PHLReview
photo credit: GAB BONGHI
Middle Child Clubhouse
Included In
You know how kids demand “again, again!” after listening to their favorite song on a loop? Or when they play with the same toy for the 100th time? Somehow, they get boundless excitement from tapping life’s repeat button nonstop. We haven’t had that feeling since watching Shrek for the first time—until we walked into Middle Child Clubhouse. The casual Fishtown restaurant is an all-day hangout with unforgettable food, creative cocktails, and if we spend any more time there, they may start charging us rent.
photo credit: GAB BONGHI
It’s the larger offshoot of the cozy Midtown Village sandwich shop, but this one is full of cafeteria-style counter seating, tables, and booths big enough for you and a few friends. In the morning, it’s a good place to crank out emails over Kendrick Lamar, people watch over fluffy pancakes, or savor a pastrami burrito while staring at pictures of Princess Diana in Eagles gear. Until 2pm you can grab lunch—the menu is stacked with deli and club sandwiches—and there’s nothing they put on bread that doesn’t deserve its own highlight reel.
photo credit: GAB BONGHI
photo credit: GAB BONGHI
photo credit: GAB BONGHI
photo credit: GAB BONGHI
photo credit: GAB BONGHI
After 5pm it switches from counter-service to sit down ordering. It feels like a place to just grab a burger and fries (which, by the way, are great), but there’s nothing low-key about the menu or how memorable your experience will be. The music gets cranked, the dining room gets packed with friends playing pool, and the stellar cocktails and natural wine starts flowing. It can get like a rowdy scene from The Hangover (but with way better food and without the face tattoos).
photo credit: GAB BONGHI
Tables are topped with a maze of shareables like the peppery shrimp cocktail, earthy housemade fava bean agnolotti, and a brick chicken that we love so much, one of our friends yelled “get a room” as we lovingly bit into it. Each dish displays an impressive range of deep flavors—especially the tomato sauce in the crab spaghetti, which has a mildly sweet seafood flavor from being brined with whole crabs.
photo credit: GAB BONGHI
photo credit: GAB BONGHI
photo credit: GAB BONGHI
photo credit: GAB BONGHI
Middle Child Clubhouse is a unicorn. That rare fun place that works for everything from Slacking your boss over lattes before noon to juicy ribeyes and Chilean wine during an exciting night out. And a magical spot like that? It’s worth going to again and again.
Food Rundown
photo credit: GAB BONGHI
Classic Breakfast Sandwich
Like most breakfast sandwiches here, the eggs are as soft and pillowy as marshmallows. Plus, the whole thing is dripping with cheddar cheese (and you can add meat or a hashbrown to it for just a few bucks). It’ll put your favorite BEC on the shelf to collect dust.
photo credit: GAB BONGHI
Olivia’s Big Pancake
Each bite of this malted buttermilk pancake has the perfect harmony of honey-butter and fresh citrus. Super fluffy, they’re the best pancakes in the city (so order them). They’re also made with whole-grain flour milled by neighboring Lost Bread, so you can feel good about adding another one for $5.
photo credit: GAB BONGHI
Pastrami Breakfast Burrito
This burrito combines tender smoked pastrami, mounds of fluffy eggs, and melted sharp cheddar cheese. Each bite has a hint of citrus from the chipotle mustard that’s perfectly balanced, so it’s not overpowering. And it comes with an avocado salsa and salsa verde pairing that you’ll want to bring with you everywhere.
photo credit: GAB BONGHI
Surfer 2.0
Middle Child puts every sandwich in a crisp white wrapper, making opening one feel like Christmas morning. The Surfer 2.0 layers melty swiss, turkey, sweet seasonal jam, mayo, and arugula, all on a warm panini. If we actually got this for Christmas, it would be one of the few gifts we wouldn’t return.
photo credit: GAB BONGHI
Phoagie
Picking a favorite sandwich here is like choosing your top Jay-Z track—hard, but not impossible. For us, it’s the Phoagie. It stacks sweet hoisin eggplant, avo, onions, cilantro, and pho sauce on a long seeded roll. Each bite is fragrant, has a nice crunch, and is the perfect not-too-heavy midday sandwich.
photo credit: EMILY SCHINDLER
Cheeseburger
Middle Child has a few “This is not Burger King, try it our way” signs around the restaurant. And we’re here to tell you that trying it their way (meaning either medium-rare or well-done) results in a burger that’s thick, juicy, and comes slathered in a homemade creamy Russian dressing. It’s good enough to eat without the bun, and this burger will probably make you forget about ever stepping into a fast-food spot again.
photo credit: GAB BONGHI
Crab Spaghetti
Middle Child makes beautiful, handmade pasta, but the options rotate often. If this one is on the menu, grab an order (or 10). It’s an ideal balance of sweet and salty, and has more crabby aroma coming off it than a seafood boil.
photo credit: GAB BONGHI
Chicken Under A Brick
If we had a guide for Shareable Dishes That You Don’t Actually Want To Share, this would be on it. It’s juicy, the herb panade gives it an earthy crisp, and the olive and cherry tapenade gives it a great peppery sweetness.
