Tuna Bar Reviews

My group of 4 had an early dinner here a few months ago before an ELO concert. It was pretty empty since it was only 6:30pm on a Friday in August, but I'm sure this cool place would get a good crowd later in the evening. The restaurant has a cool, industrial vibe with high ceilings and a wall of windows. There is light wood all around with dark wood chairs and green & brown leather banquettes. The food was absolutely delicious as were the specialty cocktails. As with most Japanese food, order a lot to get full, but everything on the menu was fantastic!

Fabulous food, great service, beautiful premises, reasonable prices, what’s not to love??? Great makis, Brussels sprouts, seaweed salad… Highly recommended!

Great little gem in old city. Fresh ingredients, flavors and nice menu. This place also had an awesome vibe.... friendly, fun. First time- Super impressed

We couldn’t even get a chance to taste the food before totally getting frustrated with the staff that refused to sit us where we chose although the restaurant was completely empty. No other clients at all and they insisted that we have to sit at specific tables for 2 people, although we explained we prefer to be sited by the window and have more space as we were planing to order few appetizers and mains. No common sense and no customer service!

We brought friends from out of town here and were disappointed. While the ambiance is nice with a great view of the bridge from outdoor tables, the service was very slow. The food came out awkwardly (2 people got part of their food way before the other people in our party got any of their appetizers). One person never got the second drink he ordered. The lobster fried rice had barely any lobster in it. And the sushi/sashimi were more expensive than other sushi in the area. Overall, I’d go somewhere else next time.

We had dinner in a cozy and intimate setting. Dim lighting and little confusion. The restaurant is very nice. The young and professional staff. We loved the food, there is so much choice, the only dish I would not recommend are rolls since everything else is innovative and well cooked I would recommend avoiding them because you can order them anywhere. The bathroom is clean.

We visited Tuna Bar for a birthday dinner with a group of five. A very unfortunate experience occurred where our waitress, with a tray full of of cocktails, stumbled and dumped 7 drinks all over one of our guests and across our table. That compounded with a less than friendly hostess, slow service, and a very weak resolution of all the missteps (which was really about 30 minutes of negotiations over the bill) left a bit of a sour taste - which is unfortunate because the food was actually tasty, when it finally arrived. I would go here again, but would suggest that the ownership learn how to properly compensate guests when they have a less than stellar experience.

The place is really wonderfully constructed, a pleasure to look at; however, the noise level is almost intolerable when full. The wait staff are very nice and know their menu and offer good advice on portion sizes, what is shareable etc. They take reservations and honor them. Some of the food was excellent and some disappointing.

Amazing selection of sushi and other food! The service was fast, friendly and knowledgeable! Definitely going back next month when I am in Philly.

If I could give this place 10 stars, I would! Your waitress/bartender was delightful and accommodating, and your food…OMG….so freakin’ amazing – everyone loved every dish and beverage that we ordered!! I can’t stop thinking about the big flavor explosion from those tiny flavor pockets in your wontons, and, I am obsessed with the seasoning that our waitress gave me when I asked for the wasabi furikake that came with my delicious crab fried rice, on the side. Cannot wait to come back!

I came to the Tuna Bar to interview a candidate for an executive job at my company and left a huge fan of the Tuna Bar. We ordered the steak and a variety of raw and cooked fish. Everything was prefect, but the highlight for me was the scallops. A must go to place in Philly.

After only one visit, I know that I will be going back to Tuna Bar very soon. The Tuna Crudo, Old City Roll and Fishtown Roll are all excellent. Regular rolls are well prepared. Did not sample sushi this visit but the dumplings were fresh, firm and delicious. Tuna Bar is in a somewhat out of the way location in Old City at the foot of the Benjamin Franklin Bridge on the corner of Second and Race. The food is innovative, the service is good and the atmosphere is modern and stylish. Most of the seating is for two or at the sushi bar but I noticed that there are a few tables set up for 4 diners.

This restaurant has a very nice vibe but overcharges for common sushi food. For example, they charge $8.00 for one piece of sushi. I lived in Manhattan for years and rarely paid anything near that. Secondly, if you buy a liquor on the rocks, the bill shows up saying you owe more than the menu price “because you ordered it on the rocks”. Top that with thefact the bartender saif it was a 1.5 ounce pour! Yikes! I could get more than that anywhere in Philly or NYC. Won’t be back.

We have eaten sushi all over the world from New York to Barcelona to Tokyo. This is a world class, fantastic sushi restaurant. The quality of the food is excellent. We have eaten here many times and just went for the first time since the lockdown. So happy to return to one of our favorite restaurants. Please support this small business! They are being super careful about mask-wearing and social distancing, much more so than at other restaurants we've been to. The Wentz and Broad St rolls are terrific. Can't get enough of the brussel sprouts and pork dumplings!

We heard great things and had it on our list to try for a while, and it didn’t disappoint. The sushi was great and and atmosphere has an nyc vibe to it. We were also able to sit anywhere in the restaurant and still have access to the happy hour. A must for all sushi lovers.

Excellent sushi rolls, fresh, and served with good soy sauce, wasabi and ginger. My friend had the wonton soup and tuna tartare and was also excellent. The atmosphere is clean, modern, and Japanese tableware. The jasmine blue tea was fragrant and served in a beautiful pot with chic glasses. I understand the happy hour is a great value

Pricey and mediocre sushi. Pricey Signature dishes a bit too complicated and I just could not get what the chef intended to present for me to eat. Would not go back. Nice try though. Salad was good.

Giving added definition to “roll your own,” chef/owner Ken, along with consultant mom Cindy, patiently walked us novice sushi makers through the basics of sushi making artistry. We each rolled 4 different types of roll that shared among all the students, and while I cannot claim that my end product was any near the neighborhood of artistic to behold, they tasted pretty good. All classroom fish items were fresh caught and purchased that morning. It was a fun, engaging and delightful way to spend a summer Sunday evening, with plenty of cheerful company and rounds of saki samples. Ken delivered several boxes of freshly prepared sushi varieties to the table, so that we students could compare our product against his (i.e., how it is supposed to look and taste). Do sign up for the next class.

Great restaurant. Nice atmosphere. Great place to catch up with friends over excellent food. They also offer discount parking which is nice

Tuan Bar is a very welcome addition to the Old City dining scene. Great food and service in a classy yet casual atmosphere. A great experience all around. Sushi as well as all of the other items we have tried on the menu are excellent. The apps alone are worth going for.

I found this spot who had some interesting sushi rolls. So, we went over to check it out. With the wall facing the street being all windows, the inside was flooded with natural light. They had a quite large sushi and bar counter in the middle, with seating all around it. They also had small two-person booth seating on the side as well. Very clean decor, I am glad they didn’t put up any kind of cheap or fake Asian “artworks” on the wall. We ordered an appetizer and side dish to go with our sushi rolls. We chose Creamy Rock Shrimp, Lobster Fried Rice, Sindy Roll and Old City Roll. All in all, they were all very tasty, high quality and we enjoyed them very much. Yes, everything was perfect until we ordered some desserts... Since they didn't have a dessert menu, we ordered Tree Cake and Green Tea Cheesecake based on the description of the dessert that our waitress gave us. This so-called Tree Cake…I call it “rip-off” cake. Our waitress described it as a cake made with almond, egg and butter. When it came out, I was shocked what it really was… If you are familiar with a common and popular sweets in Japan, one of them is called Baumkuchen which is actually a German layered cake. They can be purchased from most bakeries and stores, and not so pricey unless you go to some fancy boutique to get it. The cake we were presented with, in my opinion, was store-bought, and sliced as thinly as possible. For $10, you can buy an entire cake!!! Very disappointing… And on top of that, it was dry (with these thin slices being cut off from the cake, I wonder how long it has been since the cake was first purchased?). And if that is not enough, we were given spoons to eat this…why? I don’t know… Our waitress was very friendly and polite, and we were well taken care of. Everything we had, other than the Tree Cake was great. High quality and tasty, a bit on pricey side, but that comes with the quality. I wish if we made a different choice with the dessert. But then, you live and you learn. If you go there, avoid the tree cake!

Not sure how this place is still in business. After a few good meals here last year, I had a horrible experience for a work lunch. Rude and inattentive service and very mediocre sushi. Far better options in Philadelphia; take this one off the list.

Excellent in every respect. Endamame succulent and with just a hint of wasabi. West Coast Oysters creamy and complemented as opposed to over-powered by the Asian seasoning and sauce. Crab salad looked like coleslaw but tasted heavenly. Vegetable fried rice: good enough to be an entree Sushi and Shashimi up there with anything I've had in Tokyo and Kyoto. Deep house sounds and great ambience.

We enjoyed our cocktails to start. They arrived efficiently which was appreciated vs. the standard ‘waiting for the bartender’. The ceviche was tasty and beautiful. The seared tuna salad was nicely peppered and had a nice complement of spring mix. The Wentz roll was delicious, as was the spicy salmon. The room was well-lit and quiet enough on Saturday evening for conversation.

Tuna bar has a nice and inviting space. The quality of its food, particularly its Japanese dishes, is mediocre. The price of nigiri is exorbitant relative to a nearby Japanese restaurant for no apparent reason. Most concerning, however, was my experience when dining at the bar,. One deserves and expects the same quality of service and experience as anywhere else. I sat close to the end of the bar. I discovered that this location is the bar server's "social club" - his friends or regular customers hovered over me, came, and went at will, and conversed as if I wasn't there. When I complained to the host, there was no goodwill to understand and solve the problem. When I asked the bar server to move to a different bar seat when it was about to be free, he did nothing to prevent others from occupying it, claiming he can’t do it. The unpleasant experience together with the mediocre food quality demotivated me. I have no wish to be served again by the same person.

My husband and I have been here a few times. Great spot for a midweek date. Always fresh sushi and unique cocktails. We prefer to sit at the bar- the service seems to be a little quicker that way. But either way, still a great spot.

Now if I am in the city I can go to Tuna Bar and have some awesome sushi. Already spoiled in NJ with Yokohama. Great selection and great looking space. Tuna tartare was an awesome start to enjoying some house rolls. All fresh and flavorful.

Overpriced "sushi class" with very limited food, and only a smidgeon of the restaurants fare. House sake and cocktail, $125+fees!! I would have loved to sample more of the regular menu and paired it with s variety of sakes. Years ago Philly had a wonderful Sake Tasting Festival, with paired food, for only $75. Thanks for all the fish! Not!

Things got off to a bad start when I learned that corkage was $35/bottle. All of Philly's BYOBs spoiled me, I guess. But I found a prosecco for $36, and that seemed okay enough. We three sat outside; the evening itself was delightful. We ordered sushi, sashimi, and a few rolls to go along with our bubbly, and everything was good; nothing to write home about, but satisfying. Service was excellent. And yes, the prices seemed high to me, but the hour was late and the location was convenient. A return engagement? With better planning, likely not.