James

It’s decent. Totally overpriced. They have $ 7 – 9 pinot noirs on the menu at $ 10 a glass. It’s kind of insulting.
I had little crostini that were completely inedible b/​c they were meant to be one bite pieces and the toast was so hard it was like trying to eat a a piece of crunchy cardboard. The service was nice and the evening was nice but I will never bother going back with so many truly captivating places to go to in this city.
Lovely selection of oysters — thumbs up with that one. Of course they didn’t have to do anything but choose them and put them on ice.
The main course sounded amazing and was certainly nice enough but for a $ 34 entrée? It wasn’t really*great*. I’ve had meals that you taste and you are blown into another stratosphere, and this wasn’t one of them. at all.
The décor is blah to the point of being boring. I would be surprised if James is able to stay around — it’s one of those places that just seems doomed to disappear.

I had such high hopes for James. Having heard so many wonderful things about the drinks and food, I was thrilled to finally get reservations.
I recently discovered that James won’t be staying in Bella Vista, and I’m not that surprised. As other reviewers have noted, James is incredibly expensive. I ordered the black bass which came in a teeny tiny 4 oz. portion. I could barely taste any hints of curry in the sauce (or should I say «broth»?). My dining companion ordered his without clams and ended up having to pick out clams all night long. For the table, we ordered cauliflower «in textures» and the duck ragu. The cauliflower was a joke: textures = whole and pureed. The duck ragu was the only saving grace; it was savory and flavorful without being too rich.
Service was also terrible. For a restaurant that has been open for a while, the waiters seemed to know very little. I asked for decaf tea but was told they didn’t have any. When the tea box came out, I saw a slew of decaf options. In between courses, the waiter constantly knocked into my silverware, sending the knife spinning. He also blanked out on the menu several times, finally just reading off the menu.
Since James is leaving anyway, I won’t be back. I’ll swing on over to Fish for a better dish at much better prices.

I’ll start off with the negative…
Cons: It’s extremely expensive, even for Philadelphia. I’m not trying to say the food isn’t worth it, however, if you are planning on going here plan to spend a good amount of money
Now, saying that the place is small, yet modern. It’s decorated well but it’s relatively small, so you will need a reservation, and try to make it a at least 3 days ahead of time, it’s a hit in this area of Philly.
The waiters will try to sell you on getting appetizers, a meal and a dessert. It’s really not necessary, the portions are small, but not so small that it won’t give you a full feeling after you are done. If you and another person go, split an appetizer and each get a meal, but expect to spend 50 a person.
The service is slow, but I think this is done on purpose. They let you sit at the table for a long time between ordering, and getting food, and asking for dessert. If you enjoy your company and enjoy to talk to them, then it’s a good bet you’ll enjoy this place. If you like to eat fast and can’t stand sitting around, then skip it.
The food is great, and you can tell they take their time on making each dish. You won’t find these dishes at other places in Philadelphia. The menu is made from local produce, and it changes per the season, so choose wisely!

With the (currently trendy) four-​course, small plates format, each at 20+, you probably aren’t going to be calling it «Jimmy». And, if you don’t have tenure yet, this is definitely a Groupon adventure.
James is plus ambiance, service, and creativity. On the other hand, the tempura burgandy snails and duck ragout somehow were slight misses. (The former being a bit busy/​salty/​sweeter than I’d want it to be.)
The real standout in the whole thing was the champaign oyster risotto. If everything was at that level, James would be an easy 5 stars, even at full price. As it is, 4.

Bought a Groupon for James back in the summertime and finally went there a week before it expired.
Food portions, and wine pourings, were small. Food was ecetic, as we had parpadelle with duck topped with shaved chocolate, and even though we had three courses I still left hungry.
I was impressed with the layout and design of the restaurant and the fireplace in the bar caught my eye. I would go back to have a drink and eat in the bar area.
Nice that it’s an upscale restaurant in the Italian market area that isn’t old school South Philly. But if you’re looking for that, check out Cucina Forte up the block!
NOTE: People were pretty dressed up, so I would dress accordingly.

I wanted to give this place 2 stars because I was so disappointed by the portion sizes and price but I thought it would be unfair.
First, let me start by telling you what I LIKED about James. It’s beautifully decorated. I really liked the interior. Everything from the walls to the server ware — it was beautiful. Our server was great. She was friendly and knowledgeable and helped us make our selections. The food was good. It wasn’t great but it was pretty good.
What I didn’t like about this place…
THE PORTION SIZES WERE TOO SMALL!!! It literally took us 3 – 4 minutes to finish our entrees. We ate our meal so fast that our server commented how quickly we finished our food. Aside from the portion sizes, it was VERY EXPENSIVE. I don’t mind paying for a good meal but I want to leave the restaurant satisfied. We were still hungry when we left so we went to Phileo for some frozen yogurt. By the time I got home, I was still hungry and ended up making myself a sandwich.
The food is good, the service was good and the atmosphere was nice but because of the portion sizes and price, I won’t be back.

I went for drinks to James and I have to say it was pretty nice.
Lovely contemporary design, large print from local artist which also happen’s to be the album cover for panda bear’s person pitch. This inspired some nice conversation with the friendly bar tender.
There is a fire place which makes for a cozy winter evening. And the staff is attentive and makes sure you are well served and enjoying your visit.
It’s a bit on the pricey side but if you are looking for a place to impress someone or just feel like you are enjoying someplace a little bit nicer than the usual gastropub, you won’t break the bank with a few drinks here.

We went to James for a dinner date a couple weeks ago. It has been on the list of restaurants I want to try out.
We had the Burgundy snails, risotto alla milanese, duck pappardelle, and the slow roasted poularde. I really liked the snails and the pappardelle. Risotto was interesting with the raw oysters in it. But the poularde was on the salty side for us. It’s certainly a place with great atmosphere for a romantic date. I enjoyed my experience and the service but probably won’t go there again. It’s one of those places you check out once then move on to the next one.

Went to James the other night for a special dinner out. Everything was lovely. We waited in the little fireplace lounge for about 10 minutes — it was very cozy. Their cocktails are incredible; delicious and boozy just the way I like them! We were seated at a table for two which was rather large… I like a smaller table for intimate dining! We had a salad, the jewel case, the duck pasta, lobster and a steak. Everything tasted amazing.
The only issue I have with James was that for 175 (before tip) I’d like to be full. Not satisfied, but full.
I’ll be back for happy hour!

I live right around the corner and as a poor grad student I haven’t been able to enjoy the restaurant (yet), but I go there often for happy hour on Tuesdays. Well I just found out they have an extra special happy hour on Sunday! There is a $ 4 glass of wine (one white and one red) and ½ off a particular beer.
I went last night with some friends and since we were getting such a nice deal on wine we decided to get some food. My friend and I ordered the slow-​roasted chicken for two. You get a healthy portion of chicken and a plate full of vegetables. The chicken was tender and the skin crispy and delicious. There were so many veggies I can’t remember them all but I especially loved the creamy leeks!
I still want to enjoy a proper sit-​down restaurant experience there but in the meantime I will probably be there most Sundays sitting in front of the fireplace sipping red wine and eating slow-​roasted chicken!

Went here Sunday evening for our one-​year anniversary, a worthy occasion for that Groupon I bought back in the summer.
The (very nice, if somewhat overeager) waitress introduced the menu and recited the nightly specials, going on at some length about the oysters they had available. I wanted the Sunday Supper menu, which that night was a cardoon gratin not on the regular menu, the Berkshire pork entrée from the regular menu, and a dessert of plum and crème fraîche. Sadly, you cannot get the tasting menu when using a Groupon, so we ended up going totally a la carte.
An amuse bouche of endive soup arrived before our meal. It was about a mouthful of pretty delicious endive and bacon essence, but the rather-​too-​large-​for-​the-​serving coffee mug it was served in was not heated beforehand, so it was already lukewarm by the time I drank it. It was like somebody’s leavings from an order of soup.
We shared the herb-​tempura escargots to start, then each got a pasta dish and an entrée. The escargots were tasty enough, the plate was well-​balanced, but there were literally 5 escargots on the plate. I’ve had escargots in much fancier places than James, including Le Cirque, and this dish just didn’t stand up in flavour or value. Everywhere else I’ve ordered them I’ve gotten a plate of at least 10, even at Le Bec Fin during Restaurant Week when they can be really stingy.
The pasta dishes we selected were the «venus jewel case» and the duck ragu papardelle. The venus jewel case was a pasta dough pouch filled with spinach fettucini, bacon, cauliflower, and truffles. The pasta was baked in the pouch, but the pouch didn’t get crispy enough to add anything complimentary to the dish. The pasta inside was tasty, although I found the truffles to be flavourless and almost non-​existant. It was a good middle of the meal portion, not too big but not tiny either, however I failed to see the quality of ingredients and craftsmanship to warrant at $ 17 price tag. The duck ragu papardelle was good, I couldn’t taste the orange in the dish, but the chocolate added a nice finish. Again, it was nearly cold by the time we finished eating it because it was served on a tremendous plate that hadn’t been heated. Portion size was slightly smaller than the venus jewel case, which was quite hearty and could do you solid with an appetizer and a cocktail as a full meal.
For entrees I ordered the Berkshire pork and my other half ordered the halibut. The entrees really highlight my issues with this place. The pork was perfectly cooked and the beans and fennel purée that accompanied it were delicious, but the cold plate problem struck again and I was spooning cold beans over my last bites of pork. The other half’s entrée was almost excellent, but the bizarre composition left it unsatisfying. The oil-​poached halibut arrived atop a pedestal of fresh Hawaiian heart of palm, all jiggly and translucent and looking for all the world like a strangely coagulated rectangle of KY jelly. When a fish is prepared this way I like to see the skin left on and then crisped up at the end. The fish was well-​cooked but totally under-​seasoned; it tasted like halibut and olive oil, nothing else. The roasted tangerine jus (the only colour on the plate) didn’t taste enough like citrus to bring any life to the dish, and it desperately needed something crispy and salty (and also more of the really delicious heart of palm purée) to make it into a dish anyone would want to eat again. Flabby, jiggly fish on top of a tough round of heart of palm is not terribly appealing.
It was also really empty, which made the basic mistakes in serving that much more disappointing. A few other side notes: the bread looked and tasted like it came from Whole Foods. We both picked the olive loaf, and when the waitress was gone looked at each other and said «This is from Whole Foods!». We buy that bread relatively often, tasted identical to both of us. We passed on dessert but they brought out some tiny cookies and a candle for our anniversary, which was sweet. The cookies were good.
All in all (including two cocktails that neither of us really cared for) the damage was $ 145 or so before the Groupon. We were full, the food was mostly tasty, but I can’t help feeling like I could get a better meal for less than half the price at any number of really great restaurants in town. I doubt we’ll go back.

I have been DYING to try this place for the last year, so I used my boyfriend’s birthday as an opportunity to go. My boyfriend can be apprehensive when it comes to foodie-​type restaurants, since some dishes are «outside the box» for him, but I was thrilled that he ended up loving the restaurant.
I loved the décor. It was chic yet cozy. I felt like I was in someone’s nicely decorated dining room. And it was very romantic.
Cocktails are inventive and they offer a nice wine list.
We started with tomatoes with burrata and eggplant mayo. The burrata melted in your mouth. Next, we each got a pasta course. I got the duck ragu with papparadelle, one of their signature dishes. I always want to like duck, but tend to be disappointed when I order it. This time I was far from disappointed! My boyfriend’s spinach tortellini was also delish.
Another signature dish is the chicken, which my boyfriend got as his entrée. He loved it. I got the Maine Lobster dish, which was tasty and had interesting flavors.
For dessert, we opted for the trio of homemade ice creams. In the mint chocolate chip, you could taste real mint.
Now I understand why JAMES is always on the top of the list of best restaurants in Philly.

Oh, James. I had heard and read so many good things about you. Your food was highly touted, your cocktails envied. I browsed the menu online before dining and while I found the prices to be a little high, I thought that the food would warrant them. I was mistaken.
Our server explained that the menu was meant to be enjoyed in 3 courses. He then went through and recommended his favorite dishes. First recommendation was the Kindai tuna, m.p. I was not surprised that we would be steered towards the most expensive appetizer. After gushing about the incredible marbling and sustainability of this fish, he recommended that we get one or two pastas and then the lobster entrée, $ 36. If you went to see a movie, would you go see whatever the person working the box office told you to see? I would rather not feel like I’m getting the up-​sell and just be left to decide on my own or ask questions.
I ordered the Burgundy snails and the risotto a la milanese with summer truffle and beef marrow. My companion ordered the consommé with miatake mushrooms and the lobster. Almost every dish on the menu features some sort of interplay between sweet and savory flavors. To me this feels like a gimmick. The snails were lightly battered and fried and were plated on top of some sort of burnt sugar crisp that tasted like toffee. They were very flavorful and the dish worked well, except for the sweetness. The risotto tasted like Velveeta but not quite as salty. Summer truffle? There was no flavor in the thin brown slices in the center of the dish that I assumed were summer truffle.
After the entrees were cleared the waiter gave us dessert menus without asking if we wanted any. This is a big pet peeve of mine and another example of feeling like I am being up-​sold. I had the panna cotta which was very good, nice texture and sweet without being too sweet.
I’ve only been once, so I can’t comment on the overall consistency of the menu, but so far there just isn’t a lot of value for the money. I expected more complex flavors from the risotto than just mac and cheese. The chef seems obsessed with juxtaposing savory and sweet and I don’t think it always works. I’d be interested to go back and try the pappardelle with duck ragu and chocolate, but at $ 120 for app, entrée, two drinks, a dessert and a piece of cheese, it’s going to be a while.

James is the kind of place that you want to go, eat to your heart’s content, and then have someone else pay the check. Interestingly, this is what happened to me and my friends. Our check was taken care of by a generous, most likely drunk, stranger. Let me clear up a couple things though — yes, that was a first (for all of us), we debated a while after it was offered and no it did not become a «Pretty Woman» situation after the fact either (there was no quid pro quo here, I promise) — but that’s another story for another time.
In any event, I’m sure this stranger must have had deep pockets, because this place is expensive. The menu is structured in such a way that you must order 3 courses to really experience a complete meal. And those three courses, before wine, will add up to $ 75-​$ 80 a person well before you include cocktails, wine and desserts.
The food is delicate here, modern and refined — the service is too. As always, they aren’t afraid to use truffles (oh, sweet love of mine!) and they are generous too, giving you slices instead of a sprinkling of fairy dust truffle — They mean business. Portions are correspondingly on the smaller side — but I prefer quality over quantity. The result? For the most part, it delivers. A few unbalanced hits here or there (one being the risotto, sadly). The food is beautiful with some dishes being appropriately more complex than others, some underwhelming. On the whole, it’s definitely a fancy night out with elegant offerings. Gorgeous airy space, sizeable bar area, a wine list that could stand to get some reinvention with perhaps a couple different price points too.
Bottom line, Philly has spoiled me with the BYOBs, so unless the pricier restaurants don’t stun me with their food, I’m a little reluctant to throw too much praise when I can go elsewhere for half the price and eat just as well, if not, (and only in limited cases) better.

What a gem!
Ambiance: Décor says city chic and sleek swank but lighting is intimate and warm and the overall people aura is far from pretentious.
Service: I think they were training staff but despite a few hiccups of slow service the staff here are focused on giving a smooth evening focused on helping you enjoy your evening and the chef’s preparations.
Food: Innovative with some minor execution bumps.
Chef brought out a nice bright amuse bouche that gave my tastebuds a nice spark to open up my meal. Menu changes seasonally but if you have the opportunity to try the Risi e Bisi (risotto with english peas and bacon gelato), please do so. Especially if you love any of those ingredients! Bacon gelato was perfectly salty-​smokey-​sweet. My main entrée of Maine lobster with peaches and chanterelles was good but not the best as the lobster was somewhat overcooked and bitter. However, my counterpart’s Halibut with Hearts of Palm was delightful. Really loved that they had prepared different parts of the Hearts of Palm, bringing out various textures.
For dessert, we had a cherry clafoutis and a chocolate-​hazelnut semifreddo with raspberry sauce/​compote? The latter was far more memorable and especially if you are a chocolate/​nutella lover …
Drinks: Honeysuckle Iced Tea Vodka was one of the BEST cocktails I have ever had. Not too sweet and the vodka brought a nice little edge to bring it all together. Though if you prefer boozy drinks — probably not your best choice. Definitely a good indication for their «Hours of Happiness»
A few bumps but some truly memorable dishes that continue to haunt my tastebuds. At it’s price point, this place is great for special occasions but their Hours of Happiness sound like the best deal!

I kicked off a gluttonous gastronomic stand this last weekend with Friday night reservations at James. I had previously made a reservation on a day James wasn’t open using OpenTable, and James felt so bad they sent me a gift card to encourage me to try again. So impressed, I tried again and was overall pleased, but feel a mix of pleasure and pain.
Pros
–Food — pretty much all our dishes were excellent, though standouts would be the duck ragu tagliatelle and the olive oil poached halibut which was as tender as sushi. Don’t hesitate, order the salted caramel semifreddo for dessert.
–Environment — elegant but casual. I’ve read comparisons to being in your most stylish friend’s living room and that wouldn’t be far off.
–Service — all the staff were exceedingly polite and knowledgeable. I think they all have advanced degrees.
Cons
–Price — I can’t quite wrap my head around the price. James is great, but I’m not sure it’s $ 30 pork tenderloin great. Or $ 14 martini great. By and large one of the best things about Philly is that it’s not NYC. James may have lost sight of this. (Then again, employees with advanced degrees don’t come cheap anywhere.)
–Je Né Sais Quoi– all of which adds up to a very slightly dissonant experience. I think all the elements were there, but somehow I left just a little underwhelmed by James. Perhaps it was the overall sense of value, bang for buck. But that’s not quite it either. So I’ll leave it to the group, did anyone else go to James expecting to be dazzled and left feeling just expensively pleased?

I went to James for Valentine’s Day Dinner, but it wasn’t on Valentine’s Day; rather, since I failed to make reservations months in advance, it was on the Thursday beforehand, right smack in the middle of Snowpocalypse, Part II. (If you’re counting at home, this is the third review in a row in which I’ve used the word Snowpocalypse… Will I go for four? Only time will tell.)
James was incredible. Unfortunately, as a reviewer, I come up short when it comes to explaining why a restaurant is great. It is so much easier to write about one that is merely good (and even easier to scrap a bad one). I find that when a restaurant is truly great, any attempts to catalog the experience are for naught… I lose myself in the moment, and am left with only a vague memory of the meal, as if it were some marvelous dream.
This happened at James. I remember arriving, I remember ordering a Jameshattan, I remember it being quite good, I remember the amuse bouche, I remember the swift replacement of the scallop in the amuse bouche with heart of palm when I informed the waiter that I am unfortunately allergic… Then I apparently lapsed into some sort of fugue state.
I know that we ordered the sunchoke soup and the octopus for appetizers, the tagliatelle as a shared middle course, and the red snapper and the risotto as entrees; I know that each was impressive. As far as specifics, though, I’m at a loss.
BOTTOM LINE: James is expensive, no doubt about that, but it’s worth it: Great food, great drinks, great service, great décor. Overall, an outstanding special occasions (or regular occasions if you are stacking chips).

Okay so I must first say, we first were going to go to the Fountain at the Four Seasons for Sharon’s bday. However, a friend said it might be a bit too pricey for some of us. Then we were going to go to Vetri, but Vetri is closed on sundays. My friends birthday fell on a sunday this year. Yet, the actual sunday that her birthday fell on was the day after the 2^nd big snow so James closed due to the snow and south philly’s lack of snow removal. Then we rescheduled and that day was crap for all of us. So, finally three weeks after her birthday we went this past sunday.
So, maybe because of all the hoopla I was not sold or thrilled about James.
The place is adorable and maybe if I lived in that hood it would be my go to place for a drink. It does feel like being in someones living room.
Sunday does have the perk of the fixed price of 40 for a set appetizer, entrée and dessert. The perkiest part of that perk is that you don’t have to get that, you can order off the menu, one person can get that and not the entire table has to get it. Which is cool. Some places like distrito and zahav make the whole table get the set menu thing.
So three of us had the poularde which was so talked up on here and in philadelphia magazine I expected chicken heaven. Only leetle bits were crispy. Yes, it was moist and tender, but it was almost like a really high quality deli meat. You know what I mean? Sharon had the halibut which she didn’t mention whether it was yay or nay.
We all agreed the spinach and mushrooms served with the chicken were tasty, but a bit oversalted. This seems to be a theme in philly restaurants of late.
The best part of the meal were the oxtail agnolotti. If I was ever to return I would probably order two orders of the agnolotti and a dessert. The pasta is ever so delicate and the filling is perfectly seasoned and tender almost like cheek meat.
The desserts were tasty. I had the passionfruit tart which was a miss, however the semifreddo was divine and so was the chocolate cake. My other friend had the cheese dish which she said was heavenly.
The olive bread was also lovely.
I’m just not so thrilled with James and I maybe it was all the rescheduling? I also felt the place is very overpriced especially for the neighborhood (eventhough this is the new hip restaurant locale)

Sigh. I loved James. I loved the décor, the homey feeling, the wine, everything. Some things could have been better, but they were little things — most notably the tables were uncommonly wide — no holding hands unless you want to lie on your food. It was a touch expensive but both me and the man got pasta and an entrée and a bottle of wine and shared dessert — it could easily have been a cheaper night but we went all out.
The food was very simple. I enjoyed the duck ragu but it wasn’t my favorite dish of the night. I got the Poulard — arguably the best chicken I’ve ever had. My man said the same of the aged sirloin. The portions were perefect, and the service was fabulous. Gold stars all around.

I don’t know another late night happy hour like this around town. You order drink after sophisticated drink and suddenly, though your legs develop cocktail bruises, your wallet doesn’t. Before you know it, you’ve bought drinks for many other bar patrons and your bill doesn’t exceed twenty one dollars. Am I just really charming or is this place just –that– special? It’s that special, and my charisma merely won me smiles from the bartender, not any special discounts. $ 3 drafts and half off specialty cocktails.
If you appreciate an aesthetically pleasing ambiance with in-​the-​know folks, go here on a Tuesday night between 9 and 11 when Meghan is behind the bar. Most likely, you won’t be sorry.