Palm Restaurant

Like the atmosphere, very old school. Had the ahi salad which was terrible. Old lettuce and fishy tuna, not a good combo. My husband had the hamburger and fries which was wonderful.

The Palm is one of those tried and true in Philly. I enjoy their food and I love the signature crazy caricatures of celebrities on the walls. We have dined here several times so I am going to list my two favorite things… lobster bisque & dirty martini. The lobster bisque is amazing rich and creamy with a big chunk of lobster in the middle. I am VERY picky when it comes to dirty martinis but the Palm nails it every time. They throw in blue cheese stuffed olives and I’m a happy girl. Seafood and getting saucy… call it a night!

A classy place with great service. I came with a coworker and we loved everything we got! The jumbo shrimp cocktail appetizer is well worth the money. The shrimp are indeed jumbo and were sweet and flavorful. It was a healthy portion. I also loved my seared ahi tuna with sesame! Would come back again and try out the meat.

Had New Year’s Eve dinner here. We had a late reservation cause we wanted to be there when the ball dropped. The food was good, steak and lobster was cooked perfectly. Shrimp cocktail was amazing. This review is based on service and basically lack thereof. Upon arriving the server said we had to order cause the kitchen was gonna close soon, our friends were running a tad late due to traffic but it was no problem, I ordered for the table. After we gave the server our dinner order he leaves without us giving a drink order. We wait for a whole, but he fails to come back for a while. My wife has to get up and go to the bar for drinks. The entire night he was hurrying us and trying to rush us out. If we were the only ppl there I would have understood, but that wasn’t the case. When spending the kind of cash we did that night, the last thing you wanna feel is uncomfortable but we did. I understand wanting to get home, but you can’t make paying guests feel that way. It was New Year’s Eve so I still left a 30% tip, but I gotta be honest this place lost a good paying customer after this visit. Not that they need my money, but I will go someplace that at least acts like they do. Never again …

Love this place. Spend a lot of time in Phila for work and this is one of my favorite spots. The restaurant itself has a very classic steakhouse feel, and I’ve always found the service to be excellent.
As for the food, I’d have to recommend the shrimp Bruno as an appetizer and the steak (original, I know). Some steakhouses don’t live up to the expectation, but this isn’t one.

Had Thanksgiving here with my family. We waited an hour and 25 minutes of bad service, and were all served Horrible Turkey that tasted uninviting. it was cut in chunks and not evenly sliced. It was dry and cold and had gallons a horrible mushroom gravy poured over top. The menu did not say it was going to have mushrooms. We sent it back and got refunded. DO NOT EAT HERE ON TURKEY DAY OR ANY THANKSGIVING EVER… It ruined it for me and my family. I went home and had to eat a Banana for Thanksgiving! We have been coming here for 20 years. This is inexcusable.

Always liked the Palm NYC locations. Went to the Philly location and it was fantastic. Service was excellent, food was great and they were extremely accommodating

Came in here late Sunday afternoon looking for oysters since Sansom Street Oyster House was closed. Big mistake… the oysters were puny and unremarkable. Not just small, but maybe the size of a pea. Not worth $ 18 for a half dozen.
However, the crab meat cocktail was great and the bartender made great Bloody Mary’s.
This looks like a nice place, but don’t go here for oysters.

Just a standard in great steak and lobster feasting great staff and drinks low noise and a general of feeling you will eat and drink the best there is
Larry

I have heard some mixed things about the Palm over the years and finally got to try it out myself. If you go in expecting some sleek modern restaurant and menu like Starr or Garces, you will be disappointed. The Palm looks back (to me at least) to my grand parents generation. The place looks like it came out of the 1950s or 60s, complete with waiters in jackets. The thing is, the place is not tacky, worn, or over done; just well done.
The menu is classic high end Italian fare combined with high end steaks. Plenty of veal, pasta, and seafood options (so it is vegetarian friendly). I got the veal marsala and loved it, the veal was perfectly cooked. Finally, the service was just impeccable. I usually don’t like chains, but the Palm was great.

Really enjoyed dinner at the Palm. I love the décor. The service was impeccable, our waiter was highly attentive, friendly and made excellent drink and menu suggestions. Special orders are eagerly accomodated. I had the salmon which was perfect. Our group occupied a table for a long time and at no time did we feel rushed. Overall i highly recommend the palm for a great fine dining experience.

I’m not a 5 star giving gal, but I had a fantastic meal and all around wonderful experience.
We arrived & were seated right away. An adorable Italian gentleman brought bread & lovely compliments to our table. The waiter came over took our drink order and shared the evenings specials.
Our table ordered a dozen Maryland oysters and salad. The oysters were sweet and meaty. As we waited for our first course I decided I was extra hungry and needed a wedge salad. I called the server over to tell him I was starving and wanted to add a salad, & within 2 mins my salad was in front of me. Shortly thereafter we got the oysters and other salad. They definitely treat a lady like a lady. We finished our appetizers, ordered a bottle of wine and then our entrees arrived. My lobster was perfectly steamed, by special request since they usually broil it, and that sweet gentleman came back to do extra cracking on it. Yes, it arrived cracked he just did a little extra. The steaks looked gorgeous, and the green beans with pancetta & pine nuts was the perfect recommended side.
We finished dinner & out came the dessert menu. I don’t usually order dessert, but they had a flourless (also 100% gluten-​free) chocolate cake so the table shared it.
The steaks were cooked perfectly, rare for my husband, and med-​rare for the other guest. My lobster was sweet and lucky me also came with roe. What a treat! The waiter was attentive, knowledgeable and friendly. It was a top notch experience.

Eh. Weird fries… That’s first thing I remember about this place. Humongous and lack of flavored stack of fries.
Shared burger and fries and fried calamari and cheese cake.
The burger was ok. Just ok but we all know Philly is the burger central. You don’t need to eat burger here.
I am usually go for fries than burgers when I order this dish. I think I know good fries…
For some reason Palm’s fries had literally no flavor. Didn’t even oily anything. It’s crunch but I wasn’t sure what I was eating. Ended up left most of dish.
Cheese cake was only thing I liked. It was like thick cheese cake from juniors. On offense, I love those commercial kind. Destroyed cake and left and never looked back.

I took my mom to Palm prior to a show we were attending at the Kimmel Center. Our reservation was at opening time (5pm) so I’d expect everything to be cooked to order. We both ordered veal dishes and both were good but to me not worthy of the high price charged by Palm. I felt as though both dishes were prepared earlier and held in a steam table to keep it hot since both orders were brought to table within maybe 10 minutes of us placing the order. I may be wrong but it didn’t taste like something cooked to order.
The server was fine but not stellar. I’d have to think about it first before going back to Palm.

If the Palm was located in a strip mall in some far-​flung suburb, with no other steakhouses/​fine dining in the area, I think I’d give this more stars. But there are a dozen better restaurants, at the same price, within a 5 minute walk.
I visited the Palm for a work dinner. I had never been, but I knew it was a Philly institution back in the day, so I was eager to try it out. The first thing I noticed was the odd décor– all the caricatures of old celebrities and «celebrities». It was a bit strange.
The next thing I noticed was the poor service. Now, had we been a few blocks away at a pub or a casual BYOB, the service would have been fine. But you expect more when you are paying $ 50+ for a piece of meat. For example, they completely messed up one of the drink orders and then ignored our table for a good half an hour, while most of us sat without beverages.
Now onto the food. I thought the food was just ok. I mean, a steakhouse is a steakhouse. My steak special came with a side of horseradish mashed potatoes that were good for the first few bites, but then just became overwhelming. Also, most of our table complained their meat was overcooked. I also tried the mushrooms (just ok) and the brussel sprouts (again, just ok).
Like I said in the beginning of this post– there are just too many other good steakhouses (Capital Grille, Butcher and Singer, DelFriscos) within spitting distance of the Palm for the poor service and mediocre food. If you are coming for a work event, I’m sure it’ll be fine, but if you want a special night out on your own dime, I’d check out some of the other offerings in the city.

Our original intent was to enjoy Happy Hour specials in the bar prior to a concert we were attending at the Kimmel Center. We had stopped in for a drink the previous afternoon and were intrigued by the Happy Hour food specials which in my opinion were fairly priced. However once the bartender showed us the full menu, we quickly changed our minds as we were hungrier than we originally thought.
We started with a couple appetizers — the Lobster Tempura off the Happy Hour menu and the Bacon Wrapped Scallops. The Tempura was a small plate with three decent sized lumps of lobster, lightly battered and fried then served with a sauce that gave an Asian flair — simply delicious. The other dish featured four large scallops wrapped in bacon, seared and served with a balsamic reduction. I really enjoyed the balsamic reduction with this dish — a nice change to the sweeter chili sauce I normally see served with scallops.
For our meal, my husband and I split the bone-​in filet, medium rare and ordered sides of sautéed spinach and au gratin potatoes. The filet was thick and cooked perfectly. This was one of the better steaks I have had out in a restaurant. The sautéed spinach was not overly cooked and the garlic was not overpowering. The au gratin potatoes were scrumptious — fluffy potatoes with just the right amount of cheddar, gouda and parmigiano cheese. Overall a delicious meal and no issues or extra charge with us splitting a plate.
I would have liked to see a few more «by the glass» selections of wine, but I had no issues finding a glass I could enjoy with the steak. Drinks were delicious and pours were generous (speaking from a previous visit). Nice selection of after dinner drinks as well.
Décor was kitschy and interesting with all the caricatures. This would be a nice spot for not only happy hour, but a intimate, romantic meal or a group dinner with friends. Prices are on the high end and all sides are a la carte, but that is to be expected in a high end chain such as The Palm. I will stop back in when I visit Philadelphia in the future!

Service was really good, however, the food was just ok. I dunno if my co workers hyped up the place a lil too much, but I thought the items I had were on the bland side.
Lobster Bisque Soup– This was probably the best thing I ate here. Most places tend to over salt their bisque soups, but this place was great! You also get real chunks of lobster too. But for the price, you would think they would give more pieces instead of a measy 3 – 4.
Calamari appetizer — The breading was nice and crispy and they give a good amount, but it lacked serious flavor. It needed some seasonings on the thing. I just tasted flour! Even the marinara sauce that was provided was kind of bland.
Lobster Salad — It was ok. They gave a good amount of Lobster and had tons of ingredients in it, but some of the ingredients seem like it didn’t belong together. Some parts were good, but then I got to others and was like «did that belong in this salad?»

I ordered the crab cake entrée for $$$ and was surprised by how meek the meal was in comparison to price. The crab was great quality, there were 3 mid-​sized crab cakes with a side of pineapple and mango topping.
I also shared the creamy goat cheese mashed potatoes for $ 11. The potatoes were definitely tasty but after a few bites it was a bit too heavy. In hindsight, maybe I should have added a veggie but for the price of the entrée it should be part of the meal. We also ordered a drink with hibiscus, which was so-​so and a $ 12 dud.
The complimentary table bread was fresh and I loved the slice with raisins and nuts. Service was 100% on their game and the restaurant was well kept.
My guest and I shared the in season fruit dessert and it was paired with a dollop of whipped cream. The dessert was lite and a great way to end our heavy meal. Overall though, overpriced and I’d prefer to go over the top elsewhere.

Price: Overly expensive, $ 37 entrée with no sides
Food quality: Swordfish overcooked, bland, and waaayy too thick. Brussels sprouts singed. All our plates were very hot which would imply food had been sitting out
Service: rehearsed and proficient but then inattentive when our server wanted to go home
Drink options: had wine which ran on the expensive size
Meh.

Excellent service. Friendly waiters, traditional steakhouse vibe with steaks that always deliver the taste your expect. Slightly more formal than some of the other steak houses in the neighborhood, but not so much that you need a jacket or tie to feel comfortable.
Tomato salad with buffalo mozzarella is a classic starter as is both the wedge and the caesar salad. The lobster bisque is a crowd favorite and if you’re a lobster fan, they’re known for their oversized lobsters (4+lbs) to order by yourself for a filling meal or to share at the table and make a surf and turf for everyone.
Lunch and happy hour specials are worth checking out on a regular basis, and the bar area usually isn’t too crowded so you can watch a game and enjoy a enjoy a drink with some good apps without the usual sports bar crowds.