The Cauldron Philly

Review summary

1. K

   Kristen

   Washington DC

   2 reviews

   1.0

   2 reviews

   Dined on 7 December 2024

   1. Overall 1
   2. Food 1
   3. Service 1
   4. Ambience 4

   We were really looking forward to this place and booked a table ahead of time. We showed up a few minutes early for our reservation and the woman at the front told me it would be a few minutes. We were finally seated about 15 minutes after our reservation. The place is small, so we had to stand out in the hall. Once we got inside, it was HOT. Like wanting to strip down to as little clothing as possible hot (and it was December). We sat there with no water or service for another 15 minutes until finally our server came around. He looked like he was overworked... as did most of the employees. While the decorations and ambiance were super fun, the unenthusiastic wait staff put a dour on the vibe. Our group of 6 ordered 2 rounds of drinks. It took them at least 30 minutes to bring out all 6 drinks. And it took another 30 for the second round. We were, not by choice, there for an hour and a half. One of my friends has an allergy to gluten, and the drink she ordered had cookies around the rim, which was not noted anywhere on the menu. The bubbling shots were cool to look at, but barely had any alcohol and definitely weren't worth $8 a pop. If you value your time and money, do not waste it going here. There are way better bars/restaurants in the area.
   

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2. B

   Bria

   Philadelphia

   1 review

   5.0

   1 review

   Dined on 30 November 2024

   1. Overall 5
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 5

   Amazing experience! The decor is on theme with everything we love about Harry Potter, and the Christmas decorations were magical! Food was off the charts (try the Brussel Sprouts)!
   

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3. J

   Jennifer

   Sacramento

   11 reviews

   3.0

   11 reviews

   Dined on 30 November 2024

   1. Overall 3
   2. Food 3
   3. Service 4
   4. Ambience 2

   I was really excited about this because it's an incredibly charming gimmick but it was pretty disappointing. The food was okay, the drinks were okay, the server was doing his best to maintain an upbeat vibe while repeating the same scripted jokes over and over (godspeed, dude), but it was really loud and REALLY cramped and this kind of ruined the whole vibe. I couldn't taste pumpkin in the "pumpkin coffee martini" at all, it was just a generic coffee martini, and the flaming cauliflower thing was fun but too salty.
   

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4. L

   Laura

   Philadelphia

   34 reviews

   5.0

   34 reviews

   Dined on 27 November 2024

   1. Overall 5
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 4

   Super cool place! The food was delicious and the drinks were inventive.
   

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5. Q

   Queen

   Philadelphia

   1 review

   1.0

   1 review

   Dined on 24 November 2024

   1. Overall 1
   2. Food 1
   3. Service 1
   4. Ambience 3

   Place was way smaller than advertised me and my guest was smashed at the smallest table possible by the windows. Ordered the cheesesteak empanadas they were hard and the mozzarella sticks were basic along with the three witches which tasted like an unripe peach. My guest ordered chicken fingers which was rubbery and looked like they came out of a microwave .And my main course the chicken sandwich was inedible and I had to send back.
   

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6. T

   Tara

   Philadelphia

   1 review

   3.0

   1 review

   Dined on 15 November 2024

   1. Overall 3
   2. Food 3
   3. Service 3
   4. Ambience 4

   Cool ambience but food and drinks were just ok. They sat our group of 3 at 2 small round tables pushed together. We made it work but definitely cramped. Drink experiences were really neat though with bubbling and smoking effects.
   

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7. M

   Meghan

   VIP

   Philadelphia

   37 reviews

   4.0

   37 reviews

   Dined on 10 November 2024

   1. Overall 4
   2. Food 4
   3. Service 3
   4. Ambience 5

   Drinks were delicious, food was good. Service okay.
   

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8. D

   Darleen

   Richmond

   6 reviews

   2.0

   6 reviews

   Dined on 9 November 2024

   1. Overall 2
   2. Food 1
   3. Service 2
   4. Ambience 1

   Extremely underwhelming. Food was not that good. We had already ordered before we noticed that no one was ordering food but us. The cocktail was good very sweet. It’s just very overpriced finger food to snack on if you’ve had a lot of drinks. I just expected so much more from what the website.  ** In response to the person running the restaurants account. First of all, I said what I said! Use your energy to improve the taste of your food rather than attacking your customers for their opinions. Seasoning has never hurt anybody. It was a special occasion and I could have gone anywhere but I chose your restaurant. As you can see I was there with my family for the first time for my son’s birthday. And we came with our appetites. . I didn’t even ask for the birthday cake I requested because we were all disappointed. I’m not gonna lie, we were expecting a Harry Potter like experience. It’s not that. Nobody is in character or costume. There’s no waving of wands or funny casting of spells. And hey that’s on me, my expectations were too high. It’s just a neighborhood cocktail bar with dim lights , cool decor and fun medieval music. The servers are nice and prompt. But take a closer look at that video. What you saw was us trying to remain optimistic and upbeat for my son. I know he was disappointed. We were laughing at how bad I bombed this year. The food tastes like it all came from a frozen food box. And what was cooked lacked seasoning. There’s nothing special about this franchise.
   

   The Cauldron PhillyResponded on 10 November 2024

   HI I'm not understanding what your point it here or what was underwhelming? You had more than just snack food, You had a tapas sampler, an empanada appetizer and 3 full entrees including mac and cheese with short rib, chicken tenders and the salmon entree. Food is very in line with what you would pay anywhere and in line with current cost of goods. We are an experience based venue. People purchase tickets for an hour an 45 minute experience so that would be why you didn't see everyone else order food. You had 4 shots, what are all the drinks you had? You had plenty of food (much more than just snacks) as you mentioned . I know the ambience is not at all underwhelming , not sure what you were expecting. Your rating of the service is also false, we watched on camera.
   

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9. T

   Tami

   VIP

   Philadelphia

   30 reviews

   3.0

   30 reviews

   Dined on 3 November 2024

   1. Overall 3
   2. Food 3
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 5

   My reservation was messed up, not necessarily their fault. Just a mistake but they made us come back 3 hours later and still no table ready. Food was ok, drinks were watered down. We actually questioned if there was alcohol in them. Decor was amazing
   

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10. M

    Matt

    Houston

    1 review

    3.0

    1 review

    Dined on 31 October 2024

    1. Overall 3
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 4
    4. Ambience 5

    Tables way to close together. Reservation for 2 area, no privacy for conversation
    

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