Interstate Drafthouse

Interstate DrafthouseInterstate Drafthouse
Interstate DrafthouseInterstate Drafthouse
Bar, Eatery

1235 E Palmer St
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 19125-3307
United States

(267) 455-0045 | map
interstatedrafthouse.com
PLACE STATS
Average:
3.78
Reviews:
6
Ratings:
11
pDev:
19.05%
View: Place Reviews
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
 
Rated: 3.67 by metter98 from New York

Apr 24, 2016
 
Rated: 3.93 by dbrauneis from North Carolina

Apr 24, 2016
Photo of DoubleSimcoe
Reviewed by DoubleSimcoe from Pennsylvania

3.89/5  rDev +2.9%
vibe: 4.25 | quality: 3.75 | service: 4 | selection: 3.75 | food: 4
With Kraftwork and Lloyd down on Girard, it isn’t easy to choose Interstate. Glad my friends took me there, after eight months in the city. I love the bar sign (pure highway) and the off-the-beaten-path, side-street location.

It is a very chill jawn, long and narrow and dim. The sixteen taps had some serious brews, including Southern Choklat, DuClaw Serum, Rogue Yellow Snow, St Benjamin’s Peat, Caldera Double Brown, Dark Horse Scotty… we ordered an appetizer of fried cauliflower and holy papa, was it good! Greaseless, crunchy and beautiful.

Good times here and look forward to returning and trying more beers and new food.
Mar 25, 2015
 
Rated: 3.8 by FightinIrish88 from New Jersey

Nov 12, 2014
 
Rated: 3.5 by IdrinkGas from Pennsylvania

Aug 14, 2014
 
Rated: 4 by InspectorBob from New Jersey

Feb 26, 2014
Photo of slander
Reviewed by slander from New York

4/5  rDev +5.8%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | food: 4
Oh, Philly Sunday, fun day, one can hope. I guess we’ll see what the comes. Heading out early as usual with special guest star co-pilot (Evil) Davo. His girlfriend does exist (or at least she did exist), it’s true; I gone met her and everything on evil retrieval…

Around the bend from, and a few blocks shy of, and it can’t be too far from, you know. Sweet slander spot right across the street, and saunter on up; this stand alone narrow brick house. ‘L’ bar to the right with a wood plank top, wide lip, framed panel base, a piping foot rail, and seating for a baker’s dozen. Barback is an olive-gold wall with corner mirrored shelving pieces with stuff (someone’s hat, day of the dead looking puppet piece, other things that meet the classification of ‘stuff’), and brick play in between, with a flat screen above. The mirrored panels are pasted with stickers, and lined with old license plates & sprawling strung baby red Xmas lighting. Olive box running the length with booze two tiered and glassware shot and tasters fronting. Booze tiered below and glassware to both sides. Glassware rack on the end and a bottle cooler with another flat above.

Gold splotched walls over paneled lowers with Interstate signage of questionable procurement, brewery tins, & old ad play, including a cool Frank & the Mothers of Invention ‘Freakout’ at the Fillmore. Framed front windows, long narrow slat floorings, and a faux pressed tinesque drop ceiling painted something reddish. Drop glass lamps tracing the bar with colored bulbs and twisty orange bulbed arms extending out over the floor. A handful of 2-stooled tables run along the wall behind us, below a long horizontal blackboard listing draft selections, serving glass type, and $.

Stainless steel tower of 16 on bar center, of which nearly 2/3 are PA offerings (Yards Brawler, PBC Kenzinger & Pennsylvania Pale Ale, Sly Fox O’Reilly’s Irish Stout & Seamus’ Irish Red Ale, Weyerbacher Merry Monks, Full Pint TRI-PA, Lavery Belfast Black, Prism Shady Blond & Masons Hazelnut Coffee Porter), and the remainder a mix of craft regional & not (Ommegang Hennepin, Harpoon UFO Hefe, Two Brothers Outlaw IPA, Arcadia Coco Loco, Anderson Valley Winter Solstice), and a single cider (Spire Mountain Dark & Dry Cider). They do a flight of 8 shorty short beers for $11, so I sampled some things to see what was what and opted not for the sampler but the Yards Brawler, as it was where I was at. And another of the same, please.

Cooler with a handful of Oskar Blues cans (Old Chub, Mama’s Little Yellow Pils, Dales Pale Ale), these delicious treats (Tecate, Modelo, Yuengling, Colt 45), and Russian River Damnation bottles, too.

Opting for a light bite, I went with the chicken tortilla soup and we split the chicken & black beans nachos. I had to flick the disgusting olives away but the nachos were quite tasty otherwise.

Step up to the rear, the back room seating area holding just shy of a dozen tables. Another draft board, ads and brewery tins, blinded windows, brick floor, sunken spots, and strung skull & pepper lighting. Kitchenings to the rear rear, and I think there’s some sort of an outdoor space but I never got to it.

Chill crowd for a Sunday early in the day. Tomtender dealt us, doling us out the aforementioned samples as requested. Good food, decent tap list PA strong, and a chill house with a feel of southwestern play.
Aug 27, 2013
Photo of noel2977
Reviewed by noel2977 from New Jersey

4.38/5  rDev +15.9%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4 | food: 4.5
A flight of 8 beers is $11. And we are talking 2.5 oz pours. You simply cannot beat that. Other bars charge the same price for a sampler of 4. The tap list is not overwhelming, but balanced and ample.
And the food - never had a bad meal there. Gastropubs are plenty in Philly - we are spoiled. We actually drive to this 'hood from our spot in the city, it is that good. If you are in the area... try this place out.
Mar 03, 2013
Photo of MusicaleMike
Reviewed by MusicaleMike from Pennsylvania

4.63/5  rDev +22.5%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 5 | food: 4.5
I've come here twice now. The second time, my girlfriend and I were like, "why the hell is this second time we've been here?" as in we should have been here like 10 times by now. This is a fantastic bar that I highly highly recommend. Service, beer, food, atmosphere, clientele, all are awesome. We were told to com here and get anything Mexican. The guys in the kitchen are great cooks, and all of the dishes that we have had have been amazing, but since the cooks are of "Mexican descent" we should try some of their empanadas or tacos or whatever. The queso fundido was killer. Also, they have a very rare Rogue Chipotle ale on draft all the time, which is just the best sessionable chile beer ever!

The space is not large. The bar area is on the smaller side, and the dining room is not really designed for large parties. But if you want a good place to grab a bite with a significant other, or a buddy, he is a great neighborhood spot in Fishtown that has it all. I think that they have an outdoor area as well, but seeing as it is all cold and shit, I haven't seen it yet.

Some of the dishes that I have had here are a salad with some type of balsamic, friend calamari and cilantro, the queso fundido with very eccentric meats, like rabbit, venison, alligator, and duck or pheasant, and pumpkin ravioli. The desserts have been good too, with a berry tart with fresh whipped cream, and a excellent soft tiramisu.

I am a huge fan, because of the great food, pleasant atmosphere, UNPRETENTIOUS beer menu and service, and I have really enjoyed my experiences so far. Check this out if you live in Philly.
Dec 26, 2011
Photo of dwaz
Reviewed by dwaz from Pennsylvania

1.7/5  rDev -55%
vibe: 3 | quality: 1 | service: 1 | selection: 3 | food: 1
Figured I'd check this place out over the weekend with my wife. Decent selection on draft(16 taps I think), and the beer was the only good thing about this place. The food and service were horrible. We had to send our wings back because they were way undercooked(basically raw chicken), our waitress huffed when we told her, didn't say a word and then just snatched the wings off our table.

My wife also ordered a crab cake sandwich which looked good when it came out but when my wife went to eat it, it smelled "fishy" and was obviously a bad crab cake. When we tried to send my wife's sandwich back, the waitress became upset, and basically told us that we didn't know what we were talking about. We asked for the check at that point, finished our beers, left the uneaten food, paid in cash and got yelled at as we were walking out the door for not leaving a tip. Went around the corner to Kraftworks and had a much better experience. So, if you are looking for a place with a good draft selection where you are likely to get food posioning and maybe even yelled at, this is the place for you. I will not be going back.
Nov 16, 2011
Photo of ThoreauLikeAGirl
Reviewed by ThoreauLikeAGirl from Pennsylvania

4.13/5  rDev +9.3%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4 | food: 4
For just opening, this place really has their act together.
Stopped over after my friend's first gallery show down the street.
For a friday night, it was very manageable - a bit crowded, but not unbearable, like some other places in the area, if you know what i mean.
The draft menu was very solid - Edmund Fitzgerald, which kicked and was replaced by FW Walker's Reserve. Stone Ruination. Green Flash IPA. And the standards from Weyerbacher, Yards, Dogfish Head, Victory, and PBC.
Reasonable prices, too.
Their bottle list could use some work, though. But i can't really fault someone for that if they keep a good draft list.

Also was able to try some of the food - both the bacon wrapped shrimp, and seared filet tips were crowd pleasers.

Great service at the bar, too. Friendly, attentive, quick. (though can't say about table service yet)

Long bar in the front with about 15 stools. a couple high tops alongside the bar. in the back is the sit down area - about 10 tables. 2 TVs at the bar, too, which were showing sports games. If that's your thing.
Nov 16, 2011
Interstate Drafthouse in Philadelphia, PA
Place rating: 3.78 out of 5 with 11 ratings