Noble American Cookery

I can't tell you the last time I so quickly decided that I wanted to revisit a restaurant. Noble was one of my picks for this round of restaurant week. I'm not sure how it ended up on my radar, but I'm really happy that I ended up there.

I dined with my good friend Quinn, and we met for dinner on a Friday night. We were seated quickly and began to look at the menu. The decor of the place in simple, earthy and elegant. I didn't see the bar, but I've heard it's also nice.

While we were still looking over the menus, we were brought a small taste, fried haddock with capers. It was good, and piqued my interest for the rest of the meal. For our appetizer, we both ordered the scallops. They were good and well cooked, but they should have more thoroughly washed. They were a still a bit sandy, but this was my biggest complaint of the night.

For my main course, I ordered the hanger steak. I ordered it as the chef recommended, medium rare, and was really happy with this dish. The steak was a good cut, and cooked and seasoned perfectly. It was served with mushrooms which accompanied the steak quite well. Quinn ordered a gnocchi, which was fabulously done. Perfect portion, cooking, and presentation made this tasty dish a real star.

Dessert was good, a great well to end the meal at Noble. I ordered a parfait that came with delicious toffee syrup. Quinn had a Vanilla pana cotta with berries. We both enjoyed our desserts. We swapped for a moment, but we generally like what we order on our own.

Noble also features local and organic food. While this idea can sometimes become a gimmick, it's not at Noble. They are serving excellent food and also happen to be conscientious about where it comes from and how it is grown. Impressively, they have a rooftop garden which features ingredients in several of the dishes. This idea is even extended to the beer selection, which consists of a lot of respectable locals, Yards, Victory, Troegs, PBC, and the likes while also offering featured beers from lesser known breweries in the US. To top it off, some of these featured beers are generally unavailable in the city, which is impressive for Philadelphia.

One of my favorite things about Noble is there is a beer and a wine pairing suggestion for each item on the menu. The pairings are well thought out, and our server was knowledgeable enough to talk about the menu, pairings, and drinks. The service was leisurely, but overall good. Our server was a little goofy, but added to our overall experience.

Bottom Line: Like I said, I can't tell you the last time I so quickly declared I wanted to revisit a place again. There's a lot to like about Noble. It's pretty, the food is good, and the menu has a lot of interesting options. I'm looking forward to my next visit. (Want to go, Mom?)

Essentials:

2025 Sansom St (at 20th)

215-568-7000

Hours: T&W: 5-10; Th&F: 5-11; Sat: 12-11; Sun: 11-9

Cash Only: No

Reservations: Strongly recommended

BYOB: On Sundays!