It has been one of those weeks, so its been a little tough to figure out what I wanted to post. But when you add friends and Sips, you get a restaurant review! More memories and a new go to place for a good bite to eat. For this week we decided to try Pearl & Mary which is part of the iconic string of restaurants along 13th and Sansom. Pearl & Mary was opened in… with a wide range of options from their raw bar and a variety of sandwiches so everyone can find something to their liking!

Food

My friends and I kept ordering and picking on things throughout the course of our time there which was a great way to pace everything! I had ordered a chicken sandwich with fries, the sandwich itself was not that big but it felt filling enough with the side. The chicken was cooked really well and fell apart pretty easily, although the sandwich did lack a bit of something extra whether a spicy aioli or chipotle mayo would have been a nice touch. The fries were out of this world, my favorite type of shoestring fries cooked to its golden perfection and mouthwatering crunch. My friends had ordered the smash burger and fish sandwich. The fish sandwich, trying to be as nice as possible, had a pretty pathetic sized fish on it. Not even a whole piece of anything just a small scrap. So if you go here for seafood, pass on the fish sandwich. They had also ordered a couple clams and oysters, to which my friends had come to the conclusion that their oysters were better than the clams.

Then for drinks my friend and I just got a glass of their red and white wine. I didn’t try the white, but their red was quite enjoyable and paired easily with the meal. Dry and not overpowering. Then my friend had ordered a gimlet, which was their very first gimlet, and found it to be very delicious.

Service

The service was really well done for us! Although there seemed to be a lot of miscommunication with the table next to us whether it was the wrong food brought out, delayed food, or orders not being placed. But our waters stayed filled and they checked in on us consistently. So keep in open-mind when coming to Pearl & Mary cause it seems service may vary by table.

Vibe

We didn’t get the chance to sit inside and sat at a table that was close to one of the restaurant windows outside but it was super cute when we initially went in to ask for a table. The usual modern industrial look with exposed brick and piping, the bar was my favorite though, smooth glossy finished marble lined with wood. The lighting was also nice as well, not super harsh on the eyes but you’re also not fighting for your life to read the menu.

Reservation

So since it was during Sips they did not take any reservations, nor do they take any reservations for a regular happy hour. But with the summer drawing to an end, city folk are running on fumes for Sips so it was pretty easy to get a table when we arrived around 5:30pm.

In Conclusion…

I would like to try the inside area and of course try their full menu items, which is exactly why we do Sips. But I’m not sure I’ll necessarily be rushing back to this place, especially with all the other restaurants around it. To be fair, I’m not a big fish person myself and don’t really know many other restaurants in the area that serve $1 oysters but if you’re looking for sandwiches and other types of food that’s not fish, I would not recommend this place.

Thank you for reading! Have a wonderful day!