Bar & Restaurant Reviews

Bringing a Piece of History Back to South 2nd Street

(3 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)

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February/March 2012

Kennett Restaurant is helping to revive the Queens Village Neighborhood.

Trying to recreate a piece of history that stood as a cornerstone of the Queens Village area of Philadelphia for 62 years, Johnny Della Polla and Ashley Bohan reopened Kennett Café, now under the name Kennett Restaurant, just over a year ago. Closed in 1986, new life has been brought to the classic Queens Village café. Located in what used to be home to the Lyon’s Den for a number of years, Della Polla and Bohan took their experience in the restaurant industry to turn the Lyon’s Den into a vastly different type of eatery. Remnants of the Lyon’s Den are now unrecognizable as Kennett brings a whole new feel to South 2nd Street. With a focus on local and sustainability; Queens Village is now home to a much more fitting restaurant.

A Bar and Music… With Craft Beer

(No Ratings Yet)

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By Neil Harner

February/March 2012

Croydon’s Dog and Bull delights with a daily roster of musicians and wide selection of craft beers.

If you’re the type that likes to drink and eat, be sure to grab a bite before stopping at Croydon’s Dog and Bull Brew and Music House, since you’re sure to be there for the rest of the night while you sit back and enjoy the musical stylings of diverse musicians from Philadelphia and the ‘burbs.

Station Taproom

(1 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)

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By Bobby Clark

December/January 2011-12

Sean McGettigan’s junction of great beer and amazing food.

On a corner directly across the street from the Downingtown train station, the menu, tap and bottle list of Station Taproom are just as strong as the exterior’s brick facade. Stepping inside, the bar reveals itself right away. For-sale paintings and stunning, framed photography punctuate the wall space’s warm colors. A bricked archway exposes the kitchen, reminiscent of a family restaurant, maybe your favorite pizzeria. The inviting atmosphere is alive with a hospitable, knowledgeable staff ready to make your visit memorable. Read more…

The Revival of Rembrandt’s

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By Mat Falco

December/January 2011-12

Where cooking with the beer is almost as important as drinking.

With the help of a new chef turned partner, Rembrandt’s in Philadelphia has redefined itself over the last eighteen months. A bar and restaurant that was seemingly forgotten with time, has turned itself around and begun to form a new identity. With Chef Robert Legget, formerly of Cuba Libre in Old City, now at the helm, the beer and
food programs alike have reached new levels. Read more…

Burgers To Die For, Beer In Abundance

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By Mat Falco

October/November 2011

Chelsea Tavern puts Wilmington on the beer map.

There is no question that the beer culture of Wilmington, DE is on the rise. Bars are popping up all over the city and everyone is starting to offer up at least a craft beer or two. The power of Philadelphia’s beer scene is definitely starting to rub off on our southern neighbor. In the heart of this scene, located right downtown, is one of the premier spots to grab a pint in Wilmington: The Chelsea Tavern. Read more…

Touchdowns, Taps and ‘Tots

(No Ratings Yet)

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By Mat Falco

October/November 2011

Cav’s Rittenhouse is one of the best spots in Center City for good beer and sports.

With football season upon us, it’s only fitting to look for some quality bars to catch the games. With sports on the brain, there are few craft-beer destinations that really go all-out for the games (a bunch of the bars don’t even have TVs). There are some good ones though: Misconduct Tavern, the Hulmeville Inn, Jamison Pour House, McGillin’s and the Iron Abbey, to name a few. Another good one worth a deeper look is Cavanaugh’s Rittenhouse. Read more…

A Tavern for the Entire Family

(No Ratings Yet)

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By Neil Harner

August/September 2011

The Jamison Pour House, located in Bucks County.

For most Philadelphia folks, the village of Jamison may sound unfamiliar, as it’s completely plausible that you’ve driven by it half a dozen times and had no idea it was there. Tucked away right around Almshouse Road and York Road in Bucks County, PA, is the quaint and historical Jamison Pour House.

Dating back to the early 1900s, the Jamison Tavern & Inn, as it was known in the day, was a country-style inn offering a tavern atmosphere and rooms for travelers who over-indulged. Throughout the 20th century, the tavern changed owners and names numerous times, including what many to this day may still know as “Reese’s Tavern.” Through the 2000s, the tavern changed hands several more times and even went unoccupied in 2009, before Joe and Janeen Wade purchased the building in 2010. Read more…

Bringing Back the Region’s Best

(No Ratings Yet)

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By Mat Falco

August/September 2011

MidAtlantic is serving up great food and beer in a setting fitting for everyone.

University City has been one of the hotter, rapidlygrowing destinations for craft beer in the city over the past couple years. New places like City Tap House quickly put their name on the map, pouring a ridiculous amount of draft beers and featuring an impressive outdoor roof garden with fire pits, and Blockley Pourhouse came on the scene attempting to bring live music together with great beer. Along with a handful of other craft beer focused bars, University City is quickly becoming a destination for beer lovers. Located right on the outskirts of the area is MidAtlantic, who is helping to solidify the University City beer culture. Read more…

The Eclectic Flavor of National Mechanics

(2 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)

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By Mat Falco

June/July 2011

This former bank has become a focal point for great food & beer in Old City.

Located in an old bank (Mechanics National Bank, thus the name) on 3rd Street, National Mechanics is arguably one of the coolest bars in the city. When you first arrive and walk up the giant stone steps and through the pillars supporting the classic beauty of this building and enter through the massive blood red cloaked wooden doors, you know that you are entering a special bar. But, the beauty and art don’t end at the doorway. Entering the bar, you walk into a huge open room with vaulted ceilings covered in National’s unique sense of art. Styled with an eclectic assortment of dogs stuffed with a mélange of light bulbs and adorned with wigs, along with handmade, mechanical inspired light fixtures and a pair of bathroom sinks unlike any in the city. This multifarious style is only fitting for the type of happenings that go on in this bar. Read more…

A Taste of the Abbey

(2 votes, average: 3.00 out of 5)

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By Neil Harner

June/July 2011

Iron Abbey is the suburbs’ spot for sports, good food and a stellar beer line-up.

There are sports bars. There are gastro-pubs. There are locally focused beer bars. There are import focused beer bars. And then there’s the Iron Abbey, which uniquely manages to balance all four of these, just outside the city in Horsham, neighboring the na’Brasa Brazilian Steakhouse. Read more…

Philly Beer Scene