The Royal Tavern is reborn, evolving, and still one of Philly’s great gastropubs

When regulars talk about the Royal Tavern, there’s an outsize reverence for its burger, a one-time whopper of a half-pound patty piled high with bacon, caramelized onions, smoked Gouda, and long hot peppers. When former chef Mark McKinney tried to swap out those South Philly heaters for milder shishitos in 2019, you’d have thought he had drawn a mustache on Mona Lisa based on social media blowback.

So, let us pray for chef Nic Macri, currently running the kitchen of the Royal Tavern, which rebooted in November — 3½ years later than initially hoped for after it closed during the pandemic shutdown of 2020. Macri wisely brought back the pickled long hots, but then looked at 2024 food costs and dared to split that patty in two.

“To use the quality of beef I wanted — an ethically sourced blend from Happy Valley Meat Co. — it would be a $22 burger and for a neighborhood bar that’s a hard pill to swallow,” said Macri, a former butcher who now offers a Royal single for $15, with the option to supersize.

That was my mistake. The double is a fistful of over-the-top burgerosity whose bold layers of smoke, punchy spice, and wrist-dripping juiciness recall an era when unbridled excess on a bun was always preferred. Perhaps I’ve changed. But eight ounces of such deeply savory patties stacked tall suddenly felt like too much with all these toppings. I should have taken Macri’s cue to scale it back for harmony and balance.

The burger-ati will no doubt debate the details. But if diners are really paying attention to what’s happening at Royal Tavern since its reopening, there’s so much more to appreciate about how owners Stephen Simons and David Frank, who have six other establishments (Triangle Tavern, Royal Izakaya, Cantina Los Caballitos, Cantina Dos Segundos, Royal Boucherie, and Khyber Pass Pub), have reshaped this essential Philly gastropub for 2024.

The royal blue paint job and golden tin ceiling remain from the major makeover the group had given the tavern in late 2019, just months before its unexpectedly long COVID hibernation. But the bar program, which still has a stellar beer list (Oxbow, Ayinger, Bruery, Birra Baladin), now also has zero-proof options, creative (yet not overcomplicated) cocktails, and a thoughtful wine program focused on low-intervention international wines, including a Lebanese orange merwah blend and a South African cinsault.

The burger is still a draw, but hardly the most intriguing item on the menu. How about ... the radish tartare and chocolate cake?

It might seem unexpected to note a vegan dish from Macri, a Southwark and Osteria alum who made his name cutting meat and making charcuterie at his (now closed) La Divisa in the Reading Terminal Market. “But I love vegetables, too,” he says. And the chef has proven to be an eager heir to the vegan bar food legacy launched here by McKinney (now owner of Primary Plant Based), adding creative personal twists that, unsurprisingly, reflect a meat lover’s vegan gaze.

A radish will never achieve the luscious softness of minced filet mignon. But that iconic carnivore indulgence inspired Macri to give daikon a clever spin, simmering the diced root to tenderness in a vegan broth fortified with red miso (for umami), beet powder (for its pretty pink hue), and coconut oil, which clings to the exterior with a fatty richness that amplifies the zing of a traditional tartare dressing. The common addition of anchovy is subbed with an oceanic wave of nori and miso.

The Royal Tavern’s renowned vegan cheesesteak, previously built on seitan, has been completely reengineered with the alternative protein of yuba sheets braised with cocoa, tomato, miso, and vegan Worcestershire. Once shredded, they resemble the familiar chop-chop texture of sliced beef on the griddle, destined to be topped wit fried onions and a yellow streak of convincing vegan Whiz. But lots of bars now make vegan cheesesteaks. Royal Tavern is the first place I’ve encountered a plant-based gyro, a warm house pita rolled around crunchy salad dressed in vegan tzatziki, and the plancha-seared shavings of a gyro-spiced meat loaf made from textured vegetable protein, aromatic with oregano and onions.

That kind of innovative cooking in a neighborhood bar is exactly the kind of spirit that fueled the first wave of Philly gastropubs 20-plus years ago, beginning with Standard Tap and Johnny Brenda’s, the Good Dog Bar, and yes, Royal Tavern, too, which opened in 2002. We’re experiencing another boom now of ambitious bar kitchens, with a next-gen blend of cocktail-centric destinations (Enswell, Andra Hem, Poison Heart, Post Haste) and indie wine bars (Le Caveau, Superfolie) with thoughtful small plate nibbles in the mix. Our all-purpose neighborhood bar scene has also continued to inspire, with notable newcomers like Meeting House and cozy Bad Brother in Fairmount.

The revived Royal Tavern is as good as any of them, benefiting from the well-worn comfort of an established favorite with friendly service and the rare opportunity for an institution to remake itself. Macri’s presence assures handcraft is still at the center of the plate, from delicate choux pastry puffs stuffed with bountiful lumps of sweet crab salad to the outstanding fries (no frozen shortcuts here), and shatteringly crisp wings that benefit from an overnight spice cure, a two-stage cooking process, and a quartet of vibrant sauces (peri-peri and tamarind-habanero were my favorites).

No flavor is spared when it comes to the salads, including an anchovy-forward Caesar with garlicky croutons and a satisfying wedge whose creamy buttermilk blue cheese dressing is scattered with a confetti of pickled red onions, tomatoes, and sweet nubs of candied bacon.

The pantry plate showcases house charcuterie with white bean puree, Birchrun Hills cheese, maple-candied almonds, and freshly brandied cherries. ”Dip the salami in that cherry juice,” suggested our server, who noted my skeptical gaze. “Do I look like an amateur to you?!” The correct answer is no, definitely not. Because she was right, the garlicky salami perking up against the sweet-tart fruit.

Macri’s sausage prowess is always worth indulging, whether it’s the stewed peppers with fennel-scented Italian links, or a special smoked pork and kraut platter that was like a taste of Alsace on East Passyunk. The smoker also plays a key role in what might actually be the Royal Tavern’s best beef option: the smoked beef round sandwich (sorry burger fans!). It’s cured for 15 days before being slathered in mustard and spice, then smoked to a rosy-hued tenderness over apple wood. For the Toronto-born Macri, it’s a collage of taste memories triangulating Montreal smoked meat, Baltimore pit beef, and an Arby’s sandwich. Served with maple Dijonnaise and horseradish onions, it’s also the latest star in Philly’s current roast beef revival (see also, Meeting House).

The impulse to riff on nostalgia is ever-present. The fried fluke protruding like a panko-crusted plank from its potato bun sandwich is a nod to an oversize pork cutlet sandwich in the Midwest. The cracker-crisp roast chicken is an homage to one of Macri’s most cherished Canadian restaurant destinations, the Swiss Chalet chain, down to his copycat version of the Chalet brown gravy finished with the zippy tang of barbecue sauce.

But the biggest surprise is this former butcher’s talent for satisfying desserts, tapping junk food Americana for a peanut caramel pudding tribute to the PayDay candy bar. Even more eye-opening: a seemingly mundane but stunningly wonderful chocolate cake whose origin spark is the chef’s affinity for supermarket freezer desserts.

Macri elevates his version by lovingly crafting every detail — the impressively moist chocolate sponge cake, the icing of chocolate silk that’s laboriously whipped in stages over 45 minutes. That’s when it’s ready to be piped atop each cake before service in meticulously fluted peaks scattered with tiny dark chocolate pearls.

“Why not just give that icing a quick comb-over and be done with it,” a visiting chef pal asked Macri the other day. To which Macri replied: “Dude, that doesn’t look like the chocolate cake I grew up with. It’s nice to see the extra effort.”

Even if this Royal Tavern is slightly different from the one its regulars grew up with, the fact that this standby is in the hands of people still willing to give that extra effort is welcome news, indeed.

937 E. Passyunk Ave., Philadelphia,19147, 215-389-6694; royaltavern.com

Menu served daily, 4 p.m. to 1 a.m.

Not wheelchair accessible.

There are few obvious gluten-free options, but some modifications can be made.