Roxanne

Philadelphia is lucky to have Roxanne. This was, without question, the best meal I’ve eaten all year. The sun gold tomatoes were so good they made me want to slap my mother. The pork chop had absolutely no business being that insanely delicious. Every course arrived with the kind of confidence that only comes from a chef operating at the height of their craft. What makes Roxanne special isn’t just the food—it’s the way Chef Alex continues to blur the line between dining and art. The meal feels less like a restaurant experience and more like an invitation into someone’s creative process. Thoughtful without being precious, ambitious without being self-important, and executed with a level of care that is increasingly rare. Philadelphia is fortunate to have a restaurant willing to push the boundaries of what a meal can be while remaining deeply hospitable and genuinely enjoyable. Roxanne isn’t following trends or chasing relevance. It’s creating something entirely its own. A remarkable meal from a remarkable chef.

A truly memorable dining experience. The burger is, without a doubt, the absolute BEST I’ve ever tasted, complemented by top-tier service that is both professional and incredibly attentive. To top it all off, the chocolate cake is simply INCREDIBLE, unlike anything I’ve had before. It melts in your mouth. I highly recommend this spot to any food enthusiast, it is an absolute must-visit in Philadelphia. Also, the chef runs EVERYTHING on her own in the kitchen… we still can’t figure out how she does it!! Thank you for the incredible experience!

The service was seriously impressive at Roxanne. One staff member manned front of house, waited on, and ran dishes for all tables yet was efficient enough that we never felt forgotten or unattended. Food was excellent and the large protein portions were a pleasant surprise. We ordered six dishes for two guests and ended up being full halfway through the meal. My personal favorites were the gnudi and octopus.

I was excited to try Roxanne and it exceeded my expectations. Everything was fun and creative, but it was clear, putting the best bite of food on your plate remains the priority. I know it sounds silly to say, but the bread and butter might be the star of the meal. The bread was piping hot and the better was perfectly salted and flavorful. The raw cheesesteak was great, but the beef on its own might be the best tartare I’ve ever had! The short rib gemelli and duck breast are a must!

You can look at my whole profile - I want to be fair and also honest, so people can make the best dining decisions. I don't really need to rattle off all of the good things -- if you're even considering eating here, you know what they are. But to share in case... - There’s both a seriousness and a lightheartedness to the tasting menu that happily coexist, making the whole experience stand out in a good way. - I don't know much about the chef but I now know she makes some of the best crusts I've had (baby tuna melt, honey pie). - The reductions were nearly phenomenal (I'll explain soon) Even with all of that good though, the misses clouded the experience. I would never go into a meal like this with a frugal mindset -- I like to spend my money on food. But with so many incredible restaurants that exist in Philly and NY, there's a real opportunity cost at this price point...and if you're going to be a $140/pp tasting menu, there's very little margin for error. One of the two errors was how salty numerous dishes were. The French onion agnolotti, prawn stuffed chicken, lamb loin, and spinach morel were all almost really, really good but just got crushed with salt to where we did a would-you-rather of would you rather have food that's over salted or under seasoned. Felt inedible at times. Which leads me to the second error, which is how long we were sitting there. I think we were there for 3 hours and there was way too much time between courses. Once you're onto the 'f-marry-k' part of the night, you know you've been there too long. We felt a bit trapped. Btw, I think they could either make the portions smaller or scale back the amount of dishes on the tasting. Not a negative - more a note, because we were absolutely stuffed (combo of amount + idle time). We still enjoyed the experience and respectfully mentioned the saltiness aspect to our server. To be frank. her response felt like it was kind of throwing Alexandra under the bus as if she couldn't properly salt food because a group of 4 became a group of 7 unexpectedly. I know how difficult it is to open a restaurant, let alone thrive...so without knowing her personally, I know Alexandra is stupid talented. Maybe it was just an off night - it's not robots doing the cooking (thank god). I'm glad we went, and I hope some of those issues can be ironed out bc tbh they're easy ones to fix. For now I won't be heading back any time soon but I wouldn't be opposed to trying again with some cautious optimism in the future.