07/30/09

NAN Restaurant

by ErsinSeder2

I ordered a salad and PAD Thai. It was horrible. both of them were very sweet. I asked a chef if they put sugar inside. Waitress told me that there is sugar in it. I could not finish PAD Thai because the sugar was dominated everything. I have never eat such a meal with high sugar in it.

I hated.

• Pros: Nothing
• Cons: Sugar in every dish....

12/15/08

Pad Thai, Escargots, Peking Duck, and Crab Cakes -- What are you waiting for?

by pordoi

Nan is a wonderful restaurant, a French-Asian mix without the excesses of fusion cuisine. It's a BYO that has been delivering for over a decade now, and pretty much whatever you try on the menu will be carefully prepared and delicious. The service is friendly and competent, and the owner, Flo, makes it all run smoothly, and when something doesn't feel right to you, she'll fix it. Just go.

10/21/07

The staff is wonderful and the food is unbelievable. A perfect restaurant.

by bobh889

My wife and I love this place! The staff is friendly & attentive and the food is unbelievable. The pad thai is probably the best in the city (certainly the best I've ever tasted), and the crab cakes are sensational. Everything else is also very, very good. The atmosphere is a cross between elegant and casual,. Since it's so close to U of Penn and Drexel, some patrons are dressed casual - but you wouldn't feel out of place more dressed up.

• Pros: Food, service
• Cons: Sometimes you have to drive around the block a few times to find a parking spot - but it's worth it!

10/06/06

An Upscale Bargain!!

by makeredhappy

It's a BYOB - the best kind of restaurant! Frenchified Thai/continental, great crab cakes, good service, clean and pretty place. If you're in the University City area, this is a well known place for dinner or a special lunch treat! Try it and be surprised!

• Pros: BYOB, good food, nice presentation
• Cons: Can be crowded anytime, so reservations a must!

08/22/06

Lackluster lunch

by t_girl_dining

I probably should have ordered per the previous reviews. I had the Thai BBQ chicken for lunch and while the cut of chicken breast was good quality, they drowned it in the sweet/sour dipping sauce that I can buy at any Asian market - so I didn't find this meal special. I did like the Thai-style cabbage salad (slaw) that accompanied the dish. Service was fine, and it's obvious they have "Regulars" whom the chef & staff are familiar and visit - I can understand its appeal. However, if I'm in town again, I might pass, unless I'm with a "Regular" who can make recommendations that will impress in flavor.

• Pros: quick service, nice staff
• Cons: small grps only

A B.Y.O.B. with Thai influences that delivers on its promise of exquisite flavor without fads.

by Contributor

In Short
A single flower in a cylindrical vase on every table is just one of the spare and simple design elements in this West Philly restaurant. Lunch offers reasonably priced dishes from fettuccine to chicken yellow, flavored with curry. For dinner appetizers, Thai noodle or chicken sate can't be beat. Each one offers the popular peanut flavor often fund in Thai dishes.

• Pros: great for students

06/15/06

A feast for the palate, not for the eyes

by nvictoriaw

This is a very charming restaurant on a dingy corner of University City. Definitely a trip for the food, not the atmosphere. The service is lovely -- charming, unhurried, well-informed, and attentive. However, the restaurant's sole waiter was stretched a bit thin when the tables began to fill. We tried the special appetizer of lobster dumplings and the noodle salad. Both were excellent. Both of our entrees were specials of the day: Duck breast and a hawaiian fish, the latter of which knocked my socks off. Standard side dishes of steamed veggies and some sort of potato/cabbage kugel were just OK and probably not necessary garnishes to excellent main dishses. Dessert shouldn't be missed -- ginger ice cream has chunks of candied ginger YUM! Bread pudding was divine. A bit more expensive than I imagined due to the special entrees being priced quite high. However, overall, it's worth a visit if you're in the area.

• Pros: Excellent food quality, service
• Cons: Ambience is a bit austere on the inside, urban blight on the outside

01/18/06

Great Food, Lousy Service

by penncare

The food was excellent. I had the duck with a great wine sauce. The apple puff with caramel dessert was very good as well. The service on the other hand was awful. The waiter was short with us and not very nice. He forgot to bring requested utensils and did not refill water glasses. He only came by once to ask "how was the food?" and ran away without waiting for an answer. I recommend the place for the food but not service.

• Pros: Food
• Cons: Service

09/21/03

Don't Judge a Book by it's Cover

by contempler

All of the prior reviews of this restaurant are absolutely accurate. This eatery is an find and you should beg for a table. The chicken lemongrass soup is exceptional. The squid salad was different and delectable. The scallop salad (a special of the night) was worthy of the finest restaurants of New York or Chicago. The entree selections were diversified and delicious. My table ordered the Pad Thai ( stir-fry noodles with shrimp, beansprouts, tofu, egg and peanuts), Filet Mignon (sauteed with goat cheese and red wine sauce), Mediterranean Sea Bass (in a ginger miso sauce) and Skinless Peking Duck (in a plum and a tamarind sauce). My only regret was that the chief had not written a cookbook so that I could have tried to repeat these recipes at home. This place is special.

• Pros: Taste Sensation, Good Value, Excellent Service
• Cons: NONE

08/21/02

Thai/French Oasis

by joehel2

Don't let the ordinaryexterior facade fool you, Nan is the home of extroardinary cuisine and service. Reservations are a must; we were lucky to get a table for two on a Thursday evening at 6:00PM. It was apparent that many of the diners were regulars who chatted with the friendly staff. The escargot appetizer was special both in its presentation, a flaky pastry dumpling, and its taste. The grilled lamb chops were nicely spiced with a french look but a thai undertone served in a port reduction sauce. The chef's special red snapper in a saffron crean sauce was moist with a crispy skin. Portions were so big we had no room for dessert.

• Pros: Close street parking., Good value., Good service.
• Cons: Need Reservations