Where to get cocktails to go in Philadelphia
Rather than meditate on why it took so long, why not celebrate with a toast?
At long last, to-go cocktails are legal in Pennsylvania. Rather than contemplate why it took this long, how it’s going to be implemented, or why it’s so difficult to buy booze in the state to begin with, why not celebrate with a to-go drink?
Here are some options, and remember: Calling a restaurant directly to place an order might help them avoid fees from third-party delivery services.
This list will be updated.
This Midtown Village cocktail lounge always serves drinks with a flair. For the to-go list, they had to skip the smoked glasses and flaming garnishes, but their most popular cocktails are still available, including the Commodore (bourbon, strawberry, orange, lime, orange bitters), Bullseye (roasted farro-infused bourbon, amaro, absinthe), and a tequila smash (tequila, lemon, mint, angostura). Single servings are $13 across the board, and batches with five drinks’ worth are $55. “That’s probably the cheapest we’ve ever sold a Charlie cocktail,” owner Nicole Marquis said. Bonus: A takeout happy hour is planned for 3 to 5 p.m. Mondays through Fridays. Call in an order for drinks and some of Charlie’s upscale plant-based bar food (roasted Brussels sprouts, potato croquettes, house-made ricotta and grilled sourdough).
131 S. 13th St., 267-758-5372, charliewasasinner.com
The Delaware County gastropub, with locations in Havertown, Media, and Malvern, has wood-fired pizzas, sliders, and wings on its takeout menu. You’ll want to order some of them to lay a base for their to-go cocktails: 16 ounces of margaritas (choose between regular, pineapple, and spicy Capone style), Tom Collins, Manhattans, and Speakeasies (Smithworks Vodka, wildflower honey, hibiscus-infused homemade lemonade, basil) for anywhere between $20 and $45. Perhaps most tempting on the menu: A growler of whiskey sours made with rooibos-infused Basil Hayden’s bourbon, Brick and Brew’s sour mix, and house-cured cherries. At $130, it’s pricey, but if you do the math (a 64-ounce growler, divided by standard 4-ounce servings), each cocktail comes out to a little more than $8. Growlers of other cocktails are available, ranging from $80 to $160.
26 W. State St., Media, 484-443-8441; 2138 Darby Rd., Havertown, 484-455-7250; 400 E King St. Malvern, 484-320-8688; bricknbrewpub.com
Ardmore’s answer to the French brasserie got into the delivery game early, and they’ve added Memorial Day beach boxes (and seafood boils) to their daily menu of escargots, rotisserie chicken, and trout amandine. What cocktails can you tack onto your early-summer weekend order? Ardmore Fish House Punch (cognac, spiced rum, spices, lemon), Montreal old fashioneds (bourbon, maple, Luxardo cherries), mai tais, and Dark and Fancys (dark rum, ginger liqueur, lime). Servings will come in either 16 or 32 ounces for around $30.
7 E. Lancaster Ave., Ardmore; 610-589-0500; thebercy.com
This Fishtown cocktail bar started out nostalgic — serving White Russians and a Three-Martini Lunch (three mini-martinis with different ingredients, ratios, and garnishes) — when it started in 2018, and lately it’s gone the tiki route in a way that’s both kitschy and delicious. Its takeout drink list offers some of its greatest hits, including that White Russian, in clarified milk punch-style; All the Time in the World, a play on strawberry margaritas with sherry, smoked rhubarb, and lemon; Retrograde, a spicy mezcal cocktail with mango, ancho chili, apricot, and lime; and a Rusty Nail made with American oak-aged Scotch. Serving sizes range from two- to six-person batches for anywhere between $20 and $60.
1206 Frankford Ave., 215-515-3452, instagram.com/rd_philly
The Southern-inflected restaurant from the same owners as Jet Wine Bar and Cafe Ynez will sling some classic cocktails for takeout as well as in-house specialties and Bloody Mary and mimosa kits. Offerings include ancho-chili margaritas, sage gimlets (gin, lime, sage syrup), hurricanes (dark and light rum, citrus and fruit juice, grenadine), whiskey sours spiked with lemon-cayenne shrub, and the Deep South (rooibos tea-infused vodka, lemon, salted honey syrup). Batches of drinks — between 16 and 30 ounces, depending on the drink — range from $32 to $45.
1516 South St., 267-319-1366, rex1516.com
The Rittenhouse cocktail lounge gets into the takeout game with five cocktails from its regular menu, including a Penicillin (Scotch, fresh-squeezed ginger and lemon juice, honey, Laphroaig spritz), the Mexican Strawberry (tequila with muddled strawberry, cucumber, and mint) and the Wall Street (single-barrel Knob Creek rye, Carpano Antica vermouth, bitters). The 10-ounce cocktails will come chilled, with large ice cubes on the side, in 12-ounce capped bottles ranging from $16 to $28. Larger orders may be accommodated with enough lead time, and look for expanded offerings (plus a food menu) as the summer goes on.
2006 Chestnut St., 1tpl.com
The cocktails and bar snacks at this sister establishment to chef Nick Elmi’s Laurel consistently impress with their creativity (we enjoyed a duck liver stroopwafel in pre-pandemic times). Their takeout menu channels seasonal flavors, including the You Can’t Cancel Spring, with snap pea-infused gin, cucumber-dill shrub, and lemon; and the Sun Also Rises, with rum, grapefruit, lime, and smoked pineapple. The four cocktails on their to-go list will be sold individually in six-ounce bottles for $12 each, or in a mixed four-pack for $40. There’s also a one-liter Chai Painkiller (Jamaican rum, brandy, chai-infused coconut milk, pineapple, orange) that serves six for $60.
1615 E. Passyunk Ave., 267-858-0669, itvphilly.com
The Queen Village pasta bar offers Italian-appropriate libations to go along with its pickup and delivery menu. Cocktails here come in adorable glass bottles for $12 a pop. There’s a classic negroni (gin, Campari, sweet vermouth) and L’Aventurra (bourbon, Lo-fi, Luxardo amaro, Carpano Antica vermouth, bitters).
627 S. Third St., 267-534-3076, crybabypasta.com
This South Street faux-dive/bottle shop from the same owners of Hawthornes, Tio Flores, and the Cambridge took off after opening early this year. Its to-go cocktails play on the classics: maple old fashioneds, lavender aviations, and black Manhattans. If the law allows, Chris and Heather Fetfatzes, who also own the beer- and wine-delivery service QuickSip, will launch a cocktail delivery service that they’d like to call GoGo Cocktails. (Cocktails cannot be legally delivered as of yet.)
1506 South St., 267-900-9463, winedivephilly.com
The Kensington izakaya is part of Ben Puchowitz and Shawn Darragh’s restaurant constellation (Bing Bing Dim Sum, Cheu Noodle Bar, Cheu Fishtown). It’ll be slinging two highball kits (the classic, with Suntory Toki whisky and Schweppes club soda; and yuzu-Thai basil, with Thai basil simple syrup and yuzu lime juice) as well as shochu spritz kits with salted grapefruit cordial and citrus shochu. Each kit makes two drinks apiece and comes with a pint of two-inch ice cubes. If fizz isn’t your thing, there’s also the nu martini, with Japanese gin, vermouth, Thai rice shochu, and an olive. The pre-batched martini comes in a corked glass bottle.
1414 Frankford Ave., 215-278-2804, nunuphilly.com
The South Street sports bar/watering hole is warming up with the weather. It’s selling 32-ounce Bay Breezes (vodka-cranberries spiked with pineapple juice), Dark and Stormys, and margaritas, plus 16-ounce pouches of either a tequila sunrise or a Fishbowl: vodka, white rum, blue curacao, coconut, sprite, lime and pineapple, garnished with a Swedish Fish. For those of you missing them, you can get four ounces’ worth of a Green Tea shot here.
1612 South St., 267-519-0253, foundingfathersbar.com
The laid-back Fishtown hangout’s much-loved Fishtown Iced Tea (Long Island iced tea served in an Arctic Splash container) are going for $10 a pop.
1235 E. Palmer St., 267-455-0045, interstatedrafthouse.com
The vegan haven in Washington Square West dipped its toes into the takeout game over Mother’s Day weekend, and now it’s adding cocktails to the offerings. There are 10-ounce bottles of the Respected Desperado (gin, matcha, yuzu, bitter herbs) and the purple-tinged Spaghetti Western (sotol, vermouth, gentian, maraschino) for $14. The Slow Burn (bourbon, amontillado sherry, rhubarb) goes for $15. And given chef Rich Landau’s way with vegetables, we’re betting the spicy Bloody Mary, shaken up with a house-made mix, is pretty good here; a 16-ounce bottle is $15.
1221 Locust St., 215-320-7500, vedgerestaurant.com/csc
The Midtown Village location of this laid-back sports bar is open for takeout while its Rittenhouse sibling is closed. Besides wraps of all sorts (soft-shell crab, grilled chicken, veggies, breakfast), there are pickle chips, house-made guacamole, and cheesesteak spring rolls. To wash it down: 32-ounce cups of Patron margaritas ($30), Long Island iced teas and mojitos ($22), and Moscow or Mexican mules ($20).
112 S. 11th St., 267-758-2446, wrapshackpa.com
What cocktail pairs best with a meatball sandwich (whether it’s an authentic meatball or a vegan one)? A negroni, of course. This revived South Philly classic at the intersection of 10th and Reed Streets is selling them by the pint (that’s 16 ounces) for $30. They’ve also got pints and quarts of Bloody Marys ($13 and $25, respectively), strawberry-basil Collins ($16 and $32), and frozen wooder ice in various enticing flavors including chipotle-pineapple, desert pear, and tiki blend ($12 and 25).
1338 S. 10th St., 215-800-1992, triangletavernphilly.com