Enjoy a drink in a secluded speakeasy, cozied up in front of a fireplace or tucked away in a plush booth
Philadelphia is a magical city in the colder months. The locals are back to their routine, scoping out the museums and checking out their favorite restaurants. And when the sun goes down and the temperatures continue to drop, you can also find the regulars back in Philadelphia's best cozy bars. These are the welcoming, dimly lit watering holes made even warmer by fireplaces and candle-lit tables. The best ones transport you outside the city to another world or another time in history. Whether you’re in the mood for a Hot Toddy, winter fruit-flavored cocktail, Irish coffee, or glass of red wine, these Philly bars are ready to serve up comfort in drink form all season long. Below, we rounded up the coziest bars in Philadelphia to settle in for sweater weather.
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Ever wish you could throw back a few beers with Ernest Hemingway at a glamorous bar back in the roaring twenties? While you can’t bring Bumby back from the dead, you can get the next best thing at Sassafras, a charming little drinking hole right in the heart of historic Old City. Linger over their Sazerac, Instagram yourself in the bathroom (which is equipped with a couch), and cuddle up with your sweetheart—or a budding literary hero—at the lamplit bar.
Slip down a nondescript alleyway around the corner from El Rey to access this sexy speakeasy-inspired cocktail den. Once inside, you’ll find a dimly lit, intimate room decked with plush booths, nude portraits on the walls, and ample seating at the bar. The winter cocktail menu includes a lineup of creative artisanal drinks such as I Want To Be Goth So Bad made with bourbon, Braulio, Amaro Sibona, and orange bitters; and 86 Hopes & Dreams, made with tequila, mezcal, banana and rhubarb. If nothing on the list suits you, tell your bartender what you’re in the mood for and they’ll be happy to whip you up something special.
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Get past the hotel greeters to meet bartenders whipping up esoteric ingredients in an extensive seasonal cocktail menu. This Rittenhouse speakeasy feels like the fanciest neighborhood bar and is known for its seriously inventive drinks. Mid-century tables and secluded rooms of themes make for a cozy atmosphere that’ll have you ordering another round. But be forewarned: These delicious cocktails are boozy AF.
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Whether you prefer your scotch straight or have a hankering for an old-fashioned, the brown liquor selection at the Library Bar is top-notch. Nestled within the Rittenhouse Hotel, the Library Bar exudes the kind of quiet sexiness that you want in a luxe hotel bar experience. And yes, bibliophiles can browse the bar’s small library, so don’t be scared to show up alone for a stiff nightcap and a leisurely read by the front-room fire.
Royal Boucherie is a French brasserie in Old City from the same team behind Cantina Los Caballitos, Dos Segundos, Royal Tavern, Khyber Pass Pub, and other neighborhood standbys. The bi-level, 150-seat space features restored finishes to retain the building’s historical charm with 19th-century pine floors, tin ceilings, antique light fixtures, and exposed brick walls. Grab a few plates and a couple of cocktails in the wood dining room by the fireplace or outdoor garden terrace.
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This Center City spot is perfect when you want to impress your favorite vegan or try a low—or no-alcohol option. It’s got an intimate, sexy vibe with glittering chandeliers, knickknacks galore, cozy seating, and the coolest name we’ve ever heard. Hot tip: Happy hour (Monday through Friday, 4 to 6pm) here is generous, with a housemade punch and Mediterranean-leaning bites that can easily make for an early-bird meal.
If you want to feel like you’re having drinks at home but want your cocktails expertly crafted and your surroundings elegantly eclectic, 1 Tippling Place is the place to be. The atmosphere here is warm, the furniture mismatched and the drinks strong. Their seasonal offerings are quirky but approachable, so you don’t have to be a cocktail connoisseur to feel comfortable.
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It says it right there on the sign hanging out front: Murph’s Bar is “a comfortable place to be.” The Irish pub has all the charm of a well-loved dive with some of the best Italian food in town (believe us). You’ll find longtime Fishtown residents and 30-something transplants cozied up together at the copper penny bar, the Elvis Presley lamps casting a warm glow on their chef-made pasta and bottled beers. Stop by the ATM before you check out this study in cool contradictions—this old-school joint is cash-only.
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This red and black bar sits quietly next to some of Fishtown’s hottest spots on Frankford Avenue. But it holds its own with an impressive cocktail program inspired by familial and nostalgic recipes. Inside, admire all its curves—the shape of the bar and the booths along the wall backdropped by soft lighting and plush seating. Then, choose your spot to savor a Dark and Stormy or a Bee's Knees.
Secretive and full of intrigue, le Caveau is one of the city’s finest wine bars. This dark and seductive upstairs space is where French disco spins all night long, charcuterie boards fill tables, and an extensive bottle list is up for grabs. Don’t sleep on their cocktails: clarified carajillo for the coffee drinkers, a chuhai highball à la Tokyo dive bars for the spritz fans, and a classic Old Fashioned on draft. Enter from 7th Street or through a small door inside The Good King Tavern downstairs.
Solo diners, pull up to this European-inspired corner wine bar on Spruce Street for a glass of wine, apricot sazerac, and small plates. The 30-seat spot is ideal for killing time with a good book and snacking on a spicy merguez sausage platter, charred eggplant yogurt with chili oil and endives, or seasonally rotating sourdough tartine. Bonus: Happy hour is every day and their wine cellar raids on Wednesdays offer sommelier picks by the glass for less.
If you find yourself in the Spring Garden area before or after a concert, look for the neon red heart and lock key sign that is Poison Heart. The kitchen is open til 11:30pm on most nights and the bar is open until 1am on weekends. Even though Esquire named it one of the best bars in America, there’s no pretense in this stylish rock ‘n roll jewel bar that serves patty melts, Chartreuse hot chocolate, Smith & Cross hot toddies and fuller-bodied wines.
Wm. Mulherin’s Sons, with its rustic and sophisticated design, exudes comfort year-round. The former 19th-century whiskey factory features mosaic tile flooring, marble accents, and wood-fired delights. But the dining room fireplace with its leather chairs is easily the best seat in the whole restaurant. Order a Masque of the Red Death (a clarified concoction with gin, aperitivo, amaro, beet and lime) and hearty, fall pasta like agnolotti with chanterelles, chestnut and truffle—and you won’t want to move.
Inside Anna & Bel, Fishtown’s newest boutique hotel, is a cocktail lounge and piano bar called Caletta. The 24-seat lounge adjacent to the courtyard carries through the hotel’s Italian and Mediterranean design influences with warm tones (terracotta, amber, café), small marble green tables, a snug couch, and a wrap-around bar serving unconventional and adventurous cocktails with house-made infusions, preservations, and cordials to deliver a range of cocktails from spritzes to milk punches. Consider date night unlocked.
Even if you’re there on a chaotic Saturday night, there’s something inherently warm about this popular Fishtown institution. The Johnny Brenda’s crowd, while often massive and rowdy, is cool and welcoming. The same goes for the long wood bar, red-painted walls, and even redder neon lighting. Come for the wide selection of local craft beers and inventive vegan eats; stay for the cozy vibe and neighborhood feel.
If the lush urban jungle flanking the wooden doors of the Dandelion doesn’t immediately make you feel at home, there’s no doubt the crackling fireplace, long beer list, and soul-warming hamburgers will. Drinking at Stephen Starr’s gastropub is like drinking in your English grandma’s cottage, if she were hip in that effortlessly haphazard way that the Dandelion’s perfected with its red-leather banquettes, floral curtains and rugged wooden tables. Stop by for afternoon tea for an elegant spread of boozy classic cocktails and tiers of sweets and sandwiches.
Jose Garces’s redo of Bookbinder’s boasts a menu that embraces retro classics from starters like shrimp remoulade and Parker House rolls to crisp wedge salads and steak Oscar topped with creamy crab hollandaise. Over at the bar, you’ll find a menu boasting Prohitibion-era cocktail creations, wines by the bottle and glass and a rotating list of beers on draft alongside options in bottles and cans.
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Pronounced “hoo-guh,” hygge is the Danish concept of simply enjoying life‘s pleasures. So what does that mean for drinking at this industrial-style Fairmount brewpub? Lots of plush, mismatched seating options to cozy up with your crew, and an excess of exposed brick, textured wood walls, original art and worn rugs. While the cocktail and wine menus are a bit on the standard side, the adventurous, house-brewed beer offerings more than make up for it.
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