Jaffa Bar

We went all out at the Jaffa Bar! Kate was amazing, as was every seafood dish we ordered. Each item was inventive, simple, and made with quality ingredients. All 4 of us walked away fully impressed with every aspect of our experience.

Michael Solomonov has once more demonstrated his exceptional talents in bring to Philly a dining experience that resides at the pinnacle of the cities’ vibrant restaurant scene. Jaffe is superb by every metric. The dishes blend flavors and textures that tease and please the palate. The vibe is lively and fun, and the playlist will bring a smile to your face with its nostalgic 1970’s and 80’s tracks. The design and decor elements are also noteworthy too. Restaurants like artists are the pollinator’s of urban revival. Jafa is housed in a magnificent 1920’s firehouse, which itself is an incarnation of an abandoned 19th century firehouse. Brought back to life in the 21st century, Jafa has several flowing spaces, natural light, and warm soothing colors. Structural elements are well shown. House plants sit on the window ledges. And the service team is professional, attentive and friendly. A truly exceptional experience!

Food was amazing and great service. This was our first time here and the decor/vibes are classy and cool. The brunch plates were small but enough to share w two people. We also tried several cocktails and had to round out w an iced Turkish coffee which was sweet and delicious!!!

We went for dinner on a busy Saturday night and the restaurant was very lively with a busy and fun atmosphere. We sat upstairs and the service was quick and efficient but the server definitely seemed like she was running around or distracted which was interesting but she was very nice and knowledgeable otherwise. We ordered lots of small plates to share and finished with the crab cake and chicken sandwiches which were both delicious. - oysters (Jaffa gem, sweet petite, & moondancer) (5/5) * Get the mignonettes! - fluke ceviche (5/5) - yellow tail pastrami (4.5/5) - spicy steamed mussels (4/5) - salt roasted beets (3.75/5) - fried calamari (5/5 - all were with tentacles so keep that in mind) - Moroccan Frena Bread (5/5) We enjoyed both of the desserts and the drinks were delicious! They clearly have a great bartender! Well put together menu and chefs, we all loved the experience and will be back!

So about tonight! My first date night of 2025 was at Jaffa -- the new seafood & cocktail bar by my pal Mike Solomonov 🔥 After successfully bringing the concept to Brooklyn, Jaffa arrives in Kensington with a revamped menu and Philly flair. Words can't describe how this experience made me feel -- a hip, cool, and sexy raw bar that's unapologetically invested in giving seafood a flavorful twist. The cocktails were immaculate and the vibe was top tier. I'm so happy he finally brought Jaffa home!!!! ❤️

What a gem. Standalone building dripping with character. Cool history. Was able to sneak in on a weeknight for a nightcap and got to try some house cocktails and a beautiful fernet. Bartender was such a cool cat we had a lot of fun chopping it up and learning about the neighbourhood. Definitely coming back to see the uostairs when it’s happening. Thanks again for the hospitality.

Atmosphere is good, service is good. However the food could be better. Oyster should be better based on $3/ price. A small plate (5 shrimp) charges $23… Also added 20% service fee at the end.

A unique experience. The tapas-style menu is very seafood centered, which is great (yellowtail pastrami was a favorite), and then the meal takes an unusual turn (if you follow the servers’ suggestions and prevailing wisdom) when you dig into the Jaffa burger as your main. Best burger anyone in my group of 8 had ever eaten. Service is stellar, as are the cocktails. I would have liked it if the Israeli/Middle Eastern-centric wine menu had more and wider variety, but that’s a minor thing and the closest thing to a complaint I can come up with.

This place is amazing!! The bartenders, cocktails, apps, etc. everything was on point! Great ambiance for a large place too!

We generally enjoyed our meal at Jaffa Bar. The space was, well, spacious, spanning two floors, and our server was terrific--friendly and attentive, but not overbearing. We were seated on the second floor (quite a few stairs, which they note when you make a reservation) and were glad to be there, as it seemed slightly quieter (it's a pretty large space with hard surfaces, so noise travels well) and warmer (even with the curtains hung inside the front doors, wintry drafts traveled up the stairs whenever they opened/closed). If you're a fan of oysters, we enjoyed ours from the Raw Bar. My favorite of the three types we ordered was the Jaffa Gem (we also tried the Psychedelicate and the Moondancer). The Shrimp Cocktail from the Raw Bar is $3.00 per shrimp and they were rather shrimpy--unfortunately we recently had some amazing shrimp at another establishment, so these paled in comparison. After the Raw Bar, we tried the Yellowtail Pastrami (grilled cucumber), where the pastrami seasoning overpowered the yellowtail (could have been almost any protein); the Salt-Roasted Beets (fennel, baby gem, tarragon vinaigrette), which was more salad than beets, but quite tasty; and the Fried Calamari (shipka peppers, boom boom sauce)--sauce was great. For our mains, we tried the Fried Chicken Thighs (matzo meal crust, amba honey), which were nicely cooked and crispy, but needed a bit more seasoning, and the Jaffa Burger (green chiles, grilled onions, american cheese, shabuzi mayo), which was a bit more rare than I would have preferred, and French Fries (tehina ketchup), which were nicely crisp and a bit salty. Drinks were good and vibe was right, but will wait to return until the food is more consistent.

Excellent food, awesome vibe and great atmosphere. The cocktails were well made and nothing disappointed. We started with a dozen oysters with the schug mignonette. They were fresh, briny and delicious. Next we enjoyed the fluke ceviche. It was a large portion of fresh and flavorful fish "cooked" in a bath of citrus. Next our server brought out the Scallops & Merguez which was of course seared scallops with potatoes and merguez sausage. It was wonderful. However our favorite was probably the Crispy Tuna which was seared tuna with a crunchy wrapper and addictive sauce. The order of fries were crispy and salty, and came in handy to scoop up extra sauce. The servers were attentive, helpful, and professional. Really great staff. We will be going back for sure!!

Jaffa Bar is a combination of an oyster-bar and a burger joint and in here for it! Can you tell what my favorites items on the menu were? :) Even with a reservation, this place is bustling so be prepared to stand around a bit. Luckily after a short wait we were moved from our pseudo seat at the bar to a table on the second floor and I preferred the vibe better than the main floor. Drink and food favorites: Clover Club; Gin, Raspberry, Egg White Jaffa Burger (Mayo on the side) Key Lime Bar - the meringue is divine I look forward to visiting in the warmer months, and enjoying more of the seafood preparations

My friends and I got to try out the newest Michael Solomonov restaurant in Philly on opening night! The place was great but had hiccups when we visited (it was opening night so hopefully they will have their issues fixed next time I visit). When walking to the restaurant we were greeted by this big towerous chimney that said Jaffa on it. When we walked in, we first noticed how wide the bar is. The whole bar seating expanded the whole front. There were a couple seats away from the bar as well. There is even an upstairs that has bar and a ton of space as well. The menu has a ton of cocktail/nonalcoholic/liquor options. The place even has a raw bar option menu where you can use a pencil to choose the amount of oysters, shrimp, or mussels from a menu. To be quite honest, the menu was difficult to understand (see image for attached menu). It had an option for sauces which I am not even sure I got the one I chose. Also, the 3 piece minimum didn't make sense to me when I was ordering. Our waiter was nice but had no awareness. He took forever to pick up our orders and check on us. Anytime we needed him, we tried to get his attention and he was unable to see us (very on track mind). After a long while, he finally came to get our dinner orders. The menu isn't very user friendly. It is broken into a hot/cold section but it was hard to gather if an item is a small plate or entree. I really hope they update the menu better in the future. We shared all the food so I tried a bit of everything. Their salt water taffy oyster was amazing! Highly recommend. The fried calamari was average but I did like the boom boom sauce in it. The salt-roasted beet salad wasn't good,in my opinion. I felt like there was too much dressing on it. There were a large amount of beets (I did like how the beets didn't overwhelm the dish). A must try is the charred sweet peppers, whole sea bream, and the French fries. The charred sweet peppers had a spicy flavor to the labneh. The sea bream was in this amazing fish stew (chraime). I usually hate French fries but the crunch of these were amazing (the dipping sauce for it tasted like ketchup mixed with curry powder). The funnel cake is a must get dessert. The funnel cake had a passionfruit sauce that came with it that was so delicious. Apart from opening night hiccups (I.e. the waiter basically ignoring us, the extremely dim lighting halfway through our meal, them taking forever to run my credit card, and not getting the broccoli salad we ordered), the food here is incredible and worth the try.

Stopped in while we were in Philly recently. First off the vibe definitely cool. The building itself is amazing- it's like a triangle- like in the middle of the street. The aesthetic amazing. We had a little bit of everything. And that's sort of the problem. I couldn't really get into the menu. As others have noted it's fairly short menu but we actually had a difficult time choosing our meal. We ordered the hot tuna (good) but also fried chicken thighs (eh - esp with the coleslaw. Some of the chicken pieces were a bit undercooked. Very crunchy but not much flavor. Tried the burger & fries (eh). We tried the fish bone-in dish and it was way too fishy (for me). The sauce thickly layered on the delicate fish made it impossible to eat without chewing on the fish bone. We tried the bread - tasty but a little tough to eat. Our server was pleasant enough but really didn't add to the experience. What DID add to the experience in a negative way is the fact that there are not enough toilets. One toilet (one stall each) on the first floor and one on the second floor. The space is pretty large and it's shocking that you wouldn't need more facilities! I had to wait on the 1st floor bc it was in use and after a long while had to go to the 2nd floor and that one was also in use?!?! Like waiting in line to use the restroom in this fancy bar a does not any sense. Please go by, make reservations. I'll check it out again at some point. Let me know what you think.

I had a really delicious meal at Jaffa bar tonight. My favorite dishes were the squash and the burger. I thought everything was seasoned really well. The service was also excellent. Our water cups were never empty, and our waitress constantly checked on us which I appreciated. It was a cool experience to go to a cookNsolo restaurant and be able to order à la carte since I am so used to getting the tasting menu.

No idea what people are talking about in some reviews - this was one of the best meals we've had in recent memory! Started at the downstairs bar - beautiful drinks and delicious oysters. Dinner itself featured creative takes on familiar items. This is a brilliant concept: traditional mid-eastern spices and techniques applied to non traditional items such as calamari, crudos, burgers and fries. Service is as it always is at Cook n Solo - friendly and knowledgeable without being overly intrusive. The focus is on hospitality. Highly recommended especially considering the fair pricing and cool vibes of the building. Do yourself a a favor and go!

Tried Jaffa Bar last night for the first time and had a great experience. Service (as always with this restaurant group) was awesome - super knowledgable but also let us enjoy our food without coming over to check on us a million times. Loved the pace of this place - the next round of dishes always seemed to come out at the perfect time. In my opinion, the small plates stole the show. I could not get enough of the broccolini ceasar and the frena bread. We also ordered the scallops & merguez (incredible) and the shabazi shrimp (could really taste the arak). Definitely going to come back to try the rest of the menu + drinks!

Celebrated my aunt & I birthdays at Jaffa last night. First time trying raw oysters, don't recall the specific oysters that I tried but had one with lemon and their cocktail sauce. Pretty good. Actually the highlight of my night. The burger, mussels, and calamari was all great also, just was pretty full by the end of the night. Definitely making a trip back.

I was so looking forward to this opening since I love the cooknsolo group. Our server Sam was wonderful. He was friendly, personable and knowledgeable- made great suggestions. He made my husband's big bday extra special with bubblies (thanks again!). I loved the frozen Jaffa orange (this is a must while it's still warm!). The mall grab cocktail was also excellent. The burger was delicious as well as the scallops. Out of all the oysters we loved the salt water taffy the best. Upstairs seating was extra nice as the sun was setting. I'm so happy we were able to eat here for a celebratory meal. Thanks and I'll def be back. ;)

Had a lovely Valentine's Day dinner here. The atmosphere upstairs is warm and intimate. Downstairs is a more typical bar vibe but still warm. Lots of beautiful plants and light fixtures throughout on both floors. Service was flawless, great food recommendations and well-paced courses. Every dish we tried was delicious.

Not sure how Cook N Solo could of done it again, but they have. These guys just keep putting out an excellent product. Had an amazing meal in amazing atmosphere. We will definitely be back.

You don't know what to expect when enter through the the door. Greeted by lovely hosts and a packed full oyster bar we were escorted to upstairs where we had an exceptional service and a very knowledgeable server. The Moroccan bread was immaculate with the pairing dip. The cheeseburger was life altering for my partner & changed her perspective on cheeseburgers having Jaffa as #1 on her newly formed top 10 list. The ambience was exceptional. I'll be back.

This place sneaks up on your from the minute you walk in. The shape of the building is so unique that you don't even realize you are walking next to the hottest new restaurant in the city. The lighting and general ambiance (meaning the smells, volume, spacing) of this place are spot on. It's not over crowded for the space they have and love that it's not quiet but also not loud. The service was welcoming, informative, but not overbearing... exactly how I like it. Our food was brought and explained by runners which I always appreciate because they just explain the food and keep it moving. The food itself was so good. Didn't even get a picture of the bread but it's a must get. I struggle to choose a favorite between the shrimp and scallop dish we got, but I think the scallop and lamb wins for me. Broccolini salad was perfectly done and dressed. Yellowtail pastrami was interesting but not something i'd add to a must get list. Only thing that was strange about the whole night was they didn't offer us dessert, I didn't realize til we were walking out that the funnel cake was another thing people had been raving about and I do love a funnel cake so I'll have to add that to my list for my next visit I guess.

The quality of seafood was mediocre at best with rubbery shrimp cocktail and fishy scallops. The ceviche was so loaded up on herbs that you couldn't taste anything else. The broccolini was not great either with woody bits that hadn't been removed. Sauce flavors were not great either. The only things that were good The service was fine. The space was loud but not too bad. I really hope they sort themselves out because what could have been great was instead a B- experience.

Loved everything about our first visit here! The wait staff Jose and Madison made the evening extremely special taking such good care of us! We stuck to oysters, hot and cold plates only. All the hot and cold were fabulous and would highly recommend. Oysters were small and though the sauces provided were fabulous the oysters were underwhelming. Cocktails and wine was the perfect compliment to this delicious meal!!!

I took my wife and in-laws to Jaffa Bar last night. Hands down one of the best seafood experiences in Philadelphia! The building/ambiance is understated yet gorgeous. Every single dish we tasted was a masterpiece. The menu is packed with vibrant flavors and creativity. The alcohol program is excellent, too. The cocktail menu is filled with perfectly crafted classics and the bartender that served us as we waited for our table really knew his stuff (find the guy upstairs with a ponytail!). The wine list is equally impressive and thoughtful. The service was also top-notch! Everyone was incredibly knowledgeable, attentive, and worked hard to make the experience great. If you're in Philly and love great food, drinks, and a welcoming atmosphere, do yourself a favor and plan a visit!

Great new bar in Fishtown area of Philly. Great service, and food was really good. Would definitely recommend going back

Simple, honest, lovely. Great flavour combos and friendly staff. Lots of good seafood options. Cool building too!

The vibes are great for a date night. There are two bars downstairs and one bar upstairs. High top tables are on the first level. The food was good and everything came out quickly. The drinks were good (tonight's the night and Toronto). The waitress was friendly, engaging and gave good recommendations.

Great atmosphere but the menu is pricey. Staff is attentive. And the tap water is delicious.

Ceviche and yellow-tail pastrami were fire, the Toronto cocktail hit the spot as well. Fun little spot, give em a try. The fish was stupid fresh

I love seafood so I like the concept. But The most interesting thing on the menu is the cocktails

Fantastic. The server was Kate and she advised on items we have not eaten. Everything we ordered with her help was delicious. The Moroccan Bread is a must. Ordered the Burger, Calamari, Squash with dates and feta. The Scallops with Sausage. Can't wait to go back. Kate was a great server. The young man who brought the food and took away dishes was really good. Everyone was pleasant and made our visit so great. Also the Orange Julius drink you have to try.

Truly awful. Service was terrible, staff was rude/ borderline racist. I am a little disappointed that I have to even write this but I am so surprised with the positive reviews given how generally terrible the atmosphere was. The food was meh, poorly cooked IMHO (overcooked meat) definitely never going again

Overall...Meh. Really cool space. Good cocktails. Food was meh. Broccolini Caesar was overpoweringly peppery/horseradishy that's all you could taste. Burger was super greasy. Fries were under-seasoned. Calamari was overcooked and dry. Wouldn't rush back. Our waiter also kept asking us "is everything fantastic?" which made it more disappointing because it wasn't.

The space is beautiful and food was incredible! Standout of the night was the Scallops & Merguez dish - best scallop I've ever had! Crispy Tuna is a close second - the crunch paired with the perfectly cooked tuna is really something special. Don't sleep on the Moroccan bread and matbucha. Cocktails were on point as well and we have a new favorite spritz in the Ex Lion Tamer. The Frozen Jaffa Orange was also dangerously good. Can't wait to go back and try more of the menu!!!

Staff, Ambiance, Food, Drinks all passed the vibe check. Do your taste buds a favor and get in this place. If you get to run into Michael Solomonov, your eyes will be happy too. So dope start to finish.

I went to Jaffa the other night with a large group, unannounced and arrived before it opened at 5:00...What an exceptional experience- kind, flexible and professional staff and our waiter was top. Delicious and beautiful food and drinks- oysters with a trio of sauces, Akur, and french fries. SO happy we have Jaffa and their staff in our city!

Service was excellent. Our server (and server assistant) educated us on the restaurant portions and pairs of dishes that went well together. They steered us in the perfect direction with the right amount of dishes to sample while still letting us make some select choices like with the burger.