Fond

Mainline Today recommended 10 new restaurants in the area so Evan and I tried brunch at Fond BYOB (Ginny was working). It was okay. Long way to drive for good, but not great food. Probably cannot tell how dinner would be from what we tried at brunch. My butternut squash soup was good, but pretty standard. Evan liked his onion soup as well. We both got the double smash burgers on a brioche bun. Pretty good. Ordered some roasted potatoes on the side. They were good. Service was very good. The restaurant is very small (cozy) and I could fully expect it to be very loud when fully occupied. Parking was a little tight. Pricey for brunch.

Came here on a Thursday night and there were plenty of seats available. My party ordered the gnocchi, salmon and beef burgundy. The gnocci was ok, wish there were more than 10 pieces. Salmon was good, it did have a piece of hair in it but since the place just opened I decided not to cause a hassle and send it back. Beef was also good but it was so tiny. For dessert we got the Apple pie and chocolate cake. They were honestly, just ok. All the dishes were very small and left us still hungry. For the price Fond charges, you can get great French food in NYC. I’m a bit disappointed since I had high hopes. I think if they increase the portions and work on their presentation this place could be better.

We were glad to hear that one of our favorite Philly restaurants was now reincarnated in nearby Wallingford. The menu at the new Fond is a somewhat confusing mishmash, maybe to appease diverse tastes. While ostensibly French, there are dishes, including a Hummus appetizer and Lamb Kofta that one can expect pretty much around any corner of a Turkish (or European) city. The couscous with the lamb dish was the Israeli version of small pasta balls, served cold under the two lamb patties. I was interested in the gnocchi with roasted mushrooms but a server's information that truffle oil (a chemical formula from the flavor industry) was used in that dish dissuaded us. Very enjoyable: excellent tuna crudo in coconut broth, the carefully composed Belgian Endive salad, and hummus with house made pita bread. Someone in the kitchen took the searing of the foie gras a little too far but the small piece of liver was delicious. The roasted shrimp came with more of the very good pita bread, the beef burgundy had a satisfying rich taste. The small apple tart reminded us why we loved the old Fond: a flaky, scrumptious crust encasing warm apples with dabs of caramel. Addictively good. We came on a night when the restaurant was full and the noise was deafening! A decibel meter showed high 80s throughout our meal, with occasional forays into the 90s when someone said something funny at the neighboring table. We shouted at each other across the table the entire meal. Some type of noise-reduction remedy should be installed right away for times when the restaurant is full.

Interesting and inspiring dishes, excellent service, cozy and sweet atmosphere. We will definitely be returning soon to check out the new seasonal menu.

First time eating here after wanting to try it for nearly 10 months. Visited fairly often when it was La Canelle Cafe. Food was disappointing after reading all the positive reviews. Generally a little oversalted and too many flavors attempting to overpower each other. Best dishes were the oysters and the black bean hummus. Octopus was dry and overcooked. Lamb kebab is actually Köfte and not at all French in style. It too was over salted and the lamb was too dry. Branzino was ok but the presentation was a little haphazard and messy. Pork belly was good, and the pasta special with rock shrimp was tasty. The ceviche appetizer was made with raw shrimp and was very good. Service was very slow. We were seated at 6:45 and our entrées came at 8:20. The food took so long that our 21yo son bailed on us electing not to wait for his entree, and decided to walk home. That being said the junior staff was quite attentive and regularly filled our water glasses. Atmosphere was very nice and felt like a friendly neighbor’s living room. The sound proofing on the ceiling is very effective and conversations were quite easy to have even with 5 people at the table. Overall, I was disappointed and it didn’t really feel like a true French place. Ironically, it was more like a Moroccan/French place much like La Canelle was. That being said, I am going to go back in a month to give it another try and will update my review at that point.

What a great gem to have in the middle of Delaware county. This is my first time eating at Fond of all their friends have told me about it. Every dish we had tonight was perfectly seasoned and perfectly cooked. We had fabulous oysters from Cape Cod, Foie Gras with raspberries, octopus and potatoes, rock shrimp with pasta in a fra diabolo sauce, and monk fish. Of course, being a BYOB makes this easy on the wallet for such a high level of cuisine. Delightful and great service and nice people.

Pork belly steals the show. Every dish was good, but the hunk of tender pork with its shatteringly crisp chiccarone crust was the show stopper. Paired w/ black beans and a slaw. Is it french-inspired? No idea. But it's delicious. The creme brûlée w/ cardamom infused peaches was really good too.

We were absolutely starving when we arrived and all of the food was absolutely delicious! We ate the specials of fresh mozzarella and pork rillette for our starters, and then for dinner we had the lamb kabab and a rock shrimp pasta special. All of the food is to die for! Would 100% recommend it and would even tell you to take a detour to go here because it is that worth it. After a long day of walking around, dinner here felt like a great triumph. Also, please note that this place is BYOB so stop for a bottle of wine to accompany your food :)

The good: Food was delicious: onion soup, curried butternut squash with crab soup (although the curry overpowered the flavor of crab), mushroom risotto, beef burgundy, lamb. Everything was served hot, which was a plus, and the service was OK considering how busy it was on a Saturday night (only 2 servers plus one for water, clearing, etc.) They were clearly hustling to keep on top of things. The bad: we were a party of three seated right inside the door where it was uncomfortably cold every time the door opened (which was quite frequent). One of our party had to sit on a window seat that was very uncomfortable. It would be impossible for any person of a larger size or with mobility issues to sit there. It's obvious that they have squeezed in those extra seats where they should not be. I would be sure to request other seating before I'd return another time.

Wonderful dinner here last night with my adult granddaughter. I'm so glad Fond moved here. Visited on Passyunk but so nice not to have to deal with the city. Attractive place and friendly service. Very nice stemware is provided in this byob. The food is the star here! My granddaughter loved her tuna crudo and the French escargot, which was served with hazelnut butter and brioche. My gnocchi with mushrooms and hazelnuts was in a sauce worthy of the finest French restaurants. I wish we had room for dessert but it was a late dinner. They looked fantastic and I remember one of the owners is a pastry chef. Cannot wait to return.

Had a great meal here with friends. We started with a mushroom soup shot, which was delicious and very hot. I had the Escargot, which was very flavorful, followed by the Beef Burgundy - which was good, but the portion left me wanting more. One friend was not fond of the texture of the Gnocchi. Another friend enjoyed the Roasted Shrimp but felt a different side (pasta or grits) would be better than the pita. We shared two desserts and those portions led us to order another - one was not enough for two people to share. The service was good and unchanged from the previous restaurant La Cannelle. The other thing that has not changed are the acoustics. As a single large room with lots of windows the noise level gets very high when the restaurant is crowded. Will definitely return to try other options on the menu!