PHLReview

photo credit: PHOTO CREDIT: GAB BONGHI

Double Knot image
8.4

Double Knot

JapaneseBakery/Cafe

Center CityMidtown Village

$$$$Perfect For:Big GroupsBirthdaysCorporate CardsDate NightDrinking Good CocktailsEating At The BarImpressing Out of TownersSpecial OccasionsUnique Dining Experience
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It would be a mistake to call the basement izakaya at Double Knot a secret, just like it would be to assume that your friends will be impressed when you take Lincoln Drive instead of I-76. But even though most people already know about the sushi dungeon downstairs, it still feels like a secret when you’re eating here—a secret that happens to include some seriously good food.

Double Knot is a Japanese spot in Midtown Village, and it’s really two restaurants in one. There’s an all-day cafe on the main floor that you could watch on a time-lapse and never catch a moment when it’s not busy. While it’s usually packed with people eating rice and noodle bowls and working on laptops, at 5pm the lights go down and it turns into more of a bar scene, but with a slightly different menu than what you’ll find at the izakaya below. And that’s really where you want to be

Downstairs at Double Knot is a different world—one that you might not know existed if you just walked in off the street looking for a cup of coffee or the free Xfinity wifi signal. Guarded by a host who will make sure you have a reservation before sending you down the dark back staircase, the dining room is flooded each night with people who are all celebrating something—whether it’s a 30th birthday or finally succeeding in making a perfect playlist for your ride to the Shore. But if you’re here on a date or with someone you want to sit next to and have an uninterrupted two-hour conversation with, the long sushi bar up front is the perfect place to enjoy an excellent tasting menu that’s worth being the main attraction of your night. 

Double Knot image

photo credit: Neal Santos

While you can also order a la carte, the $65, 10-dish tasting menu will get you the best variety from the huge menu. As soon as you put your order in, it’s like the lights dim and the staff begins a synchronized ballet of dishes that makes you feel like you’re the only person in the room. The minute you finish your two thin pieces of raw salmon topped with soy ginger and spicy ponzu, that plate is whisked away and replaced with a bowl of two perfectly chewy edamame dumplings in a light sake broth. 

There are so many standouts during a meal here that you’ll find yourself spilling the not-so-secret to anyone who will listen. Like the shrimp tempura taco topped with chili and radish slaw that we’d climb a moderately steep hill for, or the slew of robatayaki skewers, each better than the one that came before. But those two things are just a small part of Double Knot’s extensive menu—their full offering ranges from sushi to larger plates like Tokyo hot chicken and nori crusted filet , and every dish is so good that you’ll want to order two tasting menus just for yourself next time.

Double Knot image

photo credit: Neal Santos

As much as you may want it to be, the basement at Double Knot is far from confidential. The food is just too good to have stayed in the group text, which means that reservations here–especially on the weekends– aren’t easy to come by. And although you probably won’t be able to walk in on a Saturday night and grab a table last minute, getting a reservation here gives you the kind of rush you normally only get when your friend says, “I need to tell you something but you have to promise you won’t tell anyone.” Except at Double Knot, you won’t be able to keep that promise, but that’s kind of the point.

Food Rundown

Salmon Sashimi

Two perfect pieces of salmon topped with soy ginger and a light, spicy ponzu sauce. It’ll only last a few seconds, but if you were Adam Sandler from that movie Click, they’re the few seconds you’d rewind to over and over again.

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Hamachi Sashimi

Actually, if you have that magic remote, you might as well just use it to come back for this hamachi as well. It’s topped with serrano and a shallot-ginger relish, and it’s fantastic.

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Robatayaki

The robatayaki section on Double Knot’s menu is full of skewers that will make you wonder why everything isn’t served on a stick, but our two favorites are the buttery swordfish belly, and the tender, sweet ribeye scallion.

Shrimp Tempura Taco

Fried shrimp on a tiny soft shell topped with radish, avocado, and chilis. We could happily come here and order ten of these and nothing else.

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Edamame Dumplings

Truffle can often take over a dish and make all the other flavors completely disappear, but that’s not the case with these dumplings. The sake truffle broth allows for the filling of the dumpling to be the star of the show, so each bite into the tiny pods is garlicky, oniony, and subtly sweet.

Broiled Seabass

There are a lot of things on this menu worth getting, but the seabass is one of the few that we suggest you skip. Not because it’s bad—just because there are too many other things more worth your time.

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FOOD RUNDOWN

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