Parc
The Final Word
We aggregate all relevant reviews, both professional and consumer, to come up with the final word on a restaurant. We pour through the restaurant reviews to come up with a preliminary rating. Armed with that knowledge, we send out our own elite squad of professional reviewers to verify the findings. By that point, we have all the information we need to edit out all the PR reviews which show up on blogs, comments, and the review sites (including Yelp) . We then take all those reviews and squeeze it into a 5 star rating, which you see to the right. We also give you the overview of our research, which is listed in the three boxes below.
Craig Leban loved the space but noted a lack in both food and service. Also the noise levels were pointed out as being nearly unbearable. “ frenzied pace of evening service kicks in, the struggle to execute at dizzyingly high volume is even more obvious” and “he constant crush of patrons puts Parc’s service team on the spot to deliver, a challenge it doesn’t always handle with equal grace” are typical points made by Mr. Leban.
For Craig, the major draw was the “the sheer magnetism of Parc’s Parisian good looks.” of this
That was in 2008, and the restaurant has been shown, time and again, to manage good service with consistently executed products.
Most reviewers (like Joy Manning, the former Philly Mag critic) use the term sprawling to describe the scale of the place. Joy has the highest praise for the food, calling it standard Bistro fare. Others, like Adam Erace (then writing for PW) noted the food was inconsistent. The one exeption is the baked goods, which earn near-universal praise.
The overwhelming diners gave this an enthusiastic thumbs up, noting that it looks like a mid-century parisian bistro, with well-executed standards. The only review site which earned a less than positive aggregate review was Yelp. The negative yelpers (which we define as giving a 3 star or less) were very telling. Yelp tends to hit a younger demographic than others, and the majority of negative reviews were largely focused on two issues: meal prices and the quality of cocktails. This plays out throughout even the positive reviews: The major drawback of Parc is a less-than-average quality for price ratio, and a lack of expert bartenders who can go “off menu”. Sources: Yelp, Urbanspoon, Foobooz, Zagat, and Google Places
Over the past four years, Parc has polished it’s execution of standard french fair, and is now boasts one of the most consistent kitchens in Philadelphia. The breads and baked goods continue to be superb, as is brunch. The noise levels are no longer as much an issue as they once were: partly because of discrete sound absorption panels installed into the ceilings and partly because it’s no longer “the place” for singletons to try their luck on a Friday night. The best seats in the house are at the zinc-lined bar and tables near the windows looking over Rittenhouse Park. Because of location and the sheer style of the place (it apparently cost $6 million to design), you do pay more for the experience (just like in a Parisian bistro at a great address). The downfall here is the wine list. There are plenty of overpriced mediocre bottles that fail to excite. If you want to have an experience and enjoy yourself, Parc is wonderful… as long as you don’t mind a bit of sticker shock.
Hickory Lane Bistro, an upscale neighborhood joint on Fairmont Ave. in Philly (next to Eastern State Penitentiary) is a good spot for tasty American fare.
Epikur is a magazine about food and drink, with a focus on our hometown of Philadelphia.
