180326 Fri Apr 18 09:55:27 -0700 2003 1 15 Pennsylvania 0 969347 Got the chance last night to try the pub grub at this bar located on Passyunk just north of Washington in South Philly. I had heard that the owners had modeled it on Standard Tap, but I was surprised by the extent of the similarity. The menu is larger at Royal Tavern, ranging from burgers and fries to mussels to chicken sandwiches and steamed vegetable dumplings (the "one of these things is not like the other" item on the menu). Specials were up on chalkboards on the wall. The beer selection was decent, with Yards ESA & Victory Hop Devil (the Philly area's two best beers), and Beamish Stout on tap and several respectable bottles. I chose the Yards for $4; my companion had a glass of Argentinean Malbec for $6.50. I had a brisket sandwich with monterey jack cheese and carmelized onions, which came with fries and a ramekin of garlic aioli ($8.50). This was quite tasty. The meat was very tender, tasty, and saucy, but the roll (a kaiser, I think) did a good job of absorbing the jus without sogging completely through. The jack was a well-chosen complement to the brisket. The fries were OK. My companion's grilled chicken sandwich ($9) with roasted peppers (he had them leave off the manchego cheese and carmelized onions, god knows why) was tasty, though the sesame-seeded baguette slice it was wrapped in was altogether too much bread, and too dry, according to him. Our service was decent but nothing to write home about. The crowd seemed to be 20-and-30somethings with a bohemian bent. The atmosphere was cool -- dim lighting, lots of wood, and some antiquey hunting-lodge signs on the wall. A good (and loud) jukebox, though less eclectic than Standard Tap's. I got the feeling that the decoration has not been completed, as there are vast expanses of plain, salmon-painted wall. The tin ceiling is a great touch. Altogether, when held up side-by-side with the Tap, Royal Tavern doesn't quite measure up, but that's not to say it's not a great find in that neighborhood for aficionados of pub food. I'll return. Fri Apr 18 09:55:27 -0700 2003 0 gabe 1 969360 In the last couple of months I've eaten at Royal quite a few times, and I think your review is pretty much right on target. I agree that Standard has slightly better food...but, not so much so that I would go all the way to Liberties for a sandwich and a couple of beers on a random weeknight -- Royal's been a godsend for those of us who live in that neighborhood who have been yearning for a bar with a late kitchen. Info for your return visit: The service is unfortunately pretty hit-or-miss, though eating at the bar obviously gets you more consistant attention. The mussels and the shrimp appetizers are both good and generously-sized enough that I often get one of them as a light meal. I like the dumplings, too, out-of-place as they are. Very mushroomy. My only quibble with Standard (besides it being two miles away from my house) is their lack of menus (or at least a few words of description on the chalkboard!) -- my choice of meal would be made much easier with a little more description, since many of their items are more interesting than the rather straightforward names would suggest. Fri Apr 18 15:41:57 -0700 2003 969347 0 --susan