The Institute Craft Bar & Kitchen

When I heard the name of this place, it seemed superfluous to me as we have the well renowned Franklin Institute., and this restaurant is not part of that museum. Waitress was super patient and nice. Food was delicious here. There was a bit too much sauce in my sandwich but it went well with it. This seems to be one of their signature items. Fries came with and they were fine but I should've thought of a side salad because I like my fries fancy or try to avoid them for health reasons. A friend with me mentioned the bathroom was like a farmhouse. So when I had to go, that is why these pics were included. The communal area has that modern sleek clean feel but the bathroom I was in allows more grit with the chalkboard graffiti. I felt like I was playing a certain text adventure game from back in the day lol. The silverware of my friend was taken a bit too soon as he was doing a to go box but we just used another set nearby. There weren't too many people Sunday afternoon and it was a nice place to hang out. The company was excellent and that didn't hurt just enjoying the moment on this seemingly otherwise isolating Sunday.I feel like this could've been a 4 star experience for most people but I picked a good item, the booze was well composed, and also we were lucky that there weren't too many people either. My friend used to rent briefly in this complex and that is how he knew of the place. He wanted to introduce me to it.

Went here with a few family members during a recent stay. We ordered breakfast. I ordered a short stack of pancakes. The pancakes were doughy and thick. They did not taste good at all. I also ordered scrambled eggs with cheese and they were decent. There was only one staff member working the bar and dining area. None in my party enjoyed our food. My family member did enjoy the piece of chicken she received with her chicken and waffles. The waffle was also thick and doughy. The ambiance was fine. Lunch or dinner options may be better.

We grabbed a quick dinner and some drinks here. We got the fried chicken sandwich and the brisket entree. The fried chicken was so delicious!! It was very crispy and tender. The spicy aioli sauce included packed the right amount of heat. I asked for extra on the side as well. The brisket entree was okay, the meat was cooked very well. The horseradish sauce that came with it was delicious but not enough to reorder the meal. The bar itself has a lot of space, and our server was also the bartender. He was very quick and we got our orders so quickly. The drinks were delicious and we only wanted to order one, turned out to order a lot more.

Friday was my first visit to this establishment, and my friends and I chose this spot to grab a few drinks and food prior to a concert. I am very pleased all around, and excited to bring my husband back to try. It's been a very long time since I've had a solid experience at a gastropub with good beer, AND solid food. My entire party seemed to enjoy their food, and I very much enjoyed my grilled cheese with tomato soup - great flavor. Our server was also very attentive, personable, super easy going - and chill, loved his vibe. He also knew the menu very well, knew what meats they made inhouse (the cuban my friend ordered I know he said was smoked in-house), and they also make their own caesar dressing. I'm alllll about these places that truly take pride in their food and make most of their own stuff!I'll be back to try some other items, play some games off their shelf, and hope to come back with another positive review and more food recommendations!

We ordered food from here on Ubereats. For some insane reason, Ubereats only prompted me to rate the driver, not the food, so I wanted to do so here. I was craving tomato soup so I ordered that and grilled cheese. This place has an obsession with queso fresco, they slathered it on the grilled cheese and the tomato soup. I don't love it, and it didn't add anything to the grilled cheese. But here are the really bad issues:A. The grilled cheese bread was too thick, and it tasted like the grill it'd been made on hadn't been cleaned in a while. I don't eat meat, and this bread tasted like a grill that has recently had lots of meat on it. I have worked in many restaurants, I know grills aren't cleaned after each meal, but this seemed like it'd been a loooong while even since it was scraped.B. My boyfriend's pickle tasted as if it'd been dropped into some sort of chemical. I tried it too, it was very strange, definitely a chemical taste, completely inedible. C. My tomato soup, I took one bite and spit it out. I guess the croutons on top, they tasted really weird, like a gamy burger had been sitting on them or something, it's hard to explain, but I've had lots of tomato soups, none like this. Ubereats said it wasn't eligible for a refund. I'd love to know why. I hate coming to Yelp just to complain, but I didn't eat 90% of my dinner. More than half my grilled cheese is sitting here because it just sucked, and the soup will be dumped out. I'm not someone to complain over a minor thing. But this meal had 3 different issues, and that's kind of insane.

This place is amazing. Definitely recommend. The food is affordable, the drinks are great and the staff is awesome. They have both indoor and outdoor dining. I stopped by after a long day on a trip to Philly and they made my night. I got the chicken sandwich tossed in the sauce and, as other reviews have mentioned, it was legendary. Perfectly crispy and juicy. The fries were also phenomenal and the spicy aioli deserves an honorary mention. Side note: Special shout-out to the bartender/waiter that was working 03/21/2022 at around 8PM. He made sure that some guy who was standing by my table wasn't harassing me and, as a solo, female traveler, that goes a long way. Hope somebody mentions this review to you, dude! You're awesome.

This place is located in the lobby of the LP LOFTS . Indoor and outdoor seating. It a really kool looking hipsters bar. With good food at lease the chickens I had was good. It look dry and over fried which I wasn't surprise, I came in at 9:35 pm . They close at 10 m-f But the sandwich was good . Fries was good . I'll be back

Reunited and it feels so good!Whether it was to grab a good bite and a beer before a concert, host an epic Yelp Film Club Event upstairs (those were the days! https://www.yelp.com/events/philadelphia-february-13-film-club-uye-the-return), or to take part in their epic events like their annual Pumpkin Beer Festival, the old Institute Bar was one of those places that has housed a ton of good memories (https://www.yelp.com/biz/the-institute-philadelphia)!When it closed it wasn't as bittersweet as most closings because I knew that this one was set to open and be a bigger and brighter neighborhood bar in a lot of ways. The wait was more excruciating then I imagined with inevitable construction delays and the like, and was compounded even more when it led to the cancellation of their yearly Pumpkin Beer Fest for 2019. But when the phoenix finally arose from the ashes I was ready for the right moment to support the crew once again, and my friend's poetry filled birthday gathering added up to quite the perfect first visit!I give a four for now because it was only the first of many visits to come after social distancing ends. But it was an incredible experience where everyone there proved to be as awesome and accommodating as the Institute has ever been. My friend set out to have a poetry group reading for his birthday there without giving them any prior knowledge, and when they heard they were quick to offer up a space for us to read and revel while keeping our tabs open at the bar.While I missed the classic upstairs of Film Club past, I did love the wide open wooden dining space that the Institute has, and the bar area is a good sized one with plenty of spaces to chill in whether you sit or stand. The bathroom is also an impressive gender neutral one with chalkboard walls inside the stalls that I really want to draw on!The Institute of old was a great place for beers and burgers, and the new one held true to this with the classic Institute Burger (and a Beyond veggie one) and a well rounded assortment of cans and rotating drafts. But the new one also impressed me with their standout list of impressive cocktails that were mixed and muddled to perfection. I also especially loved their extra crispy and flaky fish sandwich that had fried flounder, escabeche slaw, and a jalapeno & caper aioli. With a great first visit like this I'm definitely ready for more, and not just to try those slow cooked BBQ ribs with yucca fries!

Not bad went to the bar a few times while I was in town. last day wasn't the best the bartender was obviously having a bad day and was not very nice.

I'm giving this bar two stars only for the two bartenders that were working on 2/23 who were extremely friendly and had great customer service. We stayed in the lofts directly above this bar for a weekend trip and had drinks and a few bites to eat, we had the fried cheese, burger, and chicken tenders 4/10. The second night we went back only because it was pretty late and didn't have another option, this night there were different bartenders, the bar was full so we did the seat your selves option. No one ever came over so we walked to the bar to place our order. I decided to try the wings, they were absolutely disgusting and the customer service this night was horrible.