Top Restaurants in Philly? Zagat has lost their minds...

**lucidinnature** · 10-18-2012, 02:35 PM

So, first there was the Zagat top cheesesteak article. Now this.

Don't get me wrong. I love Sketch, and try to eat there once a month. One of the best restaurants in Philly, though? And out of this list there are three that aren't even in Philadelphia! It really just seems like another best of list that was just pulled out of a google search without any actual judging.
The 10 Best Restaurants in Philadelphia | Zagat Blog

**OffenseTaken** · 10-18-2012, 05:31 PM

Unfortunately, the Zagat name is going to lend more cred to everything they say for years to come, despite the fact that it's no longer anything more than a Yelp competitor.

The numerical ratings are a complete farce. As recently as the late 90's, I believe Le Bec-Fin was the only place in Philadelphia to get a rating above 24. Pat's King of Steaks currently gets a 23.

**Gladys** · 10-18-2012, 05:36 PM

Actually i've heard Vedge is all that and more. It's where Deux Cheminee was, i can't wait to try it. It's number 2 and i can fully believe it.

However, having 3 that are not within the city is ridiculous. Have another guide for greater philadelphia. or call the survey Philadelphia and it's environs or something.

**raider.adam** · 10-18-2012, 05:46 PM

Heh. I have only heard of one of those restaurants.

**kalashnikitty** · 10-18-2012, 05:52 PM

As soon as I get past Passyunk the restaurants get way out of my price range for what they serve! Everybody wants to be top chef. I see a place that has ZAGAT on the front door i try to look around for any diners that don't have that sticker.

**lucidinnature** · 10-18-2012, 06:26 PM

That's actually my biggest problem. Of all the restaurants around, they had to pick 3 outside of the city?!

And don't get me wrong-I looooove Sketch. Praise them every time I'm in there. But to have 9 fancy restaurants and then a burger place is more than a bit odd.

Originally Posted by Gladys

Actually i've heard Vedge is all that and more. It's where Deux Cheminee was, i can't wait to try it. It's number 2 and i can fully believe it.

However, having 3 that are not within the city is ridiculous. Have another guide for greater philadelphia. or call the survey Philadelphia and it's environs or something.

**five apples** · 10-18-2012, 07:00 PM

Originally Posted by raider.adam

Heh. I have only heard of one of those restaurants.

Man, you need to get out more. Fond, Bibou, Vetri and the Fountain are certainly not well kept secrets.

**lucidinnature** · 10-18-2012, 07:20 PM

Originally Posted by five apples

Man, you need to get out more. Fond, Bibou, Vetri and the Fountain are certainly not well kept secrets.

I went to the fountain once and was severely unimpressed. It was like bland food in an old age home. Maybe it was just that it was a slow day, but man I just didn't like it at all, and the $100 bill didn't help. I ended up grabbing a sandwich at the art museum.

**five apples** · 10-18-2012, 07:26 PM

Originally Posted by lucidinnature

I went to the fountain once and was severely unimpressed. It was like bland food in an old age home. Maybe it was just that it was a slow day, but man I just didn't like it at all, and the $100 bill didn't help. I ended up grabbing a sandwich at the art museum.

I have never eaten at the Fountain or Vetri, it just seems like a ridiculous amount of money to spend. I have eaten at Fond and Bibou though and I did like both of them quite a bit. I actually used to eat at Fond a lot, but as the raves grew, it just became harder and harder to get in.

**lucidinnature** · 10-18-2012, 07:51 PM

Yeah, Fountain gave me serious sticker shock. We stayed at the hotel one night to fake a mini-vacation, and were going to the museum the next day. I figured that we might as well try it for brunch. All together I think it was around $96 for two pretty simple brunches. I think even the coffee was movie theater prices.

**Volanova** · 10-18-2012, 08:14 PM

Originally Posted by lucidinnature

Yeah, Fountain gave me serious sticker shock. We stayed at the hotel one night to fake a mini-vacation, and were going to the museum the next day. I figured that we might as well try it for brunch. All together I think it was around $96 for two pretty simple brunches. I think even the coffee was movie theater prices.

I've heard the same, which is why I've not been. Good-but-not-that-good food in a geriatric environment does not make me want to spend $150 on a meal for two. There are so many other great restaurants that seemingly have a much better vibe.

**BarryG** · 10-18-2012, 08:33 PM

Originally Posted by lucidinnature

Yeah, Fountain gave me serious sticker shock. We stayed at the hotel one night to fake a mini-vacation, and were going to the museum the next day. I figured that we might as well try it for brunch. All together I think it was around $96 for two pretty simple brunches. I think even the coffee was movie theater prices.

Sunday brunch at Lacroix is like $65pp but it is well worth it.

**lucidinnature** · 10-18-2012, 08:49 PM

Originally Posted by Volanova

I've heard the same, which is why I've not been. Good-but-not-that-good food in a geriatric environment does not make me want to spend $150 on a meal for two. There are so many other great restaurants that seemingly have a much better vibe.

Yeah, it was also the geriatric mentality of other guests that really irritated me. You would have thought I was in a bingo hall version of jersey shore. They were moving tables around, getting up and trying different seats because of the sunlight coming in, etc. Ghetto rich mentality. Old Country Buffet meets Prada.

Originally Posted by BarryG

Sunday brunch at Lacroix is like $65pp but it is well worth it.

I keep meaning to try this place. Maybe I'll get there this week.

**guzzijason** · 10-19-2012, 12:46 AM

Not gonna lie... if I could, I'd probably eat at the Fountain like once a week. Had a great dinner there just last week. The place runs like a Swiss watch. It may not be everyone's cup of tea, but I've been lucky enough to eat an some really great places around the country, and I think they do things at the Fountain about as well as they can be done. In fact, the Fountain is sort of a benchmark for restaurants within the Four Seasons hotels - the model they strive to be like. And the staff takes pride in that.

__Jason

**andrewd** · 10-19-2012, 10:20 AM

While I will agree that it's not even close to being "in Philadelphia" Blue Fin is exceptional. I haven't been out there since they moved to the new location and while the old location was in a drab strip mall it was some of the best sushi I've had anywhere in the country.

**BarryG** · 10-19-2012, 10:36 AM

Originally Posted by guzzijason

Not gonna lie... if I could, I'd probably eat at the Fountain like once a week. Had a great dinner there just last week. The place runs like a Swiss watch. It may not be everyone's cup of tea, but I've been lucky enough to eat an some really great places around the country, and I think they do things at the Fountain about as well as they can be done. In fact, the Fountain is sort of a benchmark for restaurants within the Four Seasons hotels - the model they strive to be like. And the staff takes pride in that.

__Jason

I think dinner is quite different than brunch at The Fountain.

**OldMama** · 10-19-2012, 12:40 PM

They need to rate the suburbs top ten, and get those suburban places out of the Philly top ten. That's ridiculous.

I ate at Le Bec Fin for my 20th anniversary and at the Fountain for my 25th. Both were wonderful and unforgettable meals. I thought that, at the time, Le Bec Fin was a better bang for the buck. There weren't any healthy anniversaries after that so my experience in high end dining stopped.

I need a place to meet my vegan friends and looks like Vedge might be it.

**Volanova** · 10-19-2012, 03:20 PM

Originally Posted by OldMama

They need to rate the suburbs top ten, and get those suburban places out of the Philly top ten. That's ridiculous.

That would be ideal. There are enough great restaurants in the 'burbs and the city to have two well populated lists.

**MarketStEl** · 11-21-2012, 06:32 AM

Originally Posted by five apples

Man, you need to get out more. Fond, Bibou, Vetri and the Fountain are certainly not well kept secrets.

I've heard of all of those, pass by Vedge regularly and had heard the buzz about it, and know about Sycamore thanks to a friend of mine in Lansdowne (the restaurant takes its name from the borough's landmark tree). We did a post on Fond's relocation on the RE Blog.

However, the only one of these ten I've actually eaten at is the Fountain. Certainly, the atmosphere skews older, but the service is impeccable and the food first-rate. (The Four Seasons' brunch, FWIW, is served in the next-door Swann Lounge. It's buffet-style and a smidge less pricey than dinner at the Fountain.)

I do note a sign of the times, however: every one of the assembled review blurbs for the ten restaurants listed includes some sort of lament about the prices, or if not a lament, a statement of the "expensive but worth it" variety. (Hmmmm. So the prices are high, but the workers are getting screwed, or so says a group trying to organize them. What's wrong with this picture? [FWIW, the restaurant industry got its turn two weeks later.])

Volanova is right that there are enough good restaurants in the 'burbs to warrant a separate list for it, but sometimes, this city-vs.-suburb kvetching just gets to me. I'm as big an urbanophile as you can find, but we are one region. Aren't we?

**NCtransplant** · 11-21-2012, 07:13 AM

Going slightly off-topic here: even though my psych tests have me pegged as a "visual" learner, these f***ing slides shows drive me nuts. I realize that it's done so advertising can change from page to page (in most cases), but gee I miss the days when a list was actually, well, a list. You know, the kind of presentation where you have everything in front of you at once and don't have to plod through "x" pages in order to see "x" items. I went to a site recommended by Digg a few days ago and it presented the Best 25 of some group in slide show format - I only went through it because I wanted to see how Philly ranked (mercifully, the list was bottom to top and Philly was #22).
And if I missed something on the initial page that did list all of the top 10 in one place, that's due to another one of my traits - impatience.