Frankford Hall

The Experience

Stephen Starr’s outdoor oasis in Philadelphia’s neighborhood is a deceptively simple concept – take a traditional German “biergarten” and give it a modern edge.

Pass through Frankford Hall’s red-and-white candy-striped doors and enter Philadelphia’s largest beer garden with seating for 160 people inside and 240 more in the outdoor courtyard.

The renovated industrial space features exposed brick walls with re-claimed industrial metals. The indoor space is separated from the gravel-lined courtyard by metal garage doors, which remain open during the warm summer months. Communal picnic tables provide plenty of seating while three separate bars – one specifically reserved for beer – keep the drinks flowing.

Up to nine beers are on tap at any given time an can be ordered by the half liter or in massive one-liter stein.

When you start to feel the pangs of hunger, head to Frankford Hall’s walk-up counter for a variety of German favorites like bratwursts served with sauerkraut or pickled red cabbage, schnitzels, rotisserie chicken, spaetzle with gravy, Bavarian dumplings, fries with curry ketchup and more.

New on the menu: Six brand new, seriously impressive burgers created by Chef Jim Davidson have been added to the expanded menu in Fall 2011. The burgers, a dry-aged beef blend from LaFrieda, are all served on Hudson Bakery soft buns with crispy French fries. Also available are a turkey burger, Colorado lamb burger, tomato tartare vegetarian raw “burger and sustainable Atlantic salmon burger.

The heart-stopping star of the new menu is the Ultimate Poutine burger, an open face dry-aged beef patty topped with fontina fries and foie gravy.

Don’t Miss

Frankford Hall’s signature soft pretzels, roughly the size of your head, are the perfect tool to soak up all that delicious beer. They are available for purchase from one of several roving vendors.

Outsider Tip

Those with a competitive edge can play friendly game of table tennis on the free-to-use ping pong tables in the courtyard.