After a preview season late last summer, one outdoor dining destination is making its way back to the City of Brotherly Love, and more specifically, the Delaware River Waterfront. 2021 will mark the first official year for The Garden at Cherry Street Pier, which will be taking orders and reservations this spring and summer in the city.
The outdoor oasis comes from hospitality giant FCM, and you can say the group has the outside venue space layout down with Parks on Tap, Lola’s Garden and Morgan’s Pier on their roster.
“FCM Hospitality is excited to bring The Garden back to Cherry Street Pier for an entire full season in 2021,” said FCM Hospitality Owner Avram Hornik in a statement. “Following our recent openings for Morgan’s Pier, Lola’s Garden and Parks on Tap Cherry Blossom Edition, we are back for a full spring, summer and fall on the Delaware River with an outdoor dining oasis that is your new go-to location for an impromptu staycation, family afternoon or evening date night. We have created an entire pop-up experience on the waterfront that allows patrons to practice physical distancing while soaking up the vibes, views, sips and bites that made this one of Philadelphia’s top new outdoor dining destinations last summer.”
This new seasonal destination has the vibe of a beer garden, but the background of the river and the Benjamin Franklin Bridge to add to the open-air styled space. According to the release, The Garden at Cherry Street Pier features socially distanced seating for 250 guests with two, four and six guests at a time with cafe tables and picnic benches. Seating inside The Garden offers a number of picturesque options, including seating facing the gardens and trees, seating with views of the Bridge, and more private tucked away seating with perfect views adjacent to the water and the boats docked just a few feet away in the river. The Garden is located at the rear of Cherry Street Pier, and patrons should enter through the main entrance and pass-by the pods and artist studios.
Reservations are required, with limited availability for walk-ins if room permits. The Garden seating will operate like a traditional outdoor beer garden, with guests then seating themselves.
Now onto the fun part… the food and drinks.
Coming from the kitchen, guests can expect snacks and light bites in the form of sandwiches, salads, dips, snacks—plus pastries and breads from Lost Bread Co. The opening menu will consist of warm Lost Bread Co. pretzels and spicy mustard, jalapeno dip with corn tortilla chips, burrata with broccoli rabe, Calabrian chili and a pretzel crostini, a chopped salad, grain salad, chilled soba noodle salad, smoked turkey wrap, blackened cauliflower wrap, Cherry Street hoagie, kid’s hot dog, and more. Then on the spirited side of the menu, notable selections include beer created at FCM Hospitality’s Craft Hall by Mainstay Independent Brewing (Poplar Pils, Constitution Lager, Meander Pale Ale, Bowline IPA, King Laird Weiss and the Park Pale Ale just to name a few), plus new drafts from the recently opened Two Locals Brewing owned by two brothers from the city.
On top of the brews, the bar menu will also consist of popular options including Bud Light Seltzers, Angry Orchard Cider, Coastal Watermelon Wine Selzer and Truly Iced Tea. For cocktails, look for the Cherry Street Sour, River Sunset and Frozen Margarita, while wine selections will include Rose, White and Prosecco. For those looking to cool off without the added spirits, non-alcoholic beverages will include lemonade, Red Bull (regular, sugar free, tropical and watermelon) and more.
The release also states that new for this first-full season, The Garden will operate with contactless ordering using QR codes available at all tables. Guests can place their order using their smartphone to access the online ordering system. This year, a Garden team member will deliver all food and beverages to the table, alleviating unnecessary walking around from guests. Due to the new systems, credit cards are preferred, however, in-person ordering will be offered for cash-paying guests, and guests without a smartphone. Also, starting this year, The Garden will also offer private events that follow the capacity of current state and city safety regulations. Event inquiries can be made at cherrystreetgarden.com.
“The Garden at Cherry Street and our other Waterfront properties provide outdoor and socially distanced places to safely and comfortably enjoy food and drink while staying hyperlocal,” added Hornik in his statement. “The Garden at Cherry Street Pier, Morgan’s Pier and Craft Hall are also all designed to bring attention to the Waterfront’s amazing assets and activities. Stay tuned for more coming from FCM Hospitality on the Philadelphia Waterfront. The season is just beginning, the weather is just starting to warm up, and we have more really exciting news to share very soon. Stay tuned.”
For more information and hours of operation, visit cherrystreetgarden.com
