Irwin's

Irwin's is an Italian restaurant located inside Bok Building, which was an old school revitalized as an artsy complex space. From the school desks to the chairs, the vintage furnishings of Irwin's give a nostalgic vibe. ＊Shallot and Thyme Focaccia **They change the housemade foccacia flavor regularly. Glad that we got to try the shallot and thyme one. The bread dough was pillowy with a shiny brown surface, while not feeling oily at all. The sweetness from the caramelized shallot and the herby fragrance from thyme made a harmonious flavor duet. ＊1/2 Agrodolce Chicken**SERIOUSLY how could they make the chicken (even the chicken breast!) so tender and juicy? Also can we talk about the gremolata? It was fantastic as a dish itself, and add extra textures and tangy flavors if you spread it over the meat.＊Trofie (half)We know their carbs wouldn't be as amazing as their proteins but we still wanted to try. The pasta was cooked to al dente. The mushroom truffle flavor was exactly what you could easily imagine. Nothing mindblowing here. ＊Milk & Honey GelatoWe picked this right away because I saw it had "pistachio". The honey was very sweet, but premium in flavor. My cravings was fully satisfied as they didn't skimp on the crushed pistachios on top. Lowkey wished that the gelato melted a bit slower.

The ambiance at Irwin's is SO cool! The views are unparalleled.. gorgeous space and also quirky cute with the high school themed deco. Service was also fantastic- shoutout to José, our waiter, for taking great care of us!I wish the food had matched the amazing ambiance. I was really quite disappointed with everything. We started with the buffalo mozzarella and the tuna crudo. The mozzarella was ok, nothing special while the crudo was fishy and didn't taste the freshest. We then moved on to a couple pastas, both of which were mediocre. Finally, our entree was the whole fish (it was dorade that day). This was the one dish I did enjoy, it was buttery and perfectly cooked. But it was not the best I've ever had and was quite steep at $65. When we got the bill, it was almost $200 for two people. Definitely not worth the price. I have had much better meals for far less. I will not be returning which is disappointing given how absolutely breathtaking the view was.

Very nice views and most places with nice views have bad food but this was decent but not my fave. Trofie pasta was my fave, the rest was just like good/fine. Probably wouldn't go back

Go for the atmosphere of the restaurant being in the old Bok Building and great city views from the roof. Otherwise, the food was very average. We had four pastas which were all okay, the bucatini was my favorite of what we tried, but if you're wanting good pasta/Sicilian maybe go elsewhere.

Irwin's Restaurant here in South Philadelphia is this rooftop charmer! The whole setup is clever and really works. On top of an old High School (like 50's - 60's HS) they fit the decor to represent this building's history.As for the food, it's really good!We were tempted to do the prix fix menu, but a late lunch in downtown Philly put the kabosh on that.So, us four ordered to share:* Octopus with hazelnuts and mushrooms * Fritters Misto with shrimp and panelle* Broccoli Rabe with pecorino and anchovies * Fennel Salad with citrus and parsley * Spaghetti Alle Vongole with white wine and parsley * 1/2 Agrodolce Chicken with gremolata* Bucatini with zucchini and battarga* A bottle of Caruso Arancino and a bottle of Santa Tresa Frappato* Trofie with pistachio, and almondsThis was certainly a feast for the eyes, nose and (most important) tongue.My #4 son has been living in Philadelphia for one year now. He and his girlfriend have studied and learned the "Culinary" hot spots here. Tonight here at Irwin's they showed their Chops by taking Mom & Dad here!

Really really enjoyed my time here. Definitely feels like more of a summertime vibe, but the inside is super cute and eclectic as well. Obviously the BOK building is a amazing spot in its own right, but having dinner here gives a truly great view of the building with the added benefit of the really special cocktails and fun plates Irwin's has to offer. And the view--the pictures speak for themselves, but sunset at Irwin's patio seating may be the best vista view of the city, bar none. I love that since it's a bit more removed from the city, there aren't any skyscrapers to block the spectacular sights. I thought that drinks were more of a highlight than food here. The menu is quite small. The pasta was wonderful, and comes in two sizes. The small size is really just a few bites at a ~$15 price point. The large is more of a traditional entree at ~$30. Everything tasted great and was really well cooked, but it wasn't knock your socks off, for what you pay. I suppose you pay a bit of a premium for the space. There are three meat options. I've tried the chicken, which was good but not great. I thought that the pasta was a better buy--probably would go for two large plates for two people as a dinner. The cocktails are really, really great. They're imaginative, fun twists on classics. Think garnishes like bay leaves and fig, bases like grapefruit gin and overproof rum, and even pepper. I loved every drink I tried here, and was really impressed at how fun and colorful the drinks were while still remaining well balanced and refreshing. Service is quite professional and they let you hang around and enjoy the view--I never felt rushed or anything like that. It's a really unique experience to eat here--go during the summertime around sunset! It's really fun! Grab a cocktail and maybe share a plate of pasta for a fun happy hour out.

I have been wanting to try Irwin's since it appeared on Bon Appetit's list of best restaurants last year. We tried to get a reservation a couple of times and they were fully allocated so yesterday, we booked an early Sunday night dinner there. Unfortunately, it's a cooler time of year so the BOK bar and the patio were closed but we were able to get a seat inside and had Micah, a lovely and well versed server.I was nervous about being on time for the reservation after reading reviews where others were chastised for being late or worse, charged for not making their reservation. That said, I understand why guardrails are important in a high demand setting. We were on time but didn't know exactly where we were going other than the BOK building and had a hard time finding the entrance!! We did and when I mentioned it to our first hostess on the ground floor, she seemed genuinely interested in improving our experience. I told her how well they had done keeping us informed in the day and hours up to our rez and that they could easily add a message about where to enter the building.To start, we got a couple of cocktails. I'm sorry that I don't remember the names but one was mezcal and the other was a gin forward cocktail with lemon and a white amaro. Both were great.For our mezze plates, we ordered some olives which came warm and with huge capers, the calamari, and the broccolini - all were great. I was a little sad that the frito misto wasn't on the menu but was assured that we might see it again in the summertime. For the pasta, we ordered the mushroom trofie and the orrechiete with greens and rancho gordo white beans. Both were very good but I could've used a bit more spice in both.For our main, we got the chicken gremolata. The chicken was excellent on its own and didn't need the gremolata. We also asked for some bread to sop up the olive drippings. It was $2 - not a big deal but not a big deal fro them either given the price of the meal. For wine, we had two glasses. One was the orange skin on wine - which was a very good, easy wine that could have taken me through the whole meal. We also got a pet nat recommended by Micah which I loved. Her service was impeccable.The meal was definitely a splurge for us. I'll go back when it warms up to test out the patio on the roof but at these prices (nearly $300 including the tip for our meal), it will be a special occasion spot.

I made a 7:30 dinner reservation at the bar. We arrived just before 7 to experience the sunset from the Bok Bar side of the roof top. It became chilly so we were ready to go inside for dinner at Irwin's. Service at the bar was 5 star! Our bartender was very attentive, friendly & helpful. We got to view the working kitchen. We ordered a bottle of red & pasta dishes 1/2 orders to start. Bucatini with tomatoes with ricotta & Rigatoni with rabbit sauce. Both delicious. Next Swordfish entree, fish was fully cooked but somehow tender & flaky. Yumm. Desserts: we had fig leaf gelato with almond's & caramel & stone fruit (peach) cobbler both delectable but the gelato was the favorite! Great night time view of Philly looking South from the roof top restaurant. Can't wait to go back.

This is a good and interesting place - one of a number of upscale food/hipster vibe places in town. This one separates itself from the others by being a bit less pretentious, with excellent food and service.The portions are a bit confusing. We ended up with 3 appetizers which actually were surprisingly healthy portions given what we expected, 3 small pastas (which really were tasting size) and 2 entrees for 4 people. The food was uniformly good. Some (such as the broccoli rabe) was just different and tasty enough to set themselves apart from similar dishes elsewhere, and others (the corn pasta) were just Ok, but all were expertly prepared by someone well trained in the culinary arts.One thing that keeps this from being a five star review: the prices are really ridiculous. The items listed above plus one of their lower-priced bottles of wine, tax and a generous but not overwhelming tip reached nearly $100 per person, which really is way more than you have to spend at some other excellent Philadelphia restaurants (or maybe the same price for less food).For the location (quirky- cool at the top of the Bok building in South Philadelphia many blocks from the action on Passyunk Avenue), you'd expect to have some favorable pricing, but the reverse seems to be true. I can't say I won't be Bok (sorry), but I hesitate to rush there when there are so many great restaurants in Philadelphia that offer more bang for the buck.

We live in the city. We know the Bok building. Friends made a resy at Irwins for dinner. We ordered for table of 4 - three apps, three pastas, 2 entrees chicken and whole fish. Please forgive my not writing/remembering the exact names of each dish - my head was pounding from the noise level in the room - former school with tile walls. No sound absorbers.The food was delicious, if a bit pretentious/hipster in presentation; "Here is the caponata under a bed of organic field dressed greens, with fennel shavings and a hint of crushed walnuts....." Our server was nice and we had enough food - given that he warned us the pastas are 4-6 bites each. The pesto one and the corn one were delicious. My problem is the price. Half a roasted chicken was $40. OK I won't say how inexpensive chicken is at the market, or as a protein choice. I will say that chicken entrees at the MOST expensive places top out at $32-36. And just chicken in sauce- no side/no rice. Rice would cost the restaurant $1. Nothing on the plate but the protein is a pet peeve of mine. Also, no bread on the table for 3 apps that could have used bread to sop up sauce.Our bill for 4 - bottle of modest wine and no dessert was $400.There's better places for a special occasion.