The Twisted Tail

Really really good. It's damm hard for a restaurant to last in Philly, lot's and lots of competition. This place keeps 'sharpening the saw' to remain with innovative food, relaxing atmosphere and top notch service.
The atmosphere is casual, could be a fun drinking bar, or quick in and out dinner +/- cocktails. The servers are a cut above your average center city wait staff, they know their menu and demonstrate an expertise on spirits, artisan cheeses, and food pairings.
They specialize in whiskeys and bourbons and have a ton of them, always with a special. Great for tasting new stuff.
I was very impressed with the kitchen, they were firing on all cylinders when we ate there early Saturday night.
Heirloom beets tasted like candy, grilled scollops with a bacon jam, parsley oil...fabulous taste. Big eye tuna, served cold with chili oil, avocado in wonton cups....excellent. Ribs, crawfish mac & cheese.... great 'twist' on southern favorites. Flavors were complex, bold....beyond a typical trendy Southern styled cuisine.
Upstairs is a cool large space with live music which is super popular for private events. This place is a cut above!

Remembered loving Twisted Tail a few years ago, so brought my significant other here for restaurant week and felt like the quality has gone down by a lot.

Portion sizes were great, but the seasoning was off on almost everything. Got the scallop ceviche as it was recommended on the menu, and as someone that LOVES ceviche, I was disappointed. It tasted like just lime juice, sour and no other flavor.

We got shishito peppers for the appetizer and they were barely grilled so it was insanely spicy. I like spice but my significant other could barely touch it. Later he got a skirt steak dish for a main course, and the shishito peppers there were actually grilled properly, so we could tell that the appetizer just didn't spend much time on the grill.

For the skirt steak itself, he ordered medium rare, and it was just rare. I tried to attach a picture of the piece he let me try and it was not pretty.

The crawfish Mac and cheese was pretty good, definitely the best out of all the dishes. Salmon was also not bad, but also not that flavorful. Pork belly didn't have any seasoning. Overall felt bad that I brought my SO here, probably should've believed the other reviews but had such great memories of Twisted Tail from 5 years back :(

Stopped in for brunch. Cute ambiance and really nice selection of whiskies, with some decent beers on tap, too.

My husband liked his reuben well enough, and the fries and accompanying sauces were good. My biscuits and gravy were just awful, though. Allegedly cheddar and jalapeño biscuits, they were devoid of any flavor or seasoning and had the consistency of a popover. The eggs on top (also unseasoned) were overcooked, and the gravy was watery and completely tasteless. The few pieces of sausage links swimming in the gravy did have flavor, otherwise I would have thought I had COVID. That flavor was not good, though - they seemed like Jimmy Dean or something.

No one was at the host stand for nearly five minutes and we were about to leave when she finally came down. Our server also couldn't give two sh*ts and kept walking away while were answering the questions she asked. I will say that the manager who brought a few dishes to the table was really friendly.

Brunch was amazing! It was our first time there, and our server, Tatiana, was great. We ordered a cheese board which was to die for. Chicken and waffles was delicious-all six of us enjoyed our meals. The live music was subtle but great. Parking was easy. We liked it so much that we will now dine there again next month for Mother's Day!

I was just not blown away by the food. I went during Restuarant week and it was 4 courses for $45. I ordered smoked wings as my appetizer and that was the best thing I ate for the entire meal.

My entree was the braised short rib and it needed more flavor and could've been cooked longer so it would be more tender. The ambiance here and the service was great however! Very attentive server and the decor was really nice.

I'd give this place another shot.

Came here for restaurant week last night with my boyfriend and we both had a very nice time. Really nice location right off of south street with many things to do after dinner!

We decided to sit at the bar because the setup was beautiful. Our bartender was very kind and attentive. My bf tried the flight that came with 1 bourbon, 1 scotch and 1 whiskey. It was a very cool idea and a great way to taste the diff options they have. I went with a dirty martini which was made perfectly.

For restaurant week, we ordered the following below:
Whipped ricotta (first course)
Heirloom beets (first course)
Crawfish mac&cheese (second course)
Smoked wings (second course)
Braised short rib (third course)
Grilled hanger steak (third course)
Ricotta beignets (fourth course)
Vanilla panna cotta (fourth course)

The only "complaint" of mine was the first and second course arrived at the same exact time. We were sitting at the bar with 4 plates of food, flight and a drink. We wanted to take our time with the first course, but had to quickly eat the second course so the hot food wouldn't get cold. We loved everything but the wings. The wings are highly reviewed here but last night they were very chewy and received two thumbs down. Everything else was DELICIOUS! I would 100% reorder the beets, whipped ricotta and mac&cheese. So good!

Both entrees were delicious, but didn't blow us away. Dessert came and we loved the beignets. Perfect size and amount. The panna cotta was a bit too jiggly and not firm at all. Tasted a bit like soft tofu so we sadly didn't finish that dish.

I would still come back and would definitely recommend the first 3 dishes listed above!

Cute spot. Warm interior. Menu was interesting. Food was adequate but not a stand out among other restaurants.
We had the whipped ricotta, wagu beef tartar and kale salad to share.
The service was very attentive and friendly.
Our drinks were adequate.
Not a bad stop but wasn't worth another round or a trip back.

Recently went to the Twisted Tail for dinner before attending their Barbie and Ken themed Halloween party. I appreciate that they hold events you can attend right upstairs after dining! Unfortunately, I was a bit underwhelmed by the food. It definitely was not bad--I just think there are similar places in Philadelphia that are better. I'd probably only ever visit again if I lived in the same neighborhood or if someone else really wanted to go try it. I got the fried chicken which came seasoned with rosemary honey and sweet potato. My main was actually pretty tasty. I just wouldn't venture out to go have it again. Just wasn't outstanding. The major let down was the mac n cheese. It tasted unseasoned and there was no flavor. The cornbread was okay but not incredible. I'd rather have the one at South! The service was okay.

Despite dining in Philly for many years, I had somehow never come upon this place. I was taking a friend out for a birthday and wanted to try somewhere new. The dinner menu looked great with a variety of small and large plates. Most of them fall into the category of a farm to table kind of menu.

We had made a reservation for a Friday evening. The host was very friendly and waiting to seat us as soon was we came in. I'm not the type of customer to ask to move tables frequently at all. However, there was a large party at the table next to us that was VERY loud. The host didn't give us any trouble at all and quickly moved us to the other side of the restaurant.

Our server came over in just a few minutes introducing us to the many options the restaurant had to offer. My friend is very familiar with farm to table cuisine, and our server did a great job answering any specific questions we had. Even though there are regular-sized entree plates on the menu, we were more interested in the small plate variety. We took a few minutes to choose our plates and intended to share some of the items.

The plates came out staggered by whichever items were ready the earliest. All of the items came out in a span of less than ten minutes, which I thought was very reasonable. I had chosen the Waugh Beef Tartare, Lioni Burrata, and Smoked Wings. My friend went for the Shishito Peppers, Spanish Octopus, and Enoki Mushrooms.

I'm thrilled to say that I enjoyed all of the items I had tried. I'd never think of ordering wings from this type of restaurant, but they were excellent. My friend and I have eaten quite the variety of wings and both loves these. The Shishitos were fresh, crispy, and tangy. While burrata isn't the most unique menu item, the cheese quality was excellent. Same goes for the tartare, but high-quality ingredients made these items far superior to similar dishes I've tried at other places. As we thoroughly enjoyed our food, our server did a great job checking on us and refilling our drinks. This type of cuisine is by no means "cheap," but I thought the prices were very fair for the exceptional food quality and service we got here.

Overall, this place is DEFINITELY a hidden gem. I haven't seen this one in any lists or articles of exceptional Philly restaurants, but it definitely deserves a feature. Considering how great my first experience was, I'd love to come back and try many more small and large plates this menu has to offer.

One of the best happy hours in the city. ALL 7 DAYS!!! The food is good ( Mac and cheese rocks! And can't beat buck-a-shuck oyster deal) The staff is friendly. Nice atmosphere and life music.