Jon’s Bar & Grille

Stopped here to grab a bite to eat. It was recommended by a local. The lump crab cake on the salad I ordered was spoiled. Can’t understand how the staff preparing the dish didn’t notice it. Retched. The steak on the streak sandwich ordered by companion was cold and flavorless. Please tell me that this isn’t the norm here.

Location: ⁵⁄₅
Beautiful building, nice décor, and very welcoming ambiance.
Service: ⁴⁄₅
The server was excellent. She tried her best and went above and beyond to try and make us happy. She was severely handcuffed by her manager who should’ve stepped in immediately upon hearing about the issues we had with our entrée’s. The only reason the service did not get a ⁵⁄₅ is because I expected the manager to come and speak to the guest who has issues with the food served.
Food quality: ¹⁄₅
The spinach artichoke dip was not fresh at all. Obviously pre-​made and warmed up. I ate two bites of it and it turned my stomach. Their pulled pork nachos were surprisingly tasty. This was the only reason they got one star.
The entrée’s were pitiful. Two of us in our party of four ordered steaks. They were worse than a Denny’s «steak and eggs» steak. The steak was dry, oily, and was not seasoned at all. My friend even had me try her filet mignon. The mushrooms tasted like canned mushrooms with zero seasoning on them. The mashed potatoes tasted cold and like the powdered kind you buy in the grocery store. For a $ 60 meal (just my meal), I expected way more.
Management: ⁰⁄₅
When I guest complains about your food. You as an owner, or manager, should intervene on behalf of the server. Then you should immediately take the item off their check, and offer another option for them. This was never done, and sending your server to do your dirty work makes the guest feel guilted into paying for crap food. Never, ever, ever… do you make a client pay for a steak that is tough to cut, hard to chew, has no seasoning, and tastes so horrific your server brought me A-​1 in an attempt to have me take more than one bite. I didn’t even take more than two bites.
Overall experience: ¹⁄₅
Server was sweet, very nice, and the only saving grace for your business. You need to fire your cook. You have some gems on your menu, but your meat quality is definitely suspect along with the capabilities of your chef by using pre-​made.
The last thing I said to your server when she offered me a free drink was, «I’m not going to make a scene and be an asshole, I just want you to do the right thing… whatever your owner/​manager thinks should be done.» I waited another 10 minutes and nothing was done. No manager. No refund. Nothing. What a joke.

I stopped by this place with my girlfriend today after dropping off our dog for grooming. I didn’t expect much but we started with the French onion soup which was perfect! It was absolutely delicious and I made sure to scrape off all the cheese.
For the entrée we had the flat iron sandwich, which was delightful! Got side salad with ginger dressing and it was amazing. The only con is that they didn’t ask us how we wanted our steak and it was on the rarer side. But overall I had an awesome experience and would come back! Price was excellent as well, which is a bonus.

Maybe I was missing the hype of this place? I guess the pricing is due to the fact they are on busy S Street, which is totally understandable… if the food was high quality. I felt like it was almost Applebee’s with a doubled price tag and some nice outdoor seating. Out server was a super nice girl and had not a complaint about her. But $ 70+ for 3 small lunch meals and 3 drinks (2 being Corona’s) is seriously a little nuts. Nothing really stood out in any way shape or form so I can’t really say I would ever be back.

Bad, bad service, and if you expect the shrimp and crab dip to taste like shrimp and crab, forget about it.

Type.. .. .. .. .. .Bar + Restaurant
Level.. .. .. .. .. .Medium to Low
Location.. .. .…Poor, Crazy Area of Philly
Prices.. .. .. .…Low
Tap Selection.…Good, 20 – 30 local and specialty taps
Bottle Selection. .Unknown
Samplers.. .. .. .Free small splashes
Full Pours.. .. .. .Yes
Beer Level.. .…Medium
Food.. .. .. .. .. .Yes
Food Level.. .. .Low
Staff.. .. .. .. .. .Nice, Slow
Growlers.. .. .. .No
Noise Level.. .. .Loud
Décor.. .. .. .…Outdated, Wood, Cramped
Good for Kids.. .No
Parking.. .. .…Street, Highly Enforced
WiFi.. .. .. .. .. .Unknown
Cash Only.. .…No
Recommended. .No
Comments: Jon’s hosted an awesome Bullfrog tap takeover event for Philly Beer Week, so tap selection when I was there was probably better than normal. Crowds came and went, and the clientele was diverse to say the least. Bartender was busy, sometimes leaving us hanging for 5 minutes or so. Service was on and off. Food quality was pretty low. 3 Stooges Burger was supposed to be sauteed onions, rare, etc. Everything was done incorrectly. Sweet potato fries were limp. Eh, wouldn’t be back unless specialties confirmed on the tap list.

The best thing about Jon’s is the atmosphere. Have a seat outside, check out the people, great for conversation and a drink. I ordered the crabcake entrée, $ 21 for ONE crabcake and two sides. Not my type of crabcake, for $ 21 and one cake I should have had pure lump crab meat, not minced crab meat from the can mixed with lump crab meat. The spinach was actually good and so was the watermelon tini! Anyway, I would go back, just not for food.

From the outside this place looks nice. Plenty of outdoor seating and umbrellas along with tall black gates. My friend and I decided to give it a shot. We were on our way back and decided to walk down South to grab something.
The staff here are nice. Saying hello as you walk in, walking you to your seat, and saying goodbye as you walk out. Attentive when your food comes out too. Comes back within 2 – 3 minutes to see if everything ok and if you need anything else at the moment.
Drink choices are ok. Nothing too special. I ordered the half rack ribs with a baked potato and broccoli (with garlic). I’d give the ribs a solid 6 out of 10. A little bit too chewy for my liking. Whole meal came to about $ 25. Not sure why… i mean the place was cool for dinner once, but I dont think i’ll be back b/​c nothing really stood out to me.

We had a nice waitress, but service was poor. You shouldn’t have to wait forever to pay and bring the check up to the bar bc the waitress forgot about your table. Don’t think I’ll be back again.

Came here on a random trip to Philly a couple of weeks ago and dined on the roof deck. Was the service slow? Yes. We waited at least a half hour for food and kept checking out other diners’ tables, relieved to see that theirs were also empty (hey, at least we were all hungry together). But when the food finally came, I wasn’t disappointed. The seafood sampler was delicious! I don’t even like coconut shrimp, but I had to give them props for theirs. And the crab and shrimp dip with pita bread? Scrumptious. The sweet potatoes? You could tell they were quality; naturally sweet and ripe without any added sugar. Not sure why anyone else was disappointed by the food.
Were the drinks pricey? Sure, but I’m from New York so it was pretty much on par with city prices. I ordered a Brass Knuckle; please tell me I can walk up to any bartender at any bar and order this again. Our waiter was awesome; bonus points for recognizing the triforce on my hoodie and wallet, and my Deathly Hallows earrings. :) Great ambience too, overlooking the bustling nightlife of South Street.
Will definitely return when I come back to Philly.

On the outside, this place looked like it would be a great place to stop in for a pint or two. Didn’t order any food so I can’t speak to the quality of their grub.
But what I can speak to is the service. It was slow. Friendly, but slow. And my first pint was barely cold enough to drink. It wasn’t very busy inside as most of the patrons were on the patio, so I’m not sure why the service for just drinks was so slow.
I’d be willing to give it another shot next time I’m in town, but first impression wasn’t very good.

The problem with this place is that as prime South Street real estate, the exorbitant cost of rent is inherently passed down to its customers through its overpriced food and drinks. And I do mean overpriced.
The food here is nothing special. Nothing you will eat here will make you think, «Oh my God. That was the best _​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​I’ve ever had.»
You’ll pay $ 6 for a Yuengling here and you’ll hate it, but hopefully you’ll be happy enough people-​watching on the patio to forget about it.

I don’t understand the hate. A pub with good food and strong drink on south street. The staff was friendly. I ate at the bar like an old man by myself. Very decent beer list and a fantastic «on tap» list. Was very surprised by the whiskey, rye and bourbon they had. Drinks were decently priced. Higher end bourbon was only 6 – 8 a glass (usually more like 10 – 12). Ordered the Jons Special Steak Sandwich with hot peppers and prov on garlic bread. Service was fast. The meat was tender and juicy, the sandwich was huge.
This is a great spot to pregame at before a show at the TLA.

Not bad for a Tues night
Prob one of more packed places…
Has Nice outdoor seating
Waiter took our drunk order and forgot water (which i asked for) until I asked again…
Fish tacos: interesting… Different than what I’m used to… Marinated in a dark sauce and shredded
Chicken fajitas wrap: what is indeed a wrap but what was weird is that it had cheese in it. Normally he does don’t have cheese. It wasn’t bad at all just not what I expected. The fajitas came with either chips french fries or sweet potato fries but the fries were $ 2 extra.
I was however thrilled when I saw that they had rogue Chocolate Stout on tap… delicious!!!
I also had the sangria which was decent.
Overall not a bad place. Prefer over the «branded» food restaurants out there.

Jon’s Bar & Grille is becoming one of my favorite places to frequent. The atmosphere is laid back, there is closed off outside seating (upstairs & down) & the food is really good. The biggest draw for me is the always changing craft beer menu. The best part is the bartenders are very knowledgable in regards to the beer selection.

Jon’s is great for pre-​TLA show drinks and food. I typically get one of the salads as they have good dressings and are substantial but not overly filling; perfect before a concert.
Last time I went to Jon’s we split wings for the table, which were also good — not overly fried like some bar and grills, though I would say they were lacking sauce. Outside seating is a must, otherwise it feels like any other bar inside, but the patio and beer garden are perfect for Fall weather and enjoying a beer under the stars. Jon’s typically has seasonal beers on draught which I like as well, I had the Southern Tier pumpkin ale — awesome. Definitely go if you’re on South St looking for a non-​cheesesteak meal with outside seating.

The food was alright. Sitting outside was fun though. I ordered a burger and it was alright-​not spectacular… It was cheap too! Like $ 30 for two people cheap– but we weren’t drinking.
All in all– not spectacular, but a nice quick meal on south street!

Yes, we all know that Jon’s was the birthplace of Larry Fine — one of the Three Stooges.
We’ve been to Jon’s many times over the years during our visits to South Street. The patio overlooking the main drag is awesome if you love to dine outside and people watch.
The food selection is quite extensive. While the place was pretty packed, we were quickly-​seated on the outside patio, overlooking South Street, at a table that had plenty of room around it. Our server started things off quickly with the drinks. Arlene had a peach cobbler martini. I had a Jamakian Me Crazy, which had Captain Morgan, blue curaco, pineapple juice and sour mix. It was tasty.
We moved on to the appetizer which was a seafood sampler with crab and shrimp dip, breaded shrimp, coconut shrimp and pita wedges. For dinner, we each ordered the seafood pasta with littleneck clams, shrimp in a garlic butter sauce over linguine.
The food was delicious and the portions were generous. We had to ask for a «doggie bag.» After a few more drinks, we were on our way.
The only downside to this establishment is that you have to hike up a steep staircase onto the 2^nd floor to use the rest room. While I know this is the case with many of the eating and drinking establishments along South Street, it seems like it should be a liability concern in an establishment that serves alcohol.
We had a fine dinner at Jon’s and recommend that you stop there on your next visit to Philadelphia.

Quiet lonely bars aren’t always bad!
Ive been coming here since I was in highschool
This has always been a hidden gem. Surprised it’s not more popular. Small, semi-​quiet for a bar. Great for an intimate date or when you want to be alone.
Good variety of food for a bar. Great seasonal selection of beers. Moderately priced.
And they always have a more unique selection on draft and will let you sample! Awesome bottle selection too. Like magic hat, leffe. not pabst here! Haha. They also carry the fruity beers you can’t usually get in bars. Like cherry wheat, banana bread beer, framboise…
Awesome staff, they have been the same for years. they always recognize me and can guess what I want haha

Walking down south street and overwhelmed with restaurant options. Service sucked, we waited for a long time because he didn’t know we were there.
Spinach omelette was meh and my turkey burger (wrapped in lettuce cause no one needs that much white bread in their life let alone a meal) was pretty good. I did enjoy some pork flesh aka bacon aka artery-​killer on the burger which gave it some additional flavor. They ran out of sweet potato fries so I had sautéed spinach… not bad but sweet potato fries go better with beer and turkey burger.
The outdoor seating was comfortable and breezy and the beer cold. So, not too bad.