On a mobile device? Try our mobile site, optimized for faster browsing.
Mon-Thu. 7:00 a.m. - 12:00 a.m.
Fri. 7:00 a.m. - 5:00 a.m.
Sat. 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 a.m.
Sun. 8:00 a.m. - 11:00 p.m.
Loading...
Stumbled into here after a night of drinking with about 8 people for a late night breakfast around 2am.
I ordered blueberry pancakes and bacon...the pancakes were absolutely delish, tons of blueberries and the batter actually had a flavor to it unlike most pancakes. I'd been having cravings for them lately and these hit the spot. I also tried a bite of an omelet with chorizo and that was really yummy too. The bill was surprisingly not too bad for 8 hungry drunks and the owner or manager was super friendly.
We've been eating at Darling's about 2-4 times per month since they opened. Harry, the man with the cheesecake plan, has been nothing but nice to us since day 1. He's constantly asking us how to make Darling's better and you can tell when you talk to him that he's completely genuine.
I've mostly been getting food from Darling's delivered over the last 6 weeks or so, but I did stop in last night with a friend. Eddy was our server - easy going guy, very happy to help us. Our food came out quickly and was nothing short of delicious. Most importantly, my favorite baked mac and cheese has returned to greatness after a short departure into mediocrity. Hooray!
This visit was nothing extraordinary compared to previous good ones. However, it left me feeling like Darling's could finally deliver the one thing we never saw here before - consistency. The service, the speed, the taste of food, all have been on or above par for a good while now.
May be worth a second chance for any of you who abandoned hope back in the summer.
Good Dinner in northern libs. Nothing special about the menu. Nice and Clean on the inside. Bright orange booths made my breakfast relaxing and enjoyable.
Good spot for a cheap breakfast. I got 2 eggs over light with home fries and coffee. Everything was good.
Darling's, you've done it! You've gone from a sacrifice bunt to a triple!
It's been about 4 months since my first review (where I was actually the very first to comment about Darling's) and I need to reverse everything I've said. That makes me so happy!
I strolled on over to the Piazza around 3am, the perfect time for diner food of course, and saw that the place was packed. I was moderately excited. Maybe I'm in for something good tonight compared to my first time around. I sat myself down at the counter and was immediately tended to by the very cheerful and courteous Bethany. She's apparently the hostess with the mostess and also took my drink and late night snack order. After an extensive night of sitting at the bar, I wanted something simple and filling so I merely went with some chicken fingers. To cut to the chase, they were only a bit better than average but absolutely perfect for a diner.
What was far more impressive, and the reason for me practically running home to write this review, was the staff and the action at Darling's at 3am on a Friday night. With roughly 30 people seated at the booths, the staff was impressively scurrying about like bees or ants or some other insect that works like clock work in conjunction with each other. A well oiled machine is what Darling's was tonight. No more than 10 seconds would elapse before another runner / waiter would pummel through the kitchen doors carrying 2, 3, 4, 5 dinners for some very hungry diners. Although I didn't get to taste any of them, those plates looked delicious.
I still say Darling's is slightly overprice but with their location and attentive and eager staff behind the meals I feel it's worth it. Wow, I NEVER thought I would say that! The staff looks like they belong there and somehow that makes a huge difference. The menu has been completely revised and reflects more of the diner feel that I've always thought they should be working towards. They needed to stress the basic comfort foods and save the fancy stuff for a single page of it's own, just like all the other diners around. I grew up in central Jersey so I know some pretty awesome diners. Darling's is no Golden Dawn III but, maybe after another visit where I get to feast on a full on dinner or breakfast, I may have to rethink some things.
To quote myself, "I may go back in a month or two. For now, you earned yourself a star Darling's. Keep this up and a five starer isn't out of the question." I'm a man of my word so five stars it is! :-) Don't screw up when I come back next week.
Looks like Darling's has been paying attention. That's really good to hear. In fact, there's a… Read more »
I've been to Darlings a few times- breakfast, lunch, dinner, and dessert. Each visit was a little mixed, but I'll start in chronological order.
Breakfast was a Sunday morning before my bridal shower and the restaurant was packed! Well, the food was quite tasty (I'm pretty sure we all inhaled it), but I will say the service was slower than slow. Our waitress seemed flakey, and I even got up and got myself utensils after I already asked her for them. Paying was even more of an issue, and we ended up all standing up around our table to get her to expedite running our cards.
Our lunch experience at Darlings was great. Food was delicious (Veggie wrap), and the service was quick. I also got to try the cheesecake and it was divine!
Our dinner visit was probably the worse to date in terms of service. We sat outside to escape the blast of air-conditioning, but we only went unnoticed. We waited nearly 45 minutes for our food- TWO SALADS, and we actually advised others who sat down to go elsewhere! The salads were fresh and nicely dressed, but the service was less than spectacular.
My dessert experiences we overall good at Darlings...cheesecake is totally worth it. Pass on the brownie a-la mode.
I would love to give Darling's 4 stars, but the service just kills it for me. Go during off-peak hours, and you should be ok ;)
Waited 30 minutes to get our bland sandwich. In that time I noticed how dirty the place was. The sandwich was over $10. Service was crappy. Place is dirty. Enough ?
This place is awful. While trying to be edgy, they fell off the edge. The first time I went it was 3:30 in the morning and even after a few drinks I didn't enjoy it. I wasn't exactly in the right state of mind at 3:30am so I thought I'd give it another chance at a decent hour and wow the food is terrible. Their ingredients are not fresh and everything taste processed. i.e. the syrup taste like Aunt Jemimah, their turkey sausage was the grossest stuff I have ever tasted, and their salmon tasted like it was left at the bottom of the sink for a week and then served on top of a shitty bagel.
Save yourself some time and money and go to Honey's Sit and Eat for Breakfast. The prices are the same and the food is way, way better.
The only redeeming factor is that it is open late. So between the hours of 2 am and 5 am I give Darling's five stars. Theoretically this places gets both a 5 and 1 star rating.
All you need at 3 in the morning after dancing and drinking for hours is creamed chipped beef and a santa fe omelet. If my blurry vision didn't deceive me, I'm pretty sure the sign said this place is open until 5am. Nolibs has been starved for a clean, late night diner option...not to mention it's within stumbling distance of your last call location.
The lights were a little too bright though...
I realize that 5 stars may seem high - as it's really more of a 3-4 star place but our experience for dessert tonight was way above and beyond our expectations.
After a fairly LOUSY meal at El Camino across the way, we came over just to check out this new "retro-style" diner. As we could not see any signage we came in and chatted a long while with the adorable, friendly hostess who said that this is "Darling's".
"Darling's"? I asked. As in the 20th street and the the other little tiny cute cheesecake makin' Darling's?
Yup.
Wow. I am blown away - this looks NOTHING like the other two Darlings. The place is huge. And immaculately clean. And Airy And fabulous. And the cheesecakes and slammin' Mac 'n cheese are on the menu. (Con't miss the Bananas Foster Cheesecake.)
And I got quite a caffeine buzz from my STRONG and tasty iced latte.
Went well with the chocolate chip muffin style pound cake. (Try heating it up, guys!) Yum!
To top it off the Owner came out to chat for a bit and was so kind to us.
Can't wait to come hear with my kid! She will love it.
I wish them all the best and hope they make it. There are some pretty bad reviews on here - but to me this place whipped the pants off of El Camino. (Service wise - can't comment on the food - but the desserts at Darling's are really AWE inspiring.)
Go to Darling's!!!!! Any one of them.
I think I've started a review like this many times before, but here it goes again:
I don't know why this place is getting such bad reviews. I think I had the most delicious pierogis I've ever had, and a delightful turkey dinner. I don't mean to be rude either, but also a bangin' waitress to boot. If I were a male, I would be more than pleased with my environment. In reality, I am a woman so I was more smitten with the kitchey decor.
On a serious note, I'm pretty sure the prices have been lowered from when they first opened, so give it another chance. My boyfriend and I dined 2 entrees and an appetizer for $30.
I thoroughly enjoyed my experience at Darling's. I didn't have any troubles as others have mentioned and had excellent service. Perhaps I came on a good day?
Although early Saturday mornings are usually busy for breakfast, there were plenty of open tables which would lead me to believe that there were certainly problems before my visit.
I ordered a mushroom and cheese omelet, side of turkey bacon, with home fries and toast, my husband, the veggie omelet which was packed with veggies, home fries, toast, and side of chorizo. Two Iced Coffees, all came to $21. Not too bad for breakfast in my opinion. I've gone to other places where I've paid more and had terrible service and horrifying food. So I'd definitely try this place out again.
Darling's is the first place I've tried over in the Piazza. I went here this past weekend for lunch to check out the new construction... yea, i'm a little slow on that one. Anyway, Darlings was a really cool looking mid-century modern diner... I really liked the interior, and it sets the vibe just about perfectly. You can tell they spent some time on the details... everything from the upholstery of the booths to the vintage cafeteria floor. Very nice touches.
Anyway, it's too bad it wasn't a furniture store, because as a restaurant it was just kind of ok. I had the turkey sandwich w/ the russian dressing and cole slaw... it tasted ok, but the turkey was dry and the fries were limp. Since i'm addicted to macaroni and cheese, I had to see how their version was... It was not really up to par with most of the other pubs in philly that have the staple soul food. It was missing something... and the breadcrumbs had this strange neon orange color that didn't really look that appetizing to me.
I can tell they're still working out the kinks - the manager came over to check on us and was really interested to hear what we had to say. I think this place has potential, I hope they figure things out.
A waste of taste buds. I'm sober with no hangover looking for a place to get good brunch. Next time I want salmon from a can, a 1/2 cup cream cheese on a not toasted bagel, I'll go to Darling's. Black listed!
A nice diner with decent prices. I went there expecting to pay a little higher for food because it was new and in a up and coming area, but was very surprised with the bill.
The burgers are amazing. Cooked to order, they are lightly seasoned and topped with fresh veggies. Safe to say one of the better burgers I have had in a while.
My only complaint is the menu isn't very big. There is not a whole lot to choose from, but the food that is on the menu is very good.
Let's all admit, Darling's had a rough start. Come on, kids, not all of us knew how to share our toys on the first day of Kindergarten! But we learned the beauty of getting along with others and eventually it didn't matter that Heather wanted to play with our Crimp and Curl Cabbage Patch Doll.
Darling's is a little different from most for-realz diners in the city. It's vibe is a little closer to Continental, but minus the part with the pretentious menu and snooty service. In fact, the servers have always been friendly whether I'm coming in for a Tuesday night dinner, or I'm there after last call drunkenly ordering a BLT. The menu at Darling's has the usual diner fare; a bunch of omeletts, sandwiches, and salads, none of which are revolutionary but more comfortingly familiar. Plus, they get a lot of points for having fabulous fries.
Darling's is nice to have around in NoLibs where you often end up paying $13 for a passable cheeseburger (I'm looking at you, Swift Half). The food is relatively cheap and having a place that's open until 5am on weekends definitely fills a void in the neighborhood.
Oh, and disregard the complaints about no free refills. I was there last night and my date enjoyed THREE refills on his soda, entirely free of charge.
Prices: 4/5
Aside from the Cheesecake which, despite the menu calling 'Famous,' was unimpressive and dry, this place seems to have relatively honest prices. Especially considering this is in No.Libs!
Food: 3/5
Seemed like typical diner fare, but at least you know it's clean... and you're getting what you pay for.
Service: 2/5
The Hostess was very nice to me, and I watched the owner defuse a potentially hairy situation with grace and respect for the customer... which is why this grade is 2 stars, not 1. The server rushed me, and didn't bother to come over and check on me once while I was eating.
Overall it just seemed like a diner with better decor. It's closeby and cheap, so I'll be back to try breakfast... without a doubt. Seems like the place has potential, so maybe it will be better by then.
This place has potential, it really does. It has a sleek modern-yet-retro diner vibe, and the outside tables are prime for people watching in the Piazza. Solid diner breakfast and lunch menu, and not too pricey (~$7 omelets). But like some other reviewers, I had a bad experience. Where to start? The extremely slow service, wrong food order, lack of attention, and adequate-at-best food made for an unpleasant brunch.
It was fairly crowded when we came, but we were seated right away at an outside table. That was the only that happened quickly. No one came over to us for at least 15 minutes, when my friend got frustrated and had to find someone to take our drink order. The hostess hustled over and took our order. It's never a good sign when the hostess is taking your order with a crayola marker in her doodle notebook. Maybe 15 minutes later, no drinks had arrived and we still didn't know who our server was. Cmon, I'm hungover here, I just want some water. My friend had to go find someone to bring us our drinks too. So recap: we've been there for half an hour, finally got drinks, and had to go inside and ask for everything so far. Another bad omen was that the tables near us hadn't gotten their food yet and were clearly annoyed that they'd be waiting so long.
FINALLY our food came out. And guess what? My order was wrong. There's a shocker. My egg white omelet w/o cheese was looking very yellow and cheesy. I sent it back b/c I'd already been waiting forever, and figured I might as well continue my fast. Plus I'm sure they already hated us, so what's a little more spit in my food. Our waitress, when she did grace us with her presence, was friendly and apologetic enough, but that didn't really help the situation. "Sorry" doesn't put eggs in my belly.
A while later (seemed like half the day had gone by at this point), my food finally came out. You'd think anything at this point would taste delicious, but nope. The egg white veggie omelet was just a greasy egg circle folded over chopped up peppers, onions, and a couple mushrooms. Edible, but not good. The hash browns were fine, but nothing special. We also had to get our own salt shakers and borrow the ketchup off our neighbors' table. Anytime we needed more water or coffee, we had to ask someone for it. I think a different server came over each time after we requested something, and of course didn't even know what table they bringing it to. The whole thing was a cluster f***.
I hate being a bitchy customer, and I understand when diners get overwhelmed, but there's a limit to my tolerance. It was considerably less crowded later (nearly 3pm) but they didn't seem to be catching up. And it was also the inattention that really bugged me. No one bothered to say "someone will be right with you" or "I'll be right back to bring you more water". We just felt forgotten out there. And the food wasn't even good!
I may come back and give it another shot, but Darling's needs to get their act together and continue to step up their game. I see now that they've made some improvements since they opened, but if this was the "improved" Darling's, I'm glad I didn't come here earlier! Still seems like they have a lot of kinks to work out.
Darlings is a cute little diner in Northern Liberties. It's nice and bright with friendly staff. The owner came to chat with us for a bit, which was cool. My waitress was very friendly and professional. Also, my pancakes were nice and fluffy, and my ham was very good, not processed like I sometimes get at other restaurants. You can't beat the low prices at Darlings.
My friend and I were really impressed with this place and we will definitely come back. I think the past reviews are really harsh - it's new and I think it's really nice!
I took my niece on what should have been a short bike ride to Sulimays for breakfast, closed - thank you I never really had a good meal here anyway. Riding down Girard avenue to Acropolis, after pondering how greasy their food was the last time I decided to ride over to the diner @ the piazza.
My niece liked the place, I like the decor as well. Although I ordered the western omelet, I received the vegetarian one & I am glad I did. The fresh tomatoes made the meal.
It was a bit pricey for two $18.00 + tip. It will not be a regular breakfast spot. But I am sure to treat another family member in the future.
Went to Darlings last Sunday. Was prepared for a 'rough' experience as I've heard they opened before they were completely ready..and still smoothing some kinks out. Not to mention, the less-than-positive reviews here on Yelp.
The menu is diverse, and a tease of what it 'can' be. There are the diner-classics (eggs with breakfast meats, etc). They also have a decent lunch menu. The turkey club was outstanding (with avocado, on toasted multgrain bread, etc).
Coffee was superb (La Colombe, so hard to miss on that).
Service was adequate. Ambiance is a clean, stainless-steel 50s motif. NOT the classic diner you're used to. Goto Penrose or Mayfair diners if you're after that.
This place has LOTS of potential at the head of the new Piazza. I would increase the offering of eclectic, diverse, wholesome food choices. Stay away from the diner-cookie-cutter-menu experience. Whole grain breads, frittatas, daily specials..outside-the-box diversity & quality will keep em coming.
Can't wait to go back!
With the exception of the friendly owner, this place is just average. Possibly even below average. I was considerably intoxicated while dining here (hey, it was a post-booze diner food binge) so I might not remember a whole lot. I sort of have visions of a clean bathroom but, you know, I could be imagining that, too.
The menu was very limited but it included the basic diner fare (eggs, blah blah, eggs, etc.) so I figured we'd survive. My eggs were okay, not too runny, not over done. My boyfriend said his omelet was just okay, too. I can't even remember what my other friend ate (again, blame tequila). Our server was friendly enough but the place was kind of empty and it just didn't have the authentic diner vibe for which they attempt to be going. Meh, I don't know. Something seemed off, like this place was trying a little too hard. But yet, not enough.
I probably won't come back here, mainly because I could simply go to a real diner and eat the same quality stuff for slightly less money.
This review was kind of weak, I know, but I guess that sums up how I felt about this place altogether. Ah well, better luck next time.
So let's say you're already at the Piazza, where should you eat? I say, Darling's! Driving the City over, I might not pick it, but if I'm already in the neighborhood or it's after 11 PM, this place is beautiful - new - and the service is spectacular, at least when I came through.
I also like the owner guy. And price, we (husband and I) ordered the chopp salad, mozzarella and tomato sandwich, coffee, and a bananas foster cheesecake slice for $42 including tip and tax. All the food was excellent - the salad was huge! and the mozzarella and bread was great quality.
I've been to the 20th street location just for cheesecake - so maybe I have tried 5 of their cakes - and by far, you need to order the original or the bananas foster. Pumpkin is good, too. I think it's my fav dessert in Philadelphia.
What I especially love about this place (besides the beautiful decor) is that you can go there practically any time of day for any kind of meal and get it. Where else is good for all of the above - breakfast, lunch, dinner, late, dessert, groups and kids?
I went darlings a week ago, I needed some french toast on the late night. They (french toast) were soo good. I also got a side of bacon , it was also great! Today I went for breakfast(early) I ordered eggs over easy, they 3/4 still raw...ewww. And my bacon that was so good last time at 9pm was microwaved at 10am. I will give it two more chances because it's close to my house..And I have to try the cheesecake.
I hope to be able to update this review in the future and add more stars, because I love the Darling's in Center City, and I really want to see this location succeed. Sadly, they're going to need some radical change for this to happen.
Service: Our waitress was the only professional in the place. It took about 45 minutes for the kitchen to finish our lunches, despite the place being only 1/3 full. Food was delivered by Corey & Trevor (anyone watch Trailer Park Boys?)... um, basically, two confused slacker potheads who didn't know which meal went to which table.
Dumb rules: They stop serving breakfast at 1 (or was it 11?), even on weekends. Breakfast is the best part of the menu. We arrived five minutes late. So everyone (especially the vegetarians in the group) lost most of their preferred meal options.
Menu: The lunch menu is D-U-L-L. We all spent 10 minutes flipping it over, reading both sides, and sighing "I don't know what I want," and debating whether we should go somewhere else. Vege options were pretty weak, consisting primarily of the dreaded wrap sandwich. NOBODY likes a wrap sandwich. It's a soggy, tasteless, token gesture. We'd rather have a vege burger. Also, the remaining good option - mac & cheese - was not available.
Food: The food was decent, especially the salads. If only there were better choices...
Food was good. Service was friendly. Cheesecake was amazing. Bonus: they're open until 5AM which for some reason is rare in this city.
Went to Darlings late-night a few weeks ago. It's exactly what the doctor ordered when the bars close - great dessert & fried foods. After some mozz. sticks, key lime pie and a couple of broken glasses, I was ready to call it a night.
Visited Darling's on Saturday looking for a new brunch place with outdoor seating. Darling's didn't… Read more »
I went to Darling's on a recommendation, and after reading the Yelp reviews prepared myself for the worst.
OK, it's a "diner." It fits the stereotype of stools and booths and shiny surfaces. But it lacks ginormous layer cakes and mystery pies in a lit up, spinning case, a waitress who can balance ten plates while refilling your coffee, and cooks who understand the meaning of the words "short order." Hate on Jersey all you want, but Jersey knows how diners are supposed to be and that is a fact.
That all being said, I would say rate my dining experience as "pretty good." Our food took longer than it should have, especially considering how empty it was inside, but our server checked up on us a couple of times to let us know it was coming.
My breakfast was simple: scrambled eggs, bacon, home fries. Everything was cooked perfectly and the home fries were seasoned. I ordered a cinnamon bun and got a cinnamon danish/croissant hybrid. I was expecting something thick and gooey and smothered in icing, but it was still delicious and was even warmed up for me. My girlfriend and I got breakfast and coffee and spent $20 in total.
All in all, I wasn't left feeling so beside myself that I'll make special trips for it, but I would definitely go back.
Meh. That's how I feel about Darling's. I will admit I meant to go eat at Swallow until I realized they were totally closed for good so this might not be super fair but whatever.
I just got back and it kind of sucked for me so I thought I'd write about it while it was fresh on my mind. My husband liked it much more but he got a grilled cheese and milkshake and it is reallllly hard to eff those up so he was fine.
I ordered the veggie mozzarella sandwich that is supposed to come with pesto, sprouts, arugula, fresh mozzarella and as the menu says "avocaldo or maybe it was avolcado". Oh how I hate when menus have misspellings. Anyway after asking twice for water we ordered and our food came out pretty quickly. My avocado was maybe three or four days off from actually being ripe. We complained right away but our waitress took that as an oh that's too bad moment instead of actually doing something about the second most expensive item in my sandwich that cost $8.95. Thanks! She even told us later that the chef thought they'd be fine since they were sitting in the kitchen for days, uh, really? I'm no chef but I sure as hell can tell if an avocado is even remotely ripe without so much as cutting into it. Anyway so I removed it and ate my sandwich and it was just ok. I am a sandwich aficionado and I make a damn good one so if you have the nerve to charge me $9 for one you better make damn sure it's good or at least fresh. We got a few check-ins with little heart in them. Servers please refill waters, please. I don't really drink anything besides water, I'm not being cheap, I just really, really like it.
I figured I'd save my experience by getting the one thing Darling's is known for and boxed 1/2 my sandwich to order a slice of white chocolate raspberry cheesecake. It was pretty much awful and just tasted synthetic with an odd texture. It reminded me of one of those jell-o no bake desserts. I left half of it on my plate and did not get a box. For $5.95 it was a skimpy piece but that's okay I didn't want more than a few forkfuls once I figured out it was gross. The aftertaste is still with me. I'll pretty much avoid Darling's at all costs now. If you're going for a grilled cheese and milkshake you'll be fine but otherwise skip it and go to a real diner, you'll get exactly what you expect and it will probably be loads better, and probably cheaper.
Personally, as a born and bred Philadelphian, I have always been annoyed that Philly doesn't have that many great diners. When I heard that Darling's was opening, even though I had never been to their two shops downtown, I was very excited. I've been there twice now and oi. The food is bland and not really all that appetizing, not to mention overpriced. I ordered the sante fe omelet and i don't know how you can make something with onions and chorizo tasteless and boring (does anyone even like folded over omelets?). The homefries, which were a few shades thicker than potato chips, were very good, as was the side of hummus. My mom ordered an omelet too (wasn't thrilled) and my sister ordered the grilled cheese (asked for wheat bread, was given white, but the cook said he would redo it if she wanted). And both of our servers here were slow, but they were obviously new.
On my second visit, I ordered the pierogies and the veggie wrap. The pierogies were fine, the sauce was good, but the veggie wrap. ok. In this day and age, anything wholewheat should not look or taste like cardboard. The wrap was horrible, dry, stiff and just bad. At least they were generous with teh avocado, but it needed more than that to spruce up the wrap. My friends ordered the open-faced pulled-pork sammie, described as a big portion, which was basically half a sandwich's worth of bland meat. Another ordered the lamb gyro that was apparently very good, but none of the usual toppings came on it (just lamb in a pita, with a small salad on the side) and it was $13. WAY too expensive for what it was. The fourth friend ordered a reuben and he seemed satisfied, but it was way too small for its price tag again (as was the pulled pork half-sammie). I don't like to come down this heavily on a place, but I figured that since they were new, Darling's needs to hear criticism so they sort out their issues and make a bid for a long tenure at the egg. I would immediately recommend a rethinking of their price structure and a taste test by a few diner afficionados (or even people who will tell them the truth since someone obviously said that their food is fine). I fully intend on going back as long as I hear that the food has gotten better. If not, no way.
This place kinda dupes you into thinking it's going to be like a diner but then charges you $12 for a salad. However, said salad was delicious, as was the slice of cheesecake afterwards. Amanda is right, though, the coffee is mediocre.
Darling's is fun. Went with Maren M. on Sunday- no wait! Always a plus on Sundays. We also got to sit outside which is great- I'm tan now!! woohooo~! So my main thought while looking at the menu is great! cheap! We order. The iced coffee is horrible. Really bad. It must have been decaf or something. Darling's, if you read these- please fix your coffee!! It's gross! I also ordered the Santa Fe omelet, and that was gross too. There is supposed to be chorizo in there, but the chopped up meat (ish) was like eating canned sloppy joes. The potatoes and toast were fine. I really wouldn't go here for the food (or coffee); however, it's really, really cheap and you get to sit outside at the Piazza with no wait on a Sunday. I will try this place again- except next time I'll get my coffee before I go and order a sandwich or something.
Every time I walk by the Piazza at Schmidt's, I point at Darling's and say "I will never eat there." And then my boyfriend and I usually talk about how unacceptable our attempt at brunch on Memorial Day was.
I think several other reviewers have brought up Memorial Day weekend, but I still can't get over it. A group of four of us arrived at Darling's at prime brunch-eating time. There were maybe eight to ten people seated in the restaurant and it was absolutely dead. We walked in and were told that the kitchen was "backed up" and no one in the restaurant had any idea how long it would be. Their excuse was that they had just opened and weren't expecting anyone. I sympathize with a new business, but to not anticipate anyone coming to a restaurant on the one Monday just about everyone in the city has off is just outrageous. One member of our party, a chef, said "Let me get back there, I'll make my own food." This was a joke, but he probably could have turned out meals for everyone in the place a lot faster. As we were laughing about chancing sitting down, two men got up from a booth by the door and told us we should leave - they had been sitting there for well over an hour and had not seen a crumb! OVER AN HOUR.
I will never eat here. Every time I walk by it is dead. It is reportedly over priced. And, anyway, even if the service wasn't notoriously slow, why would I want to eat yuppified diner food when authentic, inexpensive, fast diner food is available all over the metro area.
I give "Darling's" a higher rating than "PYT" (Which I've lovingly dubbed Poop on Your Tounge.) because the service was impeccable (Patrick was the best waiter I've had in AGES) and it was modestly priced for what it is. It IS a "diner" in NoLibs. The food was nicely prepared and, like I've already stated, modestly priced. I had the veggie wrap which was delish, my 3yo had the mac -n- cheese which she loved, and my 7yo and my beautiful girl friend split the angus burger. Patrick recommended the cheese cake to us which was......so-so. But I've had ALOT worse!!! All in all I will def be going back to "Darling's".
I'm surprised Darling's has such a low review. I've only eaten there once but my experience was great. I went with three other people, all of whom were huge fans of the diner. I ordered one of the day's specials, apricot chicken with mashed potatoes and asparagus, and everything was delicious. Potatoes were light and not too creamy or tough, asparagus was perfect, and the sauce on the chicken was sweet and amazing. We all had different types of cheesecake to take home and they were all really, really good. Service was awesome but the place was pretty empty.
I came here for breakfast last Sunday with a co-worker since we were working an event at the Piazza. I used the bathroom here a few weeks ago when ?uestlove was DJ'ing and noticed how cute the place was and how good the food looked, so when we got hungry I immediately suggested we go here. The place wasn't packed but we decided to sit at the counter since we couldn't really dilly-dally. Service was very attentive and multiple waiters came often to refill our cups of coffee and waters and ask if we needed anything. They were also very friendly and suggested what was good on the menu. I ordered blueberry and banana pancakes with a side of bacon. I love when places give you a few strips of bacon and Darling's gave me like five. Very much appreciated. And the pancakes! They were HUGE! I could only eat one of the three and gave the rest to my friend. He ordered a chocolate chip waffle and scarfed it down in minutes. It looked delicious. When we got the bill, I was very pleased to see that it was pretty cheap, as breakfast should be.
I will definitely come back to try out the lunch menu.
Oh! And this place is famous for their cheesecake. They had a wonderful looking display case of all the different varieties.
ok, so i gave this place a second chance, because i heard they were trying to improve the notoriously bad service. and as far as i can tell, they have! the staff was friendly and attentive. however, the food wasnt anything worth remembering and my sisters hummus wrap didnt have any hummus. ( i would have complained 4 her but she didnt tell me til later ) the cheese cake was good and we left pretty satisfied. so my general thoughts are - i would go here again - but only if im sick of the other great restaurants that surround it.
i went in here for breakfast on sunday. i was seated but waited for 20 min for service. finally i… Read more »
Apparently the owners are more concerned with looking like a fabulous restaurant than in BEING a fabulous restaurant. The service is inattentive at best. We waited about 15 minutes just to have muffins delivered to the table! Mind you the place was practically empty of customers.... I have no idea what the staff were busy doing. There were at least as many staff as customers. There seems to be a distinct lack of focus and training. Do they even HAVE a floor manager for the dining room?
Our breakfasts arrived in random pieces...eggs & home fries missing toast, bacon missing eggs and home fries. I don't think any of the 5 breakfasts arrived in a complete state. Most of the food was pedestrian and not quite hot enough, suggesting that while we sat waiting, our food sat cooling.
With so many other options for weekend brunch, Darlings is going to struggle if they don't get it together and SOON.
A beautifully done room, inattentive service, less than mediocre diner food. Soup came out lukewarm, sandwich was soggy, waiter was totally clueless and had to be prompted to bring out napkins, get us drinks etc... I dion't see this place making it even though its one of the only reasonably priced place in the area.
Went there last friday for dinner. I thought the service and the food were great - no problems there. We had the calamari fries, california club, and the cajun burger. Everything was very flavorful and the portions were pretty sizeable.
My problem with Darling's is as others have said - THERE ARE NO FREE REFILLS ON SODA!! That is ridiculous!! I have not been to a diner or restaurant in YEARS that hasn't had free refills. Nothing was mentioned either by the waitress as she kept refilling our drinks. I definitely was shocked when we got the bill and saw almost 10 dollars in charges for soda. I've also read that they charge per cup of coffee too at breakfast. That is just absolutely absurd.
I see that there maybe some flaws here at Darling Diner, especially after reading the past reviews, but I enjoyed my experience. This was the first time in a long time i went to a new place and didn't pull up the reviews on yelp first. Amanda D. and I went looking for brunch, and didn't have enough cash on us for honeys (since it's cash only), and were looking for something cheap where we could sit outside.
We took a chance on Darlings and we were both pleased.
We were immediately seated outside, a band was playing, we got to watch everyone roam around the piazza (a strange mix of tourists, hipsters, babies, and residents), and work on our tans.
I ordered 2 eggs scrambled with cheese, homefries, and the fruit plate (which was pretty great, blueberries, bananas, strawberries, cantaloupe, pineapple... and delicious for 2.50), and amanda got an omelette. For my 3 things and a drink i paid about 14 bucks including tip.
It was really relaxing and the food was good, nothing outstanding, but perfect for a cheaper brunch. I would recommend it, but I don't want too many people there taking up the outside seating, but oh well.... I'll just have to fight some bitches for a table if it gets to it when I go next week.
Amanda did not like her iced coffee though, so skip that.
And my roomie was at honeys a few blocks away and waited over an hour to just get seated. I LOVE honeys, but sometimes i just want cheaper decent food with no wait time, and Darlings delivers on that.
A list of the best of Philadelphia, and there is a…
