How is Townsend restaurant rated?

Name: Townsend
Address: 2121 Walnut St, Philadelphia, PA, United States, 19103
Telephone: (267) 639-3203
Price range: $31 to $50
Rating: 4.7

Townsend

4.7

1216 Reviews

$31 to $50

Contemporary French

Top Tags:

A contemporary French restaurant in Philadelphia. Chef Townsend Wentz's elegant French menu follows the seasons. Our wine selections are carefully cultivated, constantly searching for honest wines made by caring producers.

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Additional information

Dining style
Casual Elegant
Price
$31 to $50
Cuisines
Contemporary French, Contemporary American
Hours of operation
Dinner: Monday & Wednesday - Sunday: 5:00pm - 10:00pm
Phone number
(267) 639-3203
Website
http://www.townsendrestaurant.com/
Payment options
AMEX, Mastercard, Visa
Dress code
Smart Casual
Executive chef
Townsend Wentz

Location
2121 Walnut St, Philadelphia, PA 19103
Neighborhood
Center City
Cross street
At the intersection of Walnut St and Van Pelt St
Parking details
Street Parking
Additional
Banquet, Bar/Lounge, Beer, Cocktails, Full Bar, Indoor Fireplace, Non-Smoking, Wine

Jumbo Lump Crab Risotto$16.00
truffle-asparagus salad
Escargot and Brussels Sprout "Mange Tout"$12.00
bacon-sherry crème fraiche
Sauteed Sweetbread$14.00
potato aligote, castelvetrano olives, oven dried tomato provencal
Potato Gnocchi$14.00
roasted beech mushrooms, oven dried tomatoes, caramelized onion, thyme

3rd Course

Seared Bronzino$29.00
confit potato, fennel, sultanas, orange, mussel velouté
Pan Roasted Magret Duck Breast$34.00
white bean cassoulet, port reduction
Roasted Organic Chicken$28.00
leg galantine, speck, artichoke barigoule, carrots, lemon
Grilled Swordfish$30.00
lentils du puy, carrots boulanger
Rabbit Pot-au-Feu$29.00
loin roulade, braised rabbit, carrots, potatoes

What 1,216 people are saying

Overall ratings and reviews

4.7

4.7 based on all time ratings

4.7Food
4.7Service
4.5Ambience
4.2Value

Noise • Quiet

1,216 Reviews

T
Townie
Philadelphia
42 reviews
vip
5.0
42 reviews
Dined on March 14, 2020
overall5food5service5ambience5
Excellent in the new location. So much closer ! Very young chic clientele !
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LK
LeslieK4
Philadelphia
12 reviews
vip
5.0
12 reviews
Dined on March 14, 2020
overall5food5service5ambience5
An excellent dinner. Loved it
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f
foodiedudie
Philadelphia
295 reviews
vip
5.0
295 reviews
Dined on March 11, 2020
overall5food5service5ambience5
Everything was superb. Quiet night with the coronavirus causing folks to stay away from public places, but come on out and eat! Nice wine list, friendly staff. So glad to have Townsend in Rittenhouse neighborhood.
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M
Momtofive
Philadelphia
52 reviews
5.0
52 reviews
Dined on March 8, 2020
overall5food5service5ambience5
Lovely dinner and wonderful drinks. The staff is delightfully helpful and respectful. Overall, a great dining experience.
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F
Fern
Philadelphia
23 reviews
5.0
23 reviews
Dined on March 8, 2020
overall5food5service5ambience5
We really enjoyed our recent visit to Townsend. We both ordered the chef's tasting menu and staff was very accomodating about changing out one of the dishes that was something we don't eat. Each course was delicious. We also enjoyed the wine pairings with each course. A great choice for a special occasion meal.
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RS
RyanS
Philadelphia
13 reviews
vip
5.0
13 reviews
Dined on March 7, 2020
overall5food5service5ambience5
Wonderful restaurant at a new location, food in top shelf and service is pretty good. A little louder and less intimate then it used to be but still great all around
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p
pamk
Philadelphia
67 reviews
vip
5.0
67 reviews
Dined on March 7, 2020
overall5food5service5ambience4
Wonderful food and service as on Passyunk! We had a beautifully timed dinner to celebrate and the best temperance cocktail in Philadelphia so far. Miss the old charming ambiance a bit, but will definitely be back.
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CD
CityDweller
Philadelphia
9 reviews
3.0
9 reviews
Dined on March 5, 2020
overall3food4service2ambience2
We were greeted promptly and seated. There was a table of 5 men and 1 woman that was very noise. The men kept trying to talk over each other and getting louder. We complained to the server about the noise. She agreed they were way out of bounds but there was nothing she could do. There was a dying poinsettia in the window sill next to our table; it almost spring. We had to signal to order cocktails. The food was very good and the wine was very good. The variety of food was excellent and they prepared a salad course for my wife which was not on the menu. It was very good. Pricing was good. I would recommend that they spend more training on customer service and attention to details.
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S
Susan
Philadelphia
68 reviews
vip
5.0
68 reviews
Dined on March 4, 2020
overall5food5service5ambience4
Wonderful dinner!
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WS
WilliamSasso
Philadelphia
14 reviews
vip
2.0
14 reviews
Dined on March 4, 2020
overall2food1service3ambience2
The food was just OK. The Bronzino was soggy indicating it had been frozen too long .The gnocchi was overcooked although I thought the sauce was good.
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J
Joanie
Philadelphia
43 reviews
5.0
43 reviews
Dined on March 4, 2020
overall5food5service5ambience5
We ate upstairs on a Tuesday night. We were able to talk and hear each other! A remarkable and delightful surprise in a restaurant these days. We four foodies agreed this was one if the best food we'd ever ate. The experience was further enhanced by our excellent waiter, Harry. All in all, a wonderful evening.
1 person found this helpful
AH
AngelaH
New York Area
2 reviews
4.0
2 reviews
Dined on February 29, 2020
overall4food5service5ambience4
It was lovely and we definitely will return. Delicious!! Excellent service!!
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HL
HeidiL
Philadelphia
23 reviews
vip
3.0
23 reviews
Dined on February 29, 2020
overall3food4service2ambience3
Glad we arrived early on a Saturday, seated right away. After that it went down hill. Waiter not very professional, no offer of fix menu, had to refill water ourselves. Too casual about everything. Overall good was good, not overly salty, cooked correctly. Just not a wow taste anywhere. We had escargot, gnocchi,duck and halibut. Had hoped service improved since opening reviews, once it's was full restaurant we waited for most everything.
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S
Steve
Philadelphia
12 reviews
5.0
12 reviews
Dined on February 23, 2020
overall5food5service5ambience4
Great tasting menu! The halibut was incredible, the filet mignon cooked perfect, and the soup tasty.
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MY
MelanieY
Philadelphia
1 review
5.0
1 review
Dined on February 23, 2020
overall5food5service5ambience4
Everything we ordered was wonderful. No complaints, want to go back soon.
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v
vinpayne
Philadelphia
12 reviews
5.0
12 reviews
Dined on February 23, 2020
overall5food5service5ambience5
Amazing spot, excellent service, food was phenomenal and truly a dining experience. Can’t wait to go back. Chef Todd acknowledged my request to meet him and talk about the restaurant.
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AG
AdamG
New York Area
38 reviews
vip
5.0
38 reviews
Dined on February 23, 2020
overall5food5service5ambience5
Special event dinner for 2 birthdays and my son passing his CPA exam. Great food, delicious wine list, very knowledgeable and friendly service. Pricey and totally worth it.
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J
Jantiki
Philadelphia
14 reviews
vip
5.0
14 reviews
Dined on February 22, 2020
overall5food5service5ambience5
The whole meal was wonderful. The oysters simply melted in your mouth, cooked to perfection, simply lovely! Cannot wait to dine there again!
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t
twoteachers
Philadelphia
45 reviews
3.0
45 reviews
Dined on February 16, 2020
overall3food3service3ambience3
Average compared to the many fine restaurants in the neighborhood.
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SR
SuzanneR
Philadelphia
8 reviews
vip
4.0
8 reviews
Dined on February 15, 2020
overall4food4service5ambience4
It was delicious BUT VERY loud. The acoustiscs need improving as everything else is wonderful !!!
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D
Datenightfun
New York Area
53 reviews
vip
5.0
53 reviews
Dined on February 15, 2020
overall5food5service5ambience5
Quality experience on all levels- food, service and ambiance
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OT
OpenTable Diner
Philadelphia
1 review
5.0
1 review
Dined on February 14, 2020
overall5food5service5ambience2
Simply one of the best meals I've eaten in years and the cocktails were exquisite. The only downsides to the experience is that the ambience isn't great. The food and drink far makes up for that fact . This place absolutely needs to be experienced at least once
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OT
OpenTable Diner
Philadelphia
1 review
3.0
1 review
Dined on February 13, 2020
overall3food3service4ambience3
Pleasant surroundings if a little stark, quiet and comfortable. Service very good. Best dishes were the squash soup and the scallops. The foie gras was unevenly cooked, one portion just right, the other undercooked. Both had an off taste in the sear. The sweetbreads were very well prepared. The duck was well prepared, nothing unusual but good nonetheless. Overall a good experience . More likely to return to Bibou.
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PD
PeterD
Philadelphia
2 reviews
vip
4.0
2 reviews
Dined on February 9, 2020
overall4food4service5ambience5
Great ambiance but the portions were to large! We were told they were portioned for each individual to order each course but by the time the main course came we were half stuffed.
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TJ
TJMoir
Philadelphia
113 reviews
vip
5.0
113 reviews
Dined on February 1, 2020
overall5food5service5ambience5
We eat at the bar about once a week, but on Saturday night, we took my mother for dinner, and she liked it so much that we switched her upcoming birthday party to Townsend. Great food on a menu that's always kept fresh. (I had Broiled Oysters, Rabbit Gnocchi, Halibut) Great service. Great drinks (Manhattans! - thanks Mike and Kevin).
2 people found this helpful
LK
LeeK
Alabama
1 review
5.0
1 review
Dined on February 1, 2020
overall5food5service5ambience5
Excellent on all counts. Will definitely return to explore more of the menu.
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RL
ReneeLiss
Atlantic City
37 reviews
vip
5.0
37 reviews
Dined on January 31, 2020
overall5food5service5ambience5
Everything about our dinner was outstanding. Our server, Amy, was knowledgeable about everything on the menu and steered us In the right direction for each course we ordered. Every person who came to our table to serve us something were also knowledgeable about everything! We loved it and can’t wait to come back. Beautiful restaurant!
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DW
DavidW
New York Area
4 reviews
vip
5.0
4 reviews
Dined on January 30, 2020
overall5food5service5ambience5
Fantastic food!
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WS
WandaS
Philadelphia
3 reviews
3.0
3 reviews
Dined on January 26, 2020
overall3food3service5ambience3
The food was good, but consistent not warm. We felt awckward to send it back to be re-heated, and again it was reallt tasteful, jut not hot.
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a
alanm804
Philadelphia
33 reviews
vip
3.0
33 reviews
Dined on January 26, 2020
overall3food4service5ambience4
This may be a great spot- but only after they fix some startup problems. Our table was not ready at our reservation time but there is under zero space to wait - except at the overcrowded bar (with others waiting to be seated) so we hung out in a window area. We had a wonderful server who took our order for a nice bottle of wine (from a moderately interesting list). A runner then brought us the obligatory bread basket along with an amuse-bouche of vinegared beets, one of which he overturned onto the table linens - but made no offer to even cover the large and expanding beet red amoeba shaped stain with a napkin. Our first courses - a nice potato potage and baked oysters with (I recall) Pernod were quite well prepared. Our mains, a duck breast and a fish with a leek and other vegetable purée were both well prepared - but suffered from an obvious many too many minutes late delay in getting from the kitchen to the table. We passed on desert as nothing on the limited selection spoke to us. This is a work in progress. Most of the “rough edges” we felt were managed around by a wonderful and obviously experienced server (who we well tipped) but it’s hard to not get the feeling that the front and back of the house need some more time working together. Last - it’s a fine dining restaurant. It needs some acoustic treatment as the noise level was close to that of a sports bar until later in the evening when the number of patrons was at a minimum. We will give it a few months and return.
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g
gleng
Philadelphia
140 reviews
vip
3.0
140 reviews
Dined on January 25, 2020
overall3food4service2ambience3
First time at the new location (but several times at the old)- so my advice now is - ask for a table against the wall or upstairs. The window tables are very cold in winter and the one nearest to the service station is distracting. The food - well, I just don't get the hype! It's good but not spectacular in any form. Sweetbreads were overly large and thus contained significant cartilage. Tuna nicoise was grainy... in general the entire meal was overly salted. Maybe I'm being picky but for a top place it was disappointing and all this was reflected in prior visits.
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OT
OpenTable Diner
Philadelphia
3 reviews
5.0
3 reviews
Dined on January 25, 2020
overall5food5service5ambience5
Seating was swift when we arrived with our reservation (which we made 15 mins prior); the food was all fantastic - from the amuse-bouche to the sophisticated dessert. Everything was so fresh and extremely well executed. It's a masterclass in French cuisine.
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LM
LexiM
New Orleans
5 reviews
3.0
5 reviews
Dined on January 25, 2020
overall3food2service3ambience3
I have never left a poor review. We were really looking forward to trying Townsend as we have heard great things. However, the food was extremely mediocre - some lukewarm, some so hot as if out of a microwave. It lacked any real flavor. The foie gras mousse was gummy like glue and the duck was questionably duck. The only thing actually worth eating were the oysters. Our meal was so disappointing we immediately walked to Friday, Saturday, Sunday where we know we can get a top-notch, perfectly executed meal with staff that don’t seem like robots. Just having a reputation for good food won’t do much unless you only serve people who would be happy eating at Applebee’s every night. We won’t be returning.
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SL
SheriL
Philadelphia
13 reviews
vip
5.0
13 reviews
Dined on January 25, 2020
overall5food5service5ambience5
Everything about my evening was outstanding! The food was incredible, the service was spectacular...best meal I've had in a long time!
1 person found this helpful
OT
OpenTable Diner
Philadelphia
7 reviews
vip
5.0
7 reviews
Dined on January 24, 2020
overall5food5service5ambience5
Outstanding meal and cocktails were divine! It was restaurant week and that can be hit or miss in some restaurants. Townsend was better than expectations! We have eaten at Townsend when the restaurant was located in South Philly and thought this meal was even better. The ambience, the complex yet clean flavorful dishes and creative cocktails should not be missed. We live in the city and have become foodie snobs frequenting many restaurants that have had the 'hype' and were disappointed. Townsend did not disappoint- we will be back!
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OT
OpenTable Diner
Charleston
1 review
5.0
1 review
Dined on January 24, 2020
overall5food5service5ambience5
We really enjoyed restaurant week menu and portions were generous unlike many French restaurants. Very nice wine list. Excellent service and good ambiance.
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JA
JoAnn
Philadelphia
43 reviews
5.0
43 reviews
Dined on January 24, 2020
overall5food5service5ambience5
My new favorite Center City restaurant! Great for any occasion.
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GR
GerardR
Philadelphia
2 reviews
vip
3.0
2 reviews
Dined on January 22, 2020
overall3food3service4ambience5
Went for restaurant week and both got short rib both were overcooked/tough but one was significantly more overcooked and dry. Wasn’t worth sending back cause than not eating at same time. Everything else was good
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LF
LorraineF
Philadelphia
4 reviews
5.0
4 reviews
Dined on January 22, 2020
overall5food5service5ambience5
The food was delicious and the service was fast. I will be going back to Townsend restaurant in the near future. Highly recommend.
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A
Adam
Philadelphia
43 reviews
vip
3.0
43 reviews
Dined on January 21, 2020
overall3food3service4ambience3
With reservation I would recommend but also realize this was RW.
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FAQs

Townsend is rated 4.7 stars by 1216 OpenTable diners.

Not available on OpenTable

Unfortunately, this restaurant is not on the OpenTable reservation network.

If you like, we'll notify you by email if this restaurant joins.

Is this your restaurant?

Claim this listing

2121 Walnut St, Philadelphia, PA 19103

Additional information

Cross street
At the intersection of Walnut St and Van Pelt St
Neighborhood
Center City
Hours of operation
Dinner: Monday & Wednesday - Sunday: 5:00pm - 10:00pm
Price
$31 to $50
Cuisines
Contemporary French, Contemporary American
Dining style
Casual Elegant
Dress code
Smart Casual
Parking details
Street Parking
Payment options
AMEX, Mastercard, Visa
Executive chef
Townsend Wentz
Additional
Banquet, Bar/Lounge, Beer, Cocktails, Full Bar, Indoor Fireplace, Non-Smoking, Wine

Website
http://www.townsendrestaurant.com/
Phone number
(267) 639-3203

Townsend

Not available on OpenTable

Additional information

Menu

1st Course

Broiled East Coast Oysters with Fennel$14.00

Foie Gras Mousse$13.00

Marinated Hamachi$13.00

Beef Tartare$13.00

2nd Course

Jumbo Lump Crab Risotto$16.00

Escargot and Brussels Sprout "Mange Tout"$12.00

Sauteed Sweetbread$14.00

Potato Gnocchi$14.00

3rd Course

Seared Bronzino$29.00

Pan Roasted Magret Duck Breast$34.00

Roasted Organic Chicken$28.00

Grilled Swordfish$30.00

Rabbit Pot-au-Feu$29.00

What 1,216 people are saying

Overall ratings and reviews

FAQs

How is Townsend restaurant rated?

Not available on OpenTable

Additional information