These 6 Philadelphia restaurants and bars also have great murals

Take a walk around Philadelphia and you’ll quickly see why it’s deemed the “City of Murals.” For over 35 years, Mural Arts Philadelphia has collaborated with artists to create over 4,000 works of art, making it the largest public art program in the nation. In addition to the Mural Arts program, the City of Philadelphia also pioneered the Percent for Art model, an ordinance that requires 1% of the total budget of any city-funded construction project to be allocated for public art. Philadelphia is a city that celebrates the arts. It’s also a city that loves good food, so it’s fitting that restaurants and bars around the city have also become canvasses for artists.

Chefs and restaurateurs express themselves through more than just food. The design of the menus, the aesthetic of the restaurant, and through the artwork that fills their walls are also part of expression. So, partnering with an artist to create a mural is a big statement. “You go beyond the tables and chairs and color,” says Conrad Benner, the founder of Streets Dept, a blog that documents and explores street art and murals across Philly’s public spaces. “Working with an artist can take the idea or the mission or the hopes and dreams of your business, your restaurant, your employees, and translate that into a mural.

“We are a result of the physical environment we build for ourselves — the nest we build for ourselves,” says Benner, who advocates for artists on social media. “So, if you build a space, it’s really welcoming and comforting, and that sort of thing might feel more relaxed. Whereas, if you build a space that’s exciting and colorful and bright, you might have that kind of energy.”

Here’s where to find some of the most beautiful murals in bars and restaurants around Philly, and also the stories behind them.

If you’re a fan of Hawk Krall’s satirical cityscapes, exaggerated expressions, and comical collages of cultural references, you can see some of his work in the wild in the backyard of Pizza Brain. The mural is about a decade old, and though it’s nostalgic, it’s also a timeless snapshot of Philly life, mixing icons of the 2000′s in with the everlasting symbols of the city.

Almost like a Where’s Waldo? picture, Krall and the owners of Pizza Brain hid hyper specific people and scenes into the mural that are definitely on an “if you know, you know” basis. There’s the West Philly band Level of Destruction, Georges Perrier (who Krall worked for for a couple of years before he did the mural), and a scene of the owners of Pizza Brain participating in the annual Kensington Kinetic Sculpture Derby. There are also more well-known Philly references like Tastykake, Betsy Ross, and of course, Ben Franklin getting ready to take a bite of a drippy slice of pizza. It’s one of those murals that, the longer you look at it, the more stories it has to tell you. “I guess I try to put in things about the city that are interesting or fun or beautiful that you wouldn’t necessarily notice all of the time,” says Krall.

📍2313 Frankford Ave., 📞 215-291-2965 🌐www.pizzabrain.org, 📷@mypizzabrain, 🕑 Mon.-Wed. 1-8 p.m., Thu.-Sat. noon-9 p.m., Sun. noon-8 p.m.

The murals that cover the walls at Bing Bing Dim Sum can be best described as playful, busy, or, as co-owner Shawn Darragh calls them, “trippy.” Anthropomorphized dumplings dance on the wall behind booths while an intricate and colorful scene of dragons twist and turn above a city skyline in front of the kitchen. “If you kind of browse around in it, there’s some pretty weird looking things in there,” he says.

Darragh says he and co-owner Ben Puchowitz grew up in artistic families, so collaborating with artists and surrounding themselves with design was an essential part of creating Bing Bing Dim Sum’s feel-good vibe. “The focus of our restaurants is always good energy, which to me comes from music, and the way we lay out the dining rooms, and good art,” says Darragh. From little details like the lamps designed by Ben’s brother, Zach Puchowitz, to the black-and-white dumpling wall designed by Jon Billett, to the amusing and eccentric mural in front of the kitchen by Valeriya Volkova and Mike Wert, the artwork at Bing Bing Dim Sum adds an exciting backdrop to every meal.

📍1648 E Passyunk Ave., 📞 215-279-7702 🌐www.bingbingdimsum.com, 📷@bingbingdimsum 🕑 Mon.-Thu. 4:30-9:30 p.m., Sat. 1-10 p.m., Sun. 4-9:30 p.m.

The first piece of art you encounter at Triple Bottom Brewing is outside the brewery, just above the side door of the building. A rainbow heart made of tile tells passersby to “Choose Joy.” Cofounder Tess Hart says the company wanted to create a space where people could showcase their talents.” The collaboration between artists Amberella (also known as Amber Lynn) and Katia McGuirk of Katia Tiles, is a really sweet little reminder to look up and take a breath,” says Hart.

Inside, in a little lounge nook to the right of the entrance, there’s a single-line drawing connecting pops of color by Costa Rican artist Dora Cuenca. The color and movement of this mural are reflected in the large floor-to-ceiling painting that fills the back wall. Past the bar, through the blue barn door, is a mural of bold waves of color painted by Serena Saunders who used to work as a bartender at Triple Bottom Brewing before she pursued her career in art. “I think the two murals add this feeling of joy and vibrancy that works so well with the space,” says Hart. “They’re eye-catching, but they’re not dominating. I think they can be a beautiful backdrop to the experiences that are happening there.”

📍915 Spring Garden St., 📞 267-764-1994 🌐www.triplebottombrewing.com, 📷@triplebottombrewing 🕑 Thu.-Fri. 4-9:30 p.m., Sat. noon-9:30 p.m., Sun. noon-6 p.m.

Entering Huda feels like walking into an animated Adult Swim bump where the walls are filled with jointless, chip-eyed characters that look like they’ve been pulled straight out of the Land of Ooo, the mythical world in Cartoon Network’s Adventure Time. Philadelphia-based illustrator Alex Smith created a mural and several other pieces of art that bring whimsy and fantasy to the Center City sandwich shop.

On one wall between two windows, a checked print dragon winds down through scenes of dancing vegetables and squirts of ketchup toward a sandwich that’s falling into place. On another wall are more abstract elements of sandwiches coming together around the words “Yum Yum Yum.” Both works tell a story of the imaginative excitement that’s happening between two slices of bread. But to Yehuda Sichel, owner and chef of Huda, the piece that stands out the most is a small painting of two sourdough loaves holding a carrot and a radish. “It’s supposed to be based on me and my wife and our two kids,” says Sichel. “It’s really cute.”

📍32 S 18th St., 📞 445-544-8025 🌐www.hudaphl.com 📷@hudaphl 🕑 Thu.-Sat. 11 a.m.-6 p.m., Sun. 11-3 p.m.

The walls inside and outside of Writer’s Block Rehab are filled with artwork meant to stimulate your creativity and spark meaningful conversations. Over the years Ram Krishnan, owner of Writer’s Block Rehab, has commissioned two murals of pivotal figures in the Black and LGBTQIA+ communities that cover the exterior walls of the stand-alone building. The first mural is of Alain LeRoy Locke, the first African American Rhodes Scholar and “dean” of the Harlem Renaissance, created by London-based artist Ben Slow.

The second and most recent addition to the building is a mural of Lil Nas X, created by artist Ash Ryan.

Though the murals depict two people born 100 years apart, their stories are somewhat similar. Krishnan says they both have left an impression on their respective generations. “It’s a conversation piece,” says Krishnan. “It provokes thought and creates a reaction.”

Inside the bar, there’s even more artwork to pique your curiosity. As soon as you walk through the door, it feels like you’re falling into the rabbit hole in Alice in Wonderland. Two chandeliers made of globes hang in front of a floor-to-ceiling print of a library. Behind the bar is a crossword puzzle where you can search for the names of artists and authors while sipping on a Peruvian Sunrise or classic martini. “Whether you’re a writer or not, the idea of a bar is to decompress and have a moment,” says Krishnan.

📍1342 Cypress St., 📞 267-603-6960 🌐www.facebook.com/writersblockrehab 📷@writersblockrehab🕑 Wed. 5-9 p.m., Thu. 5-9:30 p.m., Fri. 5-11 p.m., Sat. 4-11 p.m., Sun. 4-8 p.m.

The term “farm-to-table” is used a lot these days, but how often do we reflect on what that supply chain looks like? Marian Bailey’s mural at Weckerly’s is a visual representation of the journey the company’s ice cream products take. “It is a colorful illustration of their process, from the local farms that they work with, all the way up to their production facilities, and then to the actual ice cream and ice cream sandwiches that they serve to the people of Philadelphia,” says Bailey.

When preparing to design the mural, Bailey tagged along with the Weckerly’s team on trips to visit the local organic dairy farms and facilities they work with and got to see the entire process from start to finish. And yes, as part of getting inspiration for her artwork, Bailey did get to hang out with some cows which are two of the main focal points of the mural. “I love the pink and purple cows,” says Andy Satinsky, co-owner of Weckerly’s. “I love how she used colors so vividly in places where in reality that color doesn’t exist, but it makes sense in the context of the mural.”

📍9 W Girard Ave., 📞 215-423-2000 🌐www.weckerlys.com 📷@weckerlys 🕑 Tue.-Thu. 3-10 p.m., Fri. 3-11 p.m., Sat. 1-11 p.m., Sun. 1-10 p.m.