café last night!
We frequent the fishtown/​nolibs/​kensington area quite often, and I am always interested in trying new places to eat and drink. Last night we decided to go out for a late dinner and had Kraftwork in mind. When we got into the area, I mentioned to my boyfriend that I had passed Bardot Café a few weeks ago and thought it was cute, leading me to check Unilocal and notice its great reviews. After a little convincing on my part, we ended up here.
When we walked inside, the vibe was dark and romantic, with candles everywhere that illuminated the French-​style tin bar ceiling. We chose a seat near the bar and our server promptly took our drink order.
I started with the «Shoot the Piano Player» cocktail (napoleon armagnac, citrus, pear, prosecco). My boyfriend ordered the double IPA on tap. My drink was pretty good– a bit on the sweet side but overall enjoyable.
For dinner, I ordered the pork shoulder sandwich with fries. The pork sandwich was out of this world! The flavor profile was spot on– sweet, spicy, sour and salty. Perfect texture of the pork and bread– plus the red cabbage added a nice crunch. The fries were perfectly thin and crisp and paired perfectly with the red pepper aioli. I just finished the second half of my sandwich for lunch– it was amazing cold too!
My boyfriend had the spaghetti noir– He absolutely loved it. I tried a bite and was equally impressed. You could tell it was all homemade.
I decided to try another drink — the Lola (vodka, pear, ginger beer, lime, cranberry bitters). This drink was, again, nothing I would shout from the mountain top about. It tasted like a well vodka cranberry.
Overall I loved this place. Good vibes, great food and service, decent drinks. I will definitely be back!

Below is a snippet from our Brunch review. Check out
for the full review!
The Good
— Wonderful Décor/​Very relaxed environment
— Great service & really good bartender
— Food was very tasty
The Bad
— Limited menu for Breakfast
— Meals were a little on the pricey side
— Parking can be tough due to its location (be sure to plan an extra few minutes for when you go)
The Review
— Food: ³⁄₅
— Bloody Marys: ³⁄₅
— Atmosphere: ⁴⁄₅
— Price: ³⁄₅
Overall Rating
³⁄₅ — I’m going to end this review the same way I started it, by saying that when it comes to brunch Bardot Café is the one of the new kids on the block. They definitely have a lot of potential with their already good menu and location, but I think still have some growing left to do in the brunch category. I almost want to add an appointment in to my calendar to come back here in a little over a year because I know when we go back their brunch will be phenomenal!

An excellent place for a date. Small tables, darker lighting, romantic. My significant other and I came here for a late valentine’s day dinner (and walked back in the snow).
We tried a few cocktails, I liked the weekend (a bourbon drink mixed with red wine). There were also some specialty cocktails for the holiday that were very good.
We shared the pork belly appetizer. This is a small plate, just enough for two to try the pork, served with a sherry glaze on top of peas. The pork was perfectly cooked, I would love to see a pork belly dish as an entrée.
I had the duck cassoulet. It was served with kale in a cream sauce. It was tasty, all the flavors worked well together. She had the eggs en cocotte. This was a pork dish served with tomato, feta, and egg. This reminded me a lot of a ragu, the largest flavor in the dish was tomato. It was pretty good, though much more her type of dish than mine.
For dessert, the cocoa banana bread. I liked how dense the banana bread was. It paired well with the ice cream and the fudge.
Service was great, I barely noticed them throughout the meal (which is perfect for a place like this).

I’ve been to Bardot a couple of times now and I really like this place. It’s dark & candlelit with a good beer & wine list (including a few wines on tap) and well made cocktails. Service has always been great. This may be due to the fact that the place is usually not very busy, which is a shame. The food is very good. The octopus was melt in your mouth tender. My eggs en cocotte were comforting and hearty, exactly what I was looking for on a cold January night. They came with tender pork, tomato & feta. I ate the entire delicious thing. The prices are higher than the more gastopub-​y places in the area, but the prices accurately reflect the type of food that is being served.
They were playing Bjork and have a big Adam Walacavage chandelier in the dining area. Solid food & drinks. Great spot.

Wow. This place is fantastic. Let’s cut right to the chase.
— Perfect date spot. Dark (Like, really dark. You won’t be instagramming any of your plates here – hope you don’t mind actually talking to your date) and sexy décor with velvet wallpaper and a gorgeous chandelier by Adam Wallacavage.
— Excellent food. The spaghetti noir is amazing. The fromage blanc is bright, airy and delicious.
— Skip the beets.
— Solid cocktails, really nice wine selection.
Just wonderful all around. Can’t wait to go back.

I’m picking up what you’re putting down, Bardot. The dark and sexy bar is perfect for a date or small group. And the tiny, tucked-​away parlor with curtain would be perfect for a scandalous liaison.
The staff was sweet but not entirely up to speed on menu items. The buttery shrimp were served head-​on, though when I asked before ordering I was told that they were served only with the tails still attached. Minor, but enough of a turnoff for me that I probably would have opted for a different plate. The octopus dish was a win amongst our table of three, and I simply could not get enough of the spaetzle with purple cauliflower. It was perfect.
Our server recommended cocktails for my friends while I tried the Côtes du Rhôné Blanc, which I deeply enjoyed. I can’t wait to go back for another glass, some more French pop, and that delicious-​looking burger that accidentally almost made its way to our table.