Fine Palate

I was in Philadelphia last week for a few days and a colleague and I had dinner here. The restaurant is small but elegantly designed. We were discussing some more serious business issues so I was not fully aware of my surroundings at the time. However when I started eating the appetizers I realized that the flavors were awesome and this was more than an average restaurant. We had a tempura fried pepper appetizer that was both unique and flavorful. For dinner I had a big ribeye steak that was absolutely wonderful. It said «Creekstone «which I later looked up online and it is a higher end farm that breeds specific beef. It was one of the best steaks I had had in years. My partner really enjoyed his meal too. Next time I made in Philadelphia I will definitely be stopping back at this place.

I should have taken the questionable Unilocal reviews as more warning before coming to Fine Palete. For 8:00 Pm on a Friday the downstairs was about ¹⁄₃ full throughout my dinner. A few couples eating appetizers and drinks, with a full party at the bar. Upon being seated our waitress took a fair 15 minutes to come with water and ask for drinks. We had planned to order our drinks and appetizers but the waitress insisted we place our order for food as well.
This does not terribly upset me, but I know many people hate being rushed to order. At this point I expected the services to continue being slow. The first two beers I attempted to order were not available. Siding with a third choice and a martini for my girlfriend, it took another 15 minutes for these to come to the table, despite there being less than 15 people in the restaurant.
The party next to us had a few empty drinks on their table and appeared to give up on waiting and just walk to the bar for the next two rounds. After a total of about 45 minutes we received the appetizer kabobs, one sword fish and one chicken. Small helping but very tasty. Another 15 minutes and our dinner was served. We had the fish and an Japanese paella. Both were alright and on the smaller size for portions. The Japanese paella had shelled clams and mussels, all of which had a bite of sand.
The waitress offered both my table and the one adjacent free dessert churros. I imagine this to be for the overly slow service. For the price of $ 50 per person I could have wished for better service and marginally better food. The fish was great but sandy shellfish is totally unreasonable. For some drinks and appetizers Fine Palate may be a great option but I certainly will not be returning for dinner.

Food is alright and the service is fine. Nothing special, went once but probably won’t be going back. But won’t be going back, nothing wrong with the place but again, nothing special

First off, there was no specific event that occurred that biases my opinion. The food and experience was just that bad.
We decided to give this place a chance as it’s new in Rittenhouse and had six decent reviews on Unilocal to this point. 9pm reservations on a Friday night, so we expected it should be crowded but people would be finishing up.
We walked in and tumbleweeds were rolling around. We decided to sir upstairs. Downstairs there were four people sitting and upstairs a total of six including us. We decided to order drinks, the oysters, the eggplant caviar, the ramen, the octopus, and the crab macaroni and cheese. A good amount for two people. We told them to serve it as it comes out (which means bring it out as it gets done but still with appetizers first and entrees after in some context…).
With ten people in the restaurant, you would think the food would come out fast but it was the SLOWEST service ever. The drinks (a beer and a wine) took 15 minutes to come out. Then the oysters came out (I can get this would take time but it was now 6 people in the restaurant). The chef’s oysters were overdone and chewy. The raw oysters seemed old and on the verge of going bad. The octopus (the entrée) came out next. Not bad but nothing spectacular. It was cooked well but it ended there. There was a side of olive tamponade which was okay.
Next our appetizers came out. The eggplant «caviar» was basically pureed eggplant with olive oil with some bread. It was a bland, runny version of baba ganouj. Bad choice. The ramen and Mac and cheese came out next. For the Mac and cheese, they used grain instead of pasta. It was very watery and reminded me of high school cafeteria Mac and cheese. The ramen was pretty good and the highlight of all we ate.
Mind you, six people were in the restaurant and this took about an hour for the food to come out… on a Friday night. Terrible service. Water wasn’t refilled… table wasn’t attended to at all. The waitress was nice but clearly not attentive.
All said and done, I rarely give reviews this low. I’m half debating to regurgitate this meal because it was such a waste of calories for subpar food.
Don’t take my word for it. I doubt this place will survive in Rittenhouse so try it for yourself.
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New comment:
Please see comment below! How unprofessional and filled with lies. I NEVER met the owner/​person who replied to that review… I’d remember because only one waitress was periodically around upstairs.
There was absolutely no argument or even intense discussion going on… none whatsoever. I actually felt bad initially for not giving the restaurant a chance and thought maybe the chef was having a bad day. Note that the above review is mainly about the food, not the service. However, whoever the restaurant chose to slander my review in attempts to cover themselves speaks for themselves.

The outside might make you think it’s a painting with a twist kinda place. But once you walk in the décor is clean and modern. Definitely one of the friendliest waiters staff I have encountered in Philadelphia. I came for happy hour but ended up staying for dinner and it was worth it. I tried the skewers to start which were marinated and cooked perfectly, the meals where all plated and decorated perfectly. I definitely will go again and if you do save me a seat. :-)

We recently visited Fine Palate twice during a, 10 day period and have come to the unanimous conclusion that both meals were our favorites in 12 years of dining out in Philadelphia. From personal greetings by the chef, and his care and interest in providing an individual dining experience, to the friendly and attentive service and on to the food which was so lovingly and creatively prepared, Fine Palate pleases on every level. We will return often, and we urge others to give this relatively young hidden gem a try.

The GF and I love to go out for New Year’s Eve dinner. Most of the time though, we’re left disappointed because it’s typically an overpriced prix fixe that’s bereft of quality cooking. That’s often due to the fact that it is indeed NYE and oftentimes, the actual chef isn’t in the kitchen. So we usually turn to the menu itself over the actual restaurant and hope for the best. We continued with that strategy for 2015’s last meal out and we’re glad we settled upon Fine Palate.
Fairly new to the restaurant scene, Fine Palate was opened up by the folks who brought you the food at Le Bok Fin. And located in Center City proper, Fine Palate’s Courtney Dow and Chef Vince Joseph bring you an array of globally inspired cuisine.
New Year’s Eve Menu [$ 79 Pre-​Paid /​$ 95 At the Door]
Their NYE menu was $ 95 pp, but an even more reasonable $ 79 pre-​paid. A bit awkward, but makes sense to source exactly what the kitchen needs on a night when reservations are easily canceled by patrons who might have last minute changes to their plans.
Complimentary Champagne
A perfectly crisp, tart, and floral flute of champagne was graciously provided to start our meal. A nice touch, to be sure.
Sazerac [$ 9]
Fig-​infused rye, bitters, sugar with absinthe rinse
I also decided to enjoy a well-​made sazerac that was nicely citrus forward with a light anise backbone. The rye certainly came through on the finish.
Painkiller [$ 9]
Amber and dark rum, orange, pineapple, coconut, nutmeg, cinnamon
The GF enjoyed the easily quaffable Painkiller, which had a nicely subtle sweetness that came through with the coconut shavings. The foundation was enjoyably tart and citrusy, with the nutmeg and cinnamon providing some balance.
Artichoke Soup with Black Truffles
As a whole, the soup could have used a bit more salt, but it was certainly light and delicate, despite the earthiness from the black truffles. I did appreciate the bitterness from the radish — almost an apertif of sorts for the rich meal that was to come.
White Truffle Scallops
The GF’s scallops were beautifully presented, nicely seasoned, and delicately seared. The fragrant white truffles perfumed each bite. Stunner.
Smoked Foie Gras Torchon
Seeded mustard, Seckle pear
I went more rich with the smoked foie gras. A healthy portion (or two) of the torchon was provided, along with some stone ground mustard to cut through the heft of the foie and a nice counterpoint of sweet pear and honey. Some crusty crostini was the perfect vessel to assemble each delicious bite.
White Truffle Risotto
The GF and I each went with the risotto, though with white and black truffle, respectively. Each grain of rice had nice bite, but the risotto was still wonderfully creamy overall. And who could say no to a rain of white truffles? Could easily eat a pot of this.
Black Truffle Risotto
My black truffle risotto was more earthy, but just as delicious and even heartier.
Mediterranean Blue Lobster
Butter poached lobster, celery root purée, porcini
For her main, the GF received a gorgeous butter-​poached lobster. Sweet, snappy, and succulent, the lobster was accompanied by other elements that were spot on from the light celery root purée to the well-​seasoned porcini.
Buffalo Filet Mignon
Potato purée, roasted mushrooms, black truffle jus
My buffalo filet was tender, moist, and surprisingly light. Better yet, it had a well-​seasoned crust that wasn’t overbearing, with the mushrooms and black truffle jus adding some earthiness to each bite. The baby radish was a nice countervailing element to provide some bitter balance.
Crème Brulee
For dessert, we each received a small pat of crème brûlée — sweet, redolent of vanilla, and with that expected crust of just-​burnt sugar. Simple, but enjoyable.
Overall, Fine Palate exceeded my expectations for a NYE dinner. Usually when you see truffle on a prix fixe menu for the holidays, we’re talking about truffle oil. Chef Joseph and staff clearly know what they’re doing in terms of execution and balance. I’d highly recommend stopping by — I know I’ll be back in 2016!

I went into restaurant to do review with a friend of mine who is fellow JWU grad, as well as chef Todd English’s protégé. The chef here has great and selective menu. I am huge fan of the choices. The menu covers over 3 countries with unique plays on classic dishes.
. Since we were critiquing the restaurant the chef came and sat at our table and made us a few off menu courses. This was one of most personal experiences I have had in fine dining in a while. I was grateful to have found such a hidden gem.
All of the food was exquisite and flavorful. The sauce for shishito peppers should be bottled and served nationwide. The wine list is also extensive and is best in the city I have seen this far. Overall experience was amazing and I will become a regular!

Our experience at Fine Palate was mixed. The service was friendly, the atmosphere nice, and the eclectic menu interesting. It would have been nice if bread had been served, especially since I had the tagliatelle with San Marzano tomato sauce, garlic & basil. For $ 14 it was a pretty small portion, and the tomato sauce was okay but nothing special. It would have been better with some veggies and bread on the side. My husband had the whole fish of the day (sea bream, in a ginger black bean sauce) for $ 24, with baby bok choy. The sauce was very good, but didn’t permeate the fish, which tasted good but was not outstanding. He felt it should have had rice on the side. The dessert, churros with dark chocolate, was pretty good, as was the eggplant caviar appetizer. Perhaps we should have ordered more food, because we left feeling a bit hungry.

Came here for my friends birthday with a table of 9 in an empty restaurant. The first person to come to our table gave us water and we asked to place an order for drinks while we waited for the rest of our party. More people arrived, they came and filled up more glasses of water. We asked again and they finally took our order. After putting in our drink order, the server came back to our table to tell us that we had to be patient because the bartender broke her elbow. That is fine but if you had taken our drink order the first time we asked we wouldn’t still be waiting. We were at the restaurant for a total of 3 hours and I think the server spent a total of 5 minutes at our table. A manager spent her entire time on the first level with everyone seated upstairs. The food didn’t make up for the lack of service either. Nothing blew me away and I will not return.

I knew nothing about this restaurant… no time to Unilocal,1 hour prior to Philly Pops. walked in, lucky to be seated immediately on a Friday evening. Excellent, attentive service with smiles. Very good food… well prepared, tasty, pretty presentations. Will return… definitely recommend.

The night was like no other I have ever had, great food the chef came to our table and after a short conversation he told us to put away the menus and to let him surprise us.
If you ever have a chance take it!

Went to Fine Palate last night and was very positively impressed by this fine establishment. It opened less than a month ago and I guess not many people know about it yet.
We were a group of 10 people and this place is great for sharing food in groups. Their headliner dish is a giant board of ribeye steak that serves 3 people. We also had a perfectly done octopus, a fantastic whole chicken dish and a bunch of other smaller appetizers that were all very good. The service was fantastic. Let’s not forget that the servers had Halloween costumes, which deserves an extra Unilocal star in my book. With a lot of food and wine flowing all night, the damage came to about $ 60 per person (including tax and tip). That’s a good value for this high level of quality and quantity.
Keep up the good work, guys. Well done.

First visit to Fine Palate.
Food was excellent all ’round. Staff and management most friendly. I wanted something off-​menu – believe it or not, I wanted the chef to include scrapple in a more elegant mean – and he prepared a tasty breakfast variation
We’ll come back – with friends.

Just wanted to give a nod to some lovely customer service received today. An above and beyond moment that will surely bring me back when I have more time to sample the foods tempting me on the menu.

Fine dining with reasonable prices. It has a great atmosphere with awesome customer service. The food was delicious as well! The chicken was very moist

I really wanted to like this place but I think I should’ve waited a couple more weeks for them to work out the kinks.
The service although well intentioned still needs to be polished. Everyone was super friendly and enthusiastic about the place it just didn’t carry over to the service.
The food itself was ok.
The best thing about the menu was the 8 dollar wines by the glass and 35 dollar bottles of wine. Im not sure how long that will continue but it was nice to have that option.

Fine Palate is a breath of fresh air in what can feel like an otherwise-​stale Center City dining scene (I prefer Fishtown and E. Passyunk) Great prices, good food, good ambiance and great service. The wine selection is good too, and surprisingly enough, there’s a wonderful Serbian wine.
We really like the mix of casual and fine dining and went for the green salad, steak tartare and roasted hen. The chicken was really delicious and the green salad was not your typical green salad, but tangy, crisp pickled vegetables made in-​house.
The chef came out after our meal and it is clear that he is passionate about food and local sourcing is important to him. It’s interesting though, that the focus of the restaurant is not to showcase the chef’s own artistry, but to reflect societal trends and specific customer food preferences.
Come here for dinner or snack-​like outing. Either way– you won’t be disappointed.