Sampan

One of the best happy hours in Philly. Seating is first come first serve, but even on busy days the host is really good about getting people seated. The food is delicious, lots of vegetarian options, drinks are good. I've been here twice, and my most favorite is the edamame dumplings and the Kimchi fried rice (got it without shrimp) . The lo mein noodles is also good! The Ambiance inside makes it a perfect spot for a great date night.

The food here is delicious. Hands down. Several people have claimed this to be one of the best happy hours in Philly, and I truly think Sampan deserves that title. The fatal flaw of this place is the fact that it is so beloved. There's almost always a wait. I went at 4:45pm on a Tuesday, and there was only one seat open at the bar. I wouldn't come for happy hour with more than two people. The outside tables are so close together you can hear everyone's conversation. The service is great. The food came swiftly. Heads up: happy hour guests have to have a card to open a tab or an ID. There is a good amount of alcohol in the scorpion bowl. I split it with one other person and we were both very satisfied with our levels of drunkness. The HH satay only comes with one piece. Other than that, the portions were great.

Sampan is a contemporary Asian fusion restaurant with one of the best happy hour specials I've seen in Philly yet! ----Highlights: The scorpion bowls are an excellent portion (~1 bowl/4 people) and the bao buns are extremely delicious! ----I arrived to a Thursday happy hour ~ 5 PM with a group of four and we had no trouble being seated outdoors. However, I'd recommend getting there closer to ~4 PM since diners who came after 5:30 PM had quite a long wait. The seating outdoors was a bit chaotic since it's such a busy area of Center City. The scorpion bowl was humongous and was a great portion and price for our group. We were happy! The pork in the pork bao buns were caramelized to perfection and I would highly recommend. We also enjoyed the portion and taste of the kimchi fried rice (not very spicy). However, the satays were small and not life-changing, so for the price and size I couldn't recommend them. Since it was so busy, it was difficult to waive servers down outdoors. However, our service was very friendly! Overall, it was one of the best happy hour deals I've had in the city and I'd highly recommend giving Sampan a try.

Get the Chef's Tasting menu! Totally worth it for all the food you get to try. $55 per person. Pork pao was delicious and crispy. Wagyu beef satay was tender and juicy. Chicken wings were decent, some pieces were a bit dryer. Crispy duck was a HUGE portion. The duck was good and crispy. Crispy laksa prawns were crispy. The laksa was very light in flavor. Singapore mai fun did not have a strong curry flavor I was hoping for. This dish was also a big portion. We were given mini ice cream cones for dessert.

The happy hour burger was excellent!!!! It was one of the best burgers I've had. We were able to be seated right away on a Saturday afternoon. Good drink selections, fun times!

We came here for happy hour, but there was not room for us in time to enjoy until 7 PM, so we sat for regular dinner. The ambiance was chill, but very packed and tight together, so we were very close to other people. The food was not as good as I expected. The food seemed salty, and the brussel sprouts that were listed as crispy weren't and we had to send them back to be redone as they were barely cooked. The tempura cauliflower was the main dish that I actually ate all of and enjoyed. The prices were decent for shareable appetizer-sized portions, and the option to do the $55/person 7 plate deal didn't seem worth entertaining as a result. The drinks were okay, but that was simple for me with wine as my choice.The server was not the most friendly, didn't make recommendations, and was not thrilled we had an issue with one of the dishes we ordered. After having spent around $70 with tip, I was not really impressed with coming back here.

Great deals during happy hour!! $7-9 dollar plates! Go early, we had to wait around 30-45 minutes for an outside table. Inside table would have been 1.5 hours on a weekday! The shrimp toast was so crispy and the different textures complimented one another so well, and the beef skewer was pricey for just one skewer, but incredibly tender!! The crispy Brussel sprouts weren't crispy... and were quite salty! The kung pao chicken wings were juicy but the sauce lacked dimension.Our server seemed annoyed that we were there, despite us being incredibly nice and easy going.

Don't eat here on a sunny day. It's so dark inside you'll walk into everything on the way to a table because it will take forever for your eyes to adjust.Other than that, eating here was a good experience. The staff was there when I needed something, not when I didn't, and helpful when I had questions about portion size and how many plates I should order.The food wasn't overly filling, but I was full. I probably could have gone with an extra plate considering I don't get to Philly that often, but I also had a 10 minute dash to a train and an hour ride home...I'd definitely come back, but I think this is a better place to eat as a group and share than it is for someone who is solo.One drawback is that the kitchen sends everything out as it's ready. They'll tell you that upfront, but if you don't consider that when ordering and make sure you're picking things that will come out gradually, you'll end up with 1 dish, then 5 minutes later 3 more at the same time.

Really enjoyed our experience here. The food was unique and very tasty. The vibe is very cool and sexy. It's definitely a busy restaurant and can get noisy so keep that in mind but we loved the experience. Our server was excellent and made recommendations and checked on us at a good pace. Our order included:General Tso soup dumpling - really good flavor Chili crisp chicken bao - Our favorite out of everything! Such good crisp on the chicken and great flavorsHamachi ceviche- Not our favorite. We didn't finish it because it was just too salty and fishy Crispy duck - delicious and a big portion! They serve with bao buns and you can make little sandwiches Korean bbq satay - Our second favorite dish. Great flavor

Always a great place to visit! My friends and I come here often and every time the staff are helpful with my gluten allergy and the food, drinks and service never disappoint. It can get loud on a busy evening, but that doesn't ever take away from the meal.