Bistro St. Tropez

this is one of our favorite places, terrific view, memorable setting, just a consistently excellent dining experience.
Jun 7th, 2016

May 4th, 2016

OMG, the lamb and escargot are heaven! Bistro St. Tropez has a decent wine selection as well. Well worth the time. Check them out as they always have a special.
Nov 22nd, 2015

Colored Seating Available This review only pertains to the service of colored/minority/African American seating at Bistro St Topez and not the food which I’m sure is acceptable judging by the many other reviews. My girlfriend and I were hoping to enjoy dinner at Bistro St. Topez this past Friday night but; unfortunately, we could not stay due to their colored seating arrangement that we did not want to abide by that evening. Upon entering the restaurant we were politely greeted by the hostess who took our coats and started some pleasant small conversation. She checked our reservations and began directing us to our seats. Upon entering I noticed that the place was pretty empty with only 6 people seated in the main dining area for a restaurant that I can imagine to host well over 50 people at a time on any given night. The hostess directs us to seating at the edge of of their arrangement next to a plant, a structural partition (possibly for the structural steel framing), and booth seating. The seat was also the only one in the dining area that would not allow a view of the river due to the partition nor a view to the main entrance due to the other partition directly across from the seat. My girlfriend and I agree that we did not wish to sit there and she politely asks if we can be moved to one of the other seats in the dining area. The hostess apologizes and informed us that they were booked solid for the evening. This was odd to us because as I mentioned earlier I counted 6 people seated in the main dining area and there was ample seating available for parties of 2. My girlfriend then points to the other seats including the one that was right next to us that would seat 2 people and provide a view out the window to see the river as all the other seats that were available would provide. The hostess then mentions that those seats were intended to be placed together for later parties and that the remaining seats were booked by other reservations. This was even more peculiar because 2 seats away from the seats that were being offered was another couple. It wouldn’t be possible to place the seats next to the couple together if the ones that we were being proposed to us were occupied. Being African Americans trying to dine in downtown Philadelphia we are all too accustomed to the cities color seating policy that most restaurants like to enforce. Because of this we decided to politely ask the hostess for our coats and leave. Upon gathering our coats and stepping outside the restaurant to search for other places in the area to have dinner, the hostess then comes out to offer us later reservations a few weeks from that evening. She verbally communicated to us that she assumed that we were only dining there because it was restaurant week in the city and there were discounts and deals for dining at their restaurant at the time so she offered us later reservations for the next restaurant week. Unfortunately, she was sadly mistaken because we simply wanted to try a new restaurant and we could afford to dine there at any time. We politely decline her offer then begin to head to our next destination. Upon walking off to the elevator another worker at the restaurant runs towards us and immediately apologizes for what happened and notifies us that he would provide us with more desirable seating at the establishment. Thankfully, our appetite was heavily sedated from the white supremacy that was served to us and we no longer desired to eat there. We politely went on our way and we bid the man farwell.
Jun 1st, 2016

Overall, I'd have to say that this was a good eating experience, but seems a bit past it's prime. I went here for restaurant week, and other than it's strange location, it got off to a good start and we were seated right away. The decor might have been cool years ago, but the metal and neon lights were not relevant at all to the food or the setting. We asked the waitress for her suggestions, but she just said everything was good, even when asked to compare specific dishes (I like when the staff has had the food, and can give an opinion). The couple cocktails I tried were good. Meal started off with the mushroom soup and the escargot, both were really good and I liked that the escargot was served with mushrooms, it was a nice pairing. I would recommend either dish depending on tastes. The bread and oil that was served with this course was very good, we got a second helping. The main course was where the meal started to lose me a bit. We had the duck and the scallops. The duck was a bit on the dry side for me and the fat was not rendered enough, the lentils that it was served with were good, but not notable. The scallops, while few, were good, but could have been seared a bit more, the farro ragout was not my favorite. Had to wait a long time for the dessert, seems like a bunch of the chefs friends had arrived to stand at the awkward bar and he was out with them for 20 or 30 minutes. The creme brulee was tasty, but easily the thinnest (height wise) one that I have ever had, the custard layer was just a bit thicker than the sugar layer...disappointing. The St. Tropex Cake was okay, but certainly not a cake, definitely a mousse. Good enough meal, but I wouldn't choose to return.
Dec 10th, 2015