River Twice

Went with Yelptern Emily F to try this highly recognized spot for prix fixe on Passyunk. There's so much to love:- Gorgeous special touches like silverware at your table, a beautiful space, gorgeous flatware, open kitchen concept, and the flare of the meal itself. The overall ambiance is great for a date or special occasions.- The menu changes but pretty much every dish I tried was a total delight and FRESH. Fresh tomatoes, gorgeous creamy cheese, cognizant use of every single ingredient and how it contributes to the greater good of the dish, and truly beautiful preparation and care for the fish dishes. The halibut was extraordinary. If this review was based on food alone it would be 5 stars all the way.A few notes of things that were incongruent with what I expected from the experience:- I may get some warranted flack for this, but the beverage program needs some reconsideration. It seems like an afterthought transparently meant to squeeze the consumer for every penny they have while the restaurant keeps their costs as low as possible. A robust (and expensive) bottle list with one or two choices for glasses just didn't sit well with me. Perhaps doing completely away with the two unimaginative cocktails and broadening that glass menu would be the move? Either way, I wish the beverage list more accurately matched the care and consideration that went into the food menu. - Our server was great and explained everything well, but I think I counted 12 or 13 check-ins over the course of our ~60 minute meal. It was way too much for two people trying to chat, and by the 10th or so check in started to feel a little disingenuous. No, I haven't taken a bite yet so I can't tell you how it's all tasting. Would opt for the counter seat as a result.- While I understand the financial impulse to force diners into the tasting menu and then upsell "additions" - it's the reason I won't return and I would bet money is the reason others don't return after one visit as well. The price point just to walk through the door is a little out of control WITHOUT the additions. I don't know how restos without repeat visitors can really survive and I think rethinking this approach would be a win as well. I would LOVE to try the famous burger but to do so would cost me $125 minimum :)- If you're still reading to this point (LOL) I would highly recommend listening to a recent episode of the Daily podcast about tipping culture and where we're at now and how we got to this point. There's a 20% service charge on your tab added automatically, but it was not-so-subtly implied that I should be adding beyond that. I am a minimum 20% tipper 100% of the time, but going beyond that, especially when I already felt inappropriately nickled and dimed throughout the meal, is a bit shameful on the part of the restaurant. Finding a way to pay your servers and BOH staff a living wage without putting so much of the onus so obviously on the diner should be a critical calculation for management / operations as the restaurant continues it's evolution. I don't know how to wrap this up HAHA but I totally see why this spot has made "best of" lists and I totally can see why someone would give this spot a 1, 2, or 3 star review. My dining experience here sparked a lot of interesting thoughts about Philadelphia, what we value, what our standards are, and primarily how LUCKY we are to live in a city where the food is this good.

Enjoyed sitting at the chef's counter for my birthday with friends from NYC. The menu had great seasonal options, the wine list matched the sophistication of the food, the service was excellent, and I personally loved watching the food prepared throughout the course of our meal. The food itself was wonderful, inventive, creative, and each dish had memorable and smart elements which I found delightful. I hope to return again soon to enjoy! It's not surprising the chef has been recognized by James Beard and I hope this spot gets more recognition.

This place is very interesting and pretty tiny. It was highly recommended since a James Beard nominated chef is associated with this restaurant. The service at this place was outstanding and I could tell the chefs were passionate about their dishes. The place has an open kitchen layout. The tasting course was 4 items for 80 dollars. The first dish was my favorite of all of the dishes. The bluefin tuna was finely cut and the ponzu was pretty good. The raw tuna mixed well with the sauce. The new jersey sushi rice was interesting. It had Louisiana crawfish (seasoned with a Southern American flair) and sushi rice in the bottom. The next dish on the list was wild halibut. It was ok in my opinion. I am not a big fan of halibut (so maybe it is a bias opinion) but the shellfish emulsion did add to this fish.The dessert was so, so good. The dessert was roasted Japanese sweet potato. The brown butter ice cream with sweet potato really complemented each other. My cocktail for the evening was the Olivia Street. I really liked the use of dark rum in this drink and how good it tasted.

Loved this place! I love little details and from the cups to the serving bowls to the chopstick stands, I appreciate the attention to details. Now for the food, everything was amazing except I got the add on bread special with caviar and it wasn't worth the price. You don't need it. We did the chefs tasting and everything was phenomenal. My favorite was this crab and grits dish. I could eat it everyday

My husband and I decided to come to River Twice as a date night back in 2021. Back when we did the tasting menu, it was 7 courses for $85 but I noticed that the tasting menu currently offered has changed a little, now 4 courses for $75. We sat outside for our meal, which was pleasant for the nice weather that day, but I think next time we'll have to grab a table inside. The few glimpses of the interior I saw on the way to the restroom were really lovely; the dining room felt very welcoming and I was in love with the brown and gray-toned aesthetic. I thought that the tasting menu overall was very good. I liked all of the courses outside of their meat courses, which was a little dry and could have been better seasoned. But generally speaking, I liked their choice of ingredients and how the flavors went together. The plateware that the courses were served in were as beautiful as the presentation and, as we went through our meal, I would take note of the brands that manufactured the dishware for future reference haha. We decided to add on a cheese course but the flavor of the cheese wasn't really to our liking. Because I don't like chocolate, the original chocolate dessert course was swapped out for grilled figs with honey. That course was truly a highlight for me because they were the freshest figs I ever had and the honey was a bit crystalized similar to that of the top layer of creme brulee, which is my favorite part.Would I go back? : I would go back. Overall, I enjoyed my meal. Because River Twice is regularly changing up their menu, I think it's hard to predict if you'll consistently have a positive experience every time. I did notice that the reviews I've seen on Yelp recently have been more positive compared to when I went so maybe the changes made to the tasting menu improved the quality of the experience since.

We go past River Twice all the time, and despite it consistently being on the best restaurant lists, we never had it high on our radar. But, in April, we decided to have a date night there! Reservations were relatively easy to come by compared to other restaurants - we easily snagged a spot for 2 at the counter on a Friday night. River Twice is very conveniently located right on Passyunk, so we walked over from South Philly. Parking probably isn't *too* terrible, but walking or transit is a better bet. The restaurant itself is no frills - very modern looking with lots of white and grey and not a ton of decorations, but it felt right. Not overly sterile as some spots can be with all white themes but still welcoming. We were seated at the counter by the kind hostess who easily struck up conversation with us. I would highly recommend the counter if you can swing it - it was awesome to watch the chefs in the kitchen and feel more immersed in the experience. River Twice is a prefixed menu with strong emphasis on seafood with an Asian spin. You can add on various plates or additions to your meal, as well. We didn't want to overdo it, so we just stuck to the tasting menu at first, but we were shocked and pleasantly surprised when we were gifted a soft shell crab from the kitchen (after the fact, I realized that it was the main chef who wound up serving us this dish - a nice touch that he's still in the action and has great hospitality). I had never had soft shell crab before, so I appreciated the heads up that the entire dish was edible; the flavors and texture were impeccable, and I loved the caviar and butter topping. A memorable addition to our meal and was a great way to showcase River Twice's hospitality. For the actual prefixe menu, we were led through a number of small courses. My highlights were the halibut with sunchoke (so fresh and hearty) and the roasted Japanese sweet potato with brown butter ice cream (never thought of sweet potato for dessert but it simply worked). Each dish was nicely crafted and delicious, but not the most memorable now that we are a few months out. We split a bottle of wine during our dinner, and we finished our meal feeling pleasantly full but not overly stuffed. The price point ($80 for the prefixed + additional cost for wine) wasn't too terrible comparatively for other spots in Philly, and given how open reservations were, this is an excellent more last-minute date night spot with solid food. We really enjoyed our meal at River Twice, and I would recommend it for anyone looking for a fresh, Asian-inspired take on seafood and great hospitality in a relatively casual yet still upscale environment. Thanks for a great date night, River Twice!

Excellent food. Very seafood focused. Great service. Kitchen seating was awesome. Will come back again.

If you're in Philly, you need to find time to go to River Twice. If you want a meal that makes you believe in the power of really good food that is dependable and somehow nothing that you have ever had before ;and you really can't understand why), this is your spot.When I lived in Philly, I came here for the first time two weeks after it opened and fell in love. I supported with the Mother Rucker burger card and fried chicken buckets to go during Covid, and recently was back in town for a weekend and brought my now husband to the counter so he could understand why Philly will always be my favorite city. I promise it's always that good. Pro tip: sit at the counter. Move your reservation if you have to. Watching them prepare each course and getting to ask questions about the spices and sauces and preparation of each dish makes you feel like you to know what you're doing.

Had such a pleasant dinner here on a random Thursday evening. Initially, the 4 course tasting menu looked a bit small and we were worried we wouldn't be full at the end. They do offer an "additions" menu where you can order a la carte. We did order extras but to be honest, the tasting menu was plenty. We were both extremely full and satisfied at the end. The highlight of the meal was hands down the dessert. It was a Japanese sweet potato with brown butter ice cream and blood orange. I'd honestly go back just for the dessert. The service was also top notch, we had a main server who was very knowledgeable about the menu and super friendly. But there were also so many others that came up to make sure our waters were filled or our plates were cleared. The restaurant itself had an open kitchen which I always love. Overall, I'd recommend this place if you're not a picky eater as the menu changes often!

We've been to River Twice a number of times, but it had been almost a year and a half between our most recent visits. Our latest dinner reminded us of just how wonderful Chef Rucker's food is, and how much we really enjoy the total experience of his cozy restaurant in Passyunk Square.The staff are always really friendly, knowledgeable, and passionate about the food and wines/drinks available. We've sat at the chef's counter a few times and tables a few times, and the experiences have always been positive. Chef's counter is always our favorite, though. One plus side of not making the *long* trip down to Passyunk Square more often has been the completely different menus that we've enjoyed with each visit. River Twice is serving up dishes that are always a bit familiar, but also out-of-the-box in their approach. Maybe it's something small like a sauce or pickled component, or maybe it's a crazy-delicious butter made with sorghum molasses vinegar. Maybe it's the way they've dry-aged their steak. Whatever it is, you can enjoy dishes on a surface level or keep digging deeper to find the more adventurous subtleties that define what we enjoy about Chef Rucker's approach.If there's one thing that might scare folks away, it's the sticker shock when the bill comes--if, like us, you can't help but order lots of the curiosity-inducing & palate-pleasing add-ons--but really, it's totally fair...and absolutely worth it. We always feel like you get what you pay for in terms of quality ingredients in the adventurous dishes and concepts you won't likely get anywhere else, paired with wines that aren't as predictable, and with wonderful service that we've always experienced."No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it's not the same river, and he's not the same man." Chef Rucker couldn't have chosen a more appropriate influential quote for the name and concept. It's accurate, and I'm just always happy that every time I've stepped into River Twice, it's hasn't been the same, yet the experience has never disappointed! Looking forward to the next visit...Enjoy!