Departure

I can’t say enough good things about this place. We had a large work event here and it was wonderful. The planner was super helpful and responsive during the planning days. The waitress was attentive and wonderful. Overall experience is superb. All the food is delicious. I love the little plates so you can order a few and try different ones. The ambiance is nice. Would definitely come back and recommend to others!

First time at Departure and i will be back. From the first step in we were greeted by a very nice host and had a great table. The drink menu is really good with lots of variety. Love the small plates, makes it easy to share. Taco flight was amazing, each one different and tasty. The look of the restaurant is so nice, really nice outside section.

Had an amazing experience at Departure! From the moment we walked in, the vibe was great, but what really stood out was the exceptional service from our bartender, Sean. He was incredibly friendly and attentive throughout the night. We started with margaritas and a caramel macchiato espresso martini—both were absolutely delicious and impressively generous in size. But the real highlight was when Sean crafted a chocolate-covered cherry espresso martini—a drink he created himself. It was hands down one of the best cocktails I've ever had! Sean truly made our visit unique, and thanks to his outstanding service and creative drinks, I’ll definitely be back. Highly recommend!

First time here today and had a great time! The cocktails were great and they have an amazing draft beer and wine selection. The food was great- we had the poutine, mussels, bulgogi tacos, cheesesteak tips and crab stuffed mushrooms. All of it was delicious. The bartender was wonderful and our server, Jack, was fantastic!

Stopped in and sat at the bar and had a Toasted Marshmallow drink that amazing. We ordered beef sliders, shrimp & pineapple skewers, and fish and chips that were out of this world. Finished off the night with the Pumpkin cheesecake parfait. Everything was delicious and Jeremy the bartender was the best!

The ambience here is very nice and can accommodate large crowds. Drinks are very good but the food is awful. Not a single items order were good. Mussels incredibly dried and no taste. Meatball and dumplings were hard. Would not recommend making this a dining experience. Not worth your hard earn dollars. We were disappointed taking our evening time from NJ to make this trip. As mentioned prior, this place is for the ambience and drinks at the bar. Don’t come here on an empty stomach.

I had the pleasure of dining at Departures and was thoroughly impressed with the exceptional cuisine and beverages. The tapas-style dishes, made from scratch with globally-inspired flavors, were so exquisite that I neglected to take photographs of every course. The restaurant's décor is truly spectacular, featuring a comfortable lounge atmosphere. Overall, my experience was outstanding. I will be a regular and expect this place to be a show stopper! Truly out of this world! ✈️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

Been a while since last being here and decided on coming back. Tonight, some food good others not so good. Still nice atmosphere but, staff was just ok. Hostess was rude to start when we asked to sit at a certain area. Clearly made it heard to us, I think that was her point, she wasn’t happy!! By no means were they hurting for table space either, just a full bar. Waitress was nice but, way too fast paced. Felt like we should pretty much pick a few things and be on our way! Not as happy as we were when being here, not long after they opened. Not the best place for a sit down and chill thing. Just a note… If you deal with any form of anxiety, as my wife does, this is not the place to sit and chilI out for a relaxing time. Bar seating for a quick bite or two and drinks, might be the way to go, no more table seating for us anyway. Not a rush back, unfortunately.

EXTENSIVE BEER OFFERINGS Delicious food. Extensive & Unique menu, including Philly Rarebit, Tagine Meatballs, Fettuccine & Mushrooms. Excellent/friendly servers. Great ambience with outdoor seating as well. AND BONUS POINTS FOR BEING DOG FRIENDLY

My husband and I wanted to check out Departure which opened recently in Media. The vibe in Departure is sophisticated airport lounge with black walls, lots of widows, and sleek furniture. My favorite was the sign over the bar where the letters kept flipping to show new messages. We sat at one of the hightop tables and were promptly greeted by our server Madisen. We decided to start with cocktails. I ordered the lavender martini but changed it to vodka rather than gin. It was refreshing and not overly sweet. My husband had the Contrail which was similar to an old fashioned. Departure serves small plates which are great for sharing. We started with the Tagine meatballs. I loved the egg on top but wanted more spice/ seasoning. The honey hoisin stir fry was the same. Good but in need of more seasoning. As the plates are quite small, we were still hungry so we ordered the skewers next which came with chicken, shrimp, and beef. My favorite was the jerk shrimp with pineapple which finally had a little heat. That, along with the beef sliders, were the stars of the show. Between the house pickles, the caramelized onions, and the James II sauce, the sliders were delicious. I also ordered a Takeoff which was refreshingly made with lychee lime. Before your next takeoff, visit Departure for a fun, sophisticated atmosphere.

Delicious food! Drinks were outstanding! Service was wonderful! I can't wait to go back and try more!

Dined with my husband and teen daughter and shared a bunch of small plates. All were good. Nothing stands out as incredible, but it was a good meal. I would return.

Great food and drinks. Tapas is fun and delicious. I definitely recommend the mussels and the sliders. Great happy hour and dinner. Sgaff is friendly and efficient and the restaurant is beautiful.

This place is very cute. I haven't had the food so I'll have to do another review later about the food but the drinks were AMAZING. This place is super cute for a date night or a girls night out. The bar area is nice and they have some TVs that they have games on. The bartender was nice and the drinks were delicious.

Saturday night 07/26/2025 3 of us decided to go to my favorite restaurant in Media , the Departure never disappoints as the wait staff always professional, & friendly we were seated promptly, and service was fabulous . The cocktails were made to perfection. The food was delicious as it always is . We ordered Cesar salad , taco flight , Bahn Mi sliders, chicken fried rice, Honey Hoisin stir fry, & fish & chips . The Departure in Media also recently finished the outside Bar, surrounded with tables looking like the place to hangout under the stars. I look forward very soon to do date night with my wife outside next time. Thank you RORY for always stopping bar and saying hello to us .

Eclectic selection of small plates served tapas style, to be shared with the table. I will say the portions are extremely small, but everything is extremely well made. We had to order a ton of food to satisfy our hunger, and we may have tried just about everything on the menu. All was prepared nicely. We ordered more plates as we went along and it all came out very quickly. The ambiance is like an airport terminal in the 1960's golden age of air travel. Think TWA and Pan-Am. Very well executed concept. Food ranges from classic American dishes with a twist, to Latin, Asian, Spanish, Greek, Italian, and Middle Eastern flavors. Truly the definition of a fusion restaurant. Not too pretentious, just all about good food in a hip atmosphere.

Always love a new tapas style restaurant. Easy to get to location with ample street parking. They have a cute little outdoor seating setup and tall glass windows to give an early inside view. Not many choices in the non-alcoholic department but their ice tea is good. There were 4 of us dining and we tried a bit of everything. I'll review what I specifically ordered. First was the tabbouleh and goat cheese hummus with pita and cucumbers. Delicious and refreshing. They had a trio of skewers, beef, chicken and shrimp. So flavorful and filling. Definitely get the Philly Rarebit, seriously a favorite at the table, we got it twice. Their menu seems to change out a bit but don't be afraid to indulge, get a few plates. Not many dessert choices but there was a cake slice we got and something else... tasty but not memorable. Service was excellent and all staff was very friendly.

The service is great. It's exciting that Media has a swanky cocktail lounge now in Departure. The food is tapas style so you order a few things at $10-$12 a plate and they warn you that they just come out when ready, so you could have a few plates with you at once. I had a caprese salad (dumb move since tomatoes aren't in season) and it was just ok. I had the Philly rarebit and it was large (a whole piece of large thick bread cut diagonally with loads of cheese and meat. It was yummy altho the meat was borderline too chewy. Both the caprese and rarebit were larger than I expected. The cocktails were very fun and the beer selection was quite ample (mostly of the lower ABV offerings). I'll go back for sure and try other dishes. They don't do individual checks (we had a party of 6). So we decided to just split it evenly (not ideal!).

Ambiance: B Food: A Service: A+ Value: A Dinner with some friends on a Monday night was amazing thanks to Departure. Didn't know what to expect. Bunch of small plates were ordered all around and nothing disappointed. Will definitely be going back.

Wow! What a lovely evening. We are in Media for an event, and stumbled across Departure for dinner. Atmosphere: very attractive, warm interior. Tables are close, but the noise level was fine, even on a Friday night with a full house. They had live instrumental music, which was lovely. Service: Friendly, but spotty. This is the difference between 4 and 5 stars. Our waiter seemed rushed and a bit overwhelmed, and wasn't able to explain the menu very well. We barely saw him the entire evening, but others helped out. Given Departure is a new-ish restaurant, this should correct over time. Food: everything was delicious and fresh. The butternut squash bisque was creamy without being too thick and cloying. We tried the Caesar and cucumber salads. The Caesar was just what you'd want, with some of the best croutons we've ever eaten. The cucumber salad was a surprise - thinly sliced cucumbers, tomatoes, arugula and a tangy Asian-inspired dressing. The lamb lollipops were outstanding. Perfectly cooked medium rare, with a luscious mint sauce and tangy goat cheese hummus. The pork dumplings were tender, with generous, well-spiced filling. The fish and chips came with deep brown, crispy fries and flaky fish. Both were a tad over salted, but still yummy. For dessert we ate the apple cake and ice cream. It was warm, tasty, and comforting, if a bit over-crisped. If you live in or near Media, you should welcome this addition to the restaurant scene.

I went to Departure with three friends on a recent Saturday night. From the outside it looked almost empty (I don't know why no one sat outside; it was a beautiful evening), but when we walked in we saw the place was hopping. Fortunately we had a reservation and were seated immediately. The service was excellent, as was the food. * I had the skewer flight, five different skewers that were all delicious. (The steak one less so, because the meat was a little tough, but it was still OK, and the four chicken skewers each great.) * One friend had hummus (that's all; he wasn't hungry), and said it was very good. * Another friend had a salad she loved, and the fourth person had the slider flight, four or five different sliders. We definitely want to go back. There are so many good restaurants in Media it's tough to pick one, but Departure is a stand-out!

We went to this restaurant to meet two other couples., Iit turned out to be a really unique spot. The menu offers a wide variety of tapas with influences from Asian, American, Mediterranean, and more. The aviation theme throughout the restaurant was fantastic--I especially loved the décor, which reminded me a bit of the lounges in Doha. Service was attentive and friendly, and overall the food was good. Since I'm a bit of a germaphobe, I stuck to my own plates. I had the berry salad, which was fresh, vibrant, and delicious, and the cucumber salad, which was fine but not particularly memorable. I also tried a bit of the hummus, which was excellent, and shared the crab-stuffed mushrooms with my husband, which were rich and flavorful. A bit waterlogged but whatever. The drink menu deserves a shoutout: while the wine list was small, pours were generous, and the cocktail selection--cleverly named after destinations and aviation themes--was creative and well executed. That said, I was very disappointed by the lack of gluten-free options. I had my eye on the seafood rosé pasta. Not only did they not offer gluten-free pasta, they also wouldn't serve the seafood and sauce on their own. To me, that felt like such a simple accommodation to make, especially given how common dietary restrictions are. The menu also didn't provide any guidance for guests with allergies or sensitivities, which was frustrating. Because of this, I have to knock off two stars--it's 2025, and restaurants really should be more inclusive when it comes to dietary needs. Overall, though, it's a stylish spot with great ambiance, good service, and a fun menu. If you don't have dietary restrictions, you'll likely have a great experience.

Really enjoyed this restaurant! Definitely need to check the menu in advance, as it is small and may not appeal to all tastes. Great atmosphere and service.

We love this place and we want to Go there soon! We love going out. It's in such a great location, very peaceful, and easy to make reservations if you want. This place is great for 2, really laid back and easy to explore the menu. I'm also very impressed with their selection on the menu, order online if you like. They do accept Apple Pay. food is amazing and they were super efficient and helpful when it came to choosing the right meal options.

The service was top-notch, and the food was fantastic. Definitely going back and bringing friends.

The food and service was great , all options are small plates so you can get a variety of choices

Feels very modern, good ambiance, nice service. Food was hit and miss. Whenever we had something good, it felt too small. Drinks a bit pricy, wine pour was a bit light given the price.

I'd recommend for drinks but not dinner. The service was poor at best. The server explained that dishes came out as they were ready which should not be a problem. But the food runners lacked any training. One accidentally spilled sauce on the table and guest. When she was told she shrugged and walked away saying, enjoy. She never attempted to clean the mess let alone apologize. One of our party was shocked when he ate a habanero pepper. We re checked the menu no mention of spice let alone habanero. Again great drink spot definitely not donning.

Good selection of small plates at reasonable prices. Very pleasant staff . Will definitely return and bring more friends.

Had such a great experience at Departure. The food and drinks were phenomenal and Sean, our bartender, was awesome. He was very attentive, personable, and had great recommendations. This exceeded our expectations. We will definitely be back!!

We came for Happy Hour on a Friday. We were able to get a table even though we didn't have a reservation. We had the Caesar Salad (plenty to share... the croutons had the consistency and flavor of Kings Hawaiian Bread but crispy on the outside), poutine (just like New Orleans); Jerk Shrimp (nice and spicy); Shrimp tacos; Tabouli (fresh pita); and I had a Vodka Martini (three olives and a little dirty... perfectly done... don't remember what my wife drank). The bill was just over $60 before tip. The service was excellent and the ambiance is elegant, comfortable and the noise wasn't too bad (I forgot my hearing aids and could still hear just fine). I would come back in a heartbeat.

First time having dinner at departure, everything was wonderful! From drinks, food dessert and overall atmosphere was on point! The bartenders, hostesses and waitstaff were so friendly and welcoming! So enjoyed the small plate meals to share. Such a nice and unique experience to have for dining in Media, like no other! We can't say enough about it but, are so looking forward to returning again!

We had a party here before Christmas. They accommodated us and we had an amazing evening. Service was really good and the drinks were tasty. The only thing I'd love to see is perhaps a few dishes with larger portions.

It's been a long time since I've written a review, but Departure deserves one! This place is a gem, my new go to in Media. 10/10!!! The Happy Hour from 4:30-6 is bar wide and includes great food and drink specials with very comfortable seating and great sound absorption. The wait staff if great (particularly Tabby) and the head chef JJ prepares is out of this world cuisine. The owners Crystal and her husband are locals. They have been on the service end of the industry for a long time and it shows. Everyone greets you with a smile and is super accommodating. Their tapas plates are 1/2-3/4 meal portions, taste great, come quickly, and are reasonable priced. So good we've been many times this month. I highly recommend you try the tuna chips, lamb rack, fish & chips, tacos and octopus. You'll dine unrushed and leave feeling full, content and already planning your next visit... at least I always do :)