Keating’s River Grill

Not sure why the reviews are so bad here. You get a great view, and the fish was great. We had salmon and some other thing I forget but that tasted great. The cheeseboard was also superb, as was the desert (I think a crème brûlée)? It was a few weeks ago so my memory is a bit hazy. I had to come to Philly to get a passport and wanted to get a good meal.

After waiting 30 minutes for our lunch to be served because our waiter was too busy serving a large table, my Mediterranean inspired sandwich arrived on a large, folded flour tortilla instead of the promised flat bread… not a good substitution at all… inside was a huge, stringy mushroom topped with spinach, cheese and pignoli nuts drenched in balsamic vinegar… not appetizing and not delicious in any way. Will not return.

The bartender was not interested in serving at all. When I asked for beer I got a glass that used to be a penholder.

Rather pathetic showing in almost every category. Decent Cobb saves then from a 1 star but if this place wasn’t water side it would die a dismal death due to inept service and mediocre food at a too high price point

Decided to try this place for lunch. I had the turkey Cobb sandwich which was excellent. Nice portion of sliced turkey on brioche with avocado tomato bacon and lettuce. Really good and good service too.

Our server Robin was amazing, smiling attentive, helpful. The entire staff made us comfortable and happy. The happy hour is a great value, right facing the Delaware. My date has a quesdilla and was very happy with the food and drinks. Great time, great value and if you get Robin, you’ve been blessed

The worst service I’ve had. Period. 100 people walking around and no one knows what’s going on. One of those first and last experiences.

I was stuck in the Hilton Hotel for a conference and could not leave due to ice/​snow. I sat at the bar and had a salad. It was fine, but as Unilocal says: Meh. I’ve had better. I didn’t have high hopes and it didn’t rise above what I expected. But honestly, I would not have eaten here if I could have safely left the hotel.

We stopped here for a nightcap and simple bar food last night. There was only a few (less than a dozen) people in the bar & restaurant area. The bartender was fairly nice overall but I cannot understand why our nacho order took nearly 20 minutes and then when it arrived the cheez wiz was at room temperature as was the chicken when we were the only people eating there at the time. I had high expectations of decent pub food for the $ 14 price tag. Both items that should’ve been hot that were prepackaged and not even heated up is disappointing but this was not as bad as the «quesadillas» we ordered. For $ 10 and an additional 40 minute wait, my wife and I were served TWO (2) total four inch tortillas with about 3 –4 chunks of chicken and cheese. With so many options of places to eat nearby you’d think they would have some interest on repeat business!

Breakfast Buffet was a bit pricey for the selection, but from the choices that were there everything was pretty good, the omelette station was great not for selection but because the omelette chef was fantastic, he was funny friendly and quick, fancy hand work flipping the omelettes in the pan with a smile while making funny witty comments, and they were fluffy and delicious, the French toast was a bit cold and coffee a little bitter for my taste but overall everything was great, our waiter was quick and attentive, and the mimosas were awesome. Who complains when you drink at breakfast ;) the staff is obviously better than the food by my review but the good vibe and great staff made it a enjoyable meal. We also had a great table near the window with a nice view.

Great place. The prices match the location. Romantic atmosphere. The food was ok. Didn’t really like their Philly cheese stake. That’s why the 4 stars. I’ve eaten better ones in Jersey. Other than that, great place especially if you stay in Hyatt. Great location if you waterfront and it’s very close to the old city and independence hall. The bar is opened until 2am. The staff is very friendly, courteous and professional. Definitely recommend.

There were 3 of us in our party on a Saturday — 6:00pm reservations as we were heading to the Penn’s Landing Theater for an 8:00pm show.
I would have given this a 2.5 rating since it was not all bad. We all agreed the food was good and the river view was very nice. Our server, Vanessa was excellent UNTIL she disappeared after she served our dinner and we never saw her again. We sat for 20 minutes and flagged someone walking by who told us she took ill and that another server would be by shortly. Seriously, the restaurant was hardly full and we had to do the flagging??? We later noticed one very harried guy, starting to take orders from others and assumed he was Vanessa’s replacement. No one else pitched in to help him. Thank God we already had our dinners but we ordered dessert from him and when it did not show up after another 20 minutes — we canceled our order, paid our bill and left.

My girlfriend and I have come to this hotel frequently. The hotel itself is a nice retreat from the hustle of the city. However, that is also its main drawback. Good food options require you to venture over the small bridge to the city itself.
On a recent stay, with the weather outside not conducive for a stroll to the many restaurant options on Chestnut and other local streets, we opted to stay in and try out Keating’s. I had read the other Unilocal reviews, and knew I should probably avoid it. I wish we had.
For starters, the hostess made it sound like she was doing us a big favor getting us in without reservations a full hour before they were scheduled to close. Once she took us in, we were taken aback that the place was literally 50−60% empty. We asked if we could sit near the window, but she said that those tables were reserved, and so we got awkwardly sat at a table behind a barrier wall, completely blocked from any window view, and in a section by ourselves.
In the time we spent in there, no one else came into the restaurant to be seated. Either those «reserved» tables were all no-​shows, or we got lied to. Hmmm…
The waiter was a rather sad, older gentleman who looked like he had long since stopped caring about the details of his craft. He had to be reminded to bring silverware, refill water glasses, etc. Interestingly enough, over the course of our dinner, he opened up the conversation. We asked him why the hostess would make it sound like the place was packed. He responded that they were incredibly short staffed, and that he had to handle most of the tables himself. He admitted this was fairly routine.
The dinner itself? Mediocre at best. The drinks were very watered down and pricey. My cut of ribeye was something on par with a below average mass steak chain, but at premium prices. My girlfriend’s salmon came with a strange, watery creamish colored sauce on it, even though the menu made no mention of that. The waiter did offer to have a new one prepared sans sauce, but by that point we just wanted to wrap up.
We passed on dessert, and our waiter actually seemed grateful for that. Just a very bizarre dining experience. The final bill was far above and beyond what the meal was truly worth.
I can’t think of much reason to recommend this place. Even in poor weather, we regretted the choice.

We ate here a couple nights during our stay and were pretty pleased. I can’t say much about a wait or anything because both times it was well after the dinner hour. Our servers were always prompt and very pleasant. They also were able to help me determine what was gluten free on their menu.
The atmosphere is beautiful with lots if soft blue and water themed decorations. Huge bay windows right on the water and nice low lighting to give it a casual feeling.
The menu had a decent amount of options for gluten free. I don’t remember there being a ton of options, but enough to find something I’d like.
I don’t recall everything I tried but I do remember having the shrimp cocktail, sharing an entrée and having their crème brûlée. Everything was good and the cream brûlée especially memorable.
Price wise, things are pricey as you’d expect in a hotel restaurant, but not exuberant. Portion size was alright, perhaps a little smaller than normal.
Overall I think it’s a great hotel restaurant with tasty options, some of which are gluten free. Id be happy to eat here again.

This was my go to spot at Penn’s Landing! I liked the idea of pulling up, valet parking my car and having dinner… it used to be that as long as you got your ticket validated up to 4 hours, parking was included. Then, I was okay with the change and paying 10 for valet parking for dining at restaurant. When you’re dressed nicely, the convenience of valet is a special touch — and I may be inclined to spend a bit more time (and money) in the restaurant to experience the riverfront dining. Last Friday, we had the shrimp cocktail appetizer and a couple mixed cocktails.
Now they make you park your own car– self park. No real incentive to dine at Keating’s anymore in my opinion. I used to bring my daughters and I would encourage other people to come down because it was such a neat place to dine and parking was so convenient.
Friday nite, we Self parked took an extra 20 minutes. I didn’t see any security… will probably not go back… too inconvenient… can’t see the value… cause spent $ 50 bucks at Keating’s and $ 10 self park. The parking incentive is a big deal when trying to attract local folks for dinner.
Service was great… love the location. No more cute Caesar salad appetizer and no more separate bar menu. I could go somewhere else, spend less money on better food and pay the same for parking.
I would have given 4 ½ stars for location and service folks, but I really didn’t like having to self park and the removal of the bar menu.

Nice river views and kind staff. I had the $ 11 Caesar salad for lunch. No complaints or surprises presented and tasted as expected. On our second day we had breakfast here. My breakfast was kinda disappointing. Had breakfast buffet bacon was good sausage was creepy. Not sure what kind it was but definitely wasn’t breakfast sausage. Pancakes were hard like pucks. Bathroom in disrepair couldn’t lock stall. Hyatt needs to get it together.

I was in town for a meeting and wanted a quick dinner. I are the Teriyaki chicken sandwich. It was great, the waitress was very attentive and the view was wonderful.

Come hungry. .. it’s the only way that you’ll want to eat a meal here.
The meal began with poor service, water glasses sitting empty and not enough menus to go around. However, it was once the food was ordered that the real fun began.
Chicken soup came straight from a can, yet was still heated up long enough for the noddles to get completely mushy.
Next, the main courses.
Grilled Chicken Breast — for $ 22 they served two burnt, dry hockey pucks atop a «mushroom risotto» that had the texture and flavor of poorly prepared rice-​a-​roni. It had clearly been microwaved as any formerly creamy texture was replaced with lumpy and watery mush. Just for good measure, a pile of wilted and brown microgreens looked like they had been dug out of a nearby lawnmower and plopped on top.
Steak and Frites — $ 25 for a cheap cut and fries tossed in raw garlic. However, the steak ordered medium rare arrived black and blue, barely in the rare category. After mentioning it to the waiter, it was taken back. However, rather than cooking a new piece of meat, or even getting it properly to medium rare, the same steak was cooked beyond well, adding another thick char that left a strong bitter taste long after eating.
Sadly, the meal continued to desserts. Despite the truly abysmal quality of the food, the minute portions and AC cranked on blast left everyone needing something else to eat.
It took a half hour to bring out a boring slice of cheesecake and a bread pudding that was more omelette than dessert. What a surprise
On top of all this terrible food, the service was piss-​poor throughout the meal, with servers clanging plates down on the table, reaching in front of other diner’s faces to serve, and handing utensils out to make diners grab the blade or tines rather than setting then on the table.
And just to add insult to injury, the table gave a great view of the kitchen team spending the whole night not giving a crap, lounging around while we waited for food.
Conclusion: given the extremely inflated price, terrible food, and horrendous service, this was one of the worst meals I’ve ever had. It’s a good thing this restaurant is right on the river, because the only source of redemption would be a for large wave to rid Philadelphia of this pathetic excuse for an eating establishment.

I have a strong prejudice against hotel restaurants and should have steered clear of dinner at this one. You know there is a problem when the tip is already included even for a small sized party. In addition, 2 of 4 people in our party received their food and we were told our the two meals would be along shortly. After 20 minutes we asked when the MIA burgers might be arriving only to be told they were being prepared a second time as the waiter had mistakenly given them to another party. The burgers when they came where good, but the chicken quesadilla tasted steamed not grilled and had the consistency of glue given the use of American versus Cheddar cheese. The kid’s spaghetti and meatballs were unappetizing as well; the meatballs had a horrible processed taste and daughter refused to eat them. Had to send back the wine as it was corked.

I was down here for the Navy ship USS Somerset Commissioning ceremony for breakfast ahead of the event and it seemed very chaotic. Could not get anything more than coffee or jiuce for table service. The only feasible alternative was the buffet, which was overpriced at $ 20 per person.
I had a reservation and needed to wait about 25 minutes for a table. The breakfast menu looked pretty good; I noticed some vegan options. The place had rather disorganized feel about it. When I was on the buffet line, I noticed the cook was angry about orders he was given.
Men’s room was smallish but clean and functional. When I paid the bill and walked out, I was surprised the hostess remembered my name, it was so chaotic.