by Tara Nurin - 221 Reviews - 105 List
Whether you're "single and lovin' it" or desperately seeking somebody, there's a singles spot in Philly to suit your personality. While it goes without saying that a bar is only one type of pick-up place, it's often a decent place to meet others like you. Here's a range of options, tailored to suit your style.
Updated: June 04, 2009
If the name of this Avram Hornik-owned bar doesn't tell you enough, one step inside this haven for the 20-something set will. Located in swanky Rittenhouse Square, this cousin to Drinker's Tavern is where the younger, rowdier folk go to get their R-house training wheels. The dress might be slightly more pressed than at the Tavern but the theme song is the same: Jimmy Buffet's "Let's get drunk and s----."
If your idea of a good time is Old City on a Saturday night, you should run, not walk, to this dirty-white-hat establishment. Yup, here, at this bar that's both a cause and effect of the neighborhood's nightlife reputation, it's all about loud rock music, squeezed-together crowds and inebriated girls from across the bridge hanging on guys doing Jager shots with their buddies. And after all, isn't that what we all love about Old City?
The facade of this block-long bar at the gateway to Northern Liberties masquerades as a row of quaint storefronts in a traditional Irish village. But inside, any trace of Gaelic pub gives way to an unmistakably American hook-up factory. Although this is the scene of frequent police fund-raisers and community events, on weekend nights, it's little more than hoards of new college grads tossing back plastic cups of beer and scoping out their prey.
If you haven't been to the rooftop lounge at this Stephen Starr annex of the original Continental, darling, you just haven't been anywhere. Some of Philly's hottest singles hang out here to trade glances with equally fabulous members of the opposite sex. Need an opening line? Ask the person you're engaging if she/he would like to head downstairs for some frolicking on the adult swings.
Honey, if you can make it here, you can make it anywhere. This upscale Irish pub is located in The Phoenix building, which is home to some of the city's wealthiest bold-face names. During happy hour, it's usually packed with people who look like they belong on a movie set--and, call your mother, they all make at least six figures.
In Philly, The Continental is where the modern cocktail craze started. One of Old City's original nouveau bars, it's still a hang-out for the sons and daughters of the socialite set and those who want to pass themselves off as such. Tanned and coiffed 20- to 40-somethings mingle over martinis and cosmos and gossip about what celebrity they spotted on their most recent tropical vacation.
Irish gastro-pub fills to its nouveau Celtic raters when 20- and 30-somethings want to share a pint--and possibly more.
The leader of all local sports bars is always lively, whether the South Philly location's zillion TVs are blaring the Birds tackling the playoffs or a Philly colt making a serious run for the Triple Crown. With waitresses alluding to the chain's famous crab fries by wearing baby dolls Ts asking "Got Crabs?" almost no come-on line is too forward when rowdy fans are diving into mounds of Old-Bay doused potatoes, a steaming pile of messy hardshells or a tall table-top tube dispensing that favorite of all sports drinks--beer.
Packed with cheering Phils fans--even when baseball season is slumbering in winter hibernation--this always turned on sports bar located in Citizens Bank Park is the place to pick up a hot ball fan no matter what the season. Saddle up to the wood and take a sudden interest in the game the cute Phillie next to you is watching. Buy her the beverage of her choice, impress her with your sports trivia and just see if you don't hit a home run.
Sounds like a nightclub, looks like a movie set and tastes like Cuban-American nosh.
Inventive fusion fare and consistently satisfying service enhance a see-and-be-seen spot on the Main Line.
