Manayunk Food & Drink Scene

[Steve Bartman]

I am looking for some opinions on the Manayunk dining scene. Recently I was approached to either take over an existing business or open a location on Main Street but I am uncertain of if it is worth while. What are your thoughts? Do you still dine in Manayunk? If yes, where do you go and why?

I have been to Han Dynasty several times recently and will be exploring the other local establishments as well.

The reason for my post here and not in the Manayunk area is because I want to get the opinions of all Philadelphia foodies! Will you travel from your neighborhood to Manayunk?

[Freckles]

I live in Rox, but there are only a couple of places I will continue to go to on Main Street. I've been to or tried almost every place there, but if I don't return it's due to poor service (I was a server for 10 years and have high expectations) or mediocre food. My top two there are Chabaa Thai and Agiato. Both have really good service and really, really yummy food.

[Zep]

I live in Manayunk so I can't really speak to those who travel from other areas, but I can give you my opinion on some of the establishments that I've tried.

Agiato - Hands down my favorite restaurant in Manayunk. Unique menu selection, and a great beer/wine list with a comfortable atmosphere.

Derek's - I really like the brunch deal on Sundays with one small complaint. I hate bloody mary's and trying to get my money's worth of the unlimited Mimosas (the other option) is not pleasant heartburn-wise. That aside, the food is great and the servers that I have had there were very good as well. I am not a fan of the "one bottle of wine/couple" rule as my group of friends drinks pretty heavily and are big fans of BYO's, but I guess it's fair, etc.

Bourbon Blue - Excellent food, albeit fairly pricey. decent-to-good service but nothing to write home about.

Lakshmi's - I went here mainly because my girlfriend had a restaurants.com certificate. The food was good, could have been a little spicier considering the style of cuisine.

Hikaru - OK sushi, a bit pricey, and I believe a new sushi place is opening/has opened on Main St. I forget the name, but I am excited to give it a try.

Bayou/Cuddy's/Flat Rock - Pretty standard bar fare. Good pub grub if that's what you're after. Flat rock has a decent beer selection and they all have daily specials on wings/tacos/etc.

U.S. Hotel - Again, I've only been here once. The food was somewhat mediocre and the atmosphere wasn't amazing. Couple that with the location at the other end of Main st. from where I live and I don't see myself making it a point to head back here anytime soon.

Couch Tomato Cafe/Bistro - I haven't tried the Bistro, but regarding the cafe I can't really add anything to what everyone always says. Good pizza, high prices, etc.

Bella Trattoria - I've been here a few times. Good, not great. Could do worse for standard Italian fare.

[runinbrynmawr]

As a manager of one of the retail stores on Main St., I can tell you with certainty that people still do come to dine in Manayunk. I know some people might be skeptical of this statement due to their own biases, but that aside, I can assure you that many of my weekend customers came into Manayunk to dine. The #1 destination spot in Manayunk...hands down is LeBus. Nearly 7 in 10 of the customers I ask, "Where do you eat?" reply back with "LeBus." --occasionally poorly pronounced which adds as a source of my entertainment. I would also disclose that a majority of these customers come in for brunch. I think it is more evenly spread between all other bars and restaurants for dinner. There is a fair selection of all types of food. Quite simply, if you come here looking for a decent dinner, you shouldn't be hard pressed leaving with a happy and full belly. I too live in Manayunk after recently moving back from Fairmount. I still consider Manayunk as a top location for a solid selection of decent places to eat. Am I biased and have invested interest in this area? You better believe it!

What kind of food establishment are you considering? That will carry some heavy weight with my thoughts about recommending or not recommending you moving forward.

[BarryG]

I live in South Philly and never go to Manayunk. I've been meaning to get to Chabaa for years and it's never happened. There are just too many options in Center City and South Philly that schlepping out to Manayunk just never happens.

[3rd&Brown]

I made it a point a few months back to go out to Manayunk to go to Bruce Cooper's newish pizza place next to Jake's. It was good, not great, though it had a good crowd, and I remember I was there during the week (I would never go out in Myk on the weekend). Anyways...I don't see the reason to go out there for anything. I think it's more of a draw for the NW part of the city (obviously) and close-in burbs like Lower Merion, Havertown, and Whitemarsh/Plymouth Meeting.

[JasonMcElroy]

We live about two miles away in Gtown and sometimes go to Manayunk for dinner. For the last five or six years there was little reason to go there. While having a nice appearance, the actual offerings were pretty weak. Overpriced for mediocre food and predominantly crappy service.

Now there are three places that really shine for us and we go much more frequently:

Agiato - Fantastic restaurant. Simple menu. Quality food prepared well. Attentive service without being overbearing. Great decor. It just has this quality to it that is difficult to describe. . . you can tell it's different from the norm. Excellent without being ostentatious in any way.

Han Dynasty - Food is great. I have not found Han to be odd or overbearing as others have warned. Also unpretentious. We're not the type to go to places where you need to "kiss the ring" to be treated well. We've taken our 15mo son each time and have never noticed any bias or annoyance. We, of course, go in advance of prime-time dinner rush and are never a spectacle of noise and mess.

Deke's!!!! - Deke is first rate as is his restaurant. The food is phenomenal. The drinks are good. The service is personal and friendly. The prices are fair. We go here often. Many might miss this rare gem as it's up the hill, but it's worth the trip.

When we don't head to one of these places, we head to CC for the wealth of great places to eat.

Jason

[Brooke]

I eat at Le Bus whenever I'm in Manayunk because the other experiences I had were pretty mediocre over the years. (And brunch at Manayunk Brewing Company ever now and again.) Apparently I need to try Agiato and Deke's.

Also, trying to find parking is really annoying and if I want to pay for parking, I'd sooner go to CC.

[Zep]

Deke's!!!! - Deke is first rate as is his restaurant. The food is phenomenal. The drinks are good. The service is personal and friendly. The prices are fair. We go here often. Many might miss this rare gem as it's up the hill, but it's worth the trip.

I don't think I can forgive myself for omitting Deke's in my OP. In my defense I was trying to stick to Main St. but goddamn Deke's is definitely worth heading up Shurs.

[JasonMcElroy]

Also, trying to find parking is really annoying and if I want to pay for parking, I'd sooner go to CC.

Deke's has a dedicated parking lot it shares with Ugly Moose. Free, always. On weekends they have parking staff who park your car and retrieve it for you. Seems like they do this to maximize use of the lot (and it works) rather than to put on airs.

Jason

[Zep]

Deke's has a dedicated parking lot it shares with Ugly Moose. Free, always. On weekends they have parking staff who park your car and retrieve it for you. Seems like they do this to maximize use of the lot (and it works) rather than to put on airs.

Jason

Secondary bonus to Deke's/the Moose's lot: Cornhole tourneys in the summer when Deke puts up the garage doors.

[MDC]

Hi Steve,

We are the Manayunk Development Corporation, feel free to reach out to us at info@manayunk.org or by calling 215-482-9565 to discuss the Manayunk dinning scene and the potential for you to open up a new business on Main Street. Be sure to check out some of the new local restaurants like Agiato and Gemelli as well!

[philly57]

I think a major problem with the Manayunk dining scene stems from the ill-fated restaurant moratorium. Whereas other neighborhood continue to expand and evolve their dining scenes, Manayunk was stuck in the 90's for a long time. No new restaurants meant little competition and the existing restaurants grew complacent and tired. While gastropubs and small plates were springing up all over the city, Manayunk had nothing new to offer. Even though the moratorium is over, the neighborhood still suffers from knee-jerk opposition to any restaurant wishing to obtain a liquor license. Case in point, it took almost a year for the now-popular Agiato to open because NIMBYs wanted the restaurant to close at a certain time and the owners wouldn't acquiesce to those demands. But it took just a couple of months for a similar concept to open up in University City, so please keep that in mind if you are looking to obtain a new liquor license.

At least, Manayunk has been exposed to new restaurant openings over the past year or two. Agiato is excellent and Gemelli is supposed to be very good. Han Dynasty is awesome and it should be noted, that Han is now cooking out of Manayunk, not Old City anymore. Zesty's has a new small-plates centered menu and Main Street now has Indian and Turkish cuisine. Off Main Street, Zekes, Urban Cafe, and the Old Eagle Tavern are all excellent choices.

I'm not sure if diners would come in from Center City where the offerings are much more abundant and diverse. But as another poster mentioned, there are plenty of people in the northwest part of the city as well as nearby suburbs to which restaurants draw on.

I live in Roxborough and am always hopeful Manayunk can get new, quality restaurants. The big obstacle however is that most high quality restaurants require a liquor license and knee jerk obstructionists are very powerful in Manayunk. Good luck to you!