Django

CLOSED although it fluctuated when i ate here last year, the strip with brocolli cheese tempura was one of the more memorable meals of my life.

It’s been a while since I’ve been here, but they use to have Pre-​fix meals on Mondays for $ 35 (like Restaurant Week.) The food was really good and a nice place to go with friends without breaking the bank. The restaurant is a BYOB and has a comfortable casual atmosphere. I would consider the food to be Californian French.

i love love love django. Get the gnocchi, whatever kind they offer that night, they are sickly good. had an amazing scallop dish with braised pork, chorizo and potato purée. it was sublime. the homemade bread is so f-​ing good. cheese plate is great. desserts aren’t my favorite there.
only one problem was i wanted to wrap my leftovers but the waitress accidentally threw it out. they made me a whole new meal to take home. so nice.
would go back again and again.

Ate therein April of last year for my birthday. It was around 5, and we were the only people in the place. The owners were closing early because it was passover, and they were having a private satyr. The chef gave us complimentary wine because it was my birthday and they had it on hand for their guests who were coming later, which was very nice of them. I am fairly certain that at the time the original owners had already sold, but it was good none the less. I know that under the original ownership, there was a strong emphasis on local/​organic food, but I don’t know if that has changed now. Just a note, I walk past this place every day, and it is definitely not open for lunch.

Last night we went to Django for dinner. My boyfriend remembered his Pabst Blue Ribbon (ewww) but I forgot my red wine! (Tenuta del Portale Aglianico del Vulture Riserva) So it was water for me. (BYOB)
Anyway, I hadn’t been back since the old owners sold it. I was kind of hesitant to go since the new owner and Sous Chef are good friends. The atmosphere was the same quaint, romantic, low lit and I loved the utensils. a variety from all over. My fav was the the french knive tang with the maroon handle and it had a little place for your forefinger. (
)
I was really happy when the waiter kept taking our utensils after each course (real fine dining)
The menu was thought provoking because, me not being a chef, was sitting there trying to ask my stomach, «Do you think this will taste right together?» I thought the combinations were really out there…
As each course came out I was amazed and DELIGHTED that not only the meal was DELICIOUS, but each new bite intermingled so delightfully with the next that not only I was very happy with my choices but right there realized that food is an art and a skill.
Cudos to Chef Ross! This visit was really an adventure in fine dining. I would recommend Django highly!

2.5 stars.
Unfortunately upon arrival we were told they were running behind on the reservations and there would be a 15 minute wait. No problem! We had plenty of our own delicious wine to drink in the meantime. The 15 minutes became an hour. Then they gave our table to another party that came in 15 minutes after we did and had a later reservation. Still, we were in good spirits after clearing that problem up.
The meal turned out to be a bigger problem. I love goat cheese and smoked salmon, yet somehow my appetizer was almost inedible. Others in my party loved their apps and I have to admit the tortellini were very good. The NY strip steak dishes were a huge ripoff (super small portion of meat) The saving grace was the scallop dish. If all I had was this dish, I would probably give the place 5 stars. Dessert was pretty much a disaster.
The service was spotty and frazzled. They were totally overbooked, so people were waiting all night for their tables. After getting bad service they put on a 20% gratuity for our party of 6, which seems a little absurd. I have no problem dropping cash at even pricier places, but I cant say that this place is really worth it.

I ate once at Django before the former owners sold it and I have to say, that was the best meal I have ever had there. However, that meal was absolutely exceptional.
I have eaten here 3 or 4 times since the new owners came in and the food is still great. They sometime try to be a little too clever for their own good in terms of taste combinations and get found out (the foie gras with chocolate on New Years Eve 2006 was pretty vile) but everything generally works brilliantly.
I love that the bread comes in little flower pots, and is fresh and warm. The service improves every time I go and to back up Johns comment, they actually treat Restaurant Week as a tool to entice people back as opposed to an easy way to rip $ 35 out of your pocket.
Oh and its a BYOB, the magical letters that make Philadelphia one of the best places to eat, as you can afford to have a bottle of wine and eat the expensive items on the menu as opposed to paying $ 40 for a bottle of something that is more commonly used as a condiment.

Birthday Meal of the CENTURY… i walked out stuffed like a turkey on Thanksgiving, but ya know with that gourmet stuffing you only see on Food Network. While South St has become a nightmare of franchise shops, this small BYOB is the best eatery on the block.

love it, love it. i went with a large group during restaurant week (and the lovely people didn’t throw a fit because i changed the size of the reservation 3 times on that day!) and we had a great time.
the bread – how adorable!
the amuse bouche – tasty!
i think the winner of the appetizers was the goat cheese gnocchi; my scallop entrée was pretty good.
the desserts were good… but not as amazing as the rest of the meal.
i think it was pretty busy (seeing as how it’s restaurant week and all)…and the kitchen got pretty smoky… which wafted out into the dining room… causing half of my table-​mates to start tearing up and coughing. not a pretty sight. once they opened the front door and the air cleared up, it was much better.

there were 8 discriminating palates on the table & every single one of us gave this restaurant a 4 or 4.5 star. we came during the last night of restaurant week & had the last seating. considering it was the last day & last seating, i was prepared to get mediocre service, food & limited selection. but, no. i was pleasantly surprised & impressed of the food & service. i had the sweet corn soup to start with — simply delightful! then the bay scallops that melted in my mouth. then the grand finale, goat cheese dessert encrusted with pistachio and fruit glaze. oh my gosh, the food was divine! and yes, they did not rush us out of our table.

Small, quiet, BYOB french bistro with friendly waitstaffs. A good place to take your date there.

Freshly baked bread served in a flowerpot. Rainbow trout cooked just right that it melts in your mouth with a just flakey enough top and mushrooms. Camomile tea ice cream. These are just some of the delights you will encounter. We had reservations on a Friday night at 7:30 PM and it was perfect. My boyfriend, myself, and his dad were able to dine for 3 hours like the take-​your-​time Europeans :) What a scrumptious, calming place to meet your significant other’s parent for the first time and just the right ambiance to have a conversation — sans any need to raise your voice to be heard and to hear.

If you’re on a budget (as I was when I lived in Philly), try this. Call up Django and see if they have any cancellations. We did this once, and they returned our call later to say that they had a table at 10 PM. This seating gave us just enough time to order Django’s sublime cheese plate. Twelve cheeses are arranged in a circle, progressing from mild to stinky. Your server will explain each cheese to you, and recommend that you work around the circle clockwise. Cheeses come with a selection of honey-​drizzled nuts and fruit, and a few crackers. If you show up at Christmas, you might get a small glass of port, too — the only time this BYOB serves alcohol.
Meals here are of course outstanding, but if you’d like some Django indulgence without the cost, show up for dessert. We did it, and loved it.

I thought this place was great. After hearing so much about how great it was and ownership changes and whatnot I really didn’t know what to expect, but the food was great, different enough to be interesting but really delicious at the same time. Who the fuck makes a goat cheese cake? Anyway, the service was fine, the food takes awhile but I like a little time to chill out so that’s a plus for me, and everything was just good in general. I don’t know about the two hour thing, but it took us that long just to comfortably eat our meal, and no one said anything to us. There’s a wine store (not a liquor store) about half a block down too, which is convenient. I think they change their menu every month, too.

The food was OK but the portions were extremely small and the menu was very limited. Not liking seafood, I was confined to one chicken dish. I had an appetizer, main course, and dessert and was hungry when I left. It was the first time in my 57 years that I was told that the restaurant had a 2 hour limit and we were asked to leave. It was my first and last time.

My relationship with Django has evolved much like a two year relationship with another person might. So, it is with a heavy heart that I removed one star from my Django review.
The thing is, the first time I went was so incredibly, mind-​blowingly good, nothing beyond could really compare. So on subsequent visits, the vivid memory of that first huge hole they blew in my mind overwhelmed whatever I was eating. Everything was still good, damn good in fact, but it couldn’t compete with the memory of that first sigh, that first holy jesus moment.
The original visit in question was my first introduction to sweetbreads. Sweetbreads sound like a delicious pastry, but actually refer to the thymus gland or pancreas of a young calf. Pretty repulsive sounding I know, and it’s definitely a dish you’d be better off approaching without knowledge of its origins. But lo and behold, this dish is INSANE. In a really good way. Earthy, sweet, salty, buttery; it was like tasting the purest most elemental food in the universe. I felt like a cave (wo)man first discovering that food served a purpose far beyond sustenance.
Django remains utterly sweet and charming. From the kooky old lady curtains to the flower pot bread, it is whimsical and nuanced and totally worth a visit. I’m still hopeful that Django will give me magic like that first time again someday. But for now, I’m checking out my other options.

where do i begin…
the food was trying too hard to be amazing that it became strange. the tastes were a jumbled concoction that did not sit well on my tongue. the lamb was excellent, but the almond jellied SALAD? come on… i think after they changed the chef and owners it sadly started to decline. if they didn’t try so hard and simplified a few things, then well it might rise back to its former glory days. it was expensive too! (around $ 60 per person). i must say though the cornbread in a flowerpot was truly yummy. bring your own wine and good friends to make your visit better.
cons: strange eats. $$$.

It’s the BYOB in the city. It’s been dependable and delicious since day one. I can’t say anything more than, get a table, bring some great wines, and good friends. This is what a good BYOB, let alone any restaurant should be like.

One of the top BYOB’s in the city. Django is located near South Street in a small space. It’s reasonably quiet with good, attentive service. The menu is put together seasonally with all fresh ingredients. It’s very comprehensive and has something for everyone. We had some amazing savory dishes and the food at the neighboring tables looked equally good. A sample of some of what was on our menu includes goat cheese gnocchi, pumpkin infused risotto, duck breast, bison steak, scallops with lobster hash, and halibut pasta. I’m not doing them justice in their descriptions, but it gives an idea of what’s out there. Desserts were fantastic as well.