PHLReview
photo credit: GAB BONGHI
Redcrest Kitchen
Included In
Sometimes experimentation can lead to greatness. After all, a cook who accidentally cut his potatoes too thin gave us chips. Unfortunately, experimentation also gave us the movie version of Cats. Dinner at Redcrest Kitchen has those same highs and lows. To avoid a disaster of unhinged-CGI proportions over dinner, stick to a simple roadmap of cocktails and hearty mains.
photo credit: GAB BONGHI
Inconsistency isn’t just a menu thing. Depending on when you visit, you may be met with tables of excited friends and couples who crave a lowkey night near South Street, or a boring space that has all the energy of the waiting room at your optometrist’s office. The spacious modern American spot has a long bar, floor-to-ceiling windows that are perfect for watching dogs walk their people, and cushioned booth seating down the middle. Whether you’re listening to music from Masterpiece Classic scenes or your server telling you how much they love Philly, it’s a casual space as laidback as a lazy Sunday.
photo credit: GAB BONGHI
The menu rotates often (about three new dishes every few weeks) and is packed with produce from local farmers. You can always expect plenty of vegetables, pasta, and shareable mains. When they keep it simple, the meal is excellent. But when the chefs go full mad scientist, one experimental dish can throw the entire meal off. This means that in one sitting you might get a plate so memorable that you’d take loved-up prom pictures with it. But occasionally the onslaught of toppings takes away from how exceptionally the meat or veggie is prepared—like in the case of the tuna crudo, which is topped with dark chocolate for some reason. For a guaranteed successful meal, pass around the short rib, a pasta or two (the uni tagliolini is a standout), and the winter squash toast.
photo credit: GAB BONGHI
Where Redcrest does find harmony is in the cocktail menu. The Teaches of Peaches is a blend of white peach, rum, chartreuse, and sparkling wine, and is one of the best things we’ve sipped all year. We haven't had one bad drink while dining here, making it one of our favorite new spots for a cocktail in the city.
Come for a casual night with friends or a date where the cocktails and comforting mains outshine the Xfinity hold music that’s been playing—and the dish that seems to be made from the basket ingredients on Chopped.
Food Rundown
photo credit: GAB BONGHI
Toast
photo credit: GAB BONGHI
Chilled Asparagus With Charred Leeks
photo credit: GAB BONGHI
Chestnut Agnolotti
photo credit: GAB BONGHI
Wild Striped Bass
photo credit: GAB BONGHI
Smoked Short Rib
Banana Butter Cake
photo credit: GAB BONGHI