My wife and I just celebrated our 30th wedding anniversary. We’ve built a great life together. Each year on our anniversary we like to either travel somewhere new or visit a restaurant we’ve never been to before. This year we weren’t sure where we wanted to go, so we asked our daughter, who is a foodie, for her suggestions. She suggested several places in Philadelphia, but the one she felt we would enjoy the most was the Parc Restaurant.

I made the reservation two weeks before our anniversary through the OpenTable app. Our reservation was set for 6:30, so we left our house early, knowing we would encounter rush hour traffic during the week. We were able to find parking very close to the restaurant, and surprisingly, we arrived early. We checked in and were told that our table would be ready in a few minutes. We decided to go to the bar to have a glass of wine while we waited. When we walked over to the bar (which was crowded), we were able to find two seats; so we sat down and ordered our wine. Sitting there, we both noticed that the restaurant had the feel of an older, classy French restaurant. The atmosphere was bustling but not too loud. We sipped our wine and reminisced about the last 30 years, feeling lucky and grateful. After 20 minutes my phone alerted me that our table was ready.

We went to the hostess stand and let them know who we were. The host, Lisa, pointed to where our table was and asked if it was alright. That specific table was located near the entry door, and I could tell my wife was less than thrilled with the location. I asked Lisa if she could find a better located table as it was our anniversary and we wanted everything to be special. Lisa immediately changed our table and gave us a table that was in the middle of the restaurant, near a window. The restaurant is located across from Rittenhouse Square, a small, picturesque park, so the views were great. We sat down, and the waiter, Paul, came over and asked if we wanted another drink. Paul also explained the specials and let us know his favorites. Paul left us to discuss our options and returned with our drink refills. We asked a few questions and then were ready to order. My wife ordered the Lobster Risotto, and I ordered the Pepper Jack Strip Steak. While we waited for our meals, we were able to people-watch out the window in the park, relax and talk about upcoming holiday plans. After a while (not too long or too short), our meals were delivered. Everything looked amazing. My wife and I were both happy we didn’t fill up too much on the warm bread that was served early in the night. We took our time and really enjoyed the meal and the surroundings.

Neither of us could finish our meals, as the portions were very generous. The staff cleared our table and asked if we wanted coffee or dessert. Usually, we would just get coffee, but since it was a special occasion, we got coffee and ordered dessert. We ordered their homemade sorbet in three different flavors: blood orange, raspberry and chocolate. When the dessert came, it was served on a cutting board with etched writing saying “Happy Anniversary.” They also included a complimentary crème brûlée.  We enjoyed the desserts and asked for the check. The pricing was middle of the road (not too bad). We were impressed with the service and thanked both Lisa and Paul again for helping make our night that much more special. We had a great anniversary, and we decided we would come back here on our anniversary every few years.

I am blessed to have my wife in my life. Love you, Robin.

— Sean Olin, director of sales