Bud & Marilyn’s

It was the first night in Philadelphia. I have not been back to this city in years. I was looking forward to the great restaurants that can be found all over the place. I’ve heard good things about Bud & Marilyn’s. Let’s try it!

I was expecting a decent crowd for a Friday night. The hostess said the wait would be around 45 minutes. I gave my number and they text you once your table is ready. We headed to the bar for a few cocktails.

They offer a menu of about 10 house cocktails and a couple non-alcoholic drinks as well. I ordered the Radio Days – a sangria-style cocktail made with vodka, red wine, lemon juice, and cinnamon. Yum. We also had the Wile E Coyote – raspberry, lemon, and ginger ale.

After about 40 minutes, somebody came by to check on us and check the status of our table. We were led to a high table behind the bar. We asked if we could have another table in the corner of the dining room and he led us there right away with no problems.

We started off with some appetizers. The Hot Buttered Buns were tempting and we decided on the Nashville Hot Buns made with hot fried chicken, little pickles, ranch, and a pickle brine slaw.

The chicken was tender and crispy. The slaw and pickles added a nice crunchy texture to the soft buttered bun.

I had to try the Crispy Cheese Curds! Curds of Wisconsin cheddar battered in a light batter and deep fried, served with a smoked guajillo chile salsa and burnt scallion ranch. Yum!

The Roasted Beet Salad with pistachio romesco, grilled avocado, grapefruit, starburst radish, arugula, and toasted almonds was very good.

After finishing the appetizers and salad, it was time for the main entrees.

I ordered the Seared Sea Scallops with leeks, pancetta, shaved brussel sprouts, castle valley corn cakes, and smoked orange dressing. The scallops were cooked perfectly with a great sear on them. The dish had some great flavor due to that smoked orange dressing. Don’t expect crazy enormous portions here. With a couple appetizers, they were just right.

The Creekstone Skirt Steak had warm artichokes, castelvetrano olives, fingerling potato, and hazelnut romesco. It was cooked a nice medium-rare. It was good, but we just wished there was more meat.

We were plenty full. Our super nice waiter checked in and asked if I would like to see the dessert menu. I took a sneak peak of their menu online beforehand and there was one dessert that caught my attention. We actually ended up ordering two different cakes. We were warned that they were huge, but we still had to try them.

The extremely decadent Chocolate Maltball cake was a moist chocolate cake with milk chocolate frosting and crushed malt balls. Yes, it was a huge. Yes, it was awesome.

I had my heart set on the Funfetti – vanilla cake, white buttercream frosting, strawberry milk crumble, and rainbow sprinkles. I’ll admit it was exciting to see a childhood favorite on their menu. It was yummy and I definitely had a nostalgic moment while eating it. I could only make my way through about half of it before having it wrapped up.

Bud & Marilyn’s did not disappoint. I thoroughly enjoyed the good cocktails, tasty food, and great service in a dim laid back atmosphere. Definitely make a reservation or just sit back and enjoy a coupe cocktails while you wait for your table.

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Bud & Marilyn’s
1234 Locust Street
Philadelphia, PA 19107
(215) 546-2220
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