Food may bring us together, but drinks make everything go down easier. Whether you’re in the mood for a cutting-edge cocktail, a bone-dry wine, or just a really good beer, Philly’s got you covered. Here are eight great places to drink, no matter what kind of buzz you’re after.

1/10

• Bloomsday

  414 S 2nd St

  

  There aren’t too many places in Philly where you’d order straight-up vermouth, let alone a vermouth flight. In fact, the bar at this restaurant/brunch spot — which has won over Society Hill and the rest of “East Philly,” as the Bloomsday crew calls it — might be the only one. Bloomsday stands out not only for its in-house Dumpster Juice vermouth series (which is getting its own space), and not only for its pandemic-born wine shop, but also for its elevated-yet-unpretentious attitude. Pore over the drinks menu here and you’ll encounter unconventional ingredients left and right, but Bloomsday is a safe space for the curious to learn more. That’s thanks to the ever-approachable staff, who you’ll often see joking with each other and customers. As bar manager Diana Robinson puts it, “This isn’t a super-fancy place [even if] that’s what we offer.” Robinson has rounded out the bar’s stellar wine program with a cocktail list that weaves in existing Bloomsday themes (local producers, food-beverage crossover ingredients). Try the Mommenpopsicle, a gin fizz spiked with a California citrus vermouth.

  • Websitebloomsdaycafe.com
  • Instagram@bloomsdaycafe
  • Phone(267) 319-8018

• Càphê Roasters

  3400 J St G1

  

  This cafe in Kensington’s Harrowgate section represents the culmination of owner Thu Pham’s yearslong quest to bring fresh-roasted Vietnamese coffee to Philadelphia, and it’s a hit. There are straightforward options, like hot or iced fresh-roasted coffee and lattes, as well as a myriad of rarely found specialties like yujacha (Korean citrus tea) and oksusu cha (tea made from corn silk). The staff here is serious about high-quality offerings, but they’re also having fun. Look no further than the soft-serve machine for proof. There’s always a condensed-milk flavor to top off lattes and flavored-tea float, but keep an eye out for experimental flavors like pandan-coconut, avocado, mocha, or honey-butter. (Pham recommends dipping the cafe’s french fries in soft serve, à la Wendy’s Frosty-and-fries combo.) Executive chef Jacob Trinh has built out robust food menu, ranging from breakfast sandwiches and banh mis to full-on entrées and desserts. With industrial views outside and a mid-century-modern aesthetic inside, the cafe can feel like a catalog, but framed family photos and houseplants send a different message: Sit down, stay awhile, and make yourself at home.

  • Websitecapheroasters.com
  • Instagram@capheroasters
  • Phone(215) 690-1268

• El Mezcal Cantina

  1260 Point Breeze Ave

  

  South Philly has more than its share of excellent Mexican restaurants, but only a handful of those have a great bar program to match. El Mezcal’s, crafted by mixologist/restaurant consultant Israel Nocelo, ranks among them. Its cócteles list features playful adaptations of Mexican preparations, snacks, and experiences: The Al Pastor cocktail mixes fire-roasted pineapple juice with smoky mezcal and reposado tequila; the sweet-sour Mango Chamoy is a riff on a popular Popsicle; and La Cumbia combines party essentials, according to Nocelo. “You go to a party in Mexico, the first thing they give you is a bottle of tequila, a bunch of limes, a bucket of ice, cups, and [the citrus soda] Squirt.” Special margarita flavors — think watermelon, cucumber-coconut, hibiscus — change weekly, often using a lightly spicy habanero-infused tequila. Come for happy hour, and stay for chef Eladio Soto’s aguachiles, tacos, and entrées.

  • Websiteelmezcalph.com
  • Instagram@elmezcalcantina
  • Phone(215) 782-0251

• Farm and Fisherman

  1442 Marlton Pike East, Cherry Hill, NJ

  

  Sophisticated and laid-back all at once, this strip-mall restaurant and bar in Cherry Hill is the sort of place you could visit weekly and still find new, interesting menu items to savor. The food, from James Beard-nominated chef Josh Lawler, is always seasonal and sharp, but the drinks are a must. Cocktails here easily compete with the edgiest offerings in the city, but they have a distinctive South Jersey stamp: They’re shaken and stirred with homemade amaros, shrubs, and sodas crafted from hyper-local herbs, berries, fruits, and vegetables — some right from the restaurant’s backyard. When he’s not tending to the cocktail garden, bar manager Danny Childs forages the suburban wilds for ingredients to infuse and flavor the bar’s lineup, composed of seasonal drinks, classics, and low- and no-ABV offerings. Expect the cocktail list to reflect your CSA share — and maybe what you rake up from your lawn. In summer, that means blueberries, chilies, melon, and cherries. In fall, it’s cranberries and chestnuts from the Pine Barrens and pumpkins from the garden.

  • Websitefandftavern.com
  • Instagram@thefarmandfish
  • Phone(856) 356-2282
Advertisement

• Human Robot

  1710 N 5th St

  

  No matter what style of beer you like — be it lagers or IPAs, sours or stouts — you’ll find something that’s your speed at this West Kensington brewery. And that was the whole point when Human Robot opened in 2020, said co-owner Jake Atkinson. “That’s where the name comes from: one half being regular-human beer — the lagers, pilsners, stuff like that — and the other stuff being the robot beer, like hazy IPAs, the crazy stout, the big fruited sours.” Human Robot took over the former St. Benjamin Brewing Co. space as well as talented St. Ben’s brewer Andrew Foss, who has spent years perfecting lagers and pilsners. That means while there’s a beer for everyone, there’s a wonderful array of those classics. On a recent visit, one could choose between two Czech lagers, Italian and German pilsners, a dark Mexican lager, and a German helles. Each beer comes in the appropriate glass, with one notable exception: the Milk Tube, an ultra-foamy Czech mlíko pour (meant to be chugged, traditionally served in a dimpled stein) in a tall, skinny kolsch glass. Tubes go for just $2 on Tuesdays.

  • Websitehumanrobotbeer.com
  • Instagram@humanrobotbeer
  • Phone(215) 978-4000

• Le Caveau

  614 S 7th St

  

  It’s exceptionally easy to lose track of time in this shadowy wine bar above Good King Tavern, and that’s by design. When Chloe Grigri opened Le Caveau in late 2019, she hoped to create the kind of place where you have such a good time, you forget to eat dinner and fill up on a bunch of snacks instead. Le Caveau pulls it off seamlessly, warming customers up with the stories behind the wines and pours from a freshly opened magnum every Thursday ($10 a glass until it kicks). You may be tempted to order a bottle here. It’s an impulse you should lean into. As Grigri says, “When you’re drinking something super-delicious, you’re always going to want at least a glass and a half.” While the drinks here — a deep collection of “consciously made, sustainably made” wines, draft negronis and martinis, precisely one rotating beer — unabashedly take the lead, the grazing is good, too. Think crispy chickpeas, tapenade-smeared crostini, fresh-cut chips with crème fraîche and roe, and a French hot dog served on a baguette with Dijon mustard.

  • Websitelecaveaubar.com
  • Instagram@lecaveaubar

• Original Clam Tavern

  339 E Broadway Ave, Clifton Heights

  

  Though this Clifton Heights staple is a destination for a nice dinner, a communion celebration, a family get-together and more, its bar is a worthwhile spot for time-traveling for an hour or two. Don’t expect refined cocktails, artisan wines, or a sprawling beer list. Instead, expect sweet, boozy signature cocktails and straightforward but strong iterations of the classics (helpfully listed on the nostalgic “for entertainment only” place mats). Bright-red maraschino cherries are muddled with a thick-cut orange wedge in the bar’s Old Fashioned, served in a heavy glass snifter. Whiskey sours are Banker’s Club and sour mix from the soda gun. Manhattans and martinis come with a sidecar of ice. These no-frills drinks fit the bill alongside the seafood offerings from one of Craig LaBan’s favorite old-school fish houses. Plus, a seat at the bar gives you the chance to enjoy banter between the Clam’s staff, many of whom have worked there for years.

  • Websiteclamtavern.net
  • Phone(610) 623-9537

• Wayvine

  4374 Forge Rd, Nottingham

  

  Head to this Chester County winery on a weekend afternoon and you’ll be rewarded with pastoral views, live music, and 100% estate-grown Pennsylvania wine that ranks among the best on the East Coast. Brothers Zachary and James Wilson got into the grape-growing business well before they were old enough to drink, and the investment into their fourth-generation farm has paid off: Wayvine started in 2010 with 4 acres of grapevines and has spread to 18 acres, producing about 50,000 bottles of wine each year. The winery’s new tasting room — designed and built by the brothers — opened last January, and its new wine-and-pasta bar, Tulip, opened in Fishtown in September. There are more plans in the works (harvest days for volunteers, a farm-adjacent Airbnb or two, homegrown grains for the pasta bar), but all that hustle fades to the background on a visit to the winery, where you can kick back under the maple trees, sip your wine, and soak up the scenery.

  • Websitewayvine.wine
  • Instagram@way_vine
  • Phone(610) 220-0128
Advertisement