Kunkels Seafood & Steakhouse

Boyfriend had been before and had a good meal, so he took me for an anniversary dinner because I love seafood (and he loves meat!). I got baramundi with crab sauce and he got short rib ravioli. Both were delicious– good portion size, sauced and prepared nicely. Byob was an added plus, and service was very friendly.

My wife and I chose Kunkel’s bc of the fairly good reviews and we weren’t disappointed. We started with the stuffed meatballs and they were delicious. She had the lobster butter flounder (which she loved) and I had the steak sinatra. I asked for medium rare but it was more medium… and the blue cheese on top was nice but became a little too much towards the end… but all in all I was pretty happy with my choice. We finished our meal with the pumpkin spice cake and that was fantastic! Would definitely come here again but would choose a different steak.

Went last night with a party of 11 to kick off a bachelor party. They sat us in the room on the side, so that we could be a little more boisterous without disturbing any of the other guests. The atmosphere is nice and upscale without feeling stuffy. The waitstaff was friendly and attentive. They even put our champagne on ice and served it to us with our meal for the ensuing toasts…
Now the important stuff. The food was fantastic. We had bruschetta, which I am not a fan of but everyone who had it loved it. The spicy Thai calamari was fantastic, perfectly cooked. The majority of us had one of the three iterations of filet they offered. All of us were quite happy with our steaks. They even had some vegetarian options for one member of our part. When it came time to pay, they offered a 3% cash discount, which was a nice option.
All in all, it was a fantastic time and place to eat. I know I will be going back again.

Great place for dinner or lunch. The food was very good and the staff was very attentive. Will definitely go back. It’s a hidden treasure.

We went there for restaurant week, and will likely be going back. food and service were very good, I definitely recommend the homemade ricotta gnocchi. Delicious!

Went there Saturday night… booked the reservation thru open table… I didn’t know it was BYOB… the menu listed on the open table is outdated. When we arrived… the lighting is too dim… for a seafood place on a Saturday night and out of oysters was not good. Dinner was good and service was attentive. I just wouldn’t have gone as the menu listed on open table was different from the actual menu.

We have been coming here for a couple years at-​least once a month. The food is always top notch. Oysters are fresh and delisciouse. Family owned and very friendly. Service is also very good.

Went to a wedding shower there today. WONDERFUL! Staff so nice and helpful.
Salmon out of this world! GO GO GO.

One of the worst places I ever ate over rated and over priced even the name «Kunkles“sounds like a disease. Don’t waste your time.

Came here on Valentine’s Day evening for a romantic dinner. Never had been to this place before. Was disappointed with the seating first and foremost. We were seated at a table with one chair and bench seat which had a seam where I was sitting on a hump. Asked to be moved. Received another table at the end of the long bench seat. The tables are so close together, you hear everyone’s conversation and they can hear yours… not so romantic for Valentine’s Day. The service was slow. We ordered filet mignon which was 2″ thick, but very dry and undercooked. The restaurant is also BYOB which we were not told when we made reservations. In speaking with others who have eaten there, the place isn’t what it used to be and has «gone downhill.» We agree. Won’t be going there again.

First time here. Warm ambiance. Attentive servers. BYOB! Great food. Loved their Autumn Harvest Salad and Strawberry and Chocolate Bread Pudding.

As we lived only a few minutes away for over a year we finally decided to try dinner here. Each time we would drive by we noticed that the building was well maintained at that the parking lot was typically fairly full. Upon entering we were seated next to the fireplace which was quite nice but noticed that the décor was terribly dated and the dining area was dark and dingy. We ordered the spicy calamari as the waitress told us it was what the restaurant was known for. It was terrible. The calamari was clearly frozen and the spicy sauce tasted like it came straight from the jar. It was very chewy and the coating was soggy. The meal itself did not live up to expectations. The crab cakes were stuffed with filler. The entire dining experience left much to be desired. I would certainly recommend the few extra minutes for a dinner in Philly. Unless serious changes were made to the restaurant we will not be returning.

Had a nice dinner here with some friends recently. There are some really good points about the restaurant and some things that were not so. Overall it’s an above average place with good steak.
Pros:
The steak was properly cooked, everyone at the table who ordered steak agreed so. So not matter how you like your steak prepared they made sure it was done right.
The steak was delicious, I had a fillet with the kunkel sauce which was somewhat comparable to a better tasting A1(usually A1 ruins a steak for me, but this wasnt that bad). I also tried a bite of a friends who got it done plain, and it was phenomenal plain as well.
BYOB, so you can bring whatever you like to drink and bang back a few glasses.
Priced right.
Cons:
It’s dark in there, I get the dimmed light ambiance, but this was a little over the top.
The service is sub-​par. Waitstaff is not as attentive as it should be refilling waters, being at the table enough and they don’t exactly go out of their way to accommodate you. If there is any plus to the service, the hostess was very welcoming and nice.
All in all the food was great, but the service lacked a bit. I say 4 stars and a return trip for good steak sometime in the future and to see if the service was a one night flub.

Decent, but lacked creativity. The crab cakes had some decent crab but too much filler and zero seasoning. The asparagus was steamed well, but again had no seasoning and was dependent on S&P. The mother-​in-​law had the pork chop and raved about it. The husband’s fish dish was cooked well but with very generic toppings. The butternut squash soup was fabulous.
I’m going to assume they have a regular crowd and they just don’t want to mess with very standard recipes. Lovely inside with slow but adequate service. BYOB

Scenario: Lunch
I ordered the ‘Kunkel Burger’. It was a sophomoric mess. The burger was piled too high vertically. I had to unhinge my jaw like a snake to wrap my mouth around this thing. The burgers ‘Famous Johnny Five’ dressing was tasteless… it was a watery, thousand island looking mess that leaked all over my hands. The house-​made ground beef was just so-​so. I think the house-​blends are better at the Pour House, Village Whiskey, etc. The bacon was done properly (crispy and not too rubbery). On the other hand, Kate enjoyed her burger. The fries were just so-​so. They had small bits of residual fried chunks clinging to the fries (oil in the fry basket not cleaned enough?). I prefer a more cleaner, hand-​cut/​skin-​on style of fries.
Our server was excellent. She was super friendly/​professional. She kept our water glasses refreshed. /​/​/​2.5 stars for the lunch, keeping the 3 stars based upon our previous dinner experiences.

I have gone here with former coworkers for lunch bit never tried the dinner. Well, I have found my second favorite place. Both in Haddon Heights. The other is Elements.
Excellent place to go for restaurant week in January.
Owner is very personable and visits the tables. Her son is the chef. He prepares excellent dishes. He has formal culinary education.
Owner visits the tables and spends as much time as you wish to chat.
Will visit again.
They now have wine that you can purchase and buy. However, they do not have a liquor license.
I am not sure but you may be able to bring your own bottle but I would call and ask.
Nice to have a restaurant that is family owned and not a chain.
If I had one complaint it would be that there were open tables and they sat someone right next to us. I prefer to sit not so close if tables are available.

What is this place?
Is is a Steakhouse, is it a Seafood restaurant, is it a burger joint, is it fine dinning, is it neighborhood dinning?
Kunkels is one of the least focused restaurants at which I’ve ever eaten. Lady Mary and I found ourselves with an unexpected afternoon to ourselves, and decided to try Kunkels for lunch; as a nice rare steak sounded as good me as a non-​caf, soy, vegan, latte with a side of tofu does to a hipster.
We arrived to find ONE person working the entire restaurant. I want to be very clear when I say that my critique of this problem is directed at the management, NOT the girl. It was the Saturday before Christmas… lots of people off, lots of people out and about. You need more than one person on the floor; that was objectively poor planning.
Lady Mary and I waited patiently for our menus to be brought, anxious to see what sort of carnivorous delights might be in our near future. Will I revel in a ribeye… will it be a porterhouse… strip steak with crab meat…‘don’t get ahead of yourself old boy’, I thought to myself. We were brought a one page menu with a grand total of… one steak? One petit filet? I nearly jumped up from my seat to check if the sign on the front of the building said ‘Steakhouse’, or if my eyes deceived me. After we shook off the initial confusion, we decided to see what they were offering. Kunkels was doing only the one lonely steak, but had about 20 burgers, a few sandwiches, and a three entrees which looked like they just removed the bread bit from one of their afore mentioned sammies.
We figured that we’d try what the restaurant was obviously trying to push, the burgers. We thought that if that’s their speciality, then we would judge them on their strength. First off, it was the size of a small tire. There is no reason any human needs to consume that much ground beef at any one sitting. Second off, they buggered up the temperature. It’s not a soufflé…it’s a burger… and it still managed to get fouled up. The only reason I didn’t go with the dreaded ‘one star rating’, is that fact that it wasn’t expensive.
I have no idea what they are going for here, but the management needs a serious wake up call. The menu is unfocused, they need to re-​evaluate scheduling, decide on a direction for the restaurant, and have the chef (or who ever they have back there) go back to meat temperatures 101. Bad show. You will not likely see the original F.U. any time soon.

I went here to dinner with the bf and his fam on Saturday. It has a classy, romantic atmosphere, which we proceeded to ruin witha bunch of 6 – 10 year olds mwahahaha. The waitress was super nice and professional but laid back. She told us her name, etc., and that they assume we are there to eat and relax, so if we have time restraints, to let her know. I thought that was a great touch.
Being relaxed, it still was perfect timing on the apps and entrees. Everything came out in a timely manner and was perfectly cooked and delicious. We all split the bacon wrapped scallops, calamari, and bruscetta. All were very good. I ordered the pork chop special with sausage and apple stuffing for the entrée. It was delicious. The bf got the tilapia and kept saying how good it was. He wouldn’t stop with the sound effects as he was eating, so they got his stamp of approval.
Can’t wait to come back for the crab cake!

I went to Kunkel’s with friends this past Saturday night. I had never heard of this place before but I’m glad my friends made the suggestion. For a steakhouse I would say their prices are more than reasonable. The fact that it’s BYOB is also a nice plus. I didn’t get a steak but did get the braised short ribs over mashed potatoes and they were great. Nice and tender short ribs accompanied by a really good BBQ sauce. The salad before the entrée was good, fresh and plenty big. My wife and I shared the chocolate bread pudding and that was also really good. It is very laid back. Our waitress was great and attentive. Carol, the owner came out when we were leaving to make sure everything was to our liking.
The only negative about the place might be the décor. It’s nice woodwork and everything but overall it’s a dark place.

I’m not sure why (1) there are so few reviews for a well-​established Heights restaurant and (2) why they are so negative. My guess is that it’s a matter of expectations. Kunkel’s is not sophisticated or trendy. Think of it as a place where folks with a little more dough in their pockets go to have a nice dinner without the hassle of a drive to center city.
Kunkel’s is a great place for a quiet date or for getting together with a few close friends. It’s small, relatively quiet, and the service is very attentive. The best thing about the service is that they won’t rush you, hence it’s best suited for an intimate dinner.
The menu is simple with no gimmicks. Prices are modest, but I would argue that it’s more than $$ on the Unilocal scale. Two people won’t be able to get a 3-​course meal there for under $ 100. The steaks are high-​quality, but you need to be very specific about how you want it cooked. Crab cakes were true to the Maryland style– lightly fried. Other fish dishes, especially ones that come from the broiler, have always been great. Salads were good but nothing spectacular, but the dressing on the wedge salad is a keeper. Kunkel’s is known for their bread puddings and fans of it will not be disappointed. They’re also a BYO.
Reservations are necessary at peak times, but can be booked a day in advance. Clientele is older than usual, but it’s not very stuffy.
In sum, go to Outback if you want to be rushed through your meal and have an okay but cookie cutter steak and be surrounded by kids. Or, pay 20% more, be treated the way that you should, and have a meal made to order.