Laurel Restaurant

It has been many years since we visited Laurel Restaurant. I remember following chef Nicholas Elmi on Top Chef and rooting for him to win (he did!). Laurel was always difficult to get a reservation for, so I was not optimistic I would be able to get one for this past Saturday. Shockingly it was very easy to get a reservation. It seems like they only do a tasting menu and I love those. It did not disappoint!! Everything looked phenomenal and tasted out of this world. I particularly loved the custard with peas, the oysters with cantaloupe, the hiromasa with strawberry and almond, the wagyu, and the black forest chocolate pudding. Service was fantastic!! Never had been in the bar area (shows how long it has been since the bar opened in 2016).

I went here with my boyfriend for my birthday and the food was exceptional. I really enjoyed each course that was brought out and you had plenty of time to enjoy the meal before the next one was brought out. I also did the wine pairing which was nice touch to go with each meal. The staff is so friendly and knowledgeable. I highly recommend this place for special occasions you will not be disappointed.

Food: 3, Service: 3, Decor: 4, TLDR: "Left me wanting something they didn't offer". Can't recommend and won't be back. Went for dinner on a Friday night for my wife's birthday. We were able to get reservations at 5:45 the day before and there were empty tables at our seating. Outdoor dining was available at 7:30 on the Friday as well, so it's not a sold out place, much less "reserve two months in advance" sort of thing. To preface this review...we paid $550 for two people. If you are going to command a premium, you need to deliver comparable food to others in the same price range - Daniel, Le Bernardin, Jean Georges, etc. I've been to those restaurants many times and have dined all over the world, so I am pretty familiar with what a $550 dinner should be. This wasn't it. I wished it was. After moving to Delaware last year we have been looking for a great fine dining experience and we had really hoped this would be the go to place. The decor is simple and rustic. It's a small intimate place. No white tablecloths or comfy plush chairs, but its nice enough. The atmosphere is cozy although the music choice was odd. The service is mechanical. I would have given it a 2, but at the time of our dining, many macro-economic events are still causing labor shortages in the restaurant sector, so I'm giving them the benefit of the doubt. They brought the dish, made a brief explanation and hurried away. Attempting to engage in further dialog about the preparation or sourcing yielded few details, so after a couple of courses I gave up. I think each course was brought by a different server. It was pretty clear that they were trying to turn the table as quickly as possible to be ready for the 7:30 seating. For drinks we had Grey Goose cosmo. It was ok. I prefer mine with white cranberry which they didnt have. At $18 each they really should be outstanding. I've had a better cosmo at Two Stones Pub. The first dish (not on the menu) was a small chip with some sort of jam. It was the best item we tasted, but unfortunately, the only memorable morsel of the entire meal. It wasn't a traditional pallet cleanser, just sort of an introduction. We had the 6 course taking menu and added gnocchi with black truffle. Course 1 - smoked king salmon with apples. The apples were semi-tart and ok. The salmon was tasteless. Sunchoke chips were sort of like pita chips but no salt or seasoning of any kind. Course 2 - caviar egg with brioche toast. The toast was huge - maybe 2.5 inches - meaning the amount of bread you get per part of caviar was overwhelming. The caviar was just ok - I've had better at a sushi place like Masamoto. There's a little poached egg at the bottom which really doesnt add anything. It's cute, but I don't get the preparation. Course 3 - poached cod on a bed of rice. The rice was really good. The cod was bland. How do you make cod bland? The onions were not really caramelized, just sort of steamed or something - no texture, no flavor. I wanted more of the rice but there was just a tiny bit hiding under the fish wheel of blandness. Course 4 - turbot, nettles and some kind of sauce. Everything was boring on this plate. Zero flavor, nothing more to say. Course 5 - duck and rhubarb. The duck was tough and hard to cut. The rhubarb was ok, but really should have been more bitter. The buttermilk sauce did nothing for the plate. Course 6 - gnocchi and black truffle. The truffle was absolutely tasteless. This is totally on them. If you are going to offer black truffle, you need to sample it. There is no way this truffle should have passed their QC. No aromatic. No earthiness. Nothing. The gnocchi was tiny and drowning in a cheese sauce. Course 7 - honey curd something dessert. Another boring bland dish. Normally when you have spent $550 on a dinner, the staff might ask you "hey so how did you like it?". Here - nope. Guess they just dont care if you enjoyed yourself or not. Gave us the check and said thank you. Had high hopes but totally disappointed.

It is a nice restaurant but underwhelming. Firstly, the restaurant needs to address the bar next door. I understand it is owned by Laurel and they use some drinks as part of their menu, but the noise and foot traffic detract from the "fine dining experience". The food itself was good. Nothing incredibly imaginative but staple dishes done well. White wine wasn't quite chilled, and the dishes weren't quite hot. Everything was just kind of room temperature, it was a bit weird. Service was a pleasant experience. They were busy and made a couple small mistakes but nothing any reasonable customer can't overlook. The major issue is the price point here. It was very similarly priced to Vetri which has perfect, experienced wait staff, espresso, white table clothes, excellent music, management walks around and talks to tables...a much more enjoyable experience. If the price was lesser, it would be 4* but this just missed the mark unfortunately. The comparison becomes even more out of balance when looking at other restaurants in Chicago/NYC where even almost $400 can get you much further.

It was one of the top fining dining experience I’ve ever had! I am vegetarian, and i went with my wife and two others for an anniversary dinner. I reached out in advance to request a special vegetarian creations by chef. Chef Nicolas Elmi was very kind enough to create almost identical creations to those they typically prepare and every single course was one beyond the other. Every single items were such a memorable, and one of the kind French plate. The plating of each item, as seen in photos, elevated the food experience. Each plating highlighted small elements of various ingredients that one can rarely think be on such fine plating, such as basil seeds, beet, portobello mushrooms, bread, etc… It was absolutely mind blowing creation accomplished by special thanks to Chef Elmi and his staff at Laurel. To keep my lengthy detail of experience short, I highly recommend anyone in hunt of fine cuisine in Philly. This is probably the top place in Philadelphia (for vegetarian and non vegetarian alike). #VeggieAbroad

Without question, one of the best restaurants I’ve ever had the pleasure to try out. The appetizers and main course were phenomenal! Can’t wait to try it again!

My husband and I went to Laurel this past Saturday for a birthday celebration. We were not sure what to expect as this is not our usual type of outing. We ended up having 9 courses and most of them were interesting and good but not the best things we have ever eaten. I was most excited for the duck course but the texture was difficult to eat. For spending over $500 I was disappointed but maybe we just didn't get it.

Living in Pennsylvania means my husband and I can do a self-unionizing marriage, and what better way to have a wedding than come have dinner at the best restaurant we've ever had the pleasure of experiencing. Our menu was beyond extraordinary, meeting Nick Elmi was the coolest part of the whole night, and to top it off, they made us this tiny little chocolate ganache-covered chocolate mousse, and it's the best wedding cake I could have ever had. Thank you Laurel and thank you Nick, and all the wonderful chefs, servers, hosts and sommelier, I couldn't have asked for a better wedding dinner. This truly felt like a once in a lifetime experience.