Disclaimer: this meal was on the pricier side ($300+), but since it was a special occasion (birthday!) I personally thought it was well worth it.

Realistically, you could spend all day at Double Knot in Center City, Philadelphia. Upstairs is a more casual bar/café where you can grab a coffee, eat breakfast and lunch, and then get happy hour bites and cocktails. But downstairs, in the izakaya with speakeasy vibes, is where the magic happens. Make sure to get a reservation, because it gets BUSY. We had one and still had about a 10 min wait for our table.

You can select items a-la-carte from the menu, but most people will recommend the 10- dish tasting menu for your first time, which is $68/person. You can either choose which item you want from each section of the menu, or let the staff choose for you (which is what we did). There are so many things on the menu that sound amazing, that next time we could try an entirely different set of dishes.

We ended up going with an upgraded chef’s tasting menu, which for an additional $10/each included the A-5 kobe, ribeye, and lobster claws as 3 of our options. We also ordered a couple of cocktails and split a sake flight.

Our Chef’s Tasting Menu

Hamachi Carpaccio

myoga, yuzu soy, sesame oil

Edamame Dumplings

sake, pea shoot, truffle

Duck Scrapple Bao

maple teriyaki, cucumber, chili

Ribeye

miso & soy au jus, wasabi potato

Broiled Seabass

truffle soy, pea shoot

Cauliflower

yuzu aioli, kombu, cashew

Robatayaki

lobster claw, short rib (not shown)

Big Eye Tuna Roll

shrimp tempura, soy bean paper, big eye tuna, avocado

A-5 Kobe

wasabi

Caramel Soft Serve

birthday sparkler

The Butterfly Knot

citrus vodka, butterfly tea, lemon, honey, bubbles

Sake Flight

chilled – unfortunately didn’t catch the 3 types

Some Final Thoughts..

Overall, this was one of the best meals we’ve had in Philadelphia. Our favorite dish was easily the duck scrapple bao, with the A-5 Kobe coming in a close second. While everyone raves about the edamame dumplings, I personally wasn’t a huge fan of the filling texture. The broth they were in was really good though, which helped make up for it. The cauliflower came out last and was a little underwhelming compared to everything else.

I’d recommend getting reservations downstairs if you’re looking for a date night or special occasion spot, and for happy hour or something more casual you can grab a spot in the upstairs café. If you’re visiting Philadelphia, you can’t go wrong with a stop at Double Knot.