Continental Midtown

I'm pulling this visit to Stephen Starr's Continental Midtown location from the way back file...because it was warm outside at the time when we ate on Continental's roof deck. Ahh, warmth and sunshine.

Continental Midtown is Stephen Starr's global tapas and martini lounge themed restaurant with olive shaped light fixture, car seat inspired booths (looking a little worn these days) on the first floor, swinging seats on the second floor, and a free standing fireplace on the roof deck. Trendy or cheesy? It's your pick.

This only makes my second visit to Continental, and I believe the first visit a few years ago was under a similar situation - need a place to kill some time and grab a snack before heading elsewhere. And I'm almost certain that I ordered the exact same thing. This is what happens when menus never change (a bad thing if you like variety, or a good thing if you have a favorite), your diet limits your choices, and kitchens are not flexible.

The mixed drink come with a shaker of extra drink, but since the glasses and shakers are so small, it's really like you're getting one average to large drink instead of what looks like two drinks.I wanted to order the summer rolls without the meat, but the kitchen could not or would not make the rolls to order (an inflexibility at about half of the restaurants I visit that serve summer rolls, which I don't understand, because they're the simplest, fastest things to make), so I ordered the tofu-chive dumplings. The chili oil and sweet soy sauce covering the plate and the four garlic and tofu-filled dumplings packs enough kick to make my taste buds happy, and makes a nice small snack.I shared the massive bird's nest-like pile of shoestring french fries with another, and while it sure does look large, these skinny fries with a side of Chinese mustard sauce leave you wondering if you even ate a plate of fries. I would love to know how many potatoes actually are used to make a plate of Continental fries. One? Two? Besides not being filling (if shared), these are the most awkward things to eat. They don't stay on a fork easily, they're hard to grab with your hands, and since you grab or stab a mini jumble instead of one long fry, getting them in your mouth is a bit of a challenge. Basically, it's very hard to eat these using good table manners.

If you want to fill up for a bargain, though, order a salad. They're huge.

I was a little disappointed that the roof deck view out to the city was obscured by walls and plants, and that only half of the roof deck was was truly open air, but I guess when the weather is inclement you'd be glad that half of the roof deck is under a roof. The best of both, I guess.

You can file Continental under another Stephen Starr establishment that serves perfectly fine food, but really doesn't do anything for me. I think Starr is really good at creating restaurants with themes that excite, but food that only just pleases. And there's nothing wrong with that.

Continental Midtown
1801 Chestnut St., Philadelphia, PA, 19103
215-567-1800