James

07/13/2008 Posted by sweetaddict

This was the most expensive "average tasting" meal that I have ever eaten. I ate there last night with my husband after much anticipation and left feeling unsatisfied. Nothing was bad, per se, but nothing stood out as beind or memorable either. My husband ordered there strawberry lemonade drink and it was lacking in any definitive flavor. The wine by the glass after that was expensive and average. We ordered a total of 5 plates ( the waiter suggested 3 per person, but 5 for the 2 of us was more than enough). We started with the sweetbreads wrapped in zuchinni blossoms and the lightly seared sea scallops. Both dished lacked character and depth. We moved onto the duck tagliatelli. It was the best dish out of the five, well cooked and flavored, but best saved as a winter dish because it is rich. For entrees we had the dourade and the lamb. The lamb was cut so thick that the inside was extremely chewy because I think at that thickness it can't cook properly. The peas that came with it had no sweetness or flavor, even though they were fresh peas, not frozen. The dourade was cooked well, crispy skin, sauce was ok, but the wilted butter lettuce and warm cucumber that it came with uninspired and flavorless. On the whole, the staff was competent but cold, barely cracking a smile. Dinner came to a grand total of $160 without tip. For that kind of money and less I could have had a better and more memorable meal elsewhere.

Pros: Pretty Bar Area

Cons: Overpriced, Overrated

04/09/2008 Posted by melaniejearle

This reastaurant is over-priced, pretentious and just not that good. The portion size is laughable relative to their prices and the menu is anemic. I would not recommend this place to anyone. The food itself was good enough but for what you pay, there are far too many other restaurants in the city to waste your time on James.

Cons: price, portion size, arrogant staff

04/07/2008 Posted by phillyguy10

Was taken there by my gf for my birthday March 29th having read the reviews. As we concluded our meal we commented on what a pleasant surprise it was and how the portions were NOT puny. We did find that the two of us were very far away when dining due to the "long" table. It made it difficult to feel any spacial intimacy with the person who was taking me out. The people next to us were incredibly loud to the point that sometime I could only hear my gf's lips move and not hear what she said. She was nice enough to deliver a cake to the restaurant earlier in the day to be given to me at the end of the meal and they charged a 14 dollar cutting fee. I found that a bit steep. We lucked out and found street parking That being said let's get to the strengths. We decided to have two appetizers, share a pasta and then two entrees and did not drink alcohol that night.The Sunchoke soup was a light cream soup which was a nice start as we passed it back and forth. the Sea Scallop was just that ONE sea scallop but easy to cut into two and delicious. the Tagliatelle with Duck Ragu was a wonderful combination of flavors and perhaps the highlight of the night. My gf had the Red Curry Snapper and she with he distinguishing palate was very impressed that it was made just right. She commented that the fact that a mussel had sand in it suggested that the Mullusk was dead before it was cooked based on the sand which should have not been there. I had the Poularde and if you just consider it a fattened chicken...it was truly and surpisingly amazing. The portion was more than ample! It was really a big surprise. I found the pace to be perfect, the manager and waiter very interested in us having a good time. I expected to find a snooty place with microscopic sized dishes, but in fact had a great birthday dinner. It was hard to be mad at the 14 dollar cake cutting fee given the whirlwind of tastes we had just cherished.

Pros: quality of food, service

Cons: difficult street parking, not cheap

03/09/2008 Posted by inphilly

So I'm a bit slow in writing this well-deserved review since I actually ate there around the middle of December. I went with two other friends for reservations at 7pm and from the minute we walked in the door we had an unbelievable experience. We were met by the hostess who took our coats and immediately sat us. Our friendly waitress came over to us within a few minutes and welcomed us to their restaurant and explained the menu. She then brought out the chef's welcome appetizer (sorry, I don't know the 'true' name for this) but my one friend doesn't care for fish so he gave it to me without making a scene. Within 3 minutes our waitress came out of no where with a completely different offering for him that he absolutely enjoyed (and this guy is tough...he's a simple meat and potato kind of guy) because she noticed he didn't eat it. The whole night was like that, the staff was friendly and there only when you needed them but they were very knowledgeable about everything, the meals were fantastic and the deserts were great! I paid a little less than what I did for a meal at Morimoto's but I'll never go back to Morimoto's and I'll DEFINITELY be going back to James!

Pros: Everything!

Cons: A bit pricey to go often but worth every dime you pay

02/15/2008 Posted by mattcohen

The restaurant is very nice in terms of decor. We throughly enjoyed our meal, the quality was very good, bordering on excellent, however the portions were extremely small. The bar is also very nice and there are good selections of wine. The barman was very helpful, Theo, and offered us a taste of several selections. A good restaurant with high quality food, but again very small portions.

Pros: Good Food, Nice atmosphere, Friendly Barman

Cons: Very small portions

12/17/2007 Posted by onewanderingsoul

I also live in the neighborhood and have been to James a few times. The food is truly good, we loved our mushroom soup and fish dishes and the pear martini was terrific. But this is a place for beautiful people. I dress nicely but I'm no cover girl. The last time I went, my friend and I, both in our early 40s, were completely ignored as the waitstaff and the owner's wife doted on young folk. I haven't felt that way since high school. I'd rather spend my money someplace where I felt welcomed, and at least acknowledged.

Pros: creative food choices

Cons: very $$, and pretentious

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful

12/05/2007 Posted by reedlyons

When I stepped into James I was extremely excited ... the restaurant is beautifully spacious with tasteful modern decor. In spite of the friendly staff, the service was so slow -- we had an 8:00 reservation, and did not finish until nearly 10:00 -- and that was without ordering dessert. While the food was generally good (I would recommend the tagliatelle with duck ragu); our $128 meal left me STARVING -- a $22 dish of risotto was enough for two people to get two tablespoons each. It felt like a kitchen-tasting at full-price. I would recommend the bar/lounge area (they have a nice wine list) -- but please have a snack before you go!

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful

10/29/2007 Posted by vinnier

My wife and I had a reservation here for our tenth anniversary, and we almost cancelled because of all the bad reviews on Citysearch -- but a friend with a very experienced palate thought it was great, and we decided to take the chance. It was EXCELLENT. First, let me preface by saying that we live in NYC, so we have a lot to choose from, and we eat out a lot and have been exposed to enough good stuff to have some basis for comparison. The ambience was great -- the music was loud enough to enjoy and to drown out some other people's conversations, but not so loud that it encroached upon our own conversation. Everyone was friendly, and everyone -- from the co-owner hostess to the bartender to the waitress to the sommelier -- wished us a happy anniversary. Obviously they pay attention to details. I've seen some comments in the other reviews about over-attentiveness and pompousness, but I didn't feel smothered or intimidated. Maybe I'm just not nervous and insecure about eating in a place where they know more about food preparation and service than I do -- in fact, I kind of like being doted on instead of having to do the dishes like every other night. The food was the best part. The portions are small in the sense that a normal person can eat an appetizer, entree, and dessert, without needing a doggie bag. My wife's halibut entree was the best fish dish she can recall having, and she thought the risotto appetizer and homemade ice cream dessert were unusually good. My pear-gorgonzola semifreddo was the best dessert I can recall ever having, and my raviolo appetizer and sirloin entree were delicious. Everything was cooked and presented well. I'm not really sure where all the bad reviews came from, and I would almost suspect a campaign by competing restaurants upset at losing some of their customers, but it could just be bad taste. I'm glad I found out for myself, I thought it was just great, and I'll be back.

Pros: Taste, attention to detail

Cons: Not close enough to our home in NY ;o)

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful

10/17/2007 Posted by cfoodeat

I went to James on my birthday, and it ,quite frankly, broke my heart that my boyfriend spent this much on boring and mediocre food. Our waiter, while very nice, was a bit of an airhead and not very professional or informed for the caliber of restaurant it wants to be. We did the tasting menu, and we never got our first course until 55 minutes after being seated. We sat at 7:30 and left at 11:15. I love long meals, if I am enjoying them. Two of the courses, back to back, had the same sauce (or no discernable difference), and that is about all I can recall from the meal. Everything was tasteless and oddly looked the same in color. The atmosphere is very inviting and the servers are friendly, but at $120 a person, not including wine, I need to leave impressed and definitely not still hungry. It reminded me of the old movie scene at an art gallery where people stand around staring at painting pretending it is cutting edge, and when the camera pans to it, it is a blank canvas. I wanted to like this place, but the chef and owner should read the reviews, because I think they deliver a consistent message: Step up your game!

Pros: Atmosphere, friendly staff

Cons: Tasteless, overpriced food

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful

10/15/2007 Posted by kenpaves

I went here with high expectations that were not met. The staff was helpful but slightly on the pompous side. The food was nothing special and if anything, lacked flavor. While the portion sizes were fine (though I did not leave feeling satisfied) I do feel that the prices were a bit outrageous. I know that the ingredients they used were very fresh however I dont think the taste was so incredible that it warranted these prices. I have literally eaten everywhere in Philadelphia as well as NYC and feel that this place is not worth the money. The decor is beautiful but the crowd was boring and the restaurant was very empty for a weekend. I would much prefer a BYO like Melograno or August. Dont waste your time or money here....

Pros: beautiful decor, clean, easy street parking, nice wine list

Cons: food was not flavorful, boring crowd

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful