Water Works Restaurant

Great food, staff, menu!!!!!!!!!!! more

I chose the Waterworks for our 11 year wedding anniversary since the menu looked excellent. The food was good although TERRIBLY small portions. I left hungry. The issue was the terrible service. First of all, we waited a good 30 minutes to be seated even though we had reservations. Our waiter was a snob who barely waited on us. He couldn't be bothered to help me decide between two entrees. Wouldn't even describe them to me. He said ""the duck comes sliced."" Gee, thanks!! We honestly saw him twice during the entire meal. At one point I wanted to add soup to my meal and I couldn't because I couldn't get my waiter. I had asked ahead of time for them to bring us a special desert in honor of our anniversary. All night I watched cute little deserts which candles or whatnot pass by our table for birthdays. But when it was time for our desert, they took our order as usual and nothing special was brought out. They completely forgot or ignored my request. My husband was very upset with the service which upset me being that this was my gift to him. A $300 meal isn't exactly cheap. So I emailed the restaurant about my grievances. The manager called me and apologized. Swore that this is not what they are about. Promised to send me a gift certificate so that we'd give them another try. 3 months later and NO gift certificate!!! Why even bother to offer it??? Seriously, the service at this place is a joke. Truly a shame. Would NEVER recommend this place to anyone unless you enjoy being treated like GARBAGE! more

My husband and I had dinner at the Water Works tonight to celebrate my birthday. Everything was wonderful! The manager Ken was outstanding and our server Ashley was wonderful! Ken and Ashley made my night very enjoyable. Pros: Delicious Food Cons: Parking more

The best part of the Waterworks is the romantic atmosphere on the glass in deck area over looking the river, with the smooth live music playing in the background. It is beautiful on a nice evening with the one you love. And the food was good Pros: Most Romantic more

I always wanted to try Water Works so we decided to start with brunch. The selection was very good and fresh. The omlette station was great. The staff is superb in this place, they are professional servers which is nice. There is a free valet for sunday brunch. The water list is huge. Pros: staff more

We went to Waterworks last night for our 5 year anniversary, from high recommendations. It's a gorgeous spot and I think the interior is lovely but that's about as complimentary as I can be. I say this and please note that I don't frequent high end restaurants often,so I do hold them to a higher standard. So seeing folks go in jeans bothered me a little, since I was stuck wearing panty hose. I may have been slightly peeved that our request for a water view landed us in the dining room, despite making the reservation in advance. more

I don't know whats wrong with my fellow reviewers. My experince at Water Works was outstanding! The food was perfectly prepared and the wait staff very friendly and knew the menu like the back of his hand, and the wine suggested paired with my food nicely. I would STRONGLY recomend this restraunt to anyone. Pros: HIstoric location, Great food, Great experience Cons: I've Got Nothing more

When there the other nite and the food was junk, I had the entree meat de jour which cost $50.00 for a 18oz prime rib which burger king whopper taste better the the desset was a let down as will. A place I will never go back. Pros: location Cons: everything else more

Having received a gift for dinner to this very romantic location we were both anticipating an outstanding evening. The day was beautiful; we requested reservations on the terrace - it wasn't too chilly. Instead of terrace dining they moved us to a very nice indoor conservatory room overlooking the river. We would have enjoyed a drink outside before dinner, but it was not offered. From the minute we were seated we felt like we were in a race until we clued our waiter into the fact that we were dining. The food was awful -everything was a fiasco. Being asked every 5 minutes how everything was was annoying. The highly recommended octopus appetizer was inedible. The salad was warm and unbalanced with flavor. The Salmon entree was overcooked, the duck was unbelieveably dreadful. The wine list while good was ridiculously overpriced. We did enjoy our wine and the outstanding view. I felt that our waiter who was changed early upon our displeasure with the sprinter was embarrassed for our obvious disappointment. A good restauranteur could do well here. Pros: Absolutely beautiful location, very nicely appointed restaurant, overpriced. Cons: Very poor food, wait service needs work. more

Can someone who knows how to run a restaurant take over this place please!? I have gone there four times and it keeps getting worse. The first visit was upon opening and then a month later. Ed Dougherty was running the place and while the food was mediocre at best, we had great service both times. By my next two trips Ed was gone and it showed as the service was downright rude. I vowed I'd never go back after the third time but the weather was so nice last night I thought it would be worth another try...not so. Pros: The only pro is the setting Cons: Food and Service, it's almost as if their customers are the waiters enemies more

Upon arriving, I was pleased to see they had a valet parking service, although we opted to park in the lot. Next time if I go, I will take advantage of the valet service. Pros: Ambience, Parking, Service, Clean Cons: Price more

Terrible service, extremely overpriced and so so food made this a no, no. It's a great view and would be great under the proper management and a good chef. As it is now, I'd say you're better off taking a lunch out to the park (over near boat house row) and eating by the river. Your salad might be more crisp and you don't have to wait for water. Pros: the River Cons: Every things else more

when your hostess greets you as ""you Guys"" - you know what your in for. Pros: the view in warm weather Cons: everything else more

My boyfriend and I recently celebrated my 30th birthday with dinner at the Waterworks. Having dined at many of Philadelphia's finer restaurants, my expectations were high. To start off on a positive note, I was thoroughly impressed with the setting. The building, inside and out, is beautiful. We chose not to eat outside because it was a particularly hot evening, but we did spend some time afterward enjoying the view of the water and Boathouse Row...and laughing off our somewhat comical dining experience. We were seated promptly, but it was at least 10 minutes before our waitress came to bring water or take our drink orders. The service was, overall, inattentive and abrubt. I had to ask about the fish special, which sounded very good based on the description given by the waitress. She neglected to mention, however, that the fish would be served whole...head and all. This, of course, is not unheard of (especially in Mediterranean cuisine) though had I been informed of this I would have chosen something else. They did take the fish back and chop off the head after I expressed displeasure, but did not offer to prepare me something else. The highlight of the meal was the appetizer. We shared sea sacllops topped with foie gras and truffle sauce. The scallops were prepared perfectly - not under nor over-cooked, which I find to be common, even at upscale restaurants. My boyfriend's lamb was very good and well-presented. Just after we ordered dessert, the fire alarm went off. This sent the wait staff zipping around the room repeatedly informing people that it was a false alarm. In addition to the fire alarm, there was a wedding reception taking place in a private dining room adjacent to the main dining area. Members of the wedding party constantly spilled out into the dining room for pictures, cake-cutting, etc., which detracted from the quiet, romantic atmosphere we were anticipating. I can't recommend this one, and likely won't be going back. Pros: beautiful setting Cons: poor service; food was good, but not worth the price more

We had high hopes for this place, as the location is stunning and the decor quite nice. But Sunday brunch was a disappointment. Service was slow and the wait staff were not very informed regarding the menu. Our food, the most important part, was mixed. The burger that my friend had was supposedly very good, but the smoked salmon benedict that my fiancee had was sub-par. The worst thing about the meal was my smoked salmon and bagel platter. It came out late and was obviously prepared well in advance and left to sit. The cucumbers were shriveled and the lettuce was limp. The salmon was discolored. Even the bagel had clearly been toasted well before it reached me, as it was cold and rock hard. For what we were paying, you'd think they would prepare the food to order. Pros: ambience, location Cons: food, service more

Ate here twice. Both for special lunch-time visits. First time the food was very good. The service was not so good and the waiter's clothing looked like he slept and ate in it... Second time we took several friends who were from out of town--weather was beautiful and we ate on the patio. If the day had not been so gorgeous, it would have been a real disaster. The help was inattentive, inexperienced, and rude. A chair that one guest (160 lb man) was sitting on collapsed under him. He tumbled to the ground. No one came to help until we demanded it (two people walked on by); then they took away the chair (no apology given) and did not even bring a new chair. Again we had to ask, while our guest stood therre for a couple minutes! The food arrived--the hot food was cold (soggy fries) and the cold food (salads) was warm and limp as though it had all been sitting somewhere for a while. We waited so long for food to arrive (an hour from when we placed our order), despite a lot of staff running all around the place (doing what?), we asked for some bread. We were told ""we don't do bread at brunch."" Not even with my (luke warm) lobster bisque? I asked. ""No."" was the curt reply. Cross this one off our list! Too bad. Pros: Only the view of the river commends it Cons: rude inattentive poor service, badly prepared food, overpriced more

On a sunny day, the setting is beautiful and the restaurant's decor and tables are equally fine. Superb rolls and flavor-intense marinated olives awoke high expectations - the kitchen, however, could not fulfill them. A lunch special of Duck Risotto came as a mushy mountain of too many ingredients and the scampi in the other lunch entree were overcooked. While the grilled octopus appetizer was generous and tasty, excessive saltiness detracted from the dish. We tried some good waters from the vaunted ""water bar"" (a pretentious notion, as the $50 ""Bling"" water from Tennessee can attest), in an unguarded moment, our glasses were topped off with regular tap water. Friendly service and reception. A potential ""destination restaurant"" if the kitchen can keep up its side of the bargain. Pros: beautiful decor, generously spaced tables, friendly reception and service Cons: better kitchen supervision is needed more

Food had imaginative if not impressive presentation but some of the dishes we had were really just ok. Pros: Food Presentation, Hugh upside potential Cons: Service, Cost, overall quality of experience. more

A Great Restaurant for that special celebration! Pros: Location, Service, Food more