Rankings of Gatropubs/Pubs in Philly Region

[dfishhead]

If this has already been done, I apologize. First of all, I think that Philadelphia and the region is a great place for bars with excellent and interesting food. I was wondering about people's thoughts on their favorite gastropubs/pubs in the Philly region. Based on my limited experience here is my list:

1. Standard Tap: great menu, love the oysters, and excellent local beer selection

2. N. Third: Love the wings, good variety of beer including draft and in bottles, had Ommegang Saison and a bottle of St Bernardus 12%. Mac and cheese is also good.

3. Tria: (only been to 18th Street location): Small but good beer selection, great wine selection, interesting and delicious food choices, small venue.

4. South Philly Tap Room: Good beer selection, excellent Fried Chicken, Roast Pork Sandwich, and Wild Boar Tacos.

4. Monk's Cafe: Amazing beer selection, food can be excellent, but sometimes appears to be hit or miss. Love mussels (haven't had them for a long time, though). Always seem to be so crowded.

5. McGillian's Olde Ale House: Decent Beer Selection, Decent Food, Great Prices, Free Soup. Great place to warm up on a cold day or night.

6. Stephanie's, Doylestown: Great beer selection, knowledgeable and friendly bartenders, very good grub.

7. Four Dogs: West Chester area: Decent beer choices, very good food, little expensive. Neat venue.

Other bars I have been to in Philly that didn't make the list:

Eulogy: great bar but every time I went it was so crowded I could barely breath. I also went to a sister place but forget the name. It is not far from Eulogy. Seemed pretty cool.
Grey Lodge Pub: Great beer selection, so so food, drove quite a distance out of the way to go here and I was a little disappointed.
McGlinchey's: good cheap dive bar
Khyber: Only been once for a couple of drinks in the afternoon, but I would love to return, good bartender and beer selection.
There is also a bar below South Street on maybe fourth that has a nice selection. About 2 or 3 blocks below South Street, forget the name.

These are the places that come to mind right now. Let me know what you think. On a side note, I did not include Victory because it is a brewery, but their beer is amazing and the food is decent.

[LindaKay1]

Wondering why "For Pete's Sake" doesnt get mentioned more often.....they have excellent potato soup, three hummus's daily, specials nightly, often a good roast pork or beef, wonderful burgers and of course their beers. Perhaps the neighborhood regulars don't want to publicize a good thing and get crowded out? Corner of Christian and Front Street....

[RC51Mike]

A couple I think underrated places we've been to recently:

Sidecar- Went for Sunday brunch, beer and bloody Marys. Very good food and great selection of beer. Nice neighborhood bar vibe. I wished I lived near there.

Flying Pigs in Malvern- Very good bar food and great selection of beer. A number of Belgians and a separate list of bottle conditioned beers. Neighborhood bar vibe but family friendly too, good service.

We have a habit of going to Victory when out in that direction and sometimes Station Taproom. On the Mainline, Teresa's is our favorite. Not so keen on TJ's, Drafting Room or Ron's. Beer selection good at these but food and vibe don't measure up compared to others.

[MrMarsellus]

It's a tough question because so much of a pub or "gastropub" is personal...do you want a nicer place with a relaxed vibe (Resurrection Ale House, Pub & Kitchen) or are you looking for a dive sort of place with great beer and food (Royal Tavern, Grace Tavern)?

Because of my neighborhood, I typically end up at either Varga Bar or Khyber...both are great. Irish Pol is also very underrated. Zero vibe whatsoever but always a great American craft beer lineup. I think they have 18 taps.

Also recently began going to Tapestry at 5th and Bainbridge. The selling point of this place for me is that they have a ridiculous beer list (24 taps) but also have a very strong cocktail and wine list for the girlfriend. If you haven't been, I'd highly recommend...a little off the beaten path, but worth it nonetheless.

[sadiefox]

No love for Memphis Taproom? I come from just north of the city so it's my go-to place. Easy to get to, easy to park. They always have some interesting deep cuts on tap, tasty food, and the addition of the beer garden in the alley next door is awesome. A selection of microbrews in cans and gourmet hot dogs from a truck.

My favorite dishes there are the fried kosher dills, chicken fried chicken, fish and chips, roast pork sandwich, roasted mushroom grinder. The burger is good and so is the Port Richmond platter -- kielbasa, peirogi, potato pancakes.

[urbanfabric]

I hadn't been there when I wrote my list, but I'd definitely put it on there now! I've really had some great meals there, cleaned-my-plate-good. The roast pork sandwich is ridiculously good.

[dfishhead]

Just went to Memphis Tap Room this past weekend and thought it was amazing, right up there with SPTR. Had the suicide onion rings and the porter braised brisket. Wife had the Heirloom Apple Salad and the smoke coconut club. Excellent beer list, terrific service, and it is always a huge plus when the owner is working his butt off and talking to everyone that enters the establishment. This place is now way up on my list. Any other new places to add to the list?

[sadiefox]

Not new, but not particularly mentioned above... I have enjoyed Kraftwork lately. Had delicious truffled deviled eggs and I really like their burger (choose your own toppings) with onion relish, bacon and a fried egg. Killer beer list.

Johnny Brenda's also continues to deliver really great food. Had one of the best bowls of mussels EVER with chorizo. It was a huge portion for about $12 and absolutely delicious.

[asmith]

Grey Lodge Pub seems to come up a lot so I made a point of driving up there for lunch. I agree with dfishhead, the food was subpar. I ordered a burger medium; it came well done and it was under seasoned. Beer was good, so wasn't a complete wash but won't go out of my way again.

[micreynolds]

the new Khyber Pass Pub is at the top of my list now! the beer selection is killer!

[dfishhead]

I compiled addresses and phone numbers for all the places mentioned in the post. Hope it helps you be merry. Tis the season!

Northern Liberties

Standard Tap
901 North 2nd Street
At Poplar Street
[phone]

North Third
801 N. 3rd Street
At Brown Street
[phone]

Fishtown

Johnny Brenda’s
1201 N. Frankford Ave.
At Girard Avenue
215-739-9684

Kraftwork
541 East Girard Avenue
At Montgomery Avenue
[phone]

South Philly

South Philly Tap Room
1509 Mifflin Street
West of 15th Street
[phone]

Royal Tavern
937 East Passyunk Avenue
Between 6th and 7th Streets
[phone]

Center City

Monk’s Café
264 S 16th St.
Near Spruce St.
[phone]

Tria Café
123 S. 18th Street
At Sansom Street
[phone]
Center City Continued

Tria Cafe
1137 Spruce Street
At 12th Street
[phone]

McGillian’s Olde Ale House
1310 Drury Street
Just off 13th St. btw Walnut/Chestnut
[phone]

McGlinchey’s
259 S 15th St
(215)-735-1259

Good Dog Bar
224 South 15th Street
[phone]

Varga Bar
941 Spruce Street
At 10th Street
[phone]

Pub and Kitchen
1946 Lombard Street
At 20th Street
[phone]

Prohibition Tap Room
501 N 13th Street
Below Spring Garden St.
[phone]

Northeast Philly

Grey Lodge Pub
6235 Frankford Avenue
Near Harbison
[phone]

University City Area

Resurrection Ale House
2425 Grays Ferry Avenue
Past 24th and Catharine
[phone]

Old City

The Khyber
56 S. 2nd Street
Btw. Market and Chestnut
215-238-5888

Eulogy
136 Chestnut Street
At 2nd Street
[phone]

Surrounding Areas

Four Dogs Tavern
1300 W. Strasburg Road
(In Marshallton)
West Chester
[phone]

Stephanie’s
29 South Main Street
Doylestown
[phone]

TJ’s Restaurant and Drinkery
35 Paoli Plaza
Just above Lancaster Ave.
Near Amtrak Station
Paoli
[phone]

[barryg]

Good beer selection is a given at any Phila "gastropub" and bars targeting the under 40 crowd in general. Devil's Den stands out as having an above average tap and bottle list combined with great prices, especially at Happy Hour (all drafts half price). Resurrection also has great prices for great beer.

Overall, South Philly Taproom is #1 for me. Location plays a role but I've had insanely good food there--grilled duck hearts, fried chicken, boar tacos and a pampano filet are among very memorable dishes that could go toe to toe with the best restaurants in the city, at a fraction of the price. Last winter their roasted brussel sprouts blew away any other preparation I had in the city, can't wait to try them again this year.

After SPTR #2 is probably Royal Tavern for consistently good food. Below #2 it starts to blur, but the good places have been named on this thread. I have had some fantastic meals at Standard Tap in the past (like a mixed grill of game meat) but I've eaten there I think 3 times over the past 12-18 months and have been very underwhelmed. Can any ST lovers reassure me it's worth a visit next time I'm up there?

Haven't eaten at Monks in a while due to the crowds, service, and a few tepid food experiences--mussels and wings I used to love just didn't have it anymore. I think I remember hearing they got a new chef in there a few months backs; would love to hear a recent report on the food.

[der]

You had better get down there right now, as they are running a roasted wild striped bass special with a warm potato watercress salad, tossed with olives, oil and lemon juice. Another incredible effort by SPTR, and they have the brussel sprouts.

[urbanfabric]

Went on Friday night (that restaurant.com gift cert makes the place a total steal too, when they're 80% off, I think I spent $2 for a $25 gift cert), had snails to start, uh, awesome. buttery, herby, served with toast. Then had the Turkey Mole for dinner (with rice/refried beans and tortillas). Fantastic! Even the rice and beans were good. The rice must have been simmered in chicken stock, so flavorful.

[barryg]

At South Philly Taproom??

[AgentRed]

Oh wow, yeah actually:

http://www.restaurant.com/microsite.a...

I use coupon code GIVE to get 70% off, does anyone have the code for 80% off?

[urbanfabric]

They are 70% off now, if you wait a few days, they'll go to 80% off. It goes in pretty quick cycles. Sign up to get on their email list and they'll let you know. I can post when I get an 80% code. You get a $25 gift certificate, but you have to spend $35 in food to use it. That can be harder to do if you're just getting a couple of burgers, but two entrees and an app will get you there pretty easily (as a couple, it's even easier if you've got a third person).

[urbanfabric]

restaurant.com gift certs are 80% off until Monday, using code PRESENT at Checkout. both SPTR and Good Dog (and Swift Half) are on the site now.

[dfishhead]

Just printed out my certificate. Thanks!

[InSearchOfTacos]

sidecar should be on this list- very enjoyable bar food

[urbanfabric]

I'm not sure I can rank them, but I'd say the best IMO are:

Royal Tavern
Pub & Kitchen
South Philly Tap Room
Good Dog
Varga Bar
Johnny Brenda's
Standard Tap

Nostalgically, I'd put Doobie's and Monk's on the list, but it's been a while since I've been to either. I also really want to put Wishing Well on that list, but I'm not sure it's there yet.

[katsak]

TJ's in Paoli usually has around 2 dozen beers on tap and the food is decent

[padovana]

Based only in Philly (and I think you're explanations cover them) and in no particular order:

1. Standard Tap
2. Resurrection Ale House -- oh good Lordy their food is awesome. And their beer list. And their bartenders.
3. South Philly Tap Room
4. Eulogy
5. Monk's
6. Good Dog Bar
7. Kraftwork -- awesome fries. and flatbread. and sandwiches.
8. Prohibition-- ok, so I've only sampled a little of the food, but it sounds good AND work on the street it the menu is getting mixed up v. soon

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Tap Room
10 Palmer Sq E, Princeton, NJ 08542