Cartesian sucks.

I haven't been to their spot yet but, I had their beer at a couple street festivals on West Passyunk Ave last year and thought Cartesian makes very good beer.

Solar Myth was a pleasant surprise.

The Jim has great cocktails & food but limited seating.

Cartesian has good beers but it's almost impossible to have a conversation there unless you're outside. The acoustics are atrocious.

Separatist is the place to be.

The best bars in Philly have been and always will be the bars nearest my apartment.

Nice to see Carbon Copy on the list.

Closest to home, closest to work, or on your way between home and work.

“Though it’s worth mentioning that, in our experience so far, style seems to outmatch the fairly one-dimensional drinks we tried”

Then why is it on the list?

I haven't paid a cover fee since 1997. Put that bar on my banned list.

Agreed. And hopefully no one gets too angry at me for this but it’s great to go there before it gets too crowded with a toddler. Tons of space and loud so my daughter screaming that the next episode of Bluey isn’t coming on fast enough isn’t that much of an issue.

Amen.

I have a little on too. Try ARS or Dock Street. Both spots are welcoming to kids.

I feel similarly about pizza. It's all about the cost, quality, and proximity, with proximity being the most important.

Rec & royal is less bar and more nightclub. Their cocktails are awful. How did they even get on this list?

"but limited seating"? You say that like it's a bad thing.

Earnest question, why? I enjoyed the beer and appreciate a place doing some farmhouse/saison styles

Damn, they're just blowing up all the spots around Passyunk huh

Four Humours is great but it opened in 2020, you’d think there’d be more “new” bars to choose from, like two robbers would make more sense for that area

Rec and Royal is a joke.

At my last job we did a custom brunch with a beer pairing with them and the owners were lazy jerks about everything and the beers that they wanted use to did not taste like anything that they described.

I am a short walk to some of these, is a win-win.

P.S. RIP Bards.

KISS.

I've walked by NoChe countless times and never bat an eyelash, after this piece they'll be my next stop for a few cocktails.

The Swedish place looks interesting as well (no deer heart - no sale, though).

That's fair! Kinda stuff you don't get swinging by for a pint

> it’s great to go there before it gets too crowded with a toddler

If you are not taking up spots at the bar for your kid(s) - I don't see a problem.

Two robbers is pretty bad, and I think that's why they somehow didn't manage to make it on this list despite the fairly limited choices.

They aren't kidding about grace & proper being packed. I had an unexpected couple of hours to myself yesterday and was riding by shortly before 5, so I tried to stop by there for a drink, and they couldn't have crammed one more person in there.

So I kept going south on 8th and went to the jim, and it was as dark and pleasant as it has been since basically the day it opened.

To be fair, it's titled "where we're drinking right now", not "what's best right now". It's philly mag, they have no qualms about style over substance...

Noche looks overpriced as all hell. $6 for still water.

Vast majority of cocktails $18-$22

Just doesn’t seem worth it

The Jim is a hilariously incestuous industry bar. I saw like 8 of my local bartenders there.

Good place to catch some free drinks if you tip well elsewhere.

> Both spots are welcoming to kids.

Great for when kids are running underneath the dartboard.

Or were, I think they canned that.

I liked what I saw on their menu, plus I don't think I've ever done more than two at a time at that price range (and I am used to paying that much for a good drink with proper ambiance).

EDIT: no way in hell I am paying $6 for a water, though.

Report back, if it’s good, I’ll give it a try

I went to rouge’s pop up espresso martini night the other day and I’m still hurting from a $40 bill for two drinks (not both for me)

Yikes.

Rogue never did strike me as a go-to cocktail place, and that price sounds like a rip off.

EDIT: $15, $18 max for something fancy/top shelf would be my budget there.

There were (of course) no prices on the pop up menu so at least noche is up front about stuff.

I always ask upfront, fuck their sneaky tactics.

I am not cheap, but I like money.

That's a bummer. My friends like their seltzers so we were thinking of checking it out sometime, but it looked pretty expensive.

I'm looking at the menu now, and yeah they're offering $7 seltzers in a 12 oz can. Just the same shit you can pick up at the store. They have two on draft, but it's the same price and seems like a 12 oz draft as well. Their cocktails, beer, and food are all pretty pricey as well.

Their "special" is a burger and fries and a seltzer for $22. How the fuck is that a deal?

Same but people got all up in arms for bringing toddlers places a few weeks ago here. I’m trying to go to Cartesian at like 5PM, not Mcgillins at 11.

It's a little small, but I like that about it

that place sucks so hard

This was my take "no no stop telling people"

That rant sure is...

Exactly. “I’m tired. I won’t stop by. Damn [so and so] is working? I should stop in for one drink. It’s been a long day. It’s only a few blocks home.”