Honeysuckle Restaurant
Restaurant · West Poplar ·
Afrocentric restaurant with Caribbean & American dishes, cocktails
Afrocentric restaurant with Caribbean & American dishes, cocktails
"Philly’s best living room sits in North Philadelphia along a corridor of repurposed warehouses and churches, where comfy cognac-colored couches invite lingering, a pearlescent-lit column studded with photos of June Jordan, Jean-Michel Basquiat, and Octavia Butler anchors the room, and a vinyl shelf hides pressings of Baduizm, Voodoo, and other R&B staples. Reimagined as a third space–meets–dining destination by Cybille St.Aude-Tate and Omar Tate, it’s a lean, smart, inventive restaurant-living room-cultural lab where the founders float from kitchen to floor greeting regulars and elders, the music hums at a modest level, and the whole place feels familial, comfortable, and safe. The team’s curiosity is on full display: in-house fermentation specialist Jamaar Julal experiments with new strains of sake while cultural storyteller Chelsea Martin teaches the history of Carolina Gold rice, which appears in a vegetarian legume dish with eggplant and cabbage and folds into Julal’s sake alchemy. The menu delivers both comfort and spark — silky deviled eggs crowned with black truffle, a winkingly named Black Caesar with smoked herring, Parmesan, and breadcrumbs that playfully bite back, a two-person Mississippi tamale stuffed with beef cheek and oxtail where lima beans make a quiet, sturdy cameo — alongside staples like a half-dozen oysters, roasted chicken, and the frothy Zou Zou coupe. Ambition extends beyond the plate to in-house R&D and food restoration practices, even as they juggle long hours, permit limbo, and tight margins; the joy, purpose, and open-armed hospitality make it easy to root for them, and I left wanting to marry everything I’d eaten." - Tre Johnson
"West Philly’s Honeysuckle has been closed for a year, and we suffered from kreyol limeade and Haitian sandwich separation anxiety. But the wait was worth it for the expanded Afrocentric dinner menu served up in a sophisticated new Spring Garden space. There’s ramp-wrapped red drum with scallop foam, spaghetti with crawfish tossed in a savory West African XO sauce, and a juicy, $65 burger decked out in gold flakes, truffle, and caviar. Unlike the old digs, there’s a full bar and plenty of seating in the bright, wood-filled space. Keep in mind that for now, service tends to run long (we're talking a slow marathon rather than a sprint). But you should still make a reservation ASAP. You’ll probably see us there, developing a new dependence on something delicious. Get access to exclusive reservations at this spot with Chase Sapphire Reserve. New cardmembers get $300 in annual dining statement credits." - candis mclean, alison kessler, candis mclean, candis mclean, alison kessler, candis mclean, candis mclean, candis mclean, alison kessler, candis mclean, alison kessler, candis mclean, alison kessler
"Honeysuckle is back, now in a spacious location on North Broad with a full bar. The menu is Afrocentric, featuring a few Haitian classics, and offers everything from griot with pikliz to crab-topped deviled eggs, as well as a $65 burger layered with caviar, gold flakes, and truffles. We checked out Honeysuckle and added it to the Hit List. Get access to exclusive reservations at this spot with Chase Sapphire Reserve. New cardmembers get $300 in annual dining statement credits." - candis mclean, alison kessler
"Honeysuckle in Spring Garden blends sleek and sophisticated with decadence and comfort, like the $65 burger decked out in gold flakes, truffle, and caviar. The room has personal touches like an MF Doom action figure above the bar, and you'll hear soul music that will make you think you stumbled into your aunt's house. Everyone's diving into bowls of Afrocentric dishes like ramp-wrapped red drum with scallop foam, spaghetti with crawfish tossed in a savory, umami-rich West African XO sauce, and other plates topped with produce from their Bucks County farm. It’ll all leaving you wanting more —we’ve been known to rebook immediately after our last drop of citrusy champagne water ice." - team infatuation
"Omar Tate started Honeysuckle as a pop-up in Philadelphia in 2020, then as an all-day cafe with a nighttime tasting menu, which closed last year. Now, as of late April, he and his business and life partner, Cybille St.Aude-Tate, have opened the ambitious final evolution of Honeysuckle. It’s an a la carte menu highlighting Black American foodways and the Black diaspora. Look for dishes like their truffle- and caviar-topped burger on a square of milk bread, Haitian spaghetti, and more. Drinks include Champagne water ice." - Maddy Sweitzer-Lamme