Darling Jack’s Tavern is Philly’s prettiest new bar

The time was 2010 and restaurateurs Marcie Turney and Val Safran were eight years into building an empire at 13th and Sansom Streets, in the heart of what had been Philadelphia’s red-light district. The couple opened their first shop, the home-decor boutique Open House, in 2002, then added Mexican BYOB Lolita, more retail stores (Grocery, Verde), the Indian BYOB Bindi, and fully liquor-licensed Barbuzzo.

“We’re addicted to opening,” Turney told The Inquirer at the time.

Turney and Safran’s portfolio has expanded and contracted in the years since. And while they’ve marked other milestones — adopting their daughter, settling a lawsuit, adding airport outposts, becoming landlords to Cartesian Brewing in South Philly — their last big, splashy opening was Bud & Marilyn’s in 2015.

“We haven’t opened something [streetside] in eight years,” Turney said. “At one point we were doing it every 18 months.”

The pair is back at it again with Darling Jack’s Tavern, which launched in early May at 104 S. 13th St., the former home of Lolita. The project has been in the works since 2019, but was put on hold by the pandemic.

Unassuming from the street, Darling Jack’s is immersive on the inside. Interior-design hounds will revel in all the details once their eyes adjust to the low lighting: red-velvet booths illuminated by brass lamps; green glazed brick decorated with landscape paintings in gilded frames; a wine red-and-cream-colored Calacatta Viola marble bar; barstools upholstered in a checkerboard fabric; cane, wood, and wicker accents; a linoleum floor and a lacquered beadboard ceiling.

Design is always a big part of Safran-Turney restaurants. For Darling Jack’s, they teamed up again with Bucks County native and Philly-based interior designer Katie Rohrer, whose past work includes Bud & Marilyn’s, Irwin’s, Louie Louie, and Double Knot. They broke through a wall to connect the Lolita space with a former art gallery next-door to create a dining room and a back bar, both of which feature an entirely different array of colors, textures, and patterns.

“I like how you can’t really see in [here] and then you open the door and you’re like, ‘Oh!’” Turney said. “We like casual throwback restaurants, timeless, a little bit updated with design and food — that’s our sweet spot.”

Despite the meticulously curated decor, the food menu is casual, ranging from gochujang-glazed lamb ribs to clams and spaghetti to tavern-style pizza (”thinner crust, party-cut. It’s not gonna fill you up”). Prices are under $30, save for two large-plate options meant for sharing.

There’s no singular inspiration beyond the “easy, go-out-have-a-cocktail-with-friends kind of experience.” “We have all kinds of tavern stuff,” Turney said. Happy hour (Monday through Friday, 4 to 7 p.m.) offerings are even more laid-back: chips and dip, deviled eggs topped with Benton’s ham, smash burgers, Mighty Bread toasts, and a personal-pan “pizzette,” all for $8 or less. Food arrives on vintage plates.

Besides beer and wine, there’s a pared-down selection of cocktails both old-school and new, plus three martinis. They’re mixed and served in mini cobbler shakers, so you can refresh your own drink.

With 75 seats, plus 20 more outside when the weather’s good, Turney said she’s ready for Center City crowds. She’s encouraged so far, even if the office worker set has thinned out a bit.

“When you see someone come down with the Convention Center badges on, you know it’s good, because it’s a Monday and all of a sudden you’re just full and you’re like, ‘What just happened?’ You see them all coming. And that is what we’ve been missing.”

Darling Jack’s is open for dinner at 5 to 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, till 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Brunch is served Saturday and Sunday 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Lunch is in the works. 104 S. 13th St., 215-546-4200, darlingjacks.com