Best of Philly

Best Bar

2026 Best Bottle Selection

Hop Sing Laundromat

In Chinatown, Hop Sing Laundromat has become a singular destination for those label-chasing completists trying to knock a taste of an impossible-to-find Old Overholt or an 18-year-old Yamazaki whiskey off their bucket lists. Lê, the owner and curator of Philly’s best bottle selection, has spent decades collecting rare spirits for his bar, and a few months ago he finally started opening them and pouring out his treasures two ounces at a time. Read More »

1029 Race Street, Philadelphia, PA Website

2024 Best Bar Refresh

Friday Saturday Sunday

In the eight years Chad and Hanna Williams have owned their beloved bilevel restaurant, the downstairs bar has always drawn a crowd — for a first-date meet-up, for a bowl of brothy beans and octopus from the à la carte menu, for an aperitivo while you wait for your table upstairs. After a sleek spruce-up, though, envisioned by local firm Stokes Architecture + Design, with tiger-print stools and a custom wood back bar, it’s official — the first floor is a destination in its own right. Read More »

261 South 21st Street, Philadelphia, PA Website

2023 Best New Bar

Solar Myth

It’s worth celebrating any experimental jazz club that manages to feel accessible rather than insufferable. It’s especially worth celebrating one that serves a dynamic and considered wine list sans pretension. With concrete floors, an expansive, trippy vinyl collection, and metal folding chairs, Fountain Porter’s Evan Clancy and Ars Nova Workshop’s Mark Christman have transformed the Boot & Saddle space into a place that’s quintessentially Philly-cool. Read More »

1131 South Broad Street, Philadelphia, PA Website

2021 Best Rooftop Bar

El Techo

Philly doesn’t do rooftop bars well. We have so few of them, and many are owned by the hotels, so they’re kinda lame. El Techo? With its perfect pitchers of margaritas? And its retractable roof? And its squid and long hot pepper tacos? Not lame. Not lame at all. Read More »

1826 Ludlow Street, Philadelphia, PA Website

2019 Best Secret Bar

Art in the Age

It’ll be hard to walk past the tools, bitters, syrups and shrubs in this boutique, but don’t stop till you arrive at the blissfully quiet copper-topped back bar, where chill bartenders are waiting to mix you drinks with all the goods that are for sale. Read More »

116 North 3rd Street, Philadelphia, PA | 215-922-2600 | Website

2019 Best Rooftop Bar

Irwin’s

Remember how excited you were when BOK Bar first opened, with its cool unfinished vibe and expansive views? Well, this is just like that — only with excellent cocktails, Mediterranean small plates and table service. Read More »

800 Mifflin Street, Philadelphia, PA | 215-693-6206 | Website

2019 Best Bar for Parents

Craft Hall

Whoever came up with the notion to build a playground inside a brewpub — with video games, a projector, Skee-Ball, and bunnies and chickens outside — deserves so much more than a Best of Philly. How about a Nobel Prize? Read More »

901 North Delaware Avenue, Philadelphia, PA | 267-297-2072 | Website

2019 Best Rainy Day Fun

Thirsty Dice Board Game Cafe

We love the library of more than 800 games. And the beer list. But we adore the staffers who referee disputes. Is “qi” really an acceptable Scrabble word? Yes, yes it is. Read More »

1642 Fairmount Avenue, Philadelphia, PA | 215-765-2679 | Website

2019 Best Place for Misbehaving

Chelsea Beach Bar

There’s still plenty of libidinous activity at the Pool at Harrah’s, but the young and tanned crowd at this open-air beach bar on the sand has it beat. Read More »

3001 Boardwalk, Atlantic City, NJ | 609-345-6633

2019 Best College Playground

The Post

Quizzo, live music, dollar taco nights, weekend DJs, Skee-Ball and shuffleboard — a.k.a. things that are better than studying for midterms. Read More »

129 South 30th Street, Philadelphia, PA | 267-353-8521 | Website