White Dog Cafe has operated in University City since 1983, spread across a trio of renovated Victorian brownstones near the University of Pennsylvania. The restaurant was among the first in Philadelphia to source organic, sustainably farmed ingredients from farms within a 50-mile radius, a practice it built its identity around well before local sourcing became standard.
The building itself carries much of the character: a run of distinct rooms — the Parlor, the Oak Room with its marble ten-top table, a reclaimed-wood Porch, a plant-filled Solarium, and a barrel-lined Wine Cellar — decorated throughout with the dog portraits and whimsical decor that give the place its name. Executive Chef Jay Ralston's menus change with the seasons across lunch, dinner, and weekend brunch, rounded out by house-baked desserts and rotating seasonal cocktails.
The University City location is part of the Fearless Restaurants group, which now runs several White Dog Cafes in the Philadelphia suburbs, though this brownstone original remains the flagship.
The building itself carries much of the character: a run of distinct rooms — the Parlor, the Oak Room with its marble ten-top table, a reclaimed-wood Porch, a plant-filled Solarium, and a barrel-lined Wine Cellar — decorated throughout with the dog portraits and whimsical decor that give the place its name. Executive Chef Jay Ralston's menus change with the seasons across lunch, dinner, and weekend brunch, rounded out by house-baked desserts and rotating seasonal cocktails.
The University City location is part of the Fearless Restaurants group, which now runs several White Dog Cafes in the Philadelphia suburbs, though this brownstone original remains the flagship.