TOP BYOBs
Fond
DAVID M WARREN / Staff Photographer
At Fond, Lee Styer, the chef, and his fiancee, the pastry chef Jessie Prawlucki,
About the restaurant
Rating:
Neighborhood: South Philadelphia - Penns Port
Parking: Street and lot parking only.
Handicap access: Not wheelchair accessible.
Handicap access: Not wheelchair accessible.
Hours:
Dinner Monday through Saturday, 5:30-10 p.m. Closed Sunday.
Prices:
$$$
Payment methods:
MasterCard
Visa
Cuisine type: American
Meals Served:
Dinner - Mon. thru Sat.
Style:
Philly's magic BYOB machine has produced yet another winning bistro for an emerging neighborhood, this time with young talents from Le Bec-Fin and Lacroix bringing sophisticated New American dining to an intimate dining room on East Passyunk Ave. The small menu has some memorable moments, the service is refined and outgoing. With more maturity and consistency, this promising gem can become special.
Specialties:
Tuna crudo with pomegranate and yogurt; sweetbreads with cinnamon gastrique; pork belly; scallops; chicken breast; malted milk chocolate ice cream with peanut butter brittle; Irish coffee souffle.
Alcohol:
BYOB.
Weekend noise:
The tiny space plus a lively room packed with patrons equals a noisy, sometimes ear-crimping 90 decibels. (Ideal is 75 decibels or less.)
Philly.com Dining
The Rating Key
$ = cheap eats
$$ = moderate priced; most entrees $16-$25
$$$ = premium priced; most entrees $26-$35
$$$$ = hey, big spender; most entrees $36 and up
Superior — 
Excellent —
Very Good —
Hit-or-miss —
Poor — No stars
Excellent —
Very Good —
Hit-or-miss —
Poor — No stars
Update, from a recent revisit.
The cooking couple behind this intimate East Passyunk BYOB — chef Lee Styer and pastry chef Jessie Prawlucki – have made more than enough progress in the past two years to step-up (from two) to a well-deserved three bells.
The service was as refined as ever. And Lee’s crispy pork belly is still easily Philly’s best. But it was the other sophisticated French-influenced seasonal cooking — gnocchi with lobster and black trumpets; perfect duck with beans and sausage; Jessie’s exquisite tangerine cheesecake — that made me a believer: this South Philly BYO gem is clearly one of our best.
