Where We’re Drinking Right Now: The Best New Bars in Philly
The new bars, cocktail spots, and breweries you should check out next.
WineDive Rittenhouse / Photograph by Sarah Silbiger
Have you ever made plans to grab drinks with friends, but no one can decide on what bar to go to, so they ask you because you’re supposed to be “in the know,” but the second you’re put on the spot, your brain forgets every single bar you’ve ever been to?
Well, that’s why we’ve made this list. 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.
WineDive, Rittenhouse
If you like a place that refuses to take itself too seriously, then the new WineDive from Heather Annechiarico and Chris Fetfatzes of Happy Monday Hospitality and partner Susan Freeman is absolutely the place for you. It’s small (just 30 seats), eclectic (read: lots of crazy stuff on the walls and behind the bar, including black-and-white portraits of Alf, Betty White, and Pee-wee Herman), is going for an Old Hollywood-meets-70’s-Atlantic-City-casino-bar vibe, and serves, among other things, an updated version of the classic “Surfer On Acid” made with Jäger and coconut rum and served tall with a little paper umbrella — the way the god of cocktails intended. There are 30 wines by the glass that change with some frequency. The Tequila Sunrise is made with fresh-squeezed “fluffy” OJ and house-made grenadine. There’s a whole menu of $10 Citywide variations. And the Green-Monk-and-pineapple/lime “Swampwooder” comes, just as the menu promises, “in a fucking jar.” There’s some food (fried chicken cutlets, roast beef sandwiches, pimento cheez, and soft-serve bumps), but WineDive is always going to be more about drinking than snacking — which is also as it should be. It’s an unserious place for serious cocktail fans and perfect for almost any occasion that requires alcohol, tiny umbrellas, Czech fernet, vitamin C, and baked potatoes, in that order. 1534 Sansom Street.
Cocktails at dancerobot / Photograph by Jesse Ito
dancerobot, Rittenhouse
Justin Bacharach and Jesse Ito’s new experiment in culinary time travel is notable for lots of things. There’s the painstakingly researched and impossible fusion authenticity of the kare pan, the jidori egg omelets, the toothpick-spiked takoyaki, and its whole embodiment of a sharply recalled 1980s Japanese-American boyhood. But the bar here deserves more credit than it typically gets because it, too, carries forward the animating idea of a messy cultural mash-up that makes the kitchen jump. There’s the carefully curated sake list on one hand, covering the flavor spectrum from the smooth and easy Yuki Otoko “Yeti” junmai to the creamy sweetness of an unfiltered Hakutsuro Sayori nigori. And on the other, a Love City lager on tap. Behind the long oak, the bar team makes matcha-yuzu spritzes, negroni sours spiked with shochu, green Chartreuse and melon with a sweetness like melted Jolly Ranchers, and espresso martinis made with vodka washed in black sesame fat and laced with yuzu bitters. And all of it is thoughtful, considered, and built to pair both intellectually and in flavor profile with everything Bacharach’s kitchen does. 1710 Sansom Street.
Concordance Ferments, Hatboro
After brewing his way across the country — from Hill Farmstead in New Hampshire to Black Shirt Brewing Company in Colorado — Dave Sakolsky has brought his talents to Hatboro. He and his founding partner, Abe Goldstein, have taken over the 300-year-old Pennypack Mill and are serving up some serious beers paired with food by chef Max Hosey. The bar menu is tight, but not lacking variety. There’s a wide spectrum of styles including a session IPA, a farmhouse ale, a biere de garde, a light Pils, a tart Berlinerweisse, and a multigrain porter that packs all the flavor without the heaviness of a conventional porter.
In the kitchen, Hosey and his team are cranking out dishes that are homey yet elevated, like hand-made goat cheese and mushroom tortellini in a lemon sage broth and French onion soup with a dash of brandy topped with Gruyere cheese. The top-notch beers, thoughtful takes on cozy classics, and the charm of hanging out in a historic building make this new brewery a destination. 18 Horsham Road.
Sao, South Philly
One of the greatest strengths of Mawn, Phila and Rachel Lorn’s original Cambodian noodle house, is that it exists with that casual, dinner-party informality that you only get at a BYO. But one of the biggest questions in Philly restaurant lore has always been: “What would Mawn have been like if it had a bar?”
And Sao (their new Cambodian oyster house and raw bar) is at least half an answer to that. Because while it’s not the same kind of restaurant as Mawn, it does still have the same spirit, the same chaotic lack of pretension, but it also has a fully formed beverage program, with cocktails like the mezcal and tamarind “Silk Scarf” bloodied up with house grenadine, or the killer “Angkor Baby,” which translates a neighborhood michelada into something so much more flavorful with its rice vinegar-spiked pilsner, lime and strawberry sweetness, white tequila, and dusting of ground Kampot peppercorns in place of hot sauce. And even if the list is short (with just a handful of beers and wines and a constantly changing lineup of a half-dozen mixed drinks), it’s wild to put yourself in the hands of a bar team willing to experiment and take risks the way Sao’s crew does. 1710 Passyunk Avenue.
Banshee’s signature cocktails: Crowd Work and Password
Banshee, South Street
While you might remember them from their days at Cheu Noodle Bar, NuNu, and Bing Bing Dim Sum, partners Shawn Darragh and Ben Puchowitz along with brothers Kyle and Bryan Donovan (both former employees) are doing something very different with their return to the restaurant industry. No more ramen. No more dumplings. No more cartoon graffiti. Banshee is a grown-up bar and restaurant because they’re all grown now, too. And this translates into warmth and comfort and a kind of ease-of-place that was never in the design plans for their younger, more aggressive operations.
Here, the draft list is all local-ish, accented by bottles of High Life for all of us who’ve never been able to entirely let go of our line-cook roots. There are French and Italian wines to pair with the roasted half-chickens and house sourdough, simple gin and tonics complicated with beet juice and lemon, dirty martinis made with olive oil vodka and blue cheese-stuffed olives, and a mocktail named after one of my favorite ever show tunes, Murry Head’s “One Night in Bangkok,” which takes pineapple, cucumber, ginger, lime, and coconut and makes them all sing in perfect harmony. 1600 South Street.
Tesiny, South Philly
Look, there are few pairings in the world more perfect than a half-dozen oysters and an ice-cold martini to chase them with. It is the essence of luxury, simplicity, elegance, and pure animal pleasure. The briny oysters, the sting of cold gin, a shell in one hand and the thin stem of a glass in the other — it is the world put into a perfect balance. And Lauren Biederman, who opened Tesiny in an old garage on Dickinson Street late last year, gets that. She understands primal joys and uncomplicated presentation. Oysters, caviar, olives — these are her business at her gourmet shop, Biederman’s. And those things all inform the vibe at Tesiny.
Inform, but don’t define. Because oysters and martinis, champagne and caviar are only the start of what she and her team do. And to roll up here at the bar is to see classic cocktail making preserved and transformed. There aren’t fireworks here. No house ferments or whole cheeseburger garnishes. Just discrete, individual elements (cognac, applejack, amaro, and allspice here, rum, rye, passionfruit, and cinnamon there) smartly combined into restrained, balanced cocktails meant to complement (but not overwhelm) the seafood plateaus, shrimp cocktails, and red potatoes with caviar that will soon be following. 719 Dickinson Street.
Forest & Main, Fishtown
The Ambler-based brewery has always treated their beers with the same reverence as fine wines, making it a favorite among Philly beer fanatics. Now, they’ve brought that same level of geeky sophistication to Fishtown, where their fruity yet balanced saisons and hoppy ales have quickly become bright stars in the city’s illustrious constellation of local brews. The bar is outfitted with Czech Lukr side-pull faucets, allowing bartenders to control the amount of foam, and hand-pumps to pour ales at the perfect temperature, which elevates the entire experience. But the brilliance here lies in the contrast: chef Dane DeMarco’s “Snack Shack” features a menu of lowkey bar bites like hand-dredged buttermilk fried chicken sandwiches, a gigantic soft pretzel that barely fits on a plate, and, of course, DeMarco’s famous cheeseburger complete with 10k sauce. For exceptional beer, solid food, and a neighborhood atmosphere, Forest & Main’s Fishtown taproom is the perfect go-to for anyone looking for a regular spot to hang out. 1416 Frankford Avenue.
