Matyson

The food is really wonderful here. We were seated for dinner rather late, 9pm. In fact, we were the last couple to leave. however we did not feel rushed to eat and go. I would recommend the sweet breads, foie gras and the duck breast.Our server was very knowledgable on all of the items on the menu and could really speak in depth of the origins of the ingredients and the inspirations behind the plates. It was a nice little restaurant- perfect for your romantic evening. Pros: great food and service Cons: parking, small space more

The food is really wonderful here. We were seated for dinner rather late, 9pm. In fact, we were the last couple to leave. however we did not feel rushed to eat and go. I would recommend the sweet breads, foie gras and the duck breast.Our server was very knowledgable on all of the items on the menu and could really speak in depth of the origins of the ingredients and the inspirations behind the plates. It was a nice little restaurant- perfect for your romantic evening. Pros: great food and service Cons: parking, small space more

I've been to Matyson a few times, once for dinner, a few of times for lunch. The food is good, but to me it has never been a standout compared to other BYOB's in this city. However, it is open for lunch, takes reservations and is conveniently located. \r \r We went for a holiday office lunch (party of 6) and had a 2 PM reservation. Once we sat down and had wine poured my boss started to give a year in review toast. The waitress interrupted a nice moment to tell us that we should order now because the kitchen closes at 2:30.\r \r We ordered bottled water, appetizers, meals, dessert and coffee - a complete meal. Upon serving the desserts the waitress came to our table and told us that she knows that we only just received our desserts, but we needed to be done before 4 (this was 3:45). She then came over just before 4 and hustled us out. It was disappointing that they would take a lunch reservation for 2:00 and then make our party feel as though they resented us taking the reservation.\r \r Unfortunately for Matyson there are now 6 people who will not return there for another meal and will not be shy about telling others. Pros: Takes Reservations Cons: Poor Service more

My co-workers and I had our holiday luncheon with our boss who is one of the VP's at our company. We were given a 2pm appointment only to be told five minutes after arriving by our waitress that the ""kitchen closes at 2:30pm"". \r \r Right after dessert, she informs us that at 4pm they have to get ready for dinner service. There was another party there in the place and when they left, she came back to us at 3:55pm to inform us that we had to leave so they could prepare for dinner service.\r \r After walking out, we just looked at each other in amazement, saying how rude she was. I mean how long does it take for you to clear one table for dinner? Needless to say, our boss stated he would never come back again. There are too many nice restaurants in this city for people to be treated in such a fashion. I hope the owners of Matyson's reads this review.\r more

I've been to Matyson a few times, once for dinner, a few of times for lunch. The food is good, but to me it has never been a standout compared to other BYOB's in this city. However, it is open for lunch, takes reservations and is conveniently located. We went for a holiday office lunch (party of 6) and had a 2 PM reservation. Once we sat down and had wine poured my boss started to give a year in review toast. The waitress interrupted a nice moment to tell us that we should order now because the kitchen closes at 2:30. We ordered bottled water, appetizers, meals, dessert and coffee - a complete meal. Upon serving the desserts the waitress came to our table and told us that she knows that we only just received our desserts, but we needed to be done before 4 (this was 3:45). She then came over just before 4 and hustled us out. It was disappointing that they would take a lunch reservation for 2:00 and then make our party feel as though they resented us taking the reservation. Unfortunately for Matyson there are now 6 people who will not return there for another meal and will not be shy about telling others. Pros: Takes Reservations Cons: Poor Service more

My co-workers and I had our holiday luncheon with our boss who is one of the VP's at our company. We were given a 2pm appointment only to be told five minutes after arriving by our waitress that the "kitchen closes at 2:30pm". Right after dessert, she informs us that at 4pm they have to get ready for dinner service. There was another party there in the place and when they left, she came back to us at 3:55pm to inform us that we had to leave so they could prepare for dinner service. After walking out, we just looked at each other in amazement, saying how rude she was. I mean how long does it take for you to clear one table for dinner? Needless to say, our boss stated he would never come back again. There are too many nice restaurants in this city for people to be treated in such a fashion. I hope the owners of Matyson's reads this review. more

I went to this BYOB with three friends. We ordered every course - apps, entree, desserts. We brought ourselves wine for the meal and desert wine. After we finished dessert we paid our tab and were finishing our dessert wine when the hostess brought us our coats. We explained we weren't done our drinks yet and didn't need our coats. She proceeded to bring our coats three different times in a course of fifteen minutes. When we brought this to the servers attention he said he needed turn the table and we were done our meal. I don't expect to be rushed out of my seat after eating over three hundred dollars worth of food at a restaurant. The food was ok...nothing special that makes it worth the awful service. Pros: Food was ok but not worth the terrible service Cons: Rude host and ignorant servers more

I went to this BYOB with three friends. We ordered every course - apps, entree, desserts. We brought ourselves wine for the meal and desert wine. After we finished dessert we paid our tab and were finishing our dessert wine when the hostess brought us our coats. We explained we weren't done our drinks yet and didn't need our coats. She proceeded to bring our coats three different times in a course of fifteen minutes. When we brought this to the servers attention he said he needed turn the table and we were done our meal. I don't expect to be rushed out of my seat after eating over three hundred dollars worth of food at a restaurant. The food was ok...nothing special that makes it worth the awful service. Pros: Food was ok but not worth the terrible service Cons: Rude host and ignorant servers more

the food was very good here however, i was very dissappointed in the service. waiter was mediocre at best and we were asked to leave, to accommodate another reservation, before we were even finished with our coffee. plenty of other byo's in the city that know how to treat customers... Pros: good food Cons: service more

the food was very good here however, i was very dissappointed in the service. waiter was mediocre at best and we were asked to leave, to accommodate another reservation, before we were even finished with our coffee. plenty of other byo's in the city that know how to treat customers... Pros: good food Cons: service more

Heard great things...and it delivered. I want to be a regular so a dish can be named after me. I want to bathe in the pea soup...I want more braised short rib....more seared scallop.... Pros: Best soup I ever had...it was the pea. more

Heard great things...and it delivered. I want to be a regular so a dish can be named after me. I want to bathe in the pea soup...I want more braised short rib....more seared scallop.... Pros: Best soup I ever had...it was the pea. more

Matyson is consistently one of the best BYOBs in Philadelphia. The menu is creative yet accessible, and always expertly prepared. The weekly tasting menu is a steal at $45, and a fun way to explore different dishes and themes. My only complaint is it can be hard to get a table - so go mid-week if you can. Pros: food, creativity, byob, price Cons: hard to get in more

Matyson is consistently one of the best BYOBs in Philadelphia. The menu is creative yet accessible, and always expertly prepared. The weekly tasting menu is a steal at $45, and a fun way to explore different dishes and themes. My only complaint is it can be hard to get a table - so go mid-week if you can. Pros: food, creativity, byob, price Cons: hard to get in more

As with nearly every meal at a well-rated restaurant I have had in Philly, the appetizer was excellent and then the remaining courses slid sharply downhill from there. First came a slice of fois gras over a cube of very hot crispy polenta surrounded by dried fruit chutney; the polenta was overly spiced and salted by itself, but combined with the sweet dried figs, everything worked very well. Due to many poor fois gras experiences I could not attribute the success of this dish simply to its containing this expensive ingredient. In this case its texture was wanting but the flavor, entirely free of gamey or sanguinous overtones, performed well. For the main course, four seared scallops looked dumbly out upon the pile of curried chickpeas and blood-orange salad that they surrounded. The scallops were cooked properly, the oranges nearly tasteless and the chickpeas sat, voluminous, waiting to be eaten. The dessert, hazelnut crepes burdened by so many ingredients (hazelnut toffee, 'vanilla' ice cream, yet more blood-oranges, chocolate shavings, possibly some kind of caramel sauce..) that only a vague impression of candy came through, failed. Service was excellent though nearly snarky, and so compared to the average place in Philadelphia I consider it quite good. Pros: pretty Cons: loud more

As with nearly every meal at a well-rated restaurant I have had in Philly, the appetizer was excellent and then the remaining courses slid sharply downhill from there. First came a slice of fois gras over a cube of very hot crispy polenta surrounded by dried fruit chutney; the polenta was overly spiced and salted by itself, but combined with the sweet dried figs, everything worked very well. Due to many poor fois gras experiences I could not attribute the success of this dish simply to its containing this expensive ingredient. In this case its texture was wanting but the flavor, entirely free of gamey or sanguinous overtones, performed well. For the main course, four seared scallops looked dumbly out upon the pile of curried chickpeas and blood-orange salad that they surrounded. The scallops were cooked properly, the oranges nearly tasteless and the chickpeas sat, voluminous, waiting to be eaten. The dessert, hazelnut crepes burdened by so many ingredients (hazelnut toffee, 'vanilla' ice cream, yet more blood-oranges, chocolate shavings, possibly some kind of caramel sauce..) that only a vague impression of candy came through, failed. Service was excellent though nearly snarky, and so compared to the average place in Philadelphia I consider it quite good. Pros: pretty Cons: loud more

I was very disappointed in Matyson after hearing such great things about it. Unfortunately for me, with a food allergy, the restaurant was absolutely unaccommodating. I asked about a couple of items on the menu and whether they could be modified slightly for my food allergy. After the server checked with the chef, the report back to me was that the chef would make me something off-menu that was ""special."" I suppose it was ""special"" if special = not good. What the chef prepared for me, he obviously did NOT taste. It came out so over-salted I couldn't eat most of it. \r \r I just think that restaurants need to accommodate those with food allergies. After all, there are plenty of us out there! The whole point in going to a restaurant is to have a choice of entrees off the menu. In this case, I was TOLD what the chef would/could make me. No choice. I eat at restaurants frequently, and this was a first for me.\r \r Those eating with me weren't exactly impressed, either. Mainly because of the very small portions.\r \r The only positive about this place, in my opinion, is that it is one of the only BYOs in the city where you can make a reservation. Pros: Able to make reservation at this BYO Cons: Not able to accommodate my food allergy, cold, small portions more

I was very disappointed in Matyson after hearing such great things about it. Unfortunately for me, with a food allergy, the restaurant was absolutely unaccommodating. I asked about a couple of items on the menu and whether they could be modified slightly for my food allergy. After the server checked with the chef, the report back to me was that the chef would make me something off-menu that was "special." I suppose it was "special" if special = not good. What the chef prepared for me, he obviously did NOT taste. It came out so over-salted I couldn't eat most of it. I just think that restaurants need to accommodate those with food allergies. After all, there are plenty of us out there! The whole point in going to a restaurant is to have a choice of entrees off the menu. In this case, I was TOLD what the chef would/could make me. No choice. I eat at restaurants frequently, and this was a first for me. Those eating with me weren't exactly impressed, either. Mainly because of the very small portions. The only positive about this place, in my opinion, is that it is one of the only BYOs in the city where you can make a reservation. Pros: Able to make reservation at this BYO Cons: Not able to accommodate my food allergy, cold, small portions more

Went with a couple of gals for one of their 21st birthdays. Food quality was delicious. I had the lamb with was perfectly cooked; so juicy and succulent it just fell off the bone. My other friends ordered the red snapper and the scallops. Not as well cooked but yummy. Waiter was friendly and extremely well versed on the menu. The half shell oysters were too DIE for. The space is relatively tight and the bathroom isn't too big. But the atmosphere is cozy and there are fresh lilies in the bathroom that smell beautiful. Most expensive entre was $27. Most expensive appetizer probably $12. Appetizers (with exception of oysters) were not as good as entres. \r \r \r Negatives were that they accidentally gave us the wrong appetizer at first. We weren't paying attention and started dividing it up when the waiter suddenly came saying it was the wrong dish and took it away. He even took our personal plates that had some on them. Not like they could've served it to someone else after we touched it. Waste of good food. ...Wish we could've had it on the house for their mistake. \r Also, we sat close to the door so there was a nasty breeze. There's a thick curtain blocking off the door to minimalize the draft but it was still cold. Pros: Waiter & Food Cons: Cold Cold more

Went with a couple of gals for one of their 21st birthdays. Food quality was delicious. I had the lamb with was perfectly cooked; so juicy and succulent it just fell off the bone. My other friends ordered the red snapper and the scallops. Not as well cooked but yummy. Waiter was friendly and extremely well versed on the menu. The half shell oysters were too DIE for. The space is relatively tight and the bathroom isn't too big. But the atmosphere is cozy and there are fresh lilies in the bathroom that smell beautiful. Most expensive entre was $27. Most expensive appetizer probably $12. Appetizers (with exception of oysters) were not as good as entres. Negatives were that they accidentally gave us the wrong appetizer at first. We weren't paying attention and started dividing it up when the waiter suddenly came saying it was the wrong dish and took it away. He even took our personal plates that had some on them. Not like they could've served it to someone else after we touched it. Waste of good food. ...Wish we could've had it on the house for their mistake. Also, we sat close to the door so there was a nasty breeze. There's a thick curtain blocking off the door to minimalize the draft but it was still cold. Pros: Waiter & Food Cons: Cold Cold more