Restaurant Review: Bar Ferdinand

Bar Ferdinand
1030 N. 2nd Street
Philadelphia, PA 19123

Mr B. and I went to Bar Ferdinand after a particularly hard week at work. We had both heard alot of good things about the restaurant and wanted to try it our ourselves. Getting there was pretty easy and there was plenty of parking on 2nd and some side streets.

The inside of Bar Ferdinand really reminded me of Spain. It was very rustic looking and the walls and floor all had tile and some of it was even Moorish. We didn't make a reservation, but at 7pm on a Thursday it wasn't that crowded. We got a seat in the back room right by one of the big french doors. I can't wait to go back in the summer when it's warm enough to have them open!

We both ordered a glass of red wine; I got a Rioja and Mr. B got a Tempranillo recommended by our waiter. We started out with Patatas Bravas and Gambas al Ajillo. The Patatas Bravas were amazing...they tasted just like they did in Spain. I could have eaten the entire plate myself and then ordered another one! The Gambas (shrimp in garlic) were also very good and they came with some toasted bread to dip in the garlic oil.

After that, we ordered Calamares Rellenos (Grilled squid stuffed with shrimp, leeks, and brown sage butter) and Pollo Asado(Roast organic chicken, spiced applesauce and wild mushrooms). The calamares rellenos was my favorite dish of the night. It was absolutely delicious! The chicken was good, but a little on the dry side. The applesauce it came with was really chunky and had really good flavor. The wild mushrooms were very good too.

Our next order was for bocadillos. I got the vegetarian and Mr. B got the chicken with chorizo. Mine was very good, but I think Mr. B's was a little better--the chorizo made it. Our final tapa order was the Mejillones con Chorizo and Fidoes (Mussles, chorizo, tomato, fried capellini pasta and beer). This wasn't my favorite dish, but the mussels were very fresh and the chorizo was scrumptious.

Our waiter brought us the dessert menu and we got the Fried Cider Bread with Cinnamon Ice Cream and Candied Orange Peel. It was one of the best desserts I've had. Ever. The bread was nice and warm and it melted the ice cream just enough so that it started to soak into the bread, but the outside of the bread was still crispy. The orange peel added just enough tartness to the dessert.

Overall, we had a really good meal. The service was also really great and the waiter didn't seem to mind that we took 2 hours to eat and ordered 2 tapas at a time. The bill was pretty hefty for just the two of us and half of it was the wine. We're looking forward to going there for a happy hour soon because the sangria is half price :)

I would give Bar Ferdinand 4.5 bulls out of 5. As compared to Amada, I liked the atmosphere here better but the food might have been a little bit better at Amada. We'll have to go back to Amada for dinner to be able to make a true comparison.