27 Hidden Bars & Restaurants in Philadelphia

Get people together: Check. Listen to records: Check. For 48 Record Bar, that means mission accomplished. Nestled above staple Old City watering hole Sassafras and inspired by the audiophile bars in Japan, this cozy cocktail lounge does double time as a vinyl listening room. The intimate spot attracts in-the-know music lovers with its top-notch acoustics, high-fidelity sound system, as well as its solid music collection covering every artist and genre from Wu-Tang to Pink Floyd. 48 Record Bar keeps them with special events, like album release parties and vinyl record sales, and a carefully curated menu of craft cocktails, beer and wine.

Take a peek behind the scenes and enjoy a singular Philadelphia nighttime gastronomic experience at a local culinary landmark during After Hours at Di Bruno Bros. On select evenings, the wonderland of international cheese and cured meats invites foodies in after-hours to explore the goods. The exclusive, two-hour, after-dark event invites you to sample almost anything on the shelves as well as join the store’s expert cheesemongers for guided tastings of choice cheeses, charcuterie and antipasti. Note that the After Hours experience is available only at Di Bruno’s Italian Market and Market East locations.

Can you call a place “a secret” after it’s caught the attention of major pubs like The New York Times and Esquire? Well, in a lot of ways, Andra Hem is still as low profile as they come. To this day, the Scandinavian-inspired cocktail lounge doesn’t have a flashy storefront or eye-catching marquee. In fact, it doesn’t have so much as an Instagram page. But with drinks like these, word spreads — and fast. Its understated, black facade conceals a stylish, jewel-toned, hue-soaked setup serving some of the best cocktails in the city.

What looks like a mild-mannered (but fashionable and Bryce Harper-endorsed) barbershop from the street, marked solely by a nondescript striped barber pole, hides a secret. Wednesday through Sunday evenings, patrons not needing a trim can walk past the three black-and-chrome Belmont barber chairs, through the unmarked white door at the back of the shop, and into the Backroom at Blind Barber. This moody cocktail lounge serves exclusive mixed drinks, full bottles, canned beer, and wine, while some of Philly’s hottest DJs spin hit after hit.

This new speakeasy-style restaurant — tucked behind a bright red refrigerator door inside the gelato shop Vita in Rittenhouse Square — takes you on an Italian culinary journey. The hidden restaurant includes a full dining room, a lively bar and garden seating, with a menu featuring handmade pasta, chicken al mattone, bistecca alla Fiorentina, vino straight from the Italian wine country and more. (Think Narnia, but with pasta.) The new restaurant is accessible by reservation only and can be booked on Resy.

Deep Bucks County may not be where you expect a hidden speakeasy — especially one inside a chain pizza joint. To get to The Cage Cocktail Bar — a Warrington spot featuring locally sourced, onsite-grown, and hand-made mixes and ingredients — visitors must walk through the Select Pizza & Grill dining room (with or without stopping for a slice) to reveal an Instagram-friendly bar adorned in bird cages and living garden walls. The drinks — including weekend mimosa towers — shine with creative twists on mainstays like old fashioneds and martinis.

What do a coffee shop and a bourbon bar have in common? At Char & Stave, they’re one and the same. Bluebird Distilling founder Jared Adkins opened his first roastery just off Lancaster Avenue in Ardmore in 2022 before adding a second location in Chestnut Hill the following year. In addition to serving its own house-roasted coffee aged in whiskey and bourbon oak barrels, Char & Stave pours creative cocktails featuring its small-batch spirits and artisan coffee. Also on offer: open mic nights, live music and weekly quizzo.

This Prohibition-era-inspired bar (admittedly) might be the worst-kept secret in all of Bristol. Concealed behind a liquor store bookcase (classic speakeasy), the door to Daddy Tom’s Speakeasy is only unlocked by password. (Find it on Instagram — no whisper network required). Once inside, this shadowy and moody spot lives up to its 1920s lineage, with glamorous chandeliers, a dark wooden bar, and grand upholstered chairs and couches fit for flappers. Behind the bar, dapperly dressed mixologists pour hand-crafted cocktails carrying monikers like Hiya Sugar and Curiouser & Curiouser.

Everyone loves a good beer while they bowl a few frames, but you probably haven’t experienced anything like this. Head downstairs at trendy Rittenhouse Square gastropub Harp and Crown and you’ll find a secret full-sized, two-lane bowling alley and cocktail lounge known as Elbow Lane. Bartenders at the subterranean bar serve spirit-forward drinks while pin jockeys sling strikes and spares on the dual lanes available after 4 p.m.  — first come, first served — for $100 an hour (including shoes) for up to eight players. Inside secret: On weekends, the lanes are open during brunch for only $50 and can be booked in advance.

Down an unassuming alley in West Kensington is a pale green lightbulb next to a rickety, unsigned garage door. When that light is on, Fermentery Form is open for business. (You can also check the spot’s “by announcement only” open status on Facebook and Instagram.) Not quite a brewery, the Form doesn’t brew on site, but brings in unfermented beer created elsewhere and then allows it to ferment, blend and age, a process known as “mixed fermentation.” The results are crisp, refreshing beers, executed in the style of Belgian lambics and French farmhouse ales that can be enjoyed inside or out in the alleyway.

Named for the front that boxer-turned-bootlegger Max “Boo Boo” Hoff used for his Prohibition-era alcohol ring, Rittenhouse Square speakeasy The Franklin Mortgage & Investment Co. goes so far as to use a fake address on its social media and website. Reopened in a new location in 2022, The Franklin lies off a back alley at the rear of The Franklin on Rittenhouse Hotel, and has added reservations, a food menu and vodka — all things the previous location eschewed. If you can find the unmarked entrance (real address snitched below), you’ll have earned a drink.

The only master-worthy food at most museums comes embedded in paintings of soup cans, bowls of fruit and last suppers. Not at the Barnes. Now headed by acclaimed chef Michael O’Meara, the Garden Restaurant at the Barnes Foundation is a full-service indoor/outdoor dining spot deep inside the Benjamin Franklin Parkway art institution serving lunch and brunch Thursday through Monday with a menu focusing on fresh local and seasonal ingredients. Purchasing tickets to tour the museum isn’t required to dine (but we highly recommend it).

In the heart of Chester County, Good, Bad & Ugly (GB&U) is an underground bar below West Chester’s Stove and Tap, glowing with Warhol-inspired pop art, movie posters, colorful pool and shuffleboard tables, video games, and mood lighting. Open until 2 a.m. — much later than other nearby neighborhood restaurants and bars — GB&U has quickly become a suburban destination for cocktails, wine and bar snacks.

Hidden down a narrow chain-link-fenced Midtown Village alleyway, under a small neon sign, is Graffiti Bar, celebrity chef Michael Schulson’s 30-seat open-air patio serving its neighbor Sampan’s same acclaimed Asian favorites like satays, dumplings and spring rolls in a cheery alfresco space. (No worries: There are heat lamps and a glass-lattice overhang for cold or rainy dining.) Vivid graffiti murals complement the spot’s delicious cocktails, happy-hour bao buns and TVs behind the bar for Philly game days.

Pizzaiolo Joe Beddia’s renowned pies took the city and the nation by storm when his Pizzeria Beddia was named Bon Appétit’s Best Pizza In America and one of the “Greatest Places” in the world by Time magazine. His hours-long wait walkup window moved into a full-blown Fishtown pizzeria space in 2019, a spot that also serves up a very Philadelphia dining experience: a private two-hour pizza and hoagie omakase feast in a Hoagie Room. The intimate hideaway inside the pizza parlor offers a $75-per-person all-in smorgasbord of Philly goodness for parties of six (no more, no less) that includes a round of cocktails, apps, and a chef-chosen selection of hoagies, pizzas and signature soft serve to boot.

No phones. No photos. No shorts, no flip-flops, no sandals. These are just a few of the rules that, if broken, will get you added to the 5,000-plus-name “banned list” at Hop Sing Laundromat, which owner Lê (no last name) lovingly calls the “World’s Greatest North Korean Cocktail Bar.” To access the famous Chinatown speakeasy, patrons must find the buzzer at its unmarked, nondescript metal door and wait for the doorman to shuffle you into the anteroom where the rules of decorum are explained and IDs are scanned to sift out previously banned offenders. Then — and only then — are you granted access to one of Esquire’s Best Bars in America and Condé Nast Traveler’s Greatest Bars in the World. Oh, and leave the plastic at home: It’s cash only.

This cozy niche inside of The Rittenhouse Hotel caters to the bibliophiles and culture enthusiasts among us. A perfect place to sit down solo with your next read or catch up with friends, the Library Bar features specialty libations inspired by classic works of art, like Mary Cassatt’s Lady at the Tea Table and Vincent van Gogh’s The Gardener. The shelves of the adjacent reading nook are lined with vintage books for guests to skim as they sip. On Fridays and Saturdays, live jazz complements the cocktail lounge’s sophisticated vibes.

Music is the heartbeat of prolific Philly restauranteur Stephen Starr’s Kensington hotspot. With an A-plus sound system and decor inspired by the 1970s and 80s, LMNO serves up disco-tinged nostalgia alongside Baja-inspired bites. But your journey back into time doesn’t end there. Follow the rhythm from the eclectic dining room through a secret passageway funneling guests to the restaurant’s underground cocktail lounge. Welcoming you with mirrored disco balls and neon lights, Midori Sours and White Russians, and the danceable decade’s greatest hits, the retro hideout invites you to release your worries and catch a groove.

While the Morris House Hotel — with its Georgian architecture and colonial-esque charm — fits in perfectly among Old City’s historic sites, it’s also the perfect setting for an equally charming steakhouse. In its romantic dining room and covered courtyard, The Morris. serves a Founding Fathers-approved dinner menu featuring dishes like rabbit pot pie, New York strip, and grilled pork chops plus an awesome brunch and selection of libations. The hidden gems don’t stop there: Keep an eye on Instagram because, on select Mondays, The Blind Tiger speakeasy quietly takes over the restaurant, offering a rotating menu of small plates and exclusive cocktails.

The name, the drinks, the décor and even the big green shamrock on the sign outside Murph’s Bar all proudly scream “Irish pub.” But the dive has become popular around Fishtown for its delicious menu of — wait for it — Italian food. Why? One day, Italian emigre Francesco Bellastelli wandered into Murph’s looking for something to eat, only to find food was not being served. Owner Greg Walton asked Chef Francesco if he wanted to rent out the kitchen to curate his classic Italian dishes, and the rest was history. Now, the pub’s one-man kitchen plates up hearty red sauce entrees, from delectable pastas to branzino and rack of lamb. Be sure to get there early: The small bar fills up quick and can come with a multiple-hour wait.

New Era Cuisine gives new meaning to the phrases “off-the-beaten trail” and “hidden gems.” You literally have to go underground to find chef Temmy (Tee) Ajiboye’s treasure trove of West African goodness, which is located inside of SEPTA’s Suburban Square station. Her easy-to-miss BYOB brings authentic Naija flavors to Center City, serving traditional West African staples, like egusi soup, jolloff rice, and puff puff, as well as Nigerian fusion cuisine, like jolloff spaghetti, beef suya alfredo and suya indomie.

Speakeasy, meet sushi. From the back room of Izakaya Fishtown, Sushi by Boū dishes up a traditional 12- or 17-piece omakase experience with a dash of hip-hop. From its decor to its cool vibe, the restaurant takes inspiration from the golden age of the art form and Philly’s place in hip-hop history. Massive murals of the Notorious B.I.G, Questlove and Black Thought overlook the intimate chef’s bar as the nationally recognized master sushi chefs serve their choice of fish to the bars and beats of throwback rap classics.

A pretty popular Bucks County café offers a pretty delicious secret by night. Come 4 p.m., Yardley’s cozy Pretty Bird Coffee café transforms into the sizzling Pretty Bird Smash Burgers, offering a small but tasty menu of angus beef burgers, fries and salads, as well as a selection of beers from Vault Brewing Company, located across the street and conveniently owned by Jim Cain — who also owns Pretty Bird.

There are speakeasies, and then there are speakeasies run by Stephen Starr. The famed Philly restaurateur is the brain behind Ranstead Room, a classically styled cocktail bar located down Ranstead Street (behind El Rey), past two trees and through a hidden, nondescript black metal door imprinted with mirrored “R”s set in a red-bricked façade. Once you make your way inside, you’ll find a dark, moody, 1930s-style speakeasy adorned with leather booths, dark wood accents, and some of the city’s best cocktails and their mixologists.

A big thank you to whoever wished the concept of “bakery speakeasy” into existence, because that’s what locally owned late-night dessert heaven Insomnia Cookies manifested at their Passyunk Square outpost, situated right between cheesesteak icons Pat’s and Geno’s. This location is home to Insomnia’s CookieLab, a spot through a secret door disguised as a bookcase with a secret menu of experimental, never-before-tasted cookies and milkshakes.

Upon walking into the W Philadelphia hotel, you don’t enter the lobby — you enter the “living room,” a public space to gather. But continue straight through, past the couches and the bar, to find the hidden Stevens’ Prophecy at W Philadelphia, an urban saloon outfitted with bespoke artwork and design features honoring Philadelphia native Grace Kelly. (Even the bar’s name itself is an homage, referencing the princess’ yearbook superlative at Germantown’s The Stevens School which prophesied the future royal ingénue would become “a famous star of stage and screen.”) The cozy, reservation-only lounge offers handcrafted cocktails and sophisticated vibes, all veiled from view of the general public behind a one-way mirror looking out upon excited tourists and businessfolk in the lobby — errr, living room.

Whether you love to write, love to read or just love to belly up to a cool bar, Writer’s Block Rehab is a hidden story you’ll enjoy unraveling. The book-and-author-themed craft cocktail bar occupies a detached, standalone rowhome (bookended by parking lots) down a small alley off Broad Street in Washington Square West. The space offers a compact first-floor bar surrounded by custom wallpaper featuring playable word jumbles listing the names of over a hundred authors, and a second-floor “library” bar decorated in trompe l’oeil and vintage globe chandeliers.