Tria Taproom

Tria TaproomTria Taproom
Tria TaproomTria Taproom
Bar, Eatery

2005 Walnut St
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 19103-4400
United States

// CLOSED //
PLACE STATS
Average:
4.23
Reviews:
12
Ratings:
28
pDev:
5.67%
View: Place Reviews
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Ratings by George2744:
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Rated by George2744 from Pennsylvania

4.5/5  rDev +6.4%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.5 | food: 5

Mar 15, 2015
More User Ratings:
 
Rated: 4 by slasich from Pennsylvania

May 16, 2020
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Reviewed by cratez from Canada (ON)

4.68/5  rDev +10.6%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.75 | service: 4.75 | selection: 4.75 | food: 4.75
What I had: AleSmith X Extra Pale Ale, Victory Braumeister Pils, Stillwater Autumnal, and Samuel Adams Imperial Pilsner on tap, Three Cheeses plate to split, Spinach Salad and Grilled Housemade Chicken Sausage for me, Wood-Grilled Asparagus Salad, Chicken Wings, and several glasses of 2012 Tangent Sauvignon Blanc for my fiancé.
What I liked: Pleasant, intimate atmosphere in the back of the bar; ridiculously good draft list with a clear focus on hop-forward beers; delicious and well-presented food; fast service with a smile; my fiancé really enjoyed her wine; prices are very reasonable for what you get; love that they have a side bar to drink at while you wait for a table; this was our first time visiting an all-draft wine bar and we were both extremely impressed.
What I disliked: There’s no denying that this place attracts a hipster / trendoid crowd, but the food, service, and drinks were so outstanding that we were more than willing to look past that.
Would I go back? For sure. Tria Taproom was the second-best bar that we visited in Philly, next to Monk’s Café.
Overall Rating: 94
Jan 30, 2020
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Reviewed by JamFuel from Sweden

4.14/5  rDev -2.1%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.25 | service: 4 | selection: 4.25 | food: 4
Nice location in central Philadelphia.

Fairly small, narrow space with the bar in the middle on the left side. Cozy and not very loud.

Beer selection is good and varied with about 25 taps, running the gamut of styles. Quite a few locals as well as more well known and imports. No problem finding something interesting, and pricing seemed about par for Philly. Service was quick and friendly, if not overly chatty.

The food menu is varied with everything from meat and cheese platters to burgers and pizza. I only had a cheese and meat board, but it was very good and all other food I saw looked and smelled very nice.

Overall, a nice, cozy place with a good selection and a great location.
Jan 05, 2019
 
Rated: 3.69 by jgiordano88 from Pennsylvania

Dec 16, 2018
 
Rated: 4.33 by zbelair from Pennsylvania

Dec 12, 2018
 
Rated: 4.23 by dafla67 from Pennsylvania

Jul 18, 2018
 
Rated: 4.38 by SpAiReArGsEonNE from New Jersey

Feb 02, 2017
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Reviewed by jp11801 from Florida

4.61/5  rDev +9%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.75 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.75 | food: 4.75
Great spot for the Philadelphia beer lover or beer tourist! Great selection of beer raging from ultra local, to great Euro beers to some rare USA craft. The service was extremely good with a friendly vibe without being overbearing. The food was great and not by beer bar standards but this is a place the non-beer lover would love. Could use a little more personality from a decor standpoint but other than that great spot!
Jan 29, 2017
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Reviewed by Jacobier10 from New Jersey

4.34/5  rDev +2.6%
vibe: 4.75 | quality: 4.5 | service: 3.75 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4.5
After attempting to go to the original Tria Cafe location and finding it at full capacity at 6:15pm on a Saturday, we tried our luck a few blocks away at Tria Taproom. It was at capacity as well but we decided to wait, which ended up being 20-25 mins. We were finally seated at 7pm.

Great vibe inside playing awesome tunes on the stereo. Tap list was great, several beers on it that I wanted to try. Also have a good selection of wines on tap. The tap list is presented to you on an iPad which was kind of cool. I decided on a De Dolle Arabier and a Schlenkerla Rauchbier Urbock. Both were served in Teku glasses at proper temps with good carb and were outstanding.

Service was not overly friendly but got the job done. Ordered crispy calamari and a cheese plate which were delicious. I could have stayed here all night drinking and listening to music, but we had to leave for a dinner reservation. Great, trendy spot that doesn't feel pretentious at all.
Nov 15, 2016
 
Rated: 4.37 by RMoeNay from Connecticut

Sep 10, 2015
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Reviewed by RutgersBeerGuy from New Jersey

4.45/5  rDev +5.2%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4
Tria Taproom takes their name rather literally. All of the beverages...beer, wine, ciders, and sodas are served on draft. When you sit down, you're given a tablet that serves as your drinks menu. In addition to the expected details about each beer, there are cool touches, like an indicator of how much of the beer remains, given as a percentage, before the keg kicks. All very high-tech, all very novel...all pretty cool.

The selection is very good. There are 24 beer taps and at the time that I visited, there was a nice mix of styles and brewers. I settled on Victory Braumeister Pils (Tettnang) and an Alesmith Summer Yulesmith.

Pizza is the focus of the kitchen. It's supplemented by some small-plate "snacks," a few salads, a single burger, and a range of cheese selections. We had the fennel sausage and duck pizzas, and both were very good. The duck, featuring gorgonzola, duck confit, cherry-fig mostarda, fois gras mousse, and tarragon was ever so slightly too salty. Otherwise, it would have been transcendent.

Service was brisk and friendly and our water glasses never went empty.

Tria Taproom is perhaps a bit spartan for some, as the technological focus doesn't give it a ton of warmth. However, I think that they pull it off.
Jul 26, 2015
 
Rated: 4.23 by Mongrel from Maryland

Jun 09, 2015
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Reviewed by philerman from Pennsylvania

4.36/5  rDev +3.1%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.25 | food: 4.25
More of a beer concept than a beer bar. Lists are on tablet devices...all on draft. Nice feature that they tell you how much of a beer is left (though the tap date seems like it would be just as useful). As expected for the neighborhood and slickness of everything, prices for both food and drink are a bit on the high side but the service is great.
Jun 07, 2015
 
Rated: 4.15 by InspectorBob from New Jersey

Jun 03, 2015
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Reviewed by Rifugium from North Dakota

4.1/5  rDev -3.1%
vibe: 4.25 | quality: 4 | service: 4.25 | selection: 4
Slick atmosphere, a bit darker than its Rittenhouse counterpart, but about the same size. Good beer selection, and good service. Never sampled the food here, but I'd imagine it's similar to the other location, and they're pretty good. Worth checking out!
Jun 01, 2015
 
Rated: 3.93 by rfgetz from New Jersey

Jun 01, 2015
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Reviewed by DuaneL from Delaware

4.29/5  rDev +1.4%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4 | selection: 4.75 | food: 3
Great ambiance and wonderful selection of draft beer which I remember were reasonably priced, considering neighborhood. Food is pricey - small portions. We liked it for the beer.
May 03, 2015
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Reviewed by pep from Pennsylvania

4.23/5  rDev 0%
vibe: 4 | quality: 3.75 | service: 4.25 | selection: 4.75 | food: 4.5
Went in on Monday. Seems to be on the dinner rush. A group of well dressed people jus toff of work sipping $13 glasses of wine and small trays of delicate cheese and meats.

The bartenders are easy on th eyes and very pleasant and helpful. But I was at a table. The server had an aire of being to hip for me. But the service was quick.

As previously said before the price was expensive fore the portions but, I compare it to tapas. Had the "brushetta", brie with cherries and goat cheese with pesto. Both very fresh and creamy.

Great beer selection for a place full of wine drinkers. I ordered the cigar city brown ale. But they have like fancy sours and imports (not like becks crap either)

This place is very affordable. If this restaurant was in NYC it would be triple the price and still worth it.
Mar 12, 2015
 
Rated: 4 by PhillyStyle from Georgia

Nov 03, 2014
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Reviewed by DoubleSimcoe from Pennsylvania

4.54/5  rDev +7.3%
vibe: 4.25 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.25 | selection: 5 | food: 4.5
Re-reviewing Tria Taproom after many visits... I absolutely love this place. The beer selection is outstanding- they always have rare brews, sours, imperial stouts, barrel-aged stuff, barleywines, obscure European imports...

The service is diligent and knowledgeable. One time I ordered an expensive beer I didn't like and it was comped. Classy move.

The food is to die for. Those flatbreads! Duck and foie mousse, a masterpiece. They also have a lunch deal, two items for 14 bucks. Mac and cheese? The best I've tried.

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I had two glasses of Older Viscosity on tap at South Philadelphia Taproom but wanted more and was sad to see it go, so when Philly Tapfinder told me that Tria Taproom had it, there I biked on a late Sunday night, even though I had to be up at 6am the next day.

This jawn is classy and modern, something that wouldn't be out of place in, say, Copenhagen. 20-plus taps and a gorgeous sleek minimalist draught wall. The entire joint is beautiful and well designed. They hand you an electronic menu, silly but cool.

I liked the decor and the tap list better than the Tria I ate at on Washington Square West, although I didn't have any food this time. Sparsely populated on Sunday 10pm, I ended up being the only costumer. The draught list is varied, and they even feature how much of the keg is left (44% of Older Viscosity when I visited). 9 bucks for 11 oz of Older was a better value than the 8 for 8 I paid at SPTR.

Looking forward to another visit soon!
Oct 17, 2014
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Reviewed by tkdchampxi from New Jersey

4.25/5  rDev +0.5%
Biggest issue is that this place is overpriced and the food portions are small. Perhaps too dark and trendy for the average beer advocate.

The best thing about this place is the ability to pull up their tap-list with an up-to-the-minute listing of what beers they have and how much they have left.

Menus at the bar are on IPADs, so you see on your phone the same thing that customers see when in the bar.
Oct 06, 2014
 
Rated: 4.25 by stephenjmoore from Maryland

Sep 30, 2014
 
Rated: 4.5 by seanchai from Virginia

Apr 06, 2014
 
Rated: 4.25 by JMFP from Delaware

Mar 05, 2014
 
Rated: 3.75 by ColForbinBC from New Jersey

Feb 10, 2014
 
Rated: 4 by hoppymcgee from Maine

Jan 18, 2014
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Reviewed by NeroFiddled from Pennsylvania

3.89/5  rDev -8%
vibe: 3.75 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 3.75 | food: 3.75
No one should be surprised that the newest addition to the Tria lineup looks and feels very much like what preceded it. It's almost exactly like the Rittenhouse location but slightly different with a larger back dining area, although it's certainly smaller in width along the bar (there's a short bar rail across from the main bar with 4 horribly uncomfortable seats - why not just make this standing room only with coat hooks beneath the rail?). On the other hand, why shouldn't all Tria locations look and feel the same? They should, right? You should recognize them and know what you're getting into; and why mess with success? That said, it's a nicely appointed space with wood floors, some exceptionally nice solid-wood dining tables, and a wood topped-bar. To balance that we have an exposed-brick wall painted over in semi-gloss white, and beautiful blue-grey veined/spotted marble blocks dotted with a line of stainless steel faucets and lit against an otherwise unadorned, gey-black back-bar. (The only place that their designer has gone wrong is with the lighting fixtures above the bar. They're made from the security caps from compressed gas tanks, but they're neither interestingly shaped, nor interestingly painted, and they certainly aren't that witty although I see where they were going with them).

When you step up into the space you will definitely notice the taps, and that's what it's about, because this is the "taproom". There are no bottles: the beer, wine, and even sodas are served from kegs. An interesting aside to that is that when you sit down you're handed an iPad mini that displays the drink menu for the evening. They can change it instantaneously if they desire, but you'll already know when a keg is about to kick because it displays that information for you. I ordered an Italiano VúDú Dunkleweizen knowing that the keg was still 78% full, and therefore most likely fresh. (Not surprisingly it's at only 51% full a mere two hours later as I write this).

So to the nomenclature: They offer 24 beers on tap. There are 5 locals, which includes 2 by Victory, and one each from Stouts, Yards, and Tröegs. Ballast Point, Stone, and Port Brewing give us three from the west coast, and Left Hand, Jolly Pumpkin, Allagash, Ommegang, and Stillwater bring us back home for a total of 13 domestic craft breweries. The remaining 11 beers cover 7 different countries including Germany, Belgium, Italy, Switzerland, England, Denmark, and Japan. A third of the beers are dark-beers, but given that it's winter I'd consider that more than acceptable, and overall the opening line-up is quite good.

(However, speaking of winter, I sat at the table on the street side which is complete glass, and it was chilly; but more importantly I could feel the cold dropping off of the window and running across my feet into the building. That was not the most pleasant feeling that I've ever had while dining).

There's an emphasis on the beer now at Tria, but there are still 12 wines available, in 12 different styles. They cover 8 countries and the United States, featuring a Chardonnay from CA, a Riesling from NY, and a Cabernet Franc from PA (? -yes).

Tria is based around beer, wine and cheese, and the cheese remains: 6 are offered overall, including 2 each from PA, NY and VT; with 1 each representing "Clean", "Luscious", "Stinky", "Approachable", "Stoic", and "Racy". At 3 for $12 they're not a bad deal.

For accompaniment or heartier eats they offer wood-fired grilled flatbreads and an assortment of smaller plates. Some examples: Wood-Grilled Asparagus for $8, Po' Boy Poppers for $9, St. Louis-Style Ribs for $11, Saison Fish Fry for $12, 3 Cheese Flatbread for $10, Duck Flatbread for $15, and Grilled Jumbo Shrimp for $16 (the highest priced item on the menu). Everything that I samples was very good. It was fresh, brightly flavored, properly prepared, and presented simply, without any pretense.

The service is very good, almost the best I've seen at an establishment of this level, and I was impressed.

In valuing it I feel that I have to rate it as "a bit pricey", yet at the same time I truly believe that you get what you pay for. You'd spend almost as much at California Pizza Kitchen for a perhaps slightly larger "flatbread" (that wasn't really as good), and probably even more for a standard craft brew (Stoudts, Tröegs, Victory, and Yards are just $5 a pint, and Ballast Point Big Eye IPA is just $6).

Overall, it's certainly worth a try, but I'd avoid going on weekends.
Nov 20, 2013
Tria Taproom in Philadelphia, PA
Place rating: 4.23 out of 5 with 28 ratings