Laurel Restaurant

Laurel’s food is good but not excellent.
The individual components were cooked well.
However, the dishes often felt disjointed, like the ingredients didn’t meld together.
I do recommend the tuna and scallop dishes still. Service was excellent.
Servers were very accommodating, attentive, and helpful in choosing things to order. The dimly lit decor felt modern and intimate.
Unfortunately, a bit too intimate.
The tables barely had space between them.
Getting out from the wall side meant a coordinated effort between us and the table next to us.
Thankfully, the guests sat beside us didn’t have their food arrive yet, so they could easily slide their table.
I know squeezing in those two extra seats makes it easier to turn a profit, but this is getting out of hand.

I went to Laurel this year on Valentine’s Day with my husband.
We live in the area, so we like to support neighborhood establishments when we have expensive dinners. And this was an expensive one - but certainly worth the money. For my cocktail, I had the Stick Season and it was excellent. We had about 6 different courses along with dessert at the end.
The Citrus Salad was surprisingly great, and the Escargot was very good also.
Really, I loved all of our dishes. Service was spot on and constant without being annoying. I liked the fanciness, decor, and the vibe; they really made Valentine’s Day feel special :) FYI, you will be sharing each dish with your partner; you’re not ordering separate plates. Also FYI, menus are not constant and change seasonally (but that’s a good thing!). A gem of East Passyunk (and we have a LOT of them down here)!

New favorite restaurant in Philly! Everything is beautifully cooked and plated.
As my partner said, he’d come back just for the wagyu if he could.
Another favorite was the mussels and 1/2 dozen oysters! Service was also great! She did a great job of describing everything to us, and answering our numerous questions.