Nestled in Headhouse Square, Bloomsday, a female-led wine bar, restaurant and bottle shop serves up some tasty food and beverage items—and even tastier vibes.
The bright blue door-adorned venue opened in 2019, and was soon named “Best Wine Bar” by ‘Philadelphia Magazine,’ but there’s a lot more than just vino on the menu here.
Bloomsday seems to encompass a few auras in one package. It’s dimly lit with candles and other fixtures, but the forward-facing windows add brightness to the space. The decor is eclectic and homey, and the bar itself is chic and comfortable, but the vibe overall is a mixture: Part cozy mountain-side escape, part stylish New York locale that you would see somewhere like Brooklyn. Somehow it all fits in to a perfect Philly package.
There’s a big couch, a fireplace, miscellaneous tea plates and mirrors adorning the sides and the walls, and even some tables set up outside for nicer weather.
But the comfortability is only just the start here. Bloomsday’s menu is full of seasonal specials focusing on fresh and local influences. As you see on the venue’s official site, their statement, “We like to play with our food”, rings true through both dinner and brunch service, with the former being offered Wednesday through Saturday, and the latter Wednesday through Sunday.
The dinner menu currently is using some popular summertime ingredients—think juicy tomatoes in an Heirloom tomato and burrata salad, or in a must-try tomato galette baked with béchamel and whipped ricotta. Or, opt for other timely ingredients like corn, sunflower seeds and a cilantro-lime dressing in their Summer Salad. There’s also a pimento cheese with a house-made honey accompaniment that seals the deal that this spot knows how to make and bake its own flavor.
Other current starters span lemon pepper wings served with a Birchrun blue cheese dressing, baba ganoush with strawberry and herbs, spicy crab dip served with toast points, plus some classic fan-favorites like truffle fries and oysters.
The menu also includes some preserved options like branzino, codfish and anchovy, but some of the real show-stoppers come with the entrees. Sticking with the seasonality theme, the elote risotto is made with corn, roasted poblano, pickled jalapeno, parmesan and pepita—and it tastes as indulgent as it sounds. There’s also a seafood-focused option, the Spanish Cods and Clams, that incorporates Silver cod, Littleneck clams, potato, chorizo, corn, leek and sherry butter.
Some classic options span steak frites (served with those truffle fries if you didn’t get the chance to indulge in them as an appetizer), a dry-aged burger served on a house-made sesame bun, plus another tomato-clad option dubbed the Sungold pappardelle, served with Sungold tomatoes, zucchini, eggplant, ricotta and basil.
The dinner menu as a whole ranges in what it offers, with a little bit of something for everyone. Just expect every dish to be elevated with a little addition of some Bloomsday zest, and you’ll likely find one of your new favorite bites in the city.
Brunch sings a bit of the same, yet a different tune with the additions of the quiche of the day, salmon gravlax on a house-made bagel, the croiffle, aka a ‘waffled’ croissant treat made with blueberry pomegranate compote and lemon curd mascarpone cream, and the cookies and cream brulee made with a gluten-free chocolate cookie crumble and chocolate chip biscotti.
There are some fan-favorite typical brunch treats being served like breakfast sandwiches (one aptly named the Really Friggin Good Shroom Sandwich and the other, the Kickstarter Sandwich) on the docket as well. But the earlier service’s stand out on the weekend is really its pastries (which rotate daily.)
Bloomsday also indulges in Happy Hour (Wednesday through Saturday from 4:30 to 6 p.m.), and while there during this time, locals can find discounted bites and sips spanning a Lebanon bologna sandwich, house citrus-cured olives, or even a tasting menu of all of the HH bites, with some drinks included, titled “The Works” for $50 a person.
Speaking of sips, another central pull of this Headhouse Square hotspot is obviously the wine program. The venue hosts an award-winning wine club, the bottle shop features an ever-changing selection of natural wines from small producers, and, the Bloomsday team hosts monthly wine dinners and ongoing collaborations with value-aligned partners nationwide. And there’s also plenty of variations of vino to sip on while enjoying your meal.
The bar and restaurant also hosts a robust cocktail program spanning a variety of cocktails, plus beer and cider. A tip? The house-made ginger beer is said to “taste like heaven”—and we can confirm that that is the case. So, opt for a Moscow Mule, or indulge in any of the other specialties being served up here.
On top of regular service, Bloomsday also hosts quite a few events throughout the year with a schedule and list of “experiences” available via their website.
Essentially, this venue is a hub for flavorful food that you’ll return for again and again, drinks that have you savor every sip, and just good conversation all around. You can tell when walking through the door that the staff and community adore the atmosphere here, all you have to do to see for yourself is book a table.
To find out more about Bloomsday Cafe (414 S 2nd St.) visit bloomsdayphilly.com