Percy Is Fishtown’s Newest Destination for Weekday Brunch and Late-Night Vinyl
“What do we like and what does a community need? How can we create something that we would want to go to and that we would want to share with our family and friends? That’s ultimately the goal.”
That’s exactly what restaurateur Seth Kligerman asked himself when he and his BIKCG Hospitality Group partners Kyle Horne and Will Landicho decided to open Percy on Front Street, on the ground floor of Fishtown Urby Apartments. Percy is the latest of their “based in Kensington, connected globally” concepts, following Forîn cafe, and it’s a spacious full-service cafe, restaurant, bar, and sound lounge with elegant midcentury tones and indoor and outdoor seating, open seven days a week — just in time for the warm days ahead.
Kligerman is a long-term Fishtown resident, and Horne lives nearby in NoLibs, and both have been in constant conversation with local creatives, artists, and businesses to understand what the neighborhood needs. And they found that while Fishtown is often the center of the action in the city these days, there’s been a gap in more sophisticated all-day cafe settings.
Percy fits right in the nexus of Front Street and Cecil B. Moore Avenue near day-to-night restaurant neighbors like Middle Child Clubhouse, Front Street Cafe, and Suraya. And Kligerman hopes the restaurant can be the “good energy spot to get a nice drink and a good bite without having to stay out till two in the morning.” He sees 20-something’s coming in for cafe co-working, residents and visitors from the 200 apartments above dropping by as they start (or end) their day, spillover Forîn regulars checking out live music, and his parents hanging out from time to time, too.
Here’s what to expect when the restaurant opens on May 9, beginning with brunch service. Dinner service is scheduled to begin on May 22, and the lounge is set to open on May 29.
The Resy Rundown
Percy
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Why We Like It
It’s an ideal neighborhood spot that you can visit from day to night, with everything from weekday brunch to late-night music, from the same team behind Forin Cafe. -
Essential Dishes
A Philly special breakfast platter; ricotta pancakes; chopped cheese on a housemade brioche bun; Cobb salad; and barramundi. -
Must-Order Drinks
The Surfin, a sure-to-be-summer-hit with rum, amaro, and caramelized banana syrup, and local wines and beers.
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Who and What It’s For
Anyone and everyone who enjoys good food, great drinks, and ideal vibes, day and night. -
How to Get In
Reservations drop three weeks in advance at 12 midnight. -
Fun Fact
Percy is named for a soundtrack album by The Kinks, an English rock bands from the ‘60s.
1. Percy’s design inspirations are wide and varied.
Percy is named after a soundtrack album by The Kinks, one of Kligerman and Horne’s favorite English rock bands from the ’60s, and is the jumping off point for not only their business partnership but the restaurant’s look and feel. Case in point: A hallway gallery in the restaurant celebrates the duo’s musical tastes and gritty artful sensibility with vintage and psychedelic concert posters ranging from Max Roach and The New York Dolls to Woodstock and jazz greats.
While Forîn’s spaces are minimalist in design, Percy doesn’t hold back in its 4,000 square foot space. The interior design blends local and European styles, incorporating modern sculptural pieces, soft textures, and circular motifs. That means bold color blocking and lots of polished chrome. Suspended Tranche chandeliers made from hand-blown glass resemble Collins’ glasses and anchor the ceilings. Gold, shiny wall sconces and lights come from two legendary lighting designer’s collections: Finland’s Paavo Tynell and Spain’s Miguel Mila. Bright blues, maud pinks, and orange accents play off the poster wall while deep red and brown tones soak up the natural light. There’s a centerpiece wrap-around teak bar, inspired by a late-1970’s coffee shop in Austria, and black-and-white checkered tiles unify the entire floor.
“It’s beautiful, as if Parc and Continental had a child,” says Kligerman.
Shawn Hausman Design, renowned for iconic Philadelphia Stephen Starr restaurants, is the man behind this vision while Jonathan Cammisa developed Percy’s brand identity, including the friendly “under the El pigeon” logo. Other local artists and Percy collaborators include Ian Chapin, who worked on Middle Child Clubhouse and created Percy’s custom light fixtures and a circular DJ booth in the sound lounge. Vases made by Cloud9 Clay next door to Forîn on Frankford Avenue and flowers from Walter Pine in Queen Village are other cute details to watch for.
2. It’ll be open every day, and there’s not a bad seat in the place.
When it opens, Percy will be open every day from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. for breakfast and lunch. Dinner will be served Thursday through Saturday from 5 to 10 p.m., along with a full bar and a sound lounge that’s open until midnight.
While the daytime menu will be concise, with standards and occasional specials, dinner will fluctuate more with the seasons. The goal is for guests to be able to eat something different with every visit. And there will be easy-drinking beers and approachable wines next to more technical high-end cocktails for those who want to nerd out with bartenders. Stay tuned for a late-night limited menu with lighter bites soon.
Guests entering via Front Street will find a walk-up café offering housemade pastries, bread, and coffee to-go. There is also plenty of seating throughout the natural light-filled space for a sit-down meal. Want to post up solo at the bar or near the front windows? Those are walk-in friendly, and have the full menu on offer. They’ve also got high-top tables overlooking Front Street, group booths, a large bar area, or a table in the first-come, first-served outdoor patio.
3. Housemade items and sentimentality fuel Percy’s globally inspired menu.
Such an ambitious day-to-night restaurant calls for a chef with experience, and the team has found that with executive chef Jack Smith. Smith has been on Kligerman’s radar since working in Rittenhouse Square years ago, and was most recently working with chef Eli Collins at a.kitchen+bar. Fans of Rittenhouse’s a.kitchen+bar will be pleased to see Smith carry through the same reverence for housemade products and local purveyors at Percy.
“The food that you’ll see on the menu is pulled from my cooking experience or significant life memories like cooking with my dad making breakfast, through my culinary school education, and time spent abroad,” says Smith.
“There’s a big level of creativity that speaks to the design and what we’re going for at Percy,” says Kligerman of Smith’s menu. “We’re delighted by what he’s already come up with.”
Smith is especially excited to incorporate cherished family recipes to Percy, while also integrating global flavor profiles from his extensive travels, using ingredients from local and regional purveyors. Examples include greens and peppers from Campo Rosso Farm in MontCo, fruits and vegetables from Lancaster Farm Fresh Cooperative, custom burger blends and meats from KP’s Fine Meats in Port Richmond, and specialty fish like barramundi and steelhead trout from Samuels Seafood.
4. And here’s a sneak peek at some of Percy’s signature dishes.
Smith’s family-inspired mandel bread, a Jewish-style biscotti with golden raisins, walnuts, and cocoa powder, is a perfect coffee add-on (or post-dinner sweet treat).
A Philly special breakfast platter comes with two eggs any style on Pullman bread with jam, home fries, and your choice of KP’s bacon or a housemade duck l’orange-style sausage link.
His dad’s famous ricotta pancakes are for those with a sweet tooth as they’re topped with a cinnamon sugar whipped compound butter. “They’re fluffy and sweet, almost like dessert,” says Smith.
The chopped cheese is a play on the iconic Harlem bodega snack but also a nod to his time in Denver — oddly enough, the first place he ate a chopped cheese while watching the Birds play. Cooper Sharp cheese is folded into a KP’s butcher blend burger patty for a nice grilled cheese crust that’s also gooey inside. For toppings, giardiniera gets turned into a relish-like consistency and housemade hot sauce becomes a spicy creamy aioli. The burger is served on a housemade brioche bun. “It should have a lot of bright heat and acid to cut through the rich, cheesy patty,” explains Smith.
When it comes to the classic Cobb salad, Smith opted for a lighter, finessed take that keeps that recognizable circular plating. Cupped butterhead lettuce is layered and tossed with lemon olive oil, some salt, and pickled shallots, then topped with saltwater preserved Golden Roma tomatoes, bacon crumble, blue cheese vinaigrette (without all the dairy), shaved cured egg yolk, and chives. It’s available during lunch and dinner.
The barramundi with cilantro and charred onion curry is Smith’s attempt at recreating a fish head curry made from fish scraps he loved in Singapore and his time cooking at Uchi. In his version, familiar big, bold flavors and aromatics (toasted spices, ginger, cilantro) come together with braised greens under a crispy fish filet.
“It’s really satisfying, texturally, and appealing to the eyes,” adds Smith, who explains the broth will be devoid of color but still vibrant with umami flavor.
5. The bar program is an all-star lineup of Pennsylvania wine, beer, and spirits.
In keeping with the food menu’s locality, Percy will offer a Pennsylvania-proud bar program. Haven’t visited Galen Glen Winery located past Allentown? Their wines will be available by the glass, as will Fishtown and Kensington neighborhood wineries Mural City Cellars and Pray Tell Wines.
“We have forged such great relationships with so many distilleries, breweries, and wineries in Philly and Pennsylvania,” says Smith.
Mural City has long been a friend of the team as they and Forîn opened their original locations in 2021, while newcomer Pray Tell has already won over Kligerman with their Gamay. Galen Glen, “one of the best Pennsylvania wines” according to Kligerman, may also host future on-site tastings and debut a special collaboration wine.
Aside from regional wines, local breweries like Carbon Copy in West Philly, Kensington’s Sacred Vice, and Troegs from Hershey are exciting additions.
Specialty cocktails include the spirit-forward Never Too Much with rye, applejack, maple, and bitters and the sure-to-be-summer-hit, Surfin, with rum, amaro, caramelized banana syrup, honey wine, and lime.
6. Post-dinner drinks and live music await in the vintage sound lounge.
With Philadelphia’s storied music history and Forîn’s reputation for music curation, it’s only fitting that Percy carries on with nightlife entertainment, too. Behind a draped curtain, you’ll find a cozy, intimate listening room-esque lounge with Dunbar plush furniture, a cabin-chic fireplace, a circular DJ booth, and movie theatre-quality Altec Lansing speakers. Picture Miami’s Bey Bey and Medium Cool meets Viejo San Juan’s La Grieta.
Thursday through Saturday, the sound lounge will also feature a late-night menu. On Saturday nights from 10 p.m. until midnight, live DJs (both local and international) will spin sets, making it an ideal spot to let loose on the dance floor or cozy up to loved ones.
Whatever experience you’re seeking, chances are high Percy will be able to deliver.
Percy is open daily for breaksfast and lunch from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. and for dinner Thursday through Saturday beginning at 5 p.m.
Alisha Miranda is a food and travel journalist and #LatinxIndustryNight cultural producer based in Philadelphia. Follow her at @alishainthebiz. Follow Resy, too.
