Your friendly neighborhood pubs
What's the first thing that comes to mind when you think of Philadelphia? The Liberty Bell and Independence Hall? The Eagles and the Philadelphia Orchestra? Cheese-steaks and hoagies? Rocky Balboa and Ben Franklin? To visitors, these are the icons that define the City of Brotherly Love.
What's the first thing that comes to mind when you think of Philadelphia?
The Liberty Bell and Independence Hall? The Eagles and the Philadelphia Orchestra? Cheese-steaks and hoagies? Rocky Balboa and Ben Franklin? To visitors, these are the icons that define the City of Brotherly Love.
The truth is, they're all clichés.
Anyone who wants to know the true heart of Philadelphia - who wants to experience the best of this town - has to venture out of Center City and into its neighborhoods. There, you will find the best hoagie shop, the coolest boutiques, the prettiest streets, the funkiest murals, the friendliest people.
Your first step toward discovering it all is at the neighborhood tavern. It is here, along a well-rubbed bar, over a friendly game of darts, with a pint of first-rate beer, that you will meet the locals and discover their city. These are real bars in buildings that may be a hundred years old. They are not tourist traps and certainly not those phony P.F. McDopey suburban strip mall "eateries" that plague the American landscape. They are filled with reg'lars who know the bartender's first name, and not because he wears a name tag.
Philadelphia's neighborhood taverns are where you'll get a taste of the good and the bad, and, more importantly, a feel for the character of America's best beer-drinking city.
Manayunk
Dawson Street Pub. 100 Dawson St., 215-482-5677.
Flat Rock Saloon. 4301 Main St., 215-483-3722.
Manayunk Brewery & Restaurant. 4120 Main St., 215-482-8220.
Manayunk Tavern. 4247 Main St., 267-335-2121.
Old Eagle Tavern, 177 Markle St., 215-483-5535.
Ugly Moose. 443 Shurs Lane, 215-482-2739
Union Jack's Pub. 4801 Umbria St., 215-482-8980.
Fairmount/Spring Garden
Aspen Restaurant and Bar. 747 N. 25th St., 215-232-7736.
Belgian Café. 2047 Green St., 215-235-3500.
The Bishop's Collar, 2349 Fairmount Ave., 215-765-1616.
Bridgid's. 726 N. 24th St., 215-232-3232.
London Grill. 2301 Fairmount Ave., 215-978-4545.
North Star Bar. 2639 Poplar St., 215-684-0808.
Rembrandt's. 741 N. 23rd St., 215-763-2228.
St. Stephen's Green. 1701 Green St., 215-769-5000.
Northern Liberties/
Fishtown
700. 700 N. 2nd St., 215-413-3181.
Abbaye. 637 N. 3rd St., 215-627-6711.
Bar Ferdinand. 1030 N. 2nd St., 215-923-1313.
Deuce. 1040 N. 2nd St., 215-413-3822.
Johnny Brenda's. 1201 Frankford Ave., 215-739-9684.
North 3rd. 801 N. 3rd St., 215-413-3666.
Ortlieb's Jazzhaus. 847 N. 3rd St., 215-922-1035.
Standard Tap. 901 N. 2nd St., 215-238-0630.
South Philly
1601 Bar. 1601 S. 10th St., 215-218-3840.
Devil's Den. Set to open in April at 1148 S. 11th St., 215-482-1253.
The Dive. 947 E. Passyunk Ave., 215-465-5505.
For Pete's Sake. 900 S. Front St., 215-462-2230.
Grace Tavern. 2229 Gray's Ferry Ave., 215-893-9580.
New Wave Café. 784 S. 3rd. St., 215-922-8484.
Pub on Passyunk East (P.O.P.E.). 1501 E. Passyunk Ave., 215-755-5125.
Royal Tavern. 937 E. Passyunk Ave., 215-389-6694.
South Philadelphia Tap Room. 1509 Mifflin St., 215-271-7787.
The Sidecar Bar and Grille. 2201 Christian St., 215-732-3729.
Northeast Philly
Grey Lodge Pub. 6235 Frankford Ave., 215-624-2969.
Three Monkeys Café. 9645 James St., 215-637-6665.
Northwest Philly
McMenamin's Tavern. 7170 Germantown Ave., 215-247-9920.
McNally's Tavern. 8634 Germantown Ave., 215-247-9736.
Mermaid Inn. 7673 Germantown Ave., 215-247-9797.
West Philly
Bridgewater's Pub. 2951 Market St., 30th Street Station. 215-387-4787.
Cavanaugh's Restaurant. 119 S. 39th St., 215-386-4889.
Dock Street Brewery. 701 S. 50th St., 215-726-2337.
Mad Mex. 3401 Walnut St., 215-382-2221.
White Dog Café. 3420 Sansom St., 215-386-9224. *