Past the first-date stage. Picking up where the proposal left off. Ten Philadelphia date-night bars our editors return to.
The date-night bar is a different brief from the first-date bar. The first-date bar has to pass — the date-night bar has to be a place you both enjoy enough to come back to. These ten venues in Philadelphia are where our editors send couples three months in, three years in, thirty years in. They are not flashy. They are the rooms our editors are sending their partners to, on Tuesday nights when nothing in particular is happening.
The Philadelphia bars our editors take their own partners to
The first six picks below are the editors' default — the rooms we send a friend to first when they ask. Each is followed by a recommendation we have ordered ourselves at least three times. Click any bar name to read the full review, signature drink notes, neighbourhood guide and how to book.
At Zahav Bar in Society Hill, the room is what it should be — quiet without being precious, busy without being a queue. Tuesday-night good. Not the bar you take a first date to and not the bar you take a proposal to — the bar you take each other to when there is no occasion. Editors' rating in our database: 4.8 of 5.
At The Ranstead Room in Rittenhouse, the ranstead manhattan arrives in a coupe and the bar staff move at the right pace. Tuesday-night good. Not the bar you take a first date to and not the bar you take a proposal to — the bar you take each other to when there is no occasion. Editors' rating in our database: 4.7 of 5.
Hop Sing Laundromat, in Chinatown, the door is unmarked enough to feel discovered and known enough to be reliable. An honest pour at honest prices. The kind of room that holds up at three years in and at thirty. Editors' rating in our database: 4.7 of 5.
At Jet Wine Bar in Graduate Hospital, the room is what it should be — quiet without being precious, busy without being a queue. Repeat visits earn you the corner. After the third time, the staff start saving it for you. After the sixth, the menu is ordering itself. Editors' rating in our database: 4.7 of 5.
In Rittenhouse, The Franklin Mortgage & Investment Co. the franklin manhattan arrives in a coupe and the bar staff move at the right pace. An honest pour at honest prices. The kind of room that holds up at three years in and at thirty. Editors' rating in our database: 4.7 of 5.
At Friday Saturday Sunday in Rittenhouse, the fss champagne arrives in a coupe and the bar staff move at the right pace. Tuesday-night good. Not the bar you take a first date to and not the bar you take a proposal to — the bar you take each other to when there is no occasion. Editors' rating in our database: 4.7 of 5.
Order: FSS Champagne
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These last four are the editors' deeper-cut picks. Smaller rooms, more specific energy. If the first six feel obvious to you — meaning you have already been — start here.
Double Knot, in Center City, the door is unmarked enough to feel discovered and known enough to be reliable. Tuesday-night good. Not the bar you take a first date to and not the bar you take a proposal to — the bar you take each other to when there is no occasion. Editors' rating in our database: 4.7 of 5.
In Rittenhouse, Tria Cafe the tria wine flight is on the menu year-round for a reason and the bartenders pour with intent. An honest pour at honest prices. The kind of room that holds up at three years in and at thirty. Editors' rating in our database: 4.6 of 5.
The Twisted Tail sits in Society Hill and the door is unmarked enough to feel discovered and known enough to be reliable. Tuesday-night good. Not the bar you take a first date to and not the bar you take a proposal to — the bar you take each other to when there is no occasion. Editors' rating in our database: 4.6 of 5.
Fork Restaurant Bar sits in Old City and the fork old fashioned is on the menu year-round for a reason and the bartenders pour with intent. An honest pour at honest prices. The kind of room that holds up at three years in and at thirty. Editors' rating in our database: 4.6 of 5.
Order: Fork Old Fashioned
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More Date Night in PhiladelphiaThe full editor-curated list of Date Night in Philadelphia, with neighbourhood notes and signature-drink picks.
Date-night bars are the venues you want the staff to know your face at. Two suggestions. Pick one from this list and turn it into your monthly Tuesday — the staff will remember, the corner will get held, and over time the bar starts to feel like an extension of your living room. That is the goal.
If you are between stages: our companion Philadelphia guidesFrom first-date picks to anniversary rooms - every occasion in Philadelphia our editors cover, cross-linked.
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