Smith & Wollensky

My favorite steakhouse. Located at the Rittenhouse Square area of Philly. The service is impeccable. The food is absolutely above standard. The one and only steak house in my book. Definitely worth the price and the experience. My go to spot in Philly after Geno’s.

Swanky Rittenhouse steakhouse that just missed the mark.
Upon entering, the ambiance is intimate, comfortable and luxurious. The staff checked our coats and seated us upstairs by tall glass windows, which provided a wonderful view of the square. We started off our meal with S&W’s signature rosemary & sea salt monkey bread. Served piping fresh out of the oven, it was amazingly soft, warm, and delicious. Complimentary bread is one thing, but this was truly impressive.
For our appetizer, the two of us shared a jumbo shrimp cocktail. This proved to be a mistake, it turns out, as the dish only had three shrimp. And, although expectedly large, the shrimp were slightly on the tough side. I also ordered a mojito, which was neither sweet nor tart enough. It just tasted like Bacardi and I didn’t want another.
Next, we sampled the salmon with red wine sauce. To my surprise, the fish was dry and rather fishy — I was thoroughly disappointed. The paired red wine sauce was a rich, crimson reduction of cream and wine. It was savory and unique, but the overpowering wine flavor simply tasted at odds with the bland fish, as if it had been added as an afterthought.
The dish I was most excited to try was S&W’s truffle mac & cheese. It came served in a hot dish and topped with crisp crumbs. Upon digging in, however, I was saddened to find that the noodles were far too soft and the truffle flavor was nearly absent. On the other hand, we also ordered the wild mushrooms, which were wonderfully prepared.
At the end of the meal, our gift card was rejected. The staff handled the situation acceptably, in fact service was excellent throughout the meal, but S&W’s overall execution of the concept left me wanting. Their seafood dishes were particularly disappointing, but I will give them the benefit of the doubt since I did not have the opportunity to try their legendary steaks. Regretfully, S&W is now closed, but may I suggest Lacroix?

So sad S&W is closed but greatful we were able to spend Valentines Day there. A city staple… Always had a great meal there!

Bone-​in Rib-​Eye and Signature Bone-​in NY cut Sirloin are both «off the charts» amazing! Actually, everything is always perfect. The meats are of the highest quality and taste; the service is always great; creamed spinach is perfect, not overly rich. If you want rich and decadent, try the truffled Mac & Cheese; insanely delicious, but I can only eat a bite or two!
All told, amazing dinner every time!

For a very upscale restaurant, the service here was horrendous. Don’t get me wrong, the food was amazing, but my boyfriend and I waited an hour for our appetizers.
I got the Signature Crab Cake which was delicious, and we also ordered the truffled mac and cheese and the pan roasted wild mushrooms. Both were amazing as well.
The server took way too long to come back and check on us and we realized later that it was because there was an event in the other room. Oh well.

I am so sad this place is closing! Came down after a charity event at the hotel. My husband and I split a Butcher Burger and onion rings. Honestly the BEST burger I have ever had. He actually went back last night to get me a burger one more time before they close. We took home the chocolate cake and it was another home run. They’re portions are generous and the quality is phenomenal. I only wish I had started coming here sooner.

I heard it was closing. That explains the food. My filet was the worse I’ve ever had. It was fatty and undercooked, and I like them medium rare. S&W forgot about this place when the decided to close it. Never going back to the chain.

It was sad having our final meal at this Smith & Wollensky’s location (they’re officially closing this Sunday). The 2^nd floor tables next to the tall windows have a beautiful view of Rittenhouse Square and the restaurant has beautiful decorations. Our server was clearly nostalgic, having worked for the 15 of the 16 years this location has been in existence.
We took advantage of their 50% off wines, and truly enjoyed some magnificent bottles of wine for half the cost. Their bread is of course fluffy perfection, but don’t fill up on it!
For the appetizers, the crab cake was small, but delicious, the shrimp cocktail tasted fresh, and the fried shrimp/​calamari, while EXTREMELY small pieces, was really fresh and flavorful.
The dressing on my Caesar dressing was WAY too much.
My salmon was cooked to my particular liking after they were patient about it being sent back twice. The sauteed spinach (not on the menu) was deliciously garlicky, and better than the creamed spinach, which was disappointingly not creamy enough. The truffled mac & cheese was of course delicious. The onion rings were battered well, but the onions were slightly under cooked.
I love their chocolate cake, which is truly so moist, as well as their coconut cake, which is light and airy.
Wishing the staff at this location much luck during this transition.

Had pleasant dinner there. Me and my hub only have been to S&W in NYC and both had decent experiences there. I am not a huge meat eater but I do enjoy bread basket (they always have great ones!) and appetizers at steak house.
We got bunch of appetizers and one huge aged rib eye.
Ordered Wollensky salad, mussels, fritto misto, crab cake.
I enjoyed the crab cake and fritto misto the most. They were really delicious. Salad and mussels were good too but little salty for me but I enjoyed them all.
Hub got spiced rubbed rib eye. I had some, was juicy and tender. I thought was delicious but again, I am not a huge meat eater so I might be wrong.
Our sever, I think his name was Rick, he was very attentive and nice. Service wise it was great. I liked that this place wasn’t overly packed so we could enjoy quite meal there. The NYC one always packed with cooperate people and tourists whenever I visited there. Wasn’t super pleasant.
Overall was very satisfying meal. Will go back.

We came for restaurant week, and the dinner was fantastic. The seating upstairs is comfortable with rustic décor (Moose anyone?) — not very surprising for a classic steakhouse. They start you off with a selection of two kinds of hot rolls served in their iron pans: garlic and butter. I personally liked the butter more, as they were creamy and slightly sweet with a wonderful crust and soft interior. Eat them while they are hot! The iceberg wedge salad with blue cheese and bacon was very good. It literally comes topped with actual chopped chunks of thick-​cut bacon, not just bacon bits, and the dressing was perfectly creamy. My pan seared salmon with roasted onions, mushrooms, and beurre reduction was good, although it came served more well-​done than the requested rare. The super crispy exterior was pretty good, though. The filet mignon was definitely a hit — highly recommend getting it medium rare, and the accompanying mashed potatoes were creamy and savory, and served hot in their own cast-​iron skillet. The coconut cake dessert was delicious: firm, buttery cake topped with a whipped coconut icing and drizzled with a sweet glaze. I also tried the chocolate cake, which was solid but didn’t stand out as much.
Service was great, as always, and I highly recommend booking a Restaurant Week reservation. $ 35 is an unheard of deal, for sure.

Came for restaurant week and glad I did. This place is really pricey and upscale. That’s fine and all but I wouldn’t pay full price here. The highlights were the view of rittenhouse square, the bread and the beef bacon. Other than that my steak was undercooked, then a bit over cooked. My boyfriends was undercooked as well. Chocolate ganache cake was underwhelming. Boyfriend said mashed potatoes tasted instant. Split pea soup was good.

I went there on a Thursday night with my buddies. Jesscia was our servicer and her service was excellent. i would definitely give her 5 stars.
The food was also excellent and highly recommended. The only draw back was the restaurant décor is a little dated. But it’s still highly recommended.

Colleen, my friend has been wanting to eat at Smith and Wollensky ever since she saw the NYC steakhouse highlighted in «Devil Wears Prada».
So, four of us took her to Philadelphia S&W branch for her birthday on restaurant week. As soon as we get there, we were greeted warmly by the hostess and we were seated on a table overlooking Rittenhouse Square. Our server, Richard, was very friendly and attentive, he wished Colleen a happy birthday and gave her a signed birthday greeting card from S&W.
I started my meal with an amazing fresh Italian Burrata Caprese cheese with heirloom tomatoes, and Colleen got the Iceberg Wedge, which she claimed to be the ultimate salad.
For entrée, the four of us ordered the Beef Tenderloin Duo cajun seasoned and Madeira demi glacé. I ordered my steak medium-​well, it was presented with heavenly mashed potato and sautéed asparagus. The steak was juicy, tender and well seasoned. However, I didn’t think it was anything special or let’s say, I had higher exceptions.
I am a huge sweet person, and when it comes to dessert, I don’t share. Last night, I ended up giving my tasteless and dry Coconut Cake to my friend, Who thought it was the BOMB!!! He ate it all as well as his layered chocolate cake.
It is true that not everyone can be pleased, I was over excited and windup being disappointed, that doesn’t make it a bad experience. Some might argue that it is unfair to truly judge Smith and Wollensky based on the Restaurant week experience, that being said, a classic old-​school steakhouse should still be able to stand out and create an exceptional dining experience.
Two and half Unilocal

I have been to this restaurant a few times including last week. This was the first time I had been there for dinner. So of course I had to have the Filet Mignon.
It was tender and juicy. Cooked to perfection. The Hollandaise sauce was delicious as were all of the sides. We had the mushrooms and onions and mashed potatoes as sides. I’m not a big bread eater but the bread was good.
Before the main course I had the Wollensky salad. Bacon, Romaine lettuce, mushrooms and soft croutons. It was good but not great to me.
In the past, I have come for lunch. Each time I had the Butcher Burger. It was really good bit really big. A lot to eat for lunch when you are returning to the office.
Great restaurant for business meetings. Quiet and great food. Pricey but worth it.

Overall a nice night, only three stars because I think I expected more from the experience. The décor is nice but it felt like a chain restaurant to me, which is fine if I’m there for the $ 9.99 lunch special but I think as a well-​established fine dining steakhouse try could do a but more to customize each place. The food was good, had the beef duo and LOVED the Cajun rub. The rosemary and sea salt bread was delicious. (I’ll be attempting to replicate that at home) Chocolate cake was very rich. Server brought out an extra slice that had been plated by accident so I’m looking forward to that for breakfast… Best part of the night was the table next to us was a man and two escorts. Quite entertaining to say the least.
Am I dying to go back? No. Was it worth trying? Yes.

Starting with the bread, warm and home baked they serve you, it was just delicious. This is a great location right along Rittenhouse Square with seating all along their windows for a nice view. Nice décor the wait staff was spot on.
It’s a steak house, and most of the menu is the steak options.
We had salads and they were very tasty, salmon & filet mignon for entrees, mashed potato, desserts. I would definitely recommend it and will return to try another menu option. The service was good, as you would expect for an upscale steak house. Yes it’s as good as the pictures look!

I think the best part about this place is the bar! The bartenders are old school, fun, polite, & always up for a chat. It’s a great place to watch a game or go alone or with friends. The place has tons of regulars but you also meet interesting people from out of town since it’s attached to the Rittenhouse hotel.
They make a great martini and I’ve never had a bad meal. I like the tuna tartar, fried oysters, and the burger is one of the best I have ever had! It’s juicy, delicious served with french fries and coleslaw for only $ 13 not bad!
If you can snag one of the two tables outside it’s romantic with a beautiful view of the park which you look out over while perched up. Great for date night.
If you like French onion soup they’ve got a good one.

Not impressed at all… right from beginning… host wouldn’t seat me… but rathermade me wait til my friend arrived. Then here comes our horrible server… moron didn’t even take my drink order… but rather wanted to go straight to order my entrée… fker didn’t smile at all… he had hard time explaining about their steak… anyways here’s what we ordered…
Beef Tartar — A, had to admit. it was good…
Bone in Ribeye — D… over priced… way too much fat on my meat… can’t believe they called it their signature cut…
Dry aged Sirloin — C… they advertised it as all their meat being USDA Prime… but more like a choice… once again over priced.
Truffle Mac and Cheese — A… very good
Roasted Veggies — D… they should call it roasted potatoes instead.
Manhattan — probably best manhattan I had in years…
House Cabernet — house wine is house wine…
Once again… Capital Grille proved to be the BEST STEAK HOUSE in Philly… this place has to be the Worst steakhouse from the list of places in Philly thus far… bad service. bad steak… NOT COMING HERE EVER AGAIN!!!

An underwhelming experience given the five-​star prices. S&W tries to deliver the atmosphere you’d expect from a high end steak place. The selection of premium cuts is impressive and they certainly know how to cook a steak. Unfortunately, that seems to be the extent of S&W. The sides aren’t anything worth writing home about and the service is only in line with the prices. We were given a private room for our group of about 10, so kudos for that I guess…

I think if this place cost $ 100 for 4 people it would be a 4 star. But for over $ 200 it stays at a 3 for me.
Very elegant, clean restaurant. Bathrooms are small and can use a little updating. But the location is fantastic, overlooking rittenhouse square. We loved the kind service, and had a lot of laughs with out waitress. It was a nice touch that she was able to call the valet while we were paying the check, that way when we walked outside the car was already there.
My father and I both felt that the dinner food was good, but not worth the price. Some of the meat cut portions were insanely small and very salty.
My Gorgonzola burger patty melted in my mouth, but the dry and cheap bun kinda ruined the burger. Our salads, cold seafood appetizers, and calamari appetizers were wonderful.
However we were all disappointed with the sides. The truffle Mac and cheese had WAY too much truffle oil in it, and way too many bread crumbs. I ended up getting sick from this during the night. Something about it just did not taste right.
The creamed spinach was bland, lacked flavor, and the spinach was minced instead of chopped which through off the texture.
It is not that the whole meal was bad, but my family is pretty confident that we could have made 3 quarters of those things better.