The Mission Grill

My husband and I were staying at the Sheraton nearby so we decided to use a
coupon at the Mission Grill. We were seated promptly and placed our orders with our male server. We ordered the wings appetizer, steak burger and steak fajitas. While waiting for our food, another server came up and briefly stated that she’d be serving us now instead and double checked on our food order. We waited about 20 more minutes to be served our appetizer and then finally our food. The food tasted like generic Mexican food and wasn’t anything special. After we were done eating, we had a hard time finding our waitress and it took her about 10 minutes to finally bring the check over. I actually started a stop clock on my phone to keep track.
The restaurant itself had a nice décor and the bar area was busy, while the restaurant tables were fairly empty for a Friday night. It was difficult to hear one another accross the table, as the music was on rather loud and people in the bar area were having to talk even louder to compensate.
Overall, good meal for using a $ 25 off coupon with
and close by to the hotel, but nothing special. We wouldn’t return there again. Food would have been pricey if it wasn’t for our coupon. We ordered 1 appetizer, a burger, a fajita and 2 waters for $ 53.

Well — I think they are finally out of business.
I was told that the chef and menu had changed and was gfiven a coupon for free guacamole and 20% off the bill.
Sounded OK so I made a reservation.
When I needed to change the reservation a lady answered the phone and said they are closed.
For good.

in Philly for business, hotel around corner, found Mission Grill here, tried it. service a touch slow to start, but improved. hHad the baked plaintains with chili beef and they were a wonderful combination of flavors. would recommeend them highly.
Unfortunately, came back 2 nights later, and the tacos were had barely any meat in them, were mostly lettuce and salsa, and the rice and beans were reheated (and looked like from my prior visit). completely unedible.
Bar staff on first night was good — Sam and Joy — Sunday night waitress was brand new, didn’t know menu at all.

WHAT THE F WENT ON AT MISSION GRILL ON CINCO DE MAYO?
Blue and pink plaid shirt douchebag in a cowboy hat made me a triple sec & water, called it a margarita, and only after telling three other bartenders, «Bro, make that girl some margaritas.» He then proceeded to crawl around under the table I was sitting at. When he was actually upright, he drank EVERYTHING on the table– whether it was his or someone else’s– some drinks had been there for a few hours because no one cleaned anything up. Finally, he slammed his fist into a plastic glass of water, soaking my friend. Meanwhile, there was a random dance crew (wtf is this reality tv?) and a DJ that was WAY too loud. If I could go back in time, I’d take the $ 40+ I spent on a few lousy drinks and go ANYWHERE else.

Stopped by here for a fundraiser and just enjoyed drinks and music. Great vibe, huge bar, and a personable bartender in Laura S. I trained down and walked the five minutes or so. I didn’t get anything to eat (curse this diet… is it really worth it?) but those around me seemed to be enjoying their food. Overall… great time, mission accomplished… at the Mission Grill.

I have no complaints. Went with a co-​worker for at late lunch. Food was good, service was good. Prices are a little high. I got the choose 3 tacos. Carnitas, Steak, & Fish. All were yummy — steak was the best though. Nancy was a great server. I’ll go back.

Came here with co-​workers for a workday lunch. The Mission Grill provided a nice atmosphere where we were able to enjoy our food while having a good time. Be prepared for a shock when you hear the vent make a rolling noise — we were assured it was just the vent letting some air out. Interesting …
But on with the food!
I had the fish tacos ($ 12 I believe). For these I received three fried fish (cod I believe) tacos on a corn tortillas. Some cabbage slaw — some hot sauce — and that was pretty much it. For $ 4 a taco — decent but could have offered a side.
Another coworker had a salad, which was pretty massive — he was satisfied with it. Other orders included a quesadilla and a burger — no complaints here.
All in all, could be a decent place to grab lunch and maybe even stop by for Happy Hour — considering where it’s located, I’m not surprised that the prices are a bit steep for what is offered. But the food was alright.

Didn’t go in expecting much after reading reviews on here. Wasn’t terrible, just ok. Went as a meetup group, we had four tables of six on a Sunday at noon, we were the only customers in the restaurant.
It was a pre-​agreed menu for $ 20, included an order of chips and guacamole for each table of six, an order of flautas for each table and the choice of three entrees for each person. The guacamole was very good, but not a a big order, probably enough for each person to have five or six chips. The flautas looked like a chicken wrap that had been cut into smaller pieces, each piece the size of a large cut of sushi, ie. not much in terms of volume. I noticed that at each table, the order of flautas was cut into five pieces. There were six people at each table. Not thoughtful on the part of management, come on!
The entrees were a choice between a turkey sandwich and fries, burger sliders w. fries and chicken tacos w. beans and rice. I ordered the tacos. They were ok, but not a lot of flavor. The beans and rice consisted of a very thin layer of rice covering maybe ¼ of the plate and about 4 – 5 beans. Soda was included. I was hungry when we left and for $ 20, I could get a pre-​fixe lunch at Amada, or an excellent entrée at lots of places in CC.
The staff was nice, no problems with the space. It reminded me of bar food that is labeled Mexican. This is Philly – up the portions people.

Had lunch there the other day and started off with the crab and artichoke dip which was devoured. We also ate some chili which was really good as well. Found out that there are 55 ingredients in that chili and all 55 are wonderful.
My friend and I each got the «pick 3» tacos and couldn’t finish the last one because we filled up on dip and chili first. Out of the chicken, grilled steak, and fish taco, the steak was my favorite. My friend enjoyed the carnitas the best.
Server was very nice and on top of everything. I would love to go back and try other things next time. Plus, the space is huge so it would be great for parties.

Simple, decently executed ameri-​mexican food.
It’s a fine place to go if you’re looking for some flautas and a beverage. In fact, I go there quite a bit for exactly that. If you’ve eaten at Mad Mex over by Penn, think «Mad Mex for professionals» and your expectations will be correctly set.

I came in to check out whats going on. Things have been a little shaky but I had a
deal and we were looking for something a little different.
The food was good and I really enjoyed the service.
We ordered the guac and salsa — for the price it was a little on the small side.
My pulled chicken salad was a good lunch salad considering I was on a business lunch… the Taqueria (choice of various tacos) looked really good. Next time I’m going to check that out.
My friends steak salad had an ample amount of steak and she seemed really happy with it.
I’d put mission grill back on your «go to» list. I’ll be listening closely to see if anything is going on but for now I was pretty happy with our meal

Mission Grill is pretty underwhelming. My girlfriend and I went for a Sips happy hour, and the four dollar merlot was okay. The space is fairly large, but there isn’t enough bar space for larger groups, so they crowd around two long tables near the bar. I suppose they save the fancy seating for dinner.
The fact that so many people were cramped between the bar and the tables was highly annoying. I had a mostly drunk guy yelling loudly in my ear as he tried to talk to a woman sitting next to me. It was 6:00pm, mind you– Fairly early for drunkenness.
It isn’t really fair to give Mission Grill two stars considering I was there for 45 minutes to enjoy a glass of wine. However, I can safely say, it was not the best experience possible, and I’d be hard pressed to go back soon. The bartenders were nice though.

We’ve been to mission grill several times. Normally make it here once a month. It has, by far, the best guacamole in Philadelphia out of all the places we’ve tried. I just love it. It has something special that I can’t put my finger on.
With that said, they also offer jalopeno cornbread as free bread. It’s amazing and comes with a strawberry butter.
I’ve tried several things here. Their salads are great, their cheese steak is a fun take on the local dish, but what I always order is their tacos. Their mix and match tacos is great. Each taco is unique and bursting with flavor. I really like this dish, but the portions are too small if you aren’t eating appetizers as well, or if you want to fork over the money for 5 tacos instead of 3 (which I normally pass on).
That is really my one complaint: it’s alittle pricey for some of the dishes. Guacamole seems overpriced everywhere in Philadelphia and here is no different, which is really upsetting because I love it so. Their homemade salsa is also alittle too smokey for my tastes.

I have a pretty open mind but this place is just no good.
I went to a Networking Event here not long ago. not that it was necessarily their fault, but this place was so packed I couldn’t even breathe. It’s generally that way on weekend nights, too. and it’s not even a real mingle-​esque type of setting, so this remains baffling to me.
I’ve had lunch here as well, and it’s nothing to write home about.
Sorry, Mission Grill. You are an urban dime a dozen.

This place has two things going for it: location and ambiance. It is right across from a parking lot on Arch street with $ 10 parking in the evening. Huge plus in this park of the city. Secondly, the interior itself is very nice and you definately feel like you are in a step up from the every-​weekend type of place.
The food is good, not overwhelming. I like that you can pick 3 – 5 different tacos to try in a meal. We had a
coupon so the price was reasonable, but I wouldn’t have been too happy paying full boat for the meal.
I’d go back though, it was a good time.

I don’t really know what to classify the Mission Grill as – is it a restaurant, a classy sports bar, or a hangout place for pretty things in barely-​there clothing? Regardless, this was the place we came to celebrate my gf’s birthday, and though we typically pick some fairly bleh places for these events, it wasn’t surprisingly the terrible experience I was expecting.
Various no-​shows aside, we proceeded to take advantage of the amazing happy-​hour drink specials that were being offered. The sports TVs were competing with the loud top 40’s music being played over the speakers, but it somehow added to the appeal of the place.
Service was stellar — the waitress suggested that I give the pick-​three-​kinds taco plate that they offered, which was a great choice. How can you go wrong when you’re between carnitas, crispy fish and short rib and get to pick all three?
Surprisingly not too crowded for a Friday night at 6pm, though it might’ve been a bit early for the bar crowd. Not sure if that speaks well or not, but I had a good time at least and will be happy to return!

The Grilled Chicken Flautas were the best thing we tried with a generous portion chicken and a nice guacamole/​BBQ sauce mix. The spicy fries were good too, although mostly because they were good fries (spicy = a few jalapeño slices). The Carnitas Tacos again provided a good-​sized portion of pork, but had little flavor outside of the meat. The Pan Seared Crabcakes were mostly salty filler, so I would skip them.

Despite my hesitations, our crew of four agreed to meet up with some other friends who were hanging at Mission Grill after the Flyers game on Saturday night. We were all dressed very casually in tees and jeans, and I thought there was a good chance we’d get turned away at the door, but that didn’t happen. I felt super self-​conscious around all the pretty young things dressed in bustiers and heels. Alas, a friend knew a bartender, and before I was able to change my mind I was handed a shot and a Miller Lite in of one of those vortex bottles.
It was NOT my typical Saturday night.
And yet, I had a really great time. The DJ was awesome, playing a steady mix of current and old-​school beats. I couldn’t help but get over my anxieties about being under-​dressed and out of place (I’m sure the strong buzz I had going had something to do with it, also).
I danced my booty off. And I loved it.
The best part of the night was when a huge group of people showed up, all wearing AT&T t-​shirts. To think we actually started an orange tee shirt trend! It was like a bizarre dream.

C’mon, you kiddin me? We walked in, no response from anyone for over 5 – 6 minutes. Finally an attentive bartender who could see the pain in my face yelled over, «you guys need help»?
We were seated, over 5+ minutes went by… someone asked, «were you helped yet»? NO. Server came over, took drink ordered and seemed disappointed when we didn’t know what we wanted for dinner, all in one shot.
A $ 10 Margarita that tasted like Orange juice… with AIDS
Crab/​Spin/​Art Dip ($ 15) #Fail No crab at all, not even one piece
Cheese Steak Spring Rolls #Fail A horrific attempt at blending chipotle, wonton wrappers and thai chili sauce in harmony
Fried Shrimp? Honestly, don’t even know what they were supposed to be
Prices were absurd, even w/​a Groupon. There is absolutely NO reason to go this joint… NONE

It was a dreary, rainy evening and I was stuck in a rush hour parking lot called 18^th Street. Of course, this is when my stomach reared it’s head and started growling something vicious at me. And then my bladder joined the coup, punishing me for being good and drinking 64 oz of mighty H2O. Traffic wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon, and my bladder was calling mutiny. So, I made the first turn off 18^th Street — Arch Street — and pulled into a fresh parking space. Engine shut off, look up and angels begin to sing as I see the sophisticated entrance of The Mission Grill.
Thus, I came to this establishment.
After I appeased my bladder, I sat at the bar and ordered a Happy Hour Dos Equis, the Mission Salad and a side of the 12-​spice frites. As I was giving the menu back, I noticed the sweet potato fries. Upon asking her opinion, the bartender informed that though she is a sweet potato gal, she’d go with the frites. «It actually has FOURTEEN spices… not 12. There’s cinnamon, nutmeg… oh, you have to try those.» She was absolutely right! The seasoning is something you have to try. The fries themselves… eh. It’s McDonald’s fries with special seasoning. The Mission Salad was uniquely good!
The bartenders were very nice and seemed to know everyone at the bar by name. My sweet potato bartender was about to give one of the patrons his ‘usual’, but he said, «No — I want my other usual.» «Giving it up for Lent, are you,» she asks? «You got it,» he laughs in response. «Didn’t you give it up for Lent last year, too?»
She knows how to get her tips!
For a Thursday evening, the place wasn’t very busy, but the staff informed me it’s due to the rain. Understandable. I can imagine this being pretty busy for usual happy hours.
I find it unfortunate that I’m not down in that particular area more often, otherwise I’m sure the bartenders would know my «usual», too!