Fountain Porter

Fountain PorterFountain Porter
Fountain PorterFountain Porter
Bar, Eatery

1601 S 10th St
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 19148-1101
United States | map
fountainporter.com
PLACE STATS
Average:
4.38
Reviews:
8
Ratings:
17
pDev:
8.45%
View: Place Reviews
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Ratings by RLM15:
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Reviewed by RLM15 from California

4.73/5  rDev +8%
vibe: 4.75 | quality: 4.75 | service: 4.75 | selection: 4.75 | food: 4.5
Quickly became one of my favorite beer bars in Philly. Fountain Porter has an awesome tap list of about 20 beers along with a really nice and simple food menu. The happy hour is can't miss. $1.50 off all beers Mon-Fri 5-7 .
Jun 22, 2016
More User Ratings:
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Reviewed by Bouleboubier from New Jersey

4.46/5  rDev +1.8%
vibe: 4.25 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.25 | food: 5
I'd been here the first time c. 2015. It's still the same dimly it, sedating, almost antique atmosphere. The vinyls spinning usually somehow fit the mood. Started coming here again last year after trying to find a local near work that was open around my silly schedule. Even when I think it's gonna be a sparse crowd, it's usually packed, but I always seem to find a seat. I've come to crave their $6 burger bad. I'm afraid I'll be almost thinking of maybe pretending to be a regular.
Jul 08, 2023
 
Rated: 4 by slasich from Pennsylvania

May 16, 2020
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Reviewed by slander from New York

4.5/5  rDev +2.7%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4.5
‘Fountain Porter’ you say, yeah, I’ve heard that. Somebody said they had the best tap list in the city; I just don’t remember who it was that said that where and when. Still, you don’t just drop that on me expecting that I’ll take it as word. No, that’ll need to be looked in on. So we roll, went the long way around and navigated the super tight South Philly streets to get here, MoonZero and I. Corner of South 10th and something. A Sunday fact finding mission, as it was…

‘L’ shaped laminate panel topped wood bar with a lip, panel base, and a piping foot rail; seating for 14 on hightop wood chairs cushioned. Barback wall holds a large dark wood unit. 4X6 horizontal mirror on center with a narrow horizontal ‘Blind Tiger’ board listing meat & cheese, burgers, pickles, and snacks hanging along the top. Blackboards listing tap selections, $, and a tulip indicator for anything non-pint, in alt colored chalk to both sides, with booze & pint glasses fronting counterside. Glass front cupboard action on each end with alt glassware, condiments, wines, etc. Strangely, there’s a Half Acre Vallejo tin in the front case, as I was just telling someone of my love for this beer. Panel lowers with a pair of boxed shelves below on center with pint glasses. Ornate spindle banisters on the unit and sunken spots within.

Beige walls with mounted horn lamps over wood panel lowers. Tall narrow window trios on both walls off the corner with vertical logo neons in each center window. Dark tiled floors with a light tile trim. Brick colored ceiling with a rectangular trim piece that looks like pressed tin should be there. A center drop glass lamp with 3 blade spinnys to each side. Up in the rear corner sits a single flat mounted. Slight art (prints, a map, a Pony Bar-esque Neil Young pic, a framed mirror, etc.) 12 stool bar counter in the area behind me, and a 2 piece in the corner on marble slab. And a small step up room to the rear; 2 tables and some shorty stool bar counter space.

20 tap row sunken below; it’s a very good mix. A quarter of them are PA offerings from near & not (PBC Kenzinger, Tired Hands SaisonHands, Sole Artisan Muur, Stoudts Pils, Draai Laag R2 Koelschip), another quarter are craft regional (Carton of Milk, B.D.G., & Boat Beer, Jacks Abby House Lager, Hill Farmstead Dorothy), and the remainder mostly craft afar (Bells Two Hearted Ale & Porter, Sierra Nevada Kellerweis, Half Acre Western Automatic, Navaja Double IPA, & Daisy Cutter, Perennial 17 Mint Chocolate Stout & Glitter & Gold), with a single import (Weihenstephaner Festbier) and cider (Commonwealth Cider) thrown in there for good measure. I drank the Hill Farmstead Dorothy & Half Acre Western Automatic (laughingly).

We are dealing and dealt banter with ‘tenders and customers over roast pork sandwiches, bars, & breweries. They have provided good insights here. There will be a roast pork sandwich in my near soonness, true. It is my density (What? Yes, broccoli rabe and sharp prov, what kind of stupid question was that?) But right of the now, Kenny Kid ‘et the pork roll sandwich (pork roll, egg, & cheese). It was beautiful and there was much love for it. I should have ordered me a burger. What was I thinking? Fuck! Mistakes were made.

Revisited with Ken again, 3 months later. Got right to it. That $5 cheeseburger was fucking amazing (lettuce & tomato, and yes with fries, please), and the prefect snacky snack. And there will be drink. Started with the Tired Hands/Monkish Ego Deflator (lovely lager) and then the Tired Hands SaisonHands (because, duh). Lest I mention the front corner vinyl pile, hooray! And they be spinning. Listening to old Fleetwood Mac on vinyl and now Steely Dan. I dig it!

An absolutely solid joint. Good tunes, great beer selection and the food jams. An excellent start to our fact finding day (which also included nearly being rolled while procuring a case of Alexander Rodenbach from that beer store in Shadyville to the east and south some, and a market walkabout for a roast pork sandwich). When in Philly…
Sep 26, 2019
 
Rated: 4.51 by CanConPhilly from Pennsylvania

Jan 27, 2019
 
Rated: 4.58 by sb17 from Pennsylvania

May 04, 2018
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Reviewed by Rifugium from North Dakota

3.74/5  rDev -14.6%
vibe: 3.75 | quality: 3.5 | service: 4 | selection: 3.75
Simple place with a simple layout, and an influx of good craft beers. Small and tidy, basic corner dive bar spread, walls minimally decorated with random beer and music posters. Average size bar, some table space, lots of leg room. Service and prices were on par. Beer selection is typically very good, common micros, locals, with a rarity making an appearance here and there. I won't give a food rating, as I've never been inspired to sample any. It's basically a snack menu, with a selection of meats, cheeses, pickles, and then an offering of $5 burgers. It's a cool little hangout, and worth checking out, just not my favorite place in the SPhilly/Passyunk area.
Oct 21, 2017
 
Rated: 3.61 by mltobin from Connecticut

Dec 29, 2016
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Reviewed by razorsdescent from Pennsylvania

4.65/5  rDev +6.2%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.75 | service: 4.5 | selection: 5 | food: 4
It's Saturday night in Philly, you want to taste the rare. where would you head? For me, that would likely be Fountain Porter. The selection is outrageously good, and I have never been disappointed. Even when the pickings are slim elsewhere, the curated beer list here is sure to please.
Dec 08, 2015
 
Rated: 4.25 by rfgetz from New Jersey

Nov 21, 2014
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Rated by PotlandOR from Oregon

4/5  rDev -8.7%
Great list. The back table is the place for friends.
Oct 28, 2014
 
 
Rated: 4.5 by justincourts from Pennsylvania

Jul 31, 2014
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Reviewed by DoubleSimcoe from Pennsylvania

4.54/5  rDev +3.7%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.75 | food: 4.25
It took me a while to visit Fountain Porter, but I'm glad I did! It turns, right away, into my favorite Passyunk beer destination.

There is a small, narrow bar as you enter, with some lovely tables by the windows (open in this balmy summer evening) and then a seating/dining area outback. No table service, so order at the bar. The joint is classy but unpretentious, perfect for a date or a beer on your own.

The draft list is superb! Founders Red Rye, Evil Twin Yin, Hof Ten Dormaal White Gold, Founders Double Trouble/Rubaeus/Curmudgeon, Stillwater Love+Regret, Allagash Black, Guinea No sucks (from Spain) and more. My Evil Twin was $6, and the Hof Ten and Double Trouble are $6.50.

Pair that with a five-dollar cheeseburger (juicy and delicious despite the medium temp) and friendly service and you've got the almost-perfect bar. I paid 12 bucks for an imperial stout and a burger after tax and tip.

I love it!
Jul 29, 2014
 
Rated: 4.25 by InspectorBob from New Jersey

Feb 26, 2014
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Reviewed by NeroFiddled from Pennsylvania

4.25/5  rDev -3%
vibe: 4.25 | quality: 4.25 | service: 4.25 | selection: 4.25
I enjoyed this place when it was 1601 (and even the place before that), but I really like it now. It's nice to have a good staff who know and care about what they're doing.

There are 20 taps, and they're reasonably priced. The selection varies, so it's not like you'll find the same beers week after week like some places; and they've got a good mix of locals versus those from further out. Also, with rare exception, the range of styles is pretty well covered so everyone in your party can find something they like.
Current tap list:
Duck Rabbit Porter $5 Slyfox Dry Stout $5 Ale Smith X $5.5
Lost Abbey Avant Garde $6 Troegs Troegenator $5.5 Ritterguts Gose $6
Founders Red’s Rye $4.5 Founders Centenial IPA $5 Clown Shoes Pimp $6.5
Petrus Aged Pale $7 Dogfish Head India Brown $5 Sly Fox Pils $5
Commonwealth Cider $5 PBC Kenzinger $3 Victory Ranch $6
Great Divide Oaked Yeti $6.5 Troegs Dreamweaver Wheat $5
Hopfenstark Greg Stout $7 La Trappe Isidor $7.5 Jolly Pumpkin Maracaibo $7

Up until now they've only had snacks, but they've now added food! I understand they'll be doing $5 burger specials on weekends.

Do yourself a favor and give it a shot.
Feb 18, 2013
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Reviewed by J8M

4.95/5  rDev +13%
vibe: 5 | quality: 5 | service: 5 | selection: 5 | food: 4.5
The newest beer bar in the popular East Passyunk neighborhood of South Philadelphia is my favorite place for a pint. Since it's opened this autumn, the Fountain Porter has become my exclusive drinking destination -- partly because it's literally one block from my house, but mostly because it's a mellow, relaxing place with great music and a total focus on craft beer.

Atmosphere: Small, cozy, rustic, and inviting. Outstanding music courtesy of a turntable and a selection of excellent vinyl albums. Dim but not too dark with mostly bar and rail seating with a few big tables in the back for groups. The Fountain Porter is consistently spotless and clean (including bathrooms). When I saw the framed picture of Neil Young and the Sonic Youth poster on my first visit, I knew that this bar was my kind of place.

Quality: This bar is serious about the beer, drinks, and snacks they serve. The variety of beers available are all served in the proper glassware. I've never had or seen a beer poured from tap to a pitcher to glass due to a foamy tap. Never an off taste from the beer lines (and I wouldn't expect it from such a new bar)

Service: Service is spot on -- friendly, attentive, and prompt. Bartenders usually check in for the next round as I'm finishing a glass. Even at busy times, on the weekends, I never wait long because the staff is quick. Also, bartenders readily offer their opinions on the options if asked, and willingly pour a sample if you want to taste something before your order.

Selection: 20 taps, all craft beer, and always representing a wide variety of styles. Local session Kolsch style PBC Kenzinger is always on the list at $3/pint. The other 19 provide something for everyone -- IPA's, Sours, Belgians, Porters, Stouts, Saisons, Pales, Dopplebocks, Pilsners, and so on and so forth. The only knock on the selection is that bottles aren't served (not a problem for me; I'd always prefer a draft)

Food: This bar only serves bar snacks, and doesn't have a full menu. However, the snacks they offer are delicious -- charcuterie, cheeses, and pickles -- and are great for pairing with your beer. There are a hundred bars in Philly I go to when I want a meal and good beer; I go to this bar when I just want some beer (and maybe a little snack on the side).

Value: Prices are very reasonable; consistent and sometimes cheaper than other Philly beer bars. Happy hour is $1.50 off all pints; while the deal isn't as striking as "1/2 price drafts" happy hour at some bars, the regular price at Fountain Porter is usually better to start with. Snacks value is best if you order a few at once -- each item alone would be expensive, but if you get two or three items together, the value is great.

Overall, Fountain Porter is a mecca for beer fans that like a laid back and casual atmosphere. The draft list has something for everyone except those that drink commercial domestic stuff (Budweiser, Miller Lite, etc.). This isn't the place for dinner and a pint, but it's perfect for a beer after dinner or snacks with friends.
Dec 17, 2012
Fountain Porter in Philadelphia, PA
Place rating: 4.38 out of 5 with 17 ratings