gastropub bachelor party for small group

[tummyache]

Hi.

I need to plan a bachelor party dinner for a group of 4 in Philly this Saturday after the Mets-Phils game (we will need a good meal and stiff drinks to comfort us after getting our butts handed to us) Two people are Kosher-style so places with lots of non-meat options would be great. I was thinking of a gastropub...or really any place with good medium-priced food, good draft beer, and not incredibly loud.
Alternatively, a great restaurant with a nice bar nearby would be great. A friend told me about some brewhouse near a great Indian restaurant (maybe in northern liberties?) but I can't remember the name.

I will research on this board but with limited time to plan, any recommendations would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

[BelgianBeerMistress]

I'm always fascinated how little love Devil's Den gets on this board. Ok, so the food is a little hit or miss (and they do seem to change up chefs about once a year), but I've had some great dishes there. And the beer! The beer! Definitely my favorite list in the city. So many places hyperfocus on local or hoppy, but DD gets it just right (a good mix of US & Euro). This plus the atmosphere - I like that it's not divey but still feels comfortable. Anyway, it's 3 blocks from the Elsworth station and worth a stop in my book. SPTR is much closer to my house but the beer list is just ok and it's always too loud in there (and too many mustachiod hipsters). Anyway, just a local gal's 2 cents.

[barryg]

Good call on Devil's Den, it does have a great beer list and a fantastic happy hour. I haven't been too impressed with the food, hit or miss is accurate, but it is a good place to drink for sure. If OP likes Vietnamese, he can eat at Nam Phuong on Le Viet and walk to Devil's Den for drinks after.

I think though that if you start counting moustaches SPTR and DD will be pretty close... both, thankfully, tend to draw a more diverse crowd than a place like POPE and Johnny Brenda's.

[BelgianBeerMistress]

I'd take that wager. I've seen some doosies at the Taproom. But the POPE is a close contender. Let's just agree that there's too much poorly grown facial hair mixed with too-tight pants in this neighborhood. These kids today...

[tummyache]

Thanks for all the help! I looked up South Philly Tap Room and while it seems like they have a nice beer selection, the menu didn't seem super exciting. Does anyone have any thoughts about Eulogy? or Monk's which I went to a number of years ago but not sure how it is now...

Thanks again!

[barryg]

The food is much better at SPTR trust your fellow hounds. Everything is very well executed and better than it sounds on the menu. The specials there are always great too. The only downside is that the neighborhood is a bit isolated. In Center City/Old City, the Khyber is really good too, also has an excellent beer list.

[Philly Ray]

They can always go to Hardena to eat before they go to SPTR ;))

Seriously though, if the food at SPTR is not to your liking, there are some decent to very good Italian places nearby.

[Bigley9]

May I humbly suggest that you search this board for references to SPTR? The menu may not seem extraordinary (oh c'mon, boar tacos doesn't suggest something more?) but the specials are beyond bar food, beyond "oh gee lets go to the gastro pub" Really

[barryg]

Yep, and definitely don't eat at Monk's or Eulogy--both are very disappointing.

[knappy123]

agreed: monk's has some of the most over-rated food in the city. love the beer selection, always disappointed by the food & service.

[tummyache]

ok thanks. I guess I meant that I was hoping SPTR would have more entree-type things as I only saw apps, salads, and sandwiches on the menu. They do look great though. Thanks for all your help!

[tummyache]

I just read some reviews on SPTR on this board and it seems like the menu on the website doesn't really give a full picture of the food. Is it just that they run a lot of specials? Because I read about fish dishes, brussel sprouts, etc. No indication of anything other than sandwiches and sides on the bottom part of their menu. I am excited to try this place if you guys rave about it...

[Bigley9]

yes, there are specials every night (best I can figure) and they are beyond the menu (but the menu is better than the simple descriptions too)

[tummyache]

ok looks like we will go to South Philly Taproom for dinner and beers. Any suggestions for a good breakfast/brunch spot the next morning? We are staying in a hotel near the airport but will have a car so can really go anywhere for something good.

[Philly Ray]

If you want a straight-up diner, you are not very far from The Penrose Diner. Since you are staying near the airport, you should see plenty of signs directing you to 291 East. Take that over the bridge and the diner is ahead on your right.

[urbanfabric]

Hop in the car and drive to cafe estelle. House cured meats and just good food.

[Chefmonty]

First place I thought of is South Philly Taproom. Lot of vegetarian options and a stellar beer selection.

http://www.southphiladelphiataproom.c...

[Buckethead]

That would be my pick as well. Another excellent gastropub is Stephen Starr's new Dandelion if you're more into English beer styles. Both are pretty convenient to the Broad Street subway line, you could take it right from the stadium. There is nothing in the area around the stadiums.

The only great Indian restaurant in the city is Ekta, which is in NoLibs but you can't really sit down there, they only have 2 tables and do mostly takeout. They may have been talking about Tiffin, which was great at one point, and is still good, but not nearly as good as it used to be, or as good as Ekta (Ekta's chef opened Tiffin).

It's not a gastropub, but Le Virtu is a great Italian restaurant that's also convenient to the stadiums via subway or car (just east of Broad St. on Passyunk Ave.), and their beer list is small but very good (they always have Dogfish Head 90 minute). We don't really have any great brewpubs (bars that brew their own beer), except maybe Earth Bread and Brewery (which I still haven't been to and is too far away for after a baseball game anyway) and Yards, which is the city's best brewery and serves some food at the bar in the brewery but nothing to get excited about.

[barryg]

SPTR does fit this to a tee.

Ekta has added a small dining room I believe. It is near Johnny Brenda's, which is a pretty good beer bar (local drafts only, for better or worse), so that could be what they meant. I don't think JB's is as low-key as OP wants though, if you snag a table it's ok.

Le Virtu is also very good; from there you could wander a few blocks to Pub on Passyunk East (POPE) which has a fantastic beer list, but gets loud and crowded on the weekend. Watkins Drinkery is a more low key option with a much smaller but still good beer list.