not sure if you intended it, but what you outlined is precisely what should be avoided. super risky and not sustainable if you don’t get to the speculative next stage. entering a modern era would make it easier to obtain liquor licenses and have actual wholesale business in the state. i of course appreciate how great it is for the customer to be able to byo, but the lack of an entire revenue stream with higher margins puts them always at a huge disadvantage. something has to give and in your scenario, and that of cadence it seems, is that the owners get burned out and have to close. put another way, are there any great, destination, restaurants in philadelphia that are byo? are there many?
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Absolutely. Some of my favorite restaurants in and around Philly are BYO’s.
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yes, i have many favorites as well. i don’t mean those, i mean actually top destination places that are byo. the ones that are destination places. that if someone was coming to the city you’d say you must go there. philadelphia, for its size, likely under indexes in this category and i cannot think of a single byo one. the reason for the former is the antiquated laws and the latter because it’s really difficult to pull off.
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There are a few new restaurants in Philly which are worth a look, but none that are BYO that I’m aware of. River Twice (upper end casual tasting menu) is good, though the chef needs to learn to use acidic element a bit more liberally, and Ember & Ash is very good and a lot of fun with bold flavors and smart use of their wood burning oven on local ingredients. We source from many of the same farms. The cocktail program at Ember & Ash is pretty good, too. Ember & Ash allows BYO for corkage, I believe, if you arrange it in advance. We go there pretty often, and like it a lot. We went to River Twice once and had a good meal, with my above caveat about acid, but had to go across the street to Ember & Ash for a snack after dinner.
And I totally agree with Yaacov on this one - though there are many fun and good BYO restaurants, there’s nothing really great now that Cadence is gone, and nothing remotely like a destination restaurant.
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I don’t think it’s the price of the liquor license, it’s the economics. Licenses in NJ tend to be more expensive, but you can buy wholesale. Charging 4x retail is no way to build volume, NYC is a bargain in comparison. The BYOB culture is strong in Philly. Not very strong in Pittsburgh that likely has similar economics.
Some of your dry NJ towns have good BYOB, like Collingswood. Or did, I haven’t been back in 8 years.
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Kevin, I don’t understand this animosity at all. I answered your question about new restaurants to the best of my ability, politely and thoroughly. I haven’t been to or heard any buzz about new BYO’s. If I had, I would have mentioned them. As it was, I suggested a two restaurants that my husband and I like a lot, one of which allows corkage and therefore might be of interest.
Then I agreed with the opinion that another valued board member and regular Philly visitor expressed, and which is hardly unique.
What on earth did I do to be called a troll?
Your repeated meanness and name calling towards me is out of left field and, frankly, out of line.
I am happy with the BYOs near me in Montgomery County and while I used to like to visit Cadence and BYOs in East Passyunk frequently, it’s just too much of a hassle between Philly restrictions, construction, late night lawlessness risk and the hassle of two way Uber. Kenney and Krasner have done a great job of creating a perfect storm disaster for restaurants in Philly. Will take a few years and changes in administrations for a bounce-back. I would rather go to NYC than Philly.
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Hey Everyone,
New to this site, but not new to eating and drinking at BYOs in Philly, and just wanted to toss out a very strong recommendation for Roxanne BYOB in the Italian mkt (in the old Sabrinas space). Ate there in December and it was the single most exciting and delicious meal Ive had in this city in a long time. The restaurant is literally a 2 person team (one cook, one server) serving an 8+ course tasting menu with some really interesting and creative combinations. Some highlights were a lamb “scrapple” (braised lamb pressed then cut to resemble a slice of scapple) with beets and foie, a crab and crispy potato dish with uni and passionfruit, and a dessert (1 of 3) that featured roasted sunchokes and a speculoos panna cotta. Go to this place now before it becomes impossible!
ps brought a 2015 Knoll Gruner Vetliner to the meal that was fantastic!
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I had forgotten all about this thread! Obviously not too active lately.
At any rate, my wife and I sold our house back in December of 2023 and moved downtown and I have been hitting the local Italian BYOBs since our move, as follows:
Angelina
Cucina Maria
Mercato
Burrata
Adoro (multiple visits)
Pesto (ditto)
La Nonna (ditto)
Giorgio on Pine (ditto)
La Sera
Aroma on 3rd
Scampi
All decent, mostly red sauce Italian restaurants. La Nonna and Angelina are cash only, and Scampi is a newer place where you need to reserve in advance and the dinners tend to be themed each month focusing on a different region of Italy (I’ve been to Liguria and Sardinia so far).
Haven’t made it to Olea yet, and La Viola is another place that’s BYOB in Center City as well.
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Had a great meal at Olea last year.
Just received notification that Blackfish is closing; last service is 12/31/25.