Standard Tap holds down the corner of 2nd and Poplar in Northern Liberties, and it has been doing one thing without compromise since December 1999: pouring beer made in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware, on draft only. No bottles, no imports, no exceptions.
William Reed and Paul Kimport bought the shell of the old Bull's Head Inn in 1996 and rebuilt it themselves before opening on New Year's Eve 1999. Philadelphia Magazine counts the pair among the founding fathers of Philly beer, and most local drinkers credit this room as the city's first true gastropub.
The building is a 19th century corner tavern restored rather than themed. Dark wood, tin ceilings, a horseshoe bar downstairs, a second bar and a deck upstairs. The chalkboards are the menu, and they change daily because the kitchen and the taps both turn over constantly.
The draft list runs about 20 lines, all of it from the region. The official site at standardtap.com frames the mission plainly: local beer got the short end of the stick in 1990s Philadelphia, so Reed and Kimport built a showcase for it. That stubborn rule shaped a generation of bars across the city.
Order whatever Yards, Victory, or Tired Hands has on the board, and trust the unfamiliar names. The staff pours tastes without attitude if you ask. A pint sits in the 7 to 9 dollar range, fair for the quality and the neighborhood.
The kitchen earns equal billing. The duck salad and the chicken pie are the long running classics, and the burger holds its own against any in the city. Plates land in the 14 to 26 dollar range, and the food reads as a real restaurant working behind a bar's chalkboard.
The crowd is Northern Liberties at its most relaxed: neighborhood regulars, brewers off the clock, and beer travelers making the pilgrimage. Saturday and Sunday open at 11am, which makes this one of the better weekend afternoon rooms in the city, especially upstairs on the deck when the weather cooperates.
Reed and Kimport also run Johnny Brenda's in Fishtown, and the two rooms pair naturally into a single afternoon. Start here, walk 15 minutes north, and you have covered two of the bars that built modern Philadelphia drinking. Our guide to the best craft beer bars in Philadelphia puts both in context.
This is the bar for people who want great beer without a tasting room's homework. If you need a cocktail list or a TV wall, look elsewhere. For the rest of the lineup, see the full Philadelphia guide and our top pubs in Philadelphia ranking.
Getting there is simple. The Spring Garden stop on the Market Frankford line sits a short walk south, and the 2nd Street corridor keeps you busy before and after. Street parking exists but tightens after 6pm on weekends.
Best time to go is a weekday between 4pm and 6pm, when the bar is quiet enough to actually talk beer with the staff. Friday and Saturday nights run loud and full until 2am. Sunday afternoon upstairs is the sleeper pick.
Skip nothing here except impatience. The taps rotate fast enough that the board you see tonight will not be the board next week, which is exactly the point.
Sources: Standard Tap (official) · Philadelphia Magazine · Visit Philadelphia · Yelp
