Vernick Food & Drink

We returned to celebrate new beginnings and Vernick Food & Drink's fantastic, friendly, and professional service started before I even entered the restaurant. I was wrapping up a call in the foyer when a staffer noticed me and opened the door!As before, our meal was utterly delicious. We started with a complimentary anniversary toast of champagne, which led to a taster of absolutely scrumptious gazpacho soup and a little puff of cornbread. I'm not usually a gazpacho fan, but I could've had that soup and cornbread all night long and been perfectly happy.Our "on toast" and "raw" came out as they were ready. We shared:- blue crab, lemon aioli, tarragon on sour dough--the star of our starters, as the bread was chewy and tangy and worked so well with the lemony blue crab- sea urchin, yogurt, and warm scrambled egg--as delicious as we remembered it being years ago- clams with beans on toast- smashed tomato specialOur server groups our "small plates" and "simply roasted" together--we four shared:- sweet corn & ricotta agnolotti, roasted poblano, basil- spaghetti, blue crab, tomato broth, brown butter crumb- 20oz beef strip loin, brown butter, blistered tomato & lemon--definitely recommend trying the hot sauce provided for the strip loin (not too spicy and the sweetness really complemented the sear) A couple shared a red velvet cake dessert while the others savored our drinks--I especially appreciated the ginger zero-proof drink complete with a skewered candied piece of ginger, which I nibbled to end my meal.Vernick Food & Drink remains a great spot for a special occasion!

I have to say that I think this place is overrated. I understand many consider it an institution within Philadelphia but I was disappointed with the entrees and the atmosphere. All the table seating is upstairs and it feels cramped rather than intimate. Perhaps light bites at the bar downstairs would have been better because we did enjoy the toast dish that we got and the main floor feels light and airy. The service was kind and quick. We got the following dishes:Marinated tomatoes 4/5 Blue crab toast 5/5Black Sea bass 3/5 small portion and overall underwhelmed by this dish Pork chop milanese 3/5Crispy potato 3/5 not crispy at all If you're making a hit list of Philly, I wouldn't recommend this place.

Food was great but understanding staff outshines it (in the best way).I was really looking forward to trying this spot as it was recommended by a friend. I had a meet that ended in the late afternoon and came with my colleague (and friend) to grab dinner. Long story short, she felt very sick and couldn't even sit in the chair. She ended up sitting in the corner putting ice on herself with the staff bringing sugar, water, coke and more ice for us to try to get her better. She probably sat there for 45 min. So my deep appreciation to the staff for being helpful and understanding!Okay, now to the food... we got the white cheese and cherry toast, one of the raw items (it had peach in it), tomatoes as the veggie, corn with ricotta pasta, eggplant small plate and sea bass. All the food was really good! My favorite dish was the eggplant - I'm a sucker for eggplant after all - it was outstanding!Because of what happened I didn't get the dessert... but looking forward to next time!

Had a decent but not stellar meal here, and toggled between 3 and 4 starts but decided on 3 due to the value.The best dish was the urchin and egg, if every dish were as creative - they would have gotten 5 stars. This was a 5 star worthy dish, though the urchin was a bit bitter- but I loved how the warm eggs and cold foam came together. The raspberry gazpacho amuse buche was a nice touchEverything else was pretty average, nothing to really write home about. Mediocre long bean salad- in my opinion too much going on there. The fettuccine was good but not great. The fish entree was cooked well but the green sauce under it was too spicy, and the fried artichokes were so heavily oily you felt like you put a ball of oil in your mouth which was unpleasant. Artichoke was too laden with a heavy acidic vinaigrette, could have used a lighter touch. Our waiter was really friendly. We sat upstairs and it got a little loud, some sound paneling would help with the volume of the room.

I decided to dine here at Vernick Food & Drink for my birthday dinner. Ambiance was nice, especially at the chef's counter. It was really cool seeing a professional kitchen cook right in front of us (made me miss my previous restaurant job for a bit). I had the Good Morning, Vietnam cocktail which was refreshing and not too strong. For starters, we had a complimentary chilled pea soup with some type of bread (maybe cornbread?), along with the fluke ceviche and yellowfin tuna. Both were amazing, but the fluke ceviche was my favorite as it came with plantain chips, and the tuna looked the best. I loved the elements of my pork chop, from the grilled lettuce and peppers to the golden plum and mustard glaze. I love me a glaze as I enjoy sweet sauces. I love how the lemon was provided to brighten up those charred and sweet notes. Coincidentally, my favorite dessert was the brownie which so happened to have my birthday candle. Overall, I enjoyed my dinner and would come back. Since certain parts of the menu change frequently, I wish there was a way to know exactly what was on the menu at the time.

It has been around forever and always considered one of the best in Philly. Helped put the city's amazing food on the map. That honestly makes me hesitant to give a not so great review.My honest opinion is you can eat better for cheaper in a superior ambience. It gets loud hot and crowded upstairs. Good impressed didn't wow

The only thing I recommend here is the scrambled egg with yogurt foam and sea urchin. Though keep in mind, like a lot of not so fresh uni you get, it harms a slightly bitter and metallic taste. Forgivable. Otherwise, an interesting and delightful dish. The toast with tartare with nothing to write home about. A but one note. All the other dishes were largely one note and forgettable. That said, the sea bass was cooked perfectly. However, the artichokes that came with it were tasteless and greasy, and the sauce was uninteresting. We did not stay for dessert.

My husband and I went to Vernick a week early celebrate Valentine's Day! I really enjoyed the ambiance, we were sat at a table near the chef's kitchen. Service was amazing! Very attentive and they always made sure we were comfortable. We ordered a lot! We had two apps, two entrees and a dessert! They first served us a little soup with butternut squash. The delicata squash peanut salsa macha was amazing! The roasted squash was delicious and the peanut salsa macha was so flavor packed, spicy savory, nice acidity. I was pleasantly surprised, and I think that flavor combo with the sweet squash was actually my personal favorite dish of the night. Then we also had yellowfin tuna with the white soy ponzu shiso avocado. It was very refreshing and very balanced. Nice creamy avocado dollops with refreshing micro greens. Then they gave us a free potato appetizer with hollandaise! It was super crispy and was great to get it on the house because we were honestly thinking about getting it! For entrees we had the Atlantic halibut and the half roast chicken. The roast chicken was amazing and really deliciously roasted. I really recommend it! The peppers were so sweet and very delicious. The Atlantic halibut had an interesting flavor that was good, but maybe not for me. Lastly, we ordered espresso flavored ice cream with a chocolate chip cookie. The ice cream was very rich and creamy. A great way to end the night. They also gave us apple cider vinegar popsicles to round out the experience. Loved Vernick and get why everyone raves about it! I'm excited to try more things (and hopefully order that delicata squash again!)

A truly excellent experience from start to finish. Everything we ordered was good either several dishes being incredible. The service was also excellent.

Amazing beginning to end!Was treated extremely well. Sometimes as a single diner the ice breaking is a little tougher. Ibrahim was very welcoming and pleasant. He had great recommendations and made for a great evening out.