Race Street Cafe

Decent breakfast/​brunch. Nothing too fancy, which is nice sometimes since a lot of the surrounding establishments are a bit upscale if you want to roll in at 11AM on a Sunday with a sweatshirt on. Coffee was great. I cannot remember what I ordered, but I do remember that the portions were huge compared to what I was expecting. I was pleasantly surprised as it helps with any hangover. The price was good considering the amount of food I received!

This place is really close to my house. I go there for just a quick bite. There food is excellent and staff is suburb. Also good for Sunday Brunch since they do make an awesome Bloody Mary. I would recommend this place to anyone.

In Philly on business from Austin, Tx. The bartender at Paddys suggested I give Race Street a try and I am glad he did, great food, awesome beer selection, cool atmosphere, nice staff. Cant say enough good things about Race St. Café!

Popped in for some brews and a snack yesterday afternoon. We were happy to grab seats at the bar, and within minutes were enjoying an afternoon beer. The bartenders were busy but checked in often. We ordered nachos to snack on, and it was a pretty big portion with guac, pico, and sour cream — hit the spot. I am looking forward to returning for lunch or dinner because their menu looks really good.

Popped in for lunch one day. Great service. Yummy food. Carrot cake was especially tasty. Relaxing yet fun ambiance — love the décor. Would like to try one evening when the weather is nice & they have the outer doors all opened up.

Loved food, service and environment!

Intimate, dim place. Great for dates. Ricotta gnocchi (vegetarian) was excellent. My date got the orecchiette, which was too cheesy for me and tasted a bit weird. Service was friendly but quite slow — if you don’t get their attention, they’ll forget about you.

This is my local brunch of choice. Three words: Huevos San Lucas. It is a giant plate of deliciousness. Who doesn’t love good breakfast foods, enjoyed by a real wood fireplace.

Love the Race Street Café! My husband and I recently opened a business in Old City and are truly grateful that we have such a wonderful place to have a meal & drink after an exhausting day of work. The food is ALWAYS consistently great. The service is attentive and usually very friendly and welcoming. The atmosphere is very comfortable and relaxing. Has an old world British pub feel which is perfect for Old City. We have many friends & family who are vegetarians, and the Race Street Café always have a nice selection for them. We are so lucky and thankful to have such a wonderful neighborhood gem!
Great beer selection too.

I should have stuck to my first choice of burger but I saw the chili on the menu and decided to give that a try instead. I was left unsatisfied.

Went here for dinner last night & the entrée was amazing. The environment is very casual & laid back. A great place to spend a quaint evening with your boo, or to just chill with family & friends. I enjoyed dinner with my boo as we discussed The Pope’s visit to Philly & it’s impact on center city.
The staff was pleasant and attentive without being overbearing. The restaurant noise level was minimal & the décor was a wooden and rustic in nature. The bar area was inviting for food service as well, as patrons were likewise served food while enjoying their drinks.
The calamari was served with fried jalapeño peppers & cauliflower :). Although I am no fan of cauliflower this was a pleasant surprise. They served 2 distinct dipping sauces but the one that was some sort of Thai chili had my tastebuds singing in jubilee. I had the chicken poulet was DELICIOUS! This boneless chicken breast was stuffed with prosciutto & mozzarella & had a delectable mushroom demi gkaze. The vegetable medley was heavenly with julienne style onions, peppers & carrots served with green beans. Their variation of mashed potatoes were awesome. The mashed potatoes appeared to be mashed then served in a crisp shell, as if lightly fried on tge outside, while maintaining the perfect texture of mashed potatoes on the inside. True culinary art :). My bf had the demi glaze steak which was very tender.
Dessert was ok. We were both disappointed in tge carrot cake. It was served like a square wo layer cake with a thin sheet of icing in the middle. Also, for me this place got 4 stars because they served no bread upon being seated.

This is a great neighbourhood bar for a drink and chat.
They have board games and the food is pretty good.
Specials are always interesting

My favorite neighborhood bar in Old City. Great ambiance, with a working fireplace in the winter. Open windows and outdoor seating in the summer. The drinks are good. And the food is restaurant quality at a reasonable price. I’ve never had a bad meal here. I always start out with the calamari appetizer. You can’t go wrong with whatever they have as a special. It’s my go-​to spot to hang out with a friend and catch up over drinks and a good meal.

A gastropub (not a fan of that word but it fits) with a wooden bar and interior with dim lighting and eclectic music playing in the background, so the stage is set — right? Not really.
The menu on Unilocal was wrong, and I was expecting much more from this place.
Server was abrupt, feigned friendly especially at tip time, and out of character for the place. So so mostly bar food with a few entrée specials and desserts.
I’m glad that I did not have the bad experience some of the Reviewers had here, especially the one posted on 4÷17÷15.
Place has potential.
(2 ½ stars and the extra ½ is for the ambience.)

I tried to like the place, I really did.
I live steps away from this restaurant, and I have visited a few times since moving to Old City. They do have a great beer selection and a dark, pub atmosphere. It’s nice to come with another person over a drink.
My problems have come from the service. The first time I went, there was a problem splitting my check (we were just splitting it on two cards) and it was a mess to sort out. However, that is totally forgivable.
The second time my boyfriend and I went, it was for brunch on New Year’s day. The place was really crowded and we expected to have a bit of a wait for our food, but it got to the point where the two of us were getting way too hangry for our own good, and our drinks weren’t being refilled which didn’t help. When we got our breakfast, I was satisfied, but my boyfriend found that there was too little on his plate, so we had to eat again when we got home.
The third and last time we went (which will unfortunately be the last) was on one of the days where there had been a snow storm. We went for dinner and again, waited way too long for our food. Our waitress saw that, and bought us a round of beer, which was totally cool of her. We were in no rush (nor were we hangry either!) but when I got my fish tacos, I scarfed them down. I apparently shouldn’t have chosen a fish dish, because the next day I got so incredibly sick from food poisoning-​and I’ll leave it at that.
So, I want to like the place, and I have given it a few tries, but I don’t want to risk going there again.

This was only a few blocks from my hotel and will definitely be a goto when I’m in town. Great urban local vibe. Exposed brick, open layout, big windows and awesome draft selection. Winning.
I took the bartenders recommendation and went with the fish tacos and sweet potato fries. Way too much food! Way too delicious.

Totally forgot to review this place. I’ve been here numerous times a few years ago BC it was just a pretty chill spot every season… Seats outside for warmer months, fire place inside for colder months. It is definitely a neighborhoody spot. I only found out about it BC it was featured on NBC 10 show.
I don’t remember all the dishes I ordered, as some were specials. But I do remember the mussels were the star, and the reason NBC featured them. They were great, and I’ve ordered them numerous times and they were consistently well executed.
Other times I’ve ordered random stuff from hot sandwiches to pastas to specials. All were good if I remember correctly… Never had a bad meal. The drinks are your standard fare and option to order flights.
It does get busy at night and the service has usually been good all the times I’ve went. I just remember one time it wasn’t good… The bartender/​waitress woman kinda neglected my table for a long long time. I think that was prob the last time I’ve been BC I remember it really bothering me. Since it wasn’t that crowded that night and I felt like i was treated poorly despite dining there often and introducing my friends there the whole year. It just left a bad taste for me.
Also, their bread pudding was so bomb. Craved it one Sunday and went in and ordered that to go! Another time they ran out. Womp Womp. Not sure if they still have it on the menu…
Race street café, see you soon. Surely do miss this place.

I was looking for a place to relax in Center City and stumbled upon Race Street Café. I’m glad I did. Here’s why:
It was SUPER cold outside. When I found out that they had a crackling fire, I knew I had to stop in. They have a great beer selection and the Winter Warmer seemed to be an obvious choice for me.
The dimly lit restaurant had a comfortable and welcoming feeling. There were several tables of people enjoying meals and I can tell that I would be a regular here if I lived in the area. Sadly, I didn’t get to try the food but the menu was diverse and well priced. Great little spot in downtown Philly!

Contrary to the common reviews from this establishment, I happen to love it here. The atmosphere is great. Tiny, intimate, relaxing. Not a place to take a large party of people to entertain, but a great place to go with 2 – 4 friends.
The service here is always great. The house mimosas and bloodies are on point, as are the Moscow mules. Reasonable pricing for the drinks, and a pretty decent beer list as well.
I have had the muscles and the nachos. THE MUSCLES ARE GIANT. Never any of the main course food (though it looks tasty), but very impressive.
For drinks, a place to chill, and some «better than average» bar food, this place is great.

Ok so this place was great, it was ten o clock on New Years Eve and we were right by a popular firework watching spot. The place was packed and I was worried we wouldn’t get seated. The hostess quoted us 20 – 25 minutes (I thought yeahhhh right!). Turns out it was exactly that, we were seated very quickly. Our waitress was attending several tables so the service was quick and to the point, a little rushed but that’s understandable. I ordered the naughty blanco as a drink and it was delicious, light and refreshing but with a nice kick. The naughty blanco was far from my favorite thing I ordered that night.
… I ordered a life altering chili. Granted chili is one of my favorite foods and I was craving it immensely that night (seeing as I am a Miami girl and I had been walking in 20 something degree weather). This chili was truly superb though, it had 3 different types of meat: steak, chicken, and andouille sausage, with a mix of beans roasted tomato chunks and jalapeño slices. That all mixed together made this chili one of the highlights of my trip. I’m booking my flight back to Philly just for this chili.
My boyfriend and I also split the the chicken roulade and ricotta gnocchi. Okay so my reviewing of this dish will be biased seeing as while I was eating it I was upset it wasn’t a second bowl of chili. But even with the precedent of my immediate disdain for any food that wasn’t the glorious chili I still enjoyed the gnocchi. The chicken was juicy and flavorful. I do wish their would’ve been a little more of the fresh tomato sauce, but all in all it was a good dish.
Would I return to race street café? Ummm… Like I said I’m booking my flight back solely for race street café. If you are one of the privileged enough to live in walking/​public transport/​driving range of this fine establishment, do yourself a favor and go try that chili.