White Dog Cafe Wayne
American restaurant · Delaware County
200 W Lancaster Ave, Wayne, PA 19087
Highlights
Dog-themed decor, farm-to-table fare, seasonal menu, pup-friendly
Dog-themed decor, farm-to-table fare, seasonal menu, pup-friendly
"Perhaps the woman sitting at the bar just finished her shift at the hospital. Or maybe she’s the ghost of Helena Blavatsky, the famous mystic who used to live inside. The University City location of this classic restaurant was a hub for psychic readings, channeling spirits, and all things occult. Some of the rooms are decorated with floating handkerchiefs as a nod to Blavatsky, which is, of course, just what Helena would want. Stop by for a brunch or dinner full of produce-forward dishes like a butternut squash ravioli topped with trumpet mushrooms and share some wine with friends—those with and without a pulse." - candis mclean
"Doing the basics of your job is expected. Like if you’re a babysitter, you make sure the kids don’t fall down the stairs, and if you’re a motivational speaker, you say cliche things into a microphone. But being great at what you do takes a lot more than just the bare minimum, which is where White Dog Cafe comes up short. It does all of the easy things well, but anytime it tries to get creative with the menu, the results are a letdown. White Dog Cafe is located inside a little brownstone next to Penn's campus that's full of fake taxidermied dog heads on the walls and has one of those menus that doesn’t quite fit in a box. You’ll see everything from pasta to arepas to pho, which makes it an easy choice for students to bring their parents when they want to prove to them that they’re actually respectable adults. The versatile menu also means that, whether you’re here for a weeknight dinner or a weekend brunch, White Dog is usually busy. The problem is that even though the menu has lots of things that look creative and interesting, they all ultimately fall very flat. Like the seared yellowfin tuna, which is served in a bowl with vermicelli noodles, bok choy, some pickled chili peppers, and then, as if they mixed up their recipes, braised beef brisket. A server pours an herb pho broth over the whole thing and even though the presentation is impressive, it’s actually a very bland and criminally overpriced ($33) bowl of pho. The broth is basically warm brown water, the seared tuna is well-cooked but completely flavorless, and the brisket, which is the only thing that has any sort of distinguishable flavor, is somehow dry even when it’s soaked in the broth. If this was the only sad dish on the menu, we might just call it an anomaly and move on, but there are a lot of other things that end up being flavorless or otherwise off. The arepas are so dry that you’ll have to flag the waiter down for a refill of water every few bites. And the Kennett Square Mushroom Soup, which has been on their menu for years, has the consistency of a watery smoothie and tastes pretty much just like truffle oil, with no other seasoning. There are still reasons you might end up at White Dog, like at the request of a family friend who’s helping you do your taxes or when you need a place near Penn to meet someone for a quick drink and some roasted garlic hummus. And it is possible to eat a decent (if a bit overpriced) meal here if you stick to the dishes that are hard to screw up, like the pulled pork mac & cheese or the butternut squash ravioli. It’s just not a place you need to go out of your way to try. Food Rundown Kennett Square Mushroom Soup The flavor of the mushrooms is overpowered by the truffle creme fraiche and is otherwise pretty bland. No need to get this. Vegetable Arepas The arepas themselves are quite dry, and the black beans and squash inside them are always a bit undercooked. The salsa verde is perfectly spicy, though, and if the arepas didn’t leave us needing a sip of water after every bite, this could be a very good dish. Pulled Pork Mac & Cheese Simple, great mac and cheese. If you find yourself here, you can’t go wrong with sharing a bowl of this. Butternut Squash Ravioli A totally non-offensive plate of butternut squash ravioli with rosemary pesto and apples. It won’t blow you away, but it’s one of the better things on the menu. Seared Yellowfin Tuna This is one of the saddest dishes we have eaten in recent memory. The broth is basically warm water and there’s no flavor in any of the ingredients. It’s also $33, so you could get a better bowl of pho at pretty much any other place in town for a third of the price. Andouille Crusted Catfish The catfish is fine and completely edible, but not great. However, the grits and red pepper sauce that come underneath the catfish are pretty good. We’d happily come here just to sit at the bar, have a cocktail, and eat a bowl of these grits topped with some red pepper sauce. Peanut Butter Croissant Bread Pudding It sounds so decadent and rich, but it always comes out kind of lukewarm as though it’s just been reheated in a microwave, and it’s much drier than it should be. Black Bottom Coconut Cream Pie You could buy this at a supermarket for $3, so please don’t spend $10 on it." - Sydney McElwee
"With five locations in the Philadelphia area, weekend brunch at White Dog Cafe is a go-to spot for an outstanding weekend brunch. Although the drinks menu changes regularly, it always includes cocktails that pair effortlessly with your favorite brunch fare, such as the honey mule (made with vodka, ginger beer, and honey) or the spicy pear margarita (made with jalapeno-infused tequila, pear nectar, and lime)." - George Banks-Weston
"When this University City institution opened back in 1983, founder Judy Wicks’ tenets of keeping food local, seasonal, and sustainable were almost unheard of in the Philadelphia dining scene. Now, 36 years later, the canine-themed restaurant and bar is putting out locally sourced cheese plates and serving seasonal plates of eggplant Milanese and watermelon panzanella while the bar pours glasses of made-in-Pennsylvania wine." - Caroline Coral
"University City mainstay White Dog Cafe offers several of its colorful themed rooms for private parties. The options include a fully enclosed downstairs wine cellar, the purple-and-blue-accented living room decorated with neon dog paintings, the window-lined oak room with a marble dining table that seats up to 12, and the solarium with its whimsical floral-print booths and hanging plants. The private event menu changes seasonally." - Sarah Maiellano
