Where We’re Drinking Right Now: The Best New Bars in Philly
The new wine bars, cocktail spots, and breweries you should check out next.
Kampar’s Kongsi located upstairs. / Photograph by Kerri Sitrin
Philly didn’t make it onto Bon Appétit’s list of Best New Bars in the US, but it doesn’t mean our bar scene is lacking. It’s growing, and there are plenty of exciting new places where you can figure out which cocktail will define this summer (we all know Palomas are the reason for the season).
We’ve scoped out as many recently opened bars as possible, all so that you can find a great place to drink. (Admittedly a tough gig, we take our work very seriously). Here’s what’s new and cool — or chaotic but fun — in Philly’s drinking world right now.
Kampar Kongsi, Bella Vista
Opened: March 2024
There are a lot of great restaurant bars in this city. But right now, there is no better, cooler or more perfectly of-the-moment seat than a stool at Ange Branca’s second-floor Kampar Kongsi. She designed this place in memory of the Malaysian neighborhood bars she knew growing up — blue-collar company joints where working stiffs could go for a cold beer and a quick meal at quitting time. But her Bella Vista version is a fantasy where the nasi lemak comes wrapped in little branded paper envelopes and you can drink Tiger beer and eat thick-cut steak fries drenched in brown curry sauce with a side of pork jerky while the radio blasts Southeast Asian covers of ’60s pop hits. The cocktail list is full of karbonat spritzes spiked with black vinegar and gin coolers jumped up with Midori, cucumber and lime, and so much love and attention has gone into the space that you can feel the memories like happy ghosts in every corner. 611 South 7th Street.
Bar Lesieur, Center City
Opened: November 2023
This odd space on Sansom Street has always served two purposes for the Schulson Collective. First (and perhaps most importantly), it has guarded the entrance to Giuseppe & Sons. Like that weird door in The Lord of the Rings that Frodo and his pals have to get through in order to enter the mines of Moria, this street-level real estate acts as a kind of fancied-up foyer for Schulson’s temple to Rat Pack red-gravy excess. Second, it has tried to exist as its own operation, attempting to find success as a deli, a luncheonette, and a pizza joint — and failing at all of them. But like a struggling ingenue just waiting for the right role to come along, its incarnation as Bar Lesieur might finally be the one that makes it a star. An unabashed love letter to cinematically French vibes, Lesieur has got the dim lights, the arched and raftered ceiling, the zinc bar and framed pictures on the walls. It feels like a place that’s been purpose-built for second dates, Graham Greene cosplay and resistance meetings. And the bar plays right along with a brilliant custom cocktail menu full of raspberry martinis, butter-washed bourbon, plum and elderflower, and a mezcal, crème de cassis and ginger-beer mix called Le Diable that will change the way you think about mezcal forever. 1523 Sansom Street.
48 Record Bar, Old City
Opened: November 2023
Inspired by the vinyl listening clubs of Japan, partners Donal McCoy and Joey Sweeney have converted the space above McCoy’s restaurant Sassafrass into a haven for those looking for comfort, cocktails, conversation — and some killer acoustics. 48 hosts ticketed listening parties, readings and other events, but on any normal night (Wednesdays through Sundays, 5 p.m. to 2 a.m.), it exists as a place for friends and neighbors to gather for curated tunes scaled so that they’re never quite the center of attention, custom cocktails (like Paris Is Burning with its Del Maguey Vida, Bluecoat gin, St. Germain, lemon and pineapple juice; or the old-timey Chrysanthemum with benedictine, absinthe and vermouth), and space to relax and actually hear each other talk. 48 South 2nd Street.
Royal Tavern, South Philly
(Re)opened: November 2023
Sure, the Royal originally opened back in 2002. But after a long pandemic closure, a little cleaning and a lot of freshening up, the new/old place is back again to remind us all that sometimes the best bars in the city are the bars you’re sitting in when you really need a bar to sit in. The Royal is where you go when you’ve got old friends in from out-of-town who aren’t impressed by flash. It’s where you go for both a first date and a seventh anniversary. It’s there for you on quiet afternoons and loud nights, when you’re rolling with a crew and when the only company you want is your own. The bartenders here can make any drink you ask for (and you should absolutely try the Fishtown Sour), but they understand that the classics do the job best. They can talk for an hour about beer (or boats or baseball) when things are slow, but they never make you wait for a drink once your rocks have gone dry. It is a bar for every day of the week and for every mood under the sun. And if it matters to you, the burger is really good, too. 937 East Passyunk Avenue.
The bar at Meetinghouse. / Kae Lani Palmisano / Photography by Kae Lani Palmisano
Meetinghouse, Kensington
Opened: August 2023
Losing Memphis Taproom was a blow, absolutely. But there’s no sense in mourning when a joint like Meetinghouse comes in and builds a new neighborhood clubhouse out of its bones. The best thing about Meetinghouse is its absolute lack of ego. There are plastic baskets of fries and crab dip at the bar, roasted salmon with hollandaise, paper doilies and gravy boats. Plus, excellent house beers, proper gin martinis if you’re feeling fancy, and Long Island iced teas if you’re not. Service happens how it happens, food comes when it comes, and there’s no stress, no formality and no attempt at being anything more than what Meetinghouse was meant to be: a great street-corner bar that’s there to be whatever you need it to be. 2331 East Cumberland Street.
Poison Heart, Spring Garden
Opened: July 2023
You’ll probably think you’re in the wrong place when you first arrive to Poison Heart. Recently on Esquire‘s list of the Best Bars in America, Poison Heart is located in a small storefront with blacked-out windows and no noticeable sign, but upon entry, the long bar and dim lighting will confirm that this is, indeed, a place where you can spend many hours. Try the freezer martini, a very nice batched gin version with your choice of twist, olive or onion; or go for one of their glasses of wine. (The team behind The Good King Tavern, Le Caveau and Superfolie are connected here, so the wine list is interesting without being funky for funky’s sake.) A small food menu includes oysters by the half-dozen, a patty melt, and a basket of burn-your-fingers-fresh waffle fries drenched in raclette cheese sauce. Kitchen is open until midnight, bar open til 1 a.m. 931 Spring Garden Street.
Post Haste, Kensington
Opened: June 2023
Also called out by Esquire as one of the Best Bars in America, Post Haste is working very hard to source everything on their menu from East of the Mississippi River. This might not seem like a super specific geographic area until you consider things like tequila, Scotch, and lemons. But don’t let this very serious-sounding intention keep you away. The drinks are mostly classics, reworked with local-ish ingredients, like the pear-nicillian, a pear-based take on the classic Scotch cocktail. 2519 Frankford Avenue.
Darling Jack’s, Midtown Village
Opened: May 2023
A marble bar, a roasted half-chicken with lemon and olives, and a martini shaker with condensation still beading on the side. That is how dining out is supposed to feel, and after two decades of feeding Philly, Macie Turney and Val Safran have come back again to the simplest of tableaus at Darling Jack’s. Come here for comfort, for a Jessie’s Goldrush with chamomile bourbon, lemon and honey, or a summer paloma with lime, grapefruit and tequila infused with habanero heat. Slouch at the bar with a glass of cold chenin blanc or a can of Prima Pils, and just watch the world go by for a bit. Jack’s will fill up. It will empty around you. And it’s one of the rare rooms in the city where you feel like you don’t have to go anywhere at all. 104 South 13th Street.
Bar Lizette, Mount Airy
Opened: April 2023
Exposed brick, dark wood, moules-frites and wine-red accents are what get you through the door of this cozy, Alsatian-themed bar and restaurant, just a step away from the louder, chicken-wings-and-IPAs vibe of Mount Airy’s main drag. But with Chimay on draft, Flemish sours and Belgian farmhouse ales behind the bar, a wine list that features a greatest hits collection of red, white, orange, sparkling and rosé wines by the glass or bottle, and a tight little cocktail list arranged like a wheel that rolls from sweet to sour, savory to bitter, you’ll remember it as the kind of bar that everyone dreams existed in their neighborhood. Bonus: Should you need a little pick-me-up at brunch or after dark, the house espresso martini is a work of art, made with homemade espresso liqueur and a Guinness reduction (for strength). 7152 Germantown Avenue.
Next of Kin, Fishtown
Opened: April 2023
Co-owners Kyle Darrow, John Grubb and Devan Roberts opened Next of Kin as a simple thing: a very good cocktail bar. The menu is many pages of very classic cocktails, which they make expertly in lovely glassware and with fancy, transparent ice that both looks gorgeous and melts slower. There are no reservations, and there’s no food. Just the very simple, very complicated art of a good drink. 1414 Frankford Avenue.
