Old City Cheese Shop

This place is great for brunch if you happen to be there at the right time. I had a chorizo breakfast burrito served with a small salad– yogurt dressing, fruit, and french press coffee.
The cheese shop’s courtyard is beautiful and a great place to bring friends.
The service is hit or miss. The more experienced waitress is a pleasure while the younger girl who recently started has a bit to learn.

Used to be a real cheese shop. Went in to buy some Parmesan cheese a few months ago. The guy at the counter didnt know what I was talking about and said «just what we have in the counter». Selection has shrunk drastically. Thought maybe it was a fluke and tried again this week. Same thing, the girl at the counter had no idea what parmesan was (or anything similar «and again said «just whats in the counter, I might suggest the cheddar instead». REALLY? The 2 employees clearly dont know anything about cheese. Sad but true I think sassafras has a wider selection of cheese.
Have tried some of the food, its was ok. Everythings on the expensive side.

I’m going to write about the restaurant; I haven’t bought cheese there.
I work in Old City, and I go about once a week, for lunch. I walk in, and I feel like I’m in Europe. This is where I eat if I need to get away from eating lunch at my desk! And I prefer to go by myself, just listening to the music, reading, enjoying the mis-​matched chairs and tables, and the European flavor. The simple sandwiches I’ve had are quite good. I always get the lunch special: soup or salad and a sandwich. Their soups are always very good, too!
The service is very friendly, as well. I’ll have to try brunch sometime!

Brunch was delicious. The best bargain in the city! Adorable backyard garden was very peaceful and intimate. Can’t wait to go back!

Nearby to me and have everyday fantastic specials. They also have a great brunch on Sundays. It’s a great place to take friends and family.

If you’re looking for a bit of an escape from the norm, this is a wonderful way to start your day. I reserve brunches here for special occasions. If available, sit in the back patio area which has a great European feel (this is open in the winter too, they have one of those little wood burning stoves to keep you toasty). This can be accessed through a red door to the left of the shop. You start your meal with a fruit salad with mint yogurt, very refreshing, a still-​warm mini muffin, and a cup of fruit juice. Each meal is $ 12.95, and you are given 6ish options to choose from. I loved the French Toast (usually not a fan), and their Egg Benedict was great, but needed a bit more seasoning. I’d also suggest getting French Pressed coffee with your meal.

This review is for the restaurant.
Enjoyed a nice brunch here on a calm Sunday summer morning. I lived in Old City for nearly a year before I ever walked into this place and that is my biggest regret. This small gourmet cheese store offers one of the best brunch offerings in the city.
For starters, you’re greeted with fresh warm blueberry muffin and handmade juice. Their coffee is served in a french press and the outside décor is so quaint. Everything about this place screams charm.
The food is great, although it is a little overpriced for the amount you see on your plate. But the ambiance and the free muffin make it all worth the money.

Brunch on the back patio epitomizes charm. The outdoor chimney provided enough warmth (and that wood burning smell I love so much) for comfortable outdoor dining on a crisp fall morning. Food (I got the quiche-​muffin-​salad combo) was unpretentious and just plain great. A must-​do come spring.

I like to come here for food rather than for cheese. The place has a nice outdoor seating in the back and when they do bbq nights, it’s nice to sit near the fire stove on a chilly night, sipping BYOB wine and sampling their cheese. The owner is very friendly once you get to talk to him. The food itself, though, isn’t anything noteworthy, but I like their eggs benedict. The really stinky, runny cheese (I don’t remember the name) was excellent.

I was down in old city the other day, so I decided to stop in and check the place out. First of all it felt hot when I walked in, and second of all of the three people that were in the back, not one of them saw me or even recognized that I was there.
If that is the service that you get for paying steep prices, I will stay in my neighborhood and buy from the friendly, moderately pricey stores.

I have been walking past Old City Cheese for a couple of months really wanting it to be amazing.
I finally went in today and walking in I wasn’t disappointed. Well appointed shop very nice staff (owner I think) and a good deal $ 7 soup and sandwich special. It was supposed to be a lunch special but they gave it to me even though it was 7pm. I ask for a sandwich and soup recommendation and got turkey panini with cinnamon apples and arugula and veggie chili. Both were mediocre at best, the soup was not home made, watery, and lacking flavor and the sandwich was uninspired and bland. I felt like I was eating one of those meal you get at the airport when you have way to long of a layover, it looks really good on the menu but is plastic.
I am going to go back and give it one more shot hoping tonight was a fluke and will update when I do. Here’s to a better second impression.

In a city devoid of expensive but o-​so-​delicious gourmet cheese, citizens clung desperately to their hope that someone SOMEWHERE would fulfill their cheesy desires and open an over-priced-but-kinda-cute-if-not-kinda-smaller-then-you-though-I-mean-1-cheese-case,-come-on! cheese shop!
Except… not really. I’m pro-​cheese shop. I’m pro-​any cheese shop. And I was all ready to get my Gouda on at this place — except they didn’t have Gouda. Or much else, considering the afore mentioned singular cheese case. And what they do have is on the upper echelon of price range, even for gourmet cheese shops. True that they’re an old city establishment, which meant I was going to be gorged on prices, but still. Gorge me a tiny bit less and I’ll buy a whole lot more.
What crawled under my skin on this one was that my trek to Old City took me path a plethora of far superior cheese shops — anything at Reading Terminal, Chestnut Hill Cheese Shop, even DiBruno’s. It doesn’t help that the bro in law has us frequent Zabar’s and Murray’s with him in Manhattan. I kinda wanted to be all a la Crocodile Dundee («That isn’t a cheese shop. THIS is a cheese shop»).
We stayed for brunch, because we were already there and I do LOVE the court yard set up in the back. The chicken crepes were only ‘eh — little bland with the Bechemal sauce — but the boy’s porscutto panini was awesome. All in all, great if you’re in the neighborhood. Not worth the trek.

Old City Cheese Shop is an abomination of exactly what Old City needs and that is a small gourmet grocery store with a good cheese selection and charcuterie. The prices are very steep and the quality is poor. The staff is friendly but, lacking knowledge. If you are an Old City resident and do not shop there the owners will smug you as you walk by their establishment. Cheese and gourmet food can be a tricky business, Old City cheese has allot to learn.

What a great place!
I’ve been in for a cheese a few times but then recently went for an event — what a great location! (In the summer they open up the back patio too.)
The selection of cheeses is fantastic and they carry a lot of wonderful accompaniments as well. However, it is very expensive so be careful in your cheese selections.

I live in Old City and frequent this establishment often. You will find a very friendly atmosphere, a secluded court yard conducent to a pleasant brunch experience on the weekends and an excellent cheese variety. They have a BBQ night weekly on Fridays. Movie night is on Tuesday evening were you are always welcome to bring wine with you to enjoy and sample some cheeses in the meantime. I personally like their Gouda, and their Humboldt Fog, their Ham and Cheese Croissants accompanied with warm coffee served on a French Press. Do not forget to try «Tortas de Aceite» you will become addicted to them.

I love cheese. I’m not a cheese pro by any means but I love it nevertheless. I enjoy getting delicious cheese and fancy crackers here. But what I enjoy most is their other food. Their tuna fish is the best in the city. It is SO GOOD. They also have prosciutto sandwiches that they toast to the point where the bread is crunchy and flaky and the cheese is warm and gooey. You can wash it all down with a nice cold bottle of sparkling lemonade. If you choose to take a minute to sit down, the seating area in the back is a lovely oasis from the bustling city streets. It reminded me of little cafes in Europe.
This place is expensive. Not the kind of expensive where you’re blown away by prices when you see them through the glass but the kind of expensive where you end up saying «That’s my total? Really?» But when I walked in here for the first time I expected it to be expensive. I mean… it’s gourmet.

I’m all for multi-​tasking. Serve me brunch, sell me a pound of gorgonzola, massage my neck while you do it. It’s cool, I get it. Real estate in old city is expensive, you’re maximizing.
However, the prices on cheese are are gouging. $ 20 a pound for an ordinary Parmigiano-​Reggiano to cook with is outrageous. AND it took them twenty minutes to grind 2 pounds. Mickey Mouse operation should not bill itself as a cheese shop; change the sign to
Cutesy brunch with people’s butts in your face; also, cheese costing its weight in gold.
P. S. all of the cheese prices are for HALF a pound.

My girlfriend, two friends, and I went to the pasta special last night. The pastas were average, at best. Slightly overcooked linguini in a watery, tasteless «fra diavolo» sauce with canned shrimp and canned clams. No spice (it IS a diavolo sauce) and really little taste. The baked rigatoni was better but still lacked flavor. The fresh mozzarella was nice. The bowtie pasta with grilled veggies was awful. The veggies were burnt to a crisp and the pasta had little other flavor.
For $ 14.95/person I’d say try it if you’re not too picky and if you’re hungry… although they give small portions of pasta and take forever to bring out the next dish. Sort of a pseudo-​all you can eat, IMO.
But the cheeses they have are very good. Some of it is a bit pricey (Sage Derby for $ 15/​lb is high by a good $ 3−5/lb) but the selection is nice and the quality is good. I’ll stop in for more cheese in the future but never do the pasta again.

I bought some Gorgonzola at the Old City Cheese Shop earlier in the year, but hadn’t been back since. I stopped by for lunch today when I noticed Café Olé was out of bagels. Old City Cheese Shop had more lunch options than I expected. I got the quiche, which was delicious and not too dense or heavy. It had sundried tomatoes, chiorizo, and asparagus. Came served on a simple mixed-​greens salad with a small container of dressing on the side. The price was somewhere around $ 7. I’d definitely go back and try their other dishes. I also need to remember to buy more cheese. Cheese, cheese, cheese.

Old City Cheese Shop is the perfect place for a Sunday brunch in the middle of summer. Their shady back patio has no direct sunlight, just a canopy of greenery overhead. There isn’t much room back there so don’t bring a bunch of your friends but if you’re looking for a place to read the morning paper in peace and get out of the heat, head to Old City Cheese Shop. (Oh and to get to the elusive patio, you have to enter from a side alley, not the front of the store!) The food is awesome– I recommend the French toast– and the coffee comes complete with your very own mini French press (which makes for an incredible cup of joe). I can’t say I’ve ever tried the cheese but from my experiences at Old City Cheese Shop, I would venture to say it’s just as amazing as everything else. Bön appetit!