The Dandelion holds the corner of 18th and Sansom in Rittenhouse, Stephen Starr's homage to the British corner pub, opened on the last day of 2010 and packed for every match day since.
It reads as a London pub transplanted whole: dark wood, fireplaces, a warren of upstairs rooms, and screens that turn over to Premier League football on the weekend. PhilaTravelGirl frames it on exactly those terms, as British food, pints, and sport. Anyone who wants a proper pint with the game on will feel it immediately. Anyone after a sleek, minimal cocktail lounge has walked into the wrong room. The nearest transit is the Walnut-Locust station, a short walk from Rittenhouse Square.
The room
The Inquirer's original review, headlined "God save the pub," credited Starr with building a convincing facsimile of a British local rather than a theme bar, down to the fireplaces and the layered, low-ceilinged rooms. Multiple floors mean the ground-floor bar runs loud while the upstairs corners stay quieter, which lets the same address serve a roaring match crowd and a sit-down dinner on the same afternoon. It belongs in any conversation about where Philadelphia watches European football.
What to order
The kitchen runs seasonal takes on UK classics, from fish and chips to a Sunday roast to a Scotch egg, and the bar keeps cask and draft ales alongside a full cocktail list. For a match, a pint of ale at the downstairs bar is the order. For a meal, book a table upstairs and work through the pub menu at a slower pace. The cocktails are competent, but the ales and the kitchen are why the room keeps its reputation.
The crowd and vibe
On weekend mornings during the football season the screens come on, the bar fills with supporters, and the room takes on the noise of a genuine match-day local. On a weeknight it resets to a date-and-dinner pub. That range is the reason it earns a place among the city's better sports bars without being only a sports bar.
Best time to go
Weekend mornings during the European football calendar are the signature experience. Weeknight dinners upstairs are the calm alternative for anyone who wants the room and the menu without the roar of a televised match.
Who it's for
It suits a football supporter, a group dinner, and a rainy afternoon with a pint and a fireplace. Skip it if you want a quiet date with no television in sight, because the screens are part of the deal on game days.
What regulars say
Reviewers single out the room itself as the draw, the rare American bar that convinces visiting Britons it is a genuine pub rather than an imitation. The brunch and the Sunday roast pull steady praise, and the match-day atmosphere is the most-cited reason regulars return. The common complaints are predictable for a Starr room on a prime corner: it gets loud and crowded at peak, and it is priced above a true neighbourhood local.
Getting in
The Dandelion takes reservations through the STARR Restaurants site, and a booking is the smart move for dinner, especially upstairs where the rooms stay quieter. On a match day the downstairs bar runs first-come, so supporters arrive early to claim a sightline to a screen. For anyone who wants the room without the roar, weekend brunch is the calm entry point before the football crowd builds. Either way, the kitchen and the cask ales carry the visit, and the pub stays open to midnight every night for a late one after the table clears.
Sources: Philadelphia Inquirer ("Dandelion by Starr: God save the pub"); STARR Restaurants official site; PhilaTravelGirl; Google Maps and Yelp reviews.
