Philadelphia Recommendations (2024)

I'll be in Philly myself this summer and was hoping for a recommendation for a German restaurant. We have tons of amazing food in Providence, but not much in the German department. I'd love to try some authentic German fair with, of course, a litre of kick ass lager.

I'll be staying near Rittenhouse Square. Bonus points if it's close by.

Thanks in advance!

 

I think Brauhaus Schmitz might be a requirement rather than a possibility.

 

I saw this place during my google search and thought it looked great. Glad it gets the stamp of approval from you. Reservation made.

 

I was only there once many years ago. The sausages were unfortunately over-salted (which isn’t uncommon) but with fantastic flavor otherwise. Their beer list can be awesome and has some German stuff that’s hard to come by elsewhere. The atmosphere was good IIRC. If I wanted German stuff, I’d go there again, but I skipped it on my last trip because I was focused on cask ale. Maybe somebody with a more recent experience can chime in. I believe @JackHorzempa isn’t a stranger to the place.

 

For locally brewed "kick ass lager" I would highly recommend any of Human Robot's locations. The "Schuylkill Banks" location is walking distance to Rittenhouse Square, but on the downside it has less draft lines than the other locations as it's a shared spot.
https://www.humanrobotbeer.com/

Their Jenkintown location (northern suburbs) serves German food. Its technically a separate business called Herman's at the Haus that you order from through your phone - my favorites are the bierwurst and paprikaschnitzel.
https://order.toasttab.com/online/hermansatthehaus

 

I have visited Brauhaus Schmitz many times in the past but just to drink German brewed beers. I have zero experience as regards the food there.

A German restaurant/beer bar closer to Rittenhouse Square is BRU Craft & Wurst. I have visited that place many times and I have eaten there as well and I really liked that place. I have not been there recently though.

https://www.bruphilly.com/

Prost!

@zid

 

Cool. Thanks for the recommendations.

 

Looks great! Pierogies too, sweet.

 

Did you say cask ale? I'm all ears if you have any recommendations on that front.

 

Come over the river, I’ll buy you a pour at Tonewood… instead of via beer mail again.

 

Would love to. If only I had the time!

 

Hard to come by indeed….was there several years back and had a beer that was not available outside the village it was brewed in except for at Brauhaus Schmitz.

 

Cask beer in Philly is typically "living" kegged beer (rather than firkins) as far as I've heard. It's not as faithful to the UK model, but it's adoption might explain why cask beer hasn't died out in Philly. If I'm not mistaken, you can find beer engines at:

Khyber Pass Pub (a classic), Varga Bar (I've never been), Race Street Cafe (more of a restaurant in feel than bar), The Dandelion (see below), Local 44 (I've never been), and Standard Tap (see below).

All of the above are worth investigating. How much enjoyment you have at these places might depend on what cask beer they have at that moment, so it pays to check their menus online close to the time you visit. There's a huge difference between a place having nothing available and a place with two good cask options.

I was hoping to spend more quality time at The Dandelion. They are an English themed restaurant with different rooms and multiple engines. When I went, they were packed and couldn't immediately seat us - so unfortunately I didn't get to eat there. I was able to have some beers there at a later time. They were only using two of their beer engines and both (un-Englishy) beers weren't appealing. With different beers, and at a different time of day... and seated in a different room, I might have really loved it. As things panned out, it didn't work so well - but don't let that cause you to ignore them.

The highlight for me was Standard Tap. There weren't a lot of customers when I went and they had both beer engines in use... with English-ish beers... and one being an out of state firkin rather than the normal Philly cask/keg. Was it a coincidence that the non-PA firkin beer was the best beer on my trip? Maybe. Regardless, Standard Tap was the best experience for me. Going back to my comment about menus and timing, others here have said that there were times when Standard Tap had nothing on their engines and didn't provide a great experience. BTW, if a cask beer is a firkin, Standard Tap will say so on their website. Their website currently states that they have 2 Philly-ish-area cask beers (Forest and Main, Yards).

 

To re-enforce what Chris discussed above, I am a BIG fan of Standard Tap both for their selection of beers but also their cuisine. During my last visit to Standard Tap my wife ordered a mussels dish and I thought she was going to lift up that plate to lick it clean.

One of the beers they have on their handpump now is a favorite of mine:

“YARDS ESA (CASK)

Our first-ever and most-beloved brew, ESA helped establish a following for cask-conditioned beer in the United States back in the ‘90s. East Kent Golding hops give this British-inspired ale a subtle spiciness, which complements the strong malt backbone. ESA is floral, earthy and smooth with hints of chocolate and caramel, rounding out this deep chestnut-colored ale. 6% ABV”

They also have a house beer that is a Bohemian Pilsner brewed for them by the local Mainstay brewery:

“INTL PILS (Mainstay Collab.)

A collaboration brew with William Reed and the International bar. This Pilsner is inspired by the terroir of classic Saaz hops used in the first Bohemian Pilsners and the drinkability of a lighter international Pils style. 4.9% ABV”

I discussed INTL Pils in a past NBW thread:



https://www.beeradvocate.com/community/threads/new-beer-weekend-165.674239/#post-7837926

Cheers!

 

Would add both Forest an Main and Yards taprooms also serve cask. While I was at yards they had an IPA (it rotates) and I choose other selections. The cask at Forest and Main and the draft version of Brawler at Yards were my favorite offerings at these two places.

Also enjoyed my visit to Bru for traditional German beers plus other solid offerings and great service. I already ate before arriving, but the food smelled delicious.

Also heartily agree with the recommendations for Tonewood, Human Robot, and of course Monk's Pub.

Hope you have a great trip, and please let us know of your experiences.

 

Yeah, I am always disappointed when I visit the Yards taproom (which is infrequent) and there is a beer other than ESA (or Brawler) on cask. I was there one time when Washington Porter was on cask and I was very, very happy with that beer; I ordered two pints!

Cheers!

 

I just visited the Brauhaus. I am very happy. During the week ask for Carly (CT and blue hair ponytails) at the bar.

I’ve been focused on other things these days, still drinking beer, just not active on BA. But when I needed some info and advice I came back and was not led astray. Thanks.

 

@Providence Authentic cask ale is a bit tough to find in Philly, as @zid depicted above. The current scene is a play on Sixtel (5.6 Gal) variations per low-carbonated kegs [some counterfeits]: the approach is extremely safe, and lacks the oxidized/diacetyl complexities that one might be ISO post tapping

There are some venues that do get in-state firkins, while others get kegs per engine, which is based on trust/reputation. For instance, ‘The Dandelion’ has multiple engines, but only one dedicated cask line, which is connected to a traditional stillage vs. widge. Granted, this is not always in use

…Won’t dive into this too much further, as your initial search was on German restaurants, but something to consider is ‘Meeting House’, as Colin is working on a cask program with Al Upshaw

 

For folks who appreciated drinking Cask Beer in Philly there is the Yards Real Ale Invitational which occurs annually:



I attended this year’s event (May 19th) and had a great time. This year was special since it was also a celebration of Yards 30th anniversary and they served a special firkin of Yards ESA which was dry hopped in the firkin with East Kent Golding hops and this firkin was tapped by Dave Wilby of Dawson’s Street Pub. I discussed this in the Mild Ale thread:

“I recently attended the Yards Real Ale Invitational at Yards and this year’s event was also a celebration of their 30th anniversary. They had a ‘special’ cask of ESA there (dry hopped in the cask with East Kent Golding hops) and they let Dave Wilby who is the owner of Dawson Street Pub tap that cask.”

There was a total of 40 Firkins from a variety of craft breweries including lagers from Human Robot and Mainstay.

I discussed the Yards Washington’s Porter with Bourbon in the Porter thread:

“I attended the Yard's Real Ale Invitational last weekend with some buddies and they had a version of Washington's Porter on cask that also included bourbon-soaked charred wood chips. That beer was excellent. At the end of the event they even had some left so my buddy Phil bought a growler (5 bucks) and got it filled with this beer. He invited me to join him the next day to drink that growler but unfortunately I already had plans that day so I could not join him.”

Cheers to Real Ales!

P.S. Mark your 2025 calendars for next year’s event.

 

Yards is also doing a firkin event on first Fridays.

https://yardsbrewing.com/pages/30