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Categories: American (New), Seafood, Breakfast & Brunch [Edit]
Neighborhoods: Fairmount, Art Museum DistrictTue-Thu. 11:30 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.
Tue-Thu. 5:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m.
Fri. 11:30 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.
Fri. 5:00 p.m. - 11:00 p.m.
Sat. 11:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.
Sat. 5:00 p.m. - 11:00 p.m.
Sun. 11:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.
Sun. 4:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.
Don't Just Wish Someone A Good Holiday, Give Them One With Chili's.
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I've been to Water Works twice. Once for dinner, once for lunch. Both times I found most of the food to be very good and innovative, although during a Saturday lunch my beef was more done than I requested, but still the quality was very high. As good as appetizers and main dishes are, I would skip the desserts, they are too small and too plain, although the presentation is superb.
Hosts are always very helpful and provide not just the table that you request, but the best table available at the moment.
Drawbacks are in the servers. There is no feel of a single responsible server, there are swarms of people around, many doing similar things. This creates confusion and takes away from the leisurely feel.
Still this is one of the best places for a long lunch or dinner on the waterfront regardless of the weather. When it is hot, the fans circulate air under tent very well, and when it was raining very heavily our table was immediately moved from under tent onto open veranda not to sacrifice the open air feel.
Despite the fact that I was FREEEEEZING my butt off the entire time (the staff had to bring me table cloths to wrap myself in) I thought the meal was slightly above average. First of all, our reservations were for 8p and they did not seat us until 8:45pm when we threatened to storm off and go to Bookbinders. Nothing is more unprofessional than an establishment not honoring their reservation time.
The food was actually pretty good. I liked the grilled octopus but I've had better at Locanda in Washington, DC. As for the main meals they were tasty and portions were huge. We had to take some home.Desert was not memorable. Honestly... I do not remember what I had and I am a desert junkie.
Overall the dining experience was unique but the decor of this establishment didn't "pop". And seriously, bring a jacket. This place is a freezer.
Pretty good I must say.
Went for an early lunch and it was a little pricey buy worth it for the service and the view. I definitely stole the recipe for the sauteed watermelon salad.
Waterworks is a good place to go in the spring, summer and fall, while you can enjoy the atmosphere. Unfortunately, there food and service aren't good enough to keep my going in the winter. To be fair, I would not say that holds true for the bar. The bar staff was very friendly and knowledgeable about the menu. The bar food is tasty and priced OK.
The dining room/ out door seating is another story. I was surprised and agitated that there were so many staff members standing around. They were all literally staring at the patrons. It was very uncomfortable for my boyfriend and I. Perhaps they need some type of wait station to hide out in until there services are needed. The food is so so but I would say it is hit or miss. We have had good meals there but others have left us wanting more in the flavor department. I found the menu some what limited as well.
We went to Waterworks for a great dining experience, as a special occasion.
The view is spectacular, and thats about it.
The Kansas City strip was not, rather it was awful. The Onion soup was the meal highlight, only because the fried chees stick that it was served with.
My wife had sea bass that was ok, but clearly was nothing special.
Service was inconsistent and rushed us through the experience. For a $150 meal, found the 50 minute pace for a special night odd.
We eat out in the city 3 x month in the city, and other experiences such as Estia, La Familigia, Davios and Panaroma are great settings and culinary gems.
This dinner was forgetable and already looking to get back to the city for another great experience. If you want good seafood the redesigned Sansom street Oyster House is about half the price.
Too, check the dress code as we were dressed to dine, others were in jeans and sweats.
Very close, but not quite, a four-star. Five are quite a bit off, I think.
Management starts the experience off badly with a $10 valet, paid in advance, to park. I can understand that they might get freeloaders given the location, but there has GOT to be a better solution than that -- like validation for bills over $50 or $100 and pay afterwards if no validation?
A lot of hits and a few misses on the menu. Very tasty preparation of vegetables, although the "seared fruit" which so mystifying enticed on the turned out to have been lightly-grilled watermelon! Great, simple grills of fish, some delicious mezzes and pommes frites.
The patio dining room has a gorgeous river view, but definitely can get chilly by the dinner hour -- if you're not wearing a jacket, bring a sweater! Service could have been smoother, but wasn't distractingly bad.
Honestly I can think of no more pleasant place to be on a sunny May or June day than on the veranda of this restaurant It is worth going just to sit along the Schuylkill River with a view of the boat houses and crews rowing out. I'd suggest a Schuykilltini while doing so.
As for the food, well ya ain't there for the food. It's certainly not bad. But it isn't a "dining" experience either. And for what is served, a bit over-priced. But can you imagine what their rent must be?
I have been for brunch, lunch and dinner. All are acceptable, but nothing remarkable. Definitely go on a nice day or evening and call ahead for the veranda.
For this restaurant's price point the food is beyond mediocre. The waitstaff are extremely snotty, during our meal we were abandoned half way through for his assistant (who was much friendlier). The food was upscale hotel staples despite not being attached to a hotel. Salmon, duck, lobster.- all with typical preparations and without any wow. The best part about this place is the view. The restaurant overlooks the Schuylkill river and is beautifully lit at night. Considering the number of high quality restaurants in Philly I wouldn't waste my money on mediocre food and terrible service.
Sometime during the winter months I had made reservations and requested the table with the best view. When we arrived, we were shown to a table in the middle of the restaurant and it was hard to see the water since it had already turned dark by 7pm. So we requested a seat at one of the booths by the bar area, which seemed to be a bit closer to the windows and water view, though the view was not as spectacular from there either. I suspect it would be better during the summer months and I believe they also have outdoor seating during summer.
Service was friendly and unfortunately most of the dishes we ordered were OK but forgettable. The exception being the grilled octopus salad, which reminded me of the octopus I had at a geek restaurant in San Francisco - Kokkari.
The bar area seemed alive and hopping as many casually dressed people seemed to walk past our table. So the next time I plan to visit when the weather is a little warmer and grab a table outside.
I went last night with 3 friends. We all loved it!
We got a bottle of Rioja to start
Apps: We split Grilled Octopus--wonderful and A cheese (can not remember the name)--it was ok
Dinner-I got the Mushroom Rissoto, which was so good!
We all split a choc suffle dessert..so delicious
The ambiance was beautiful and the view of Boat House Row was fabulous....this is why I love the city!
I will be going back!
Water works is, in a word, unimpressive. I hadn't heard of the restaurant prior to the day of the meal, but after glancing through the menu online I became a bit excited. Being from the West Coast, and no stranger to haute cuisine, the modern American menu was cleverly designed and ranged in influence from French (pan-seared foie gras) to Indian (lemon mint yogurt, I believe, with lamb). In any event, it appeared to be creative.
We arrived at the restaurant, and I must admit, the delicate interior was charming in it's simplicity. Seated on the terrace, we had an excellent view of the river bank on which the restaurant was built. Unfortunately for me and my ever growing sense of appetitious anticipation this was the highlight of the evening.
Before I touch on the food, the service was excellent. Attentive, thorough, interested, courteous, friendly, and even excited; I felt as though they genuinely cared for my dining experience. For the wait staff and I give 4.5 stars.
A few members of my party had already arrived and the drinks choice had already been whittled down to two choices. This was lucky for me; the menu 'boasted' over 80 types of water. A casual diner may be wiled at the vast array of water, but as a student of business, the inner inventory manager within me was seething with disgust at the amount of wasted stock of such a daunting supply of water. Is there a person on this planet whose palette is so distinguished that he or she could discern between the subtlest of subtle differences in mineral concentrations between 80 types of water? I venture to presuppose no. The egregious oversupply of water (and subsequent ties of heavy inventory costs) must have no doubt contributed to the overpriced menu. With a name like "Water Works" it is a pity that the water did not work for me.
The wine list left room for desire. There were more choices for water than wine; which is interesting, because the menu space devoted to water vs. wine insinuated that a palette cleansing liquid was preferred. Little did I know the impending oral assault about to befall me, I found myself hopelessly trying to turn wine into water. Alas, I digress.
Upon glancing at the menu, it became apparent that the preferred method of food preparation for the chef was pan searing. It was curious to hear the term pan sear annexed to the beginning of so many entrees and appetizers; the chef clearly has a culinary crush with his pan cookware.
For starters, we have the Grilled Haloumi Cheese, Lobster Bisque, and Grilled Octopus. The Grilled Halloumi on a toasted, buttery crustini was quite tasty, but to be honest, somewhat boring. An application of an accompanied cilantro paste counterbalanced the plainness. Perhaps an introduction to the world of fromagian splendor cut short by few choices, but I enjoyed it nonetheless. The lobster bisque was poor. Given it's price, I expected the soup to be poured in front of me to retain it's heat and the creme fraiche to be dolloped generously at my command. When I saw the waiter approach with a full bowl, I was disappointed. The unwelcome skin of already cooled bisque sat upon the soup like the air of disappointment hovering over our table, biding it's time, waiting to crash from above and pierce our hopes as our main courses landed on our table.
As an entree I had the blackened seabass served with a tomato-saffron broth. The outer edges of the fish were so blackened that instead of a char coating it was an encasement of burnt fish, causing me to pick apart the blackened parts from the cooked flesh within. The fish was salty. Morton's would be proud; if it rains when it pours there must have been an invisible cloud perched over the dish. The tomato-saffron broth was a cruel joke; this tasted like Campbell's concentrated tomato juice (pre-addition of water). I didn't finish all of the fish, it was just too salty.
To summarize: inviting, unassuming ambiance; great wait staff; poor wine and food, and of course, seriously overpriced. Reminds me of everything in Phoenix, AZ (expect the Mexican food).
I recently went to Water Works with my parents and my girlfriend for my birthday. I selected it because the menu was American fare as opposed to the French or Asian Fusion places that I gravitate towards in center city, and I thought this seemed better suited toward my parents tastes. Water Works is situated in a beautiful building directly behind the Art Museum-- it also has a free 2 hour parking lot off of Kelly Drive. The main dining room is pretty nice and I would recommend dressing up a little bit, although suit and tie isn't necessary, it also wouldn't be out of place.
Overall, the food was strong although a little expensive. We split a crabcake appetizer and a grilled octopus appetizer. The grilled octopus was very strongly flavored and quite good; it was also a lot of food. The crab cakes were also above average, a lot of meat. There were also two crabcakes, so I'd guess the majority of appetizers are meant for two. I got the duck for my main course and it was cooked to a perfect medium. Not the best duck I've ever had, but better than most. The yam risotto it was served with was also quite good and complimented the duck nicely (not too sweet either). I think the best entree may be the pork though, it was served with baked apples and mashed potatoes. For dessert, I had an interesting cheesecake. Well, the cheesecake itself wasn't very interesting, it was good, but it was topped with a wad of green stringy cotton candy-like substance, I guess some sort of pulled sugar substance. This stuff wasn't particularly edible as it was quite chewy but at least it was amusing.
I think the two things that prevent me from giving this place 4 stars was the service and the water. The service wasn't rude or infrequent, our main waiter just seemed very disinterested and cold. The support staff was much friendlier. This might be more of a luck of the draw type of thing, but I expect a little more from a server at a place where I'm racking up a big bill. As for the water, a point which has been yelped about before; this just needs to go. Nobody in 2009 is going to be impressed by 80 types of overpriced bottled water. We played along and ordered a bottle of some Italian water and when we finished it off they offered us a choice between another bottle and tap. At least the tap comes with some bonus Fluoride in it. I guess I just find the concept of bottle water a little offensive in general considering what a needless environmental toll it takes in terms of production, bottling, and transportation ... but I'll get off my soapbox now.
Long story short (too late), the water works is a good place to try once for some sort of event dinner. I wouldn't add it to my regular rotation any time soon.
It is the location and the view that makes this restaurant what it is. Probably a place with subpar food could survive at this location (right on the river, behind the Art Museum, overlooking Boathouse Row)- but the bonus here is that the Water Works food is actually quite delicious.
If you can, get a seat outside, or in the windowed dining room. The floor-to-cieling glass allows a spectacular view of boathouse row and the river. It's kind of fun to realize that all those people you see on the Schuylkill are commuting, and you're not one of them. Drink champagne while thinking these thoughts if at all possible.
The biggest drawback here is the crowd. To be frank, they're old (ageism warning here). You can go to fancy, nice restaurants in the city where the crowds are young and more fun, and make you feel more comfortable, but this will not happen at the Water Works. Being in our late twenties, we were totally out of our element here.
Oh well, the rest of the experience made up for it.
If at all possible, have Richard as your waiter. He was the best waiter we had maybe ever in our lives.
This place is known for an award winning pastry chef, so don't fill up before dessert.
First of all, let me state for the record, I hate places that don't serve tap water - so you can imagine my dismay upon being confronted with a menu of 80 waters you can order... none of which are tap!!!
Water is an element. What's next? A menu of earth and air? "Waiter, would you recommend pairing of the Rocky Mountain Chinook trade wind and Georgia Clay with my Schuylkill River Still Water."
I had the Onion Soup which was decent because it came with a Gruyerre Churro (i.e. froo-froo Mozzarella Stick). For an entree I ordered the Black Bass - I recommend throwing that catch back into the river.
As for the fancy water, it tasted like... water. Shocking.
So I'm all hepped up to tell you all about the place I went to lunch today....and then I read the other reviews! Whoa! Critical Crowd!
Not being to one care if they have a water menu (they did actually serve us Philly tap all lunch long)....I found the food to be very good, the service amusing and the view one of the best in the city.
I had the Onion Soup...a bit sweet with undertones of beef but certainly nothing to complain about. And it do not come with a Gruyere Churro but a deep fried stick of mashed potatoes that was soo good I wish I'd had more than one on my plate.For an entree, I had the chicken panini. Lovely, creamy, with a not too overdone piece of succulent chicken. Just devine. And it came with a huge pile of French fries, hot and salty.
Perfect for me, since I planned on biking Kelly Drive to Conshohocken and was looking for the carbs. In all I'd say my only complaint was the coffee....awful. Reminded me of the river.
So, I went into Water Works expecting high priced salads and ended up with a yummy lunch that didn't cost too much or take too long.....figure it must be romantic at night!
My partner and I attended the "YMCA's Not So Black Tie" fundraising event here last night, and I have to admit I was pleasantly surprised at the quality of food and drink! It was self-serve buffet style, but included such great options as Pumpkin Ravioli with Apple Brandy Gage; Cranberry, Pine Nut, and Marscapone Risotto; gourmet hoagies; Kobe beef cheese steaks; grilled vegetables; and pork roast (only thing I didn't sample, but my partner loved it). The service was impeccable and the staff was very courteous! The views as the sun set over Fairmount Park were awe inspiring. The way the light played across the Schuylkill was beautiful... It made the water look like spun glass with ribbons of crimson, gold, blue, and purple streaming in harmony with the waterfall! It was very romantic, too!
I would give this place zero stars if possible. Yes, the location is amazing. However the service is horrible and the food is nothing special. I will NEVER return to this restaurant. I will NEVER recommend it.
I called to make reservations about 2-3 weeks in advance for brunch to celebrate a family event for 8 people. I requested to be seated outside and was told that would not be a problem. The day of our reservation, we were seated inside. I asked about outdoor seating and was told that it was taken due to graduation events and if I wanted to be seated outside, I would have been asked to make a deposit. Even worse was the way I was treated regarding this "mix up". Everyone was extremely condescending. The worst part -- not one table filled the entire time we ateand when we left the tables were still completely empty. Also, the food was cold and there was no interaction between the server and our table. In fact, one basic request (add onions) was met with a "I'm not sure we can do that, since it differs from what is on the menu."
I like the Waterworks - the river, the historical architectural, the romantic lighting...
But, the food could be a bit better. I've been here a few times for various meals and I've never been flat-out disappointed. I just haven't been wowed. My dad and I hosted a surprise 60th birthday party here for my mom this past September. The private party experience was by far better than the average dining experience. The staff were attentive, but not smothering and kept all the guests well stocked with mimosas and bloody marys throughout the morning. The brunch was a lavish spread that seemed to suit everyone's tastes. Overall, I think we got quite a bit for our money, considering the whole shindig was under $2,000. The event planner was especially wonderful. She was professional and receptive to our needs and wants for the event.
I think they could improve some of their culinary offerings, but otherwise, it's a fine place to bring the parents when they're in town. Bonus: free valet parking on Sundays for brunch.
My husband & I went here two years ago & had amazing service, an amazing meal & amazing drinks and therefore it was on my top 2 list of amazing restaurant meals ever. But it wasnt cheap & so when I received an email from them advertising their participation in Restaurant Week we made a reservation for Friday night right away. The place has a great dining room and altho not full, it was bustling. Things were great w/ our waiter until we ordered from the RW menu- he got annoyed looking & went MIA the rest of the night, leaving us waiting on our wine until after our entrees arrived & not clearing the table of a few appetizer dishes until dessert. Some tables had 2 waiters & we hardly had one. (Side note: both restaurants I went to this RW offer both RW & regular menus at the same time. They didnt use to do this & i dont like it! Also, WW is extending the $35 RW menu until the end of Feb according to their menu) It's not like we didnt order a ton of other things (wine, fancy imported water, cocktails) & were cheaping out on him... anyway. I had the Salad (super salty), mushroom risotto (very good), & for dessert a great chocolate mousse. I think the lesson learned is, dont annoy the waiter by ordering the restaurant week menu? Also, their website says "no jeans" but a few people were wearing them- which i think is too casual & looked out of place- so dont wear jeans if you go- be fancy!
This is a bit of a belated review as I was at Water Works over the summer (during those sad days before I was a Yelper). I happened upon a postcard this afternoon that I grabbed from the restaurant on my way out--it quickly brought back the flavorful memory.
My friend Mickey was in town for the day and we spent an afternoon at the Art Museum followed by a stroll through the gorgeous grounds of Fairmount Park. I suggested we eat, and Water Works was very close. Now, I knew it would be pricey and this isn't the kind of place you just grab a sandwich after sightseeing, but he's a good friend and I wanted to treat him (and myself) to something special. We arrived there on the early side, just as they begun serving dinner, so our waiter erred on the side of asking us, "Is everything okay?" too many times. We both started with the lobster bisque, which was delicious and in perfect harmony with the glasses of Riesling we had. Mickey likes to say, "I'll have what she's having." He didn't say that when it was time to order our entrees though. He opted for the filet (medium) and I indulged a rack of lamb (medium as well). We tasted each other's dinner and finished every single bite of our own. Since I was paying Mickey felt bad ordering dessert, so we had a final glass of wine and enjoyed the spectacular view of the Schuylkill River as the sun started to set.
Talk about going to the watering hole to a true Philadelphian and images of the Water Works should automatically pop into their head. Certainly over the top if compared to our local corner hangs ( which have their place and time), there is very much welcome room for this 1812 structure that once pumped and purified water for locals. An architectural triumph set to a backdrop of the Art Museum and Boat House row, views from the outdoor patio bar are nothing less than stunning and will make you feel like you are back in the old country sipping grappa with fellow grape-stompers! Dare I mention that this pricey venue is worth every penny especially if you are going to propose marraige, talk about a great business venture, celebrate winning the office pool on what location in the city will tote the French flag...(oops I digress)...
I have yet to eat dinner there...BUT... trust me when I say the atmosphere is stunning and the hospitality almost southern!! That's right...I said it! I went in really sweaty one afternoon to have a drink of fizzy water not knowing just how "bou-gee" I would be treated as I was sure that I would be met with glares of unacceptance for my attire.
I was more than welcomed to have a drink while very nicely revealed that I would be most comfortable in the formal dining room dressed formally. And lucky for all of us, there is a full menu at the bar!!! YUM!
I will be back and I will be more glamourous than anyplace north of the Mason -Dixon line. But I had to write and tell you all that Philadelphia's hospitality does not just show up in our finest hotels, but also in the finest of people working that glass of water!
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