Log onto the Penn Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology website. You will see pictures of a quaint French-style café with white tablecloths, centerpieces, and fine china. You will most likely be excited at the prospect of a Parisian meal, right on the edge of our West Philly campus. We certainly were.
Hats off to Pepper Mill’s wonderfully misleading website! The reality is that Pepper Mill is a glorified cafeteria. They offer a variety of dishes including cold sandwiches, a pasta dish of the day, a salad bar and a different hot entrée each day.
The ideas behind the meals were good. But Pepper Mill fell to the inherent evil of every cafeteria: overcooked food. Everything we ate had clearly been sitting out. We were unfortunate enough to arrive on quesadilla day. The chicken quesadillas tasted like a middle schooler’s take on Mexican food. Dry chicken and rubbery, bright orange cheddar cheese sandwiched between two tortillas. Bottom line: the dish lacked the texture and taste you’d expect from one of the most basic Mexican dishes.
Another mistake they made was to refer to the black beans as black bean soup. They seemed to have forgotten to drain the beans upon cooking them and decided to serve it as soup.
The salad bar offered less variety than Houston’s but with the student discount, the “Shaken” salad is cheaper. Do yourself a favor and skip the balsamic vinaigrette, because it tastes like you doused your salad in vegetable oil.
The one beacon of light was the service. The servers were all very friendly and enthusiastic about the food. The assistant manager helped us bring all of our plates to the table and eagerly chatted with us about the logistics of the two week-old cafe.
Pepper Mill accepts Bursar and Penn Cash and offers a 10% discount for all students. The chef, Will Brown, keeps the menu sustainable by using local produce. Lunch hours are 12 to 2:30, but they serve coffee, tea, bagels, and other snacks until 4:30.
On the first Wednesday of each month, they offer a dinner with wine pairings, and on Sundays a brunch with an omelet station and bloody marys.
Penn students rarely take advantage of the great museum so close to school. Pepper Mill now gives students the option of rehydrating and enjoying the view of the museum’s inner courtyard after the trek to one of our campus’s most under-appreciated experiences.
Pepper Mill Cafe
3260 South St. (Inside the Penn Museum)
(215) 898-4000
Don’t Miss: Museum Exhibits
Skip This: All the food
