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When you head off to one of the many (read: more than 150) great craft breweries in Philadelphia and the Countryside, you’re probably not just looking for a cold one in a tall glass.
One of the best parts about Greater Philadelphia’s breweries and brewpubs is that they offer an experience: a chance to hang out in a beautiful taproom or sunny beer garden with family and friends, listen to live music, play games and — potentially best of all — enjoy some of the region’s awesome food.
From massive beer cathedrals in Center City to boutique cafés in quaint suburbs, nearly every area brewery offers food of some sort — either right out of their own kitchens or from a rotating roster of food trucks. Think wood-fired pizzas, sandwiches, locally sourced charcuterie boards, creative burgers of every style, and tasty vegetarian and vegan dishes, along with plenty of Philly favorites. (We’re lookin’ at you, cheesesteaks, roast pork and soft pretzels).
Philadelphia is one of America’s great food cities, and there’s a similar case to be made for craft beer as well. So just imagine how incredible an experience it is to combine them both.
Here are 14 of our favorite Philly-region breweries with great food. Try one — or try them all.
Bar Hygge — named after the Danish word describing the contentment one gets when surrounded by friends — is the bistro housing and serving beer from its own Brewery Techne. The local, house-made menu at what Philadelphia Magazine once named “Best of Philly New Brewpub” is highlighted by Hygge boards – charcuterie-style sharing paddles featuring up to five mix-and-match meats, cheeses, veggies, even desserts. Among the offerings: smoked bluefish toast, zucchini pickles and sottocenere cheese with truffle.
Where: Bar Hygge, 1720 Fairmount Avenue, Philadelphia, PA
Located inside food hall Market at the Fareway, Chestnut Hill Brewing offers some of the best pizza in Northwest Philly. The authentic wood-fired Neapolitan pizza is served in 11 house styles — from an upside-down Trenton Napoli to a Veggie Modena — made with local and organic ingredients. The menu also features several plant-based, vegetarian and vegan-friendly options such as a falafel sandwich and lentil toast.
Where: Chestnut Hill Brewing Company, 8231 Germantown Avenue, Philadelphia, PA
Craft Hall is one of the city’s most kid-friendly breweries (look no further than the on-site indoor playground), but it’s certainly not just serving up food for the little ones. Alongside beers from on-site Mainstay Independent Brewing, Craft Hall’s open gourmet kitchen offers barbecue from its 700-pound smoker, including dry-rub spare ribs, black-pepper brisket, smokehouse pizzas and a BBQ tower featuring choices of three meats and sides. Of course, there’s also a stacked kids’ menu and even dog-friendly treats available at the bar’s dog park beer garden.
Where: Craft Hall, 901 N. Delaware Avenue, Philadelphia, PA
In 1985, Dock Street became the first craft brewery to open in Philadelphia in the 65 years since Prohibition. Its newest (and, until later in 2022, only) location has been open in Point Breeze since 2019, with the same great beer and a killer menu. The brewpub offers brasserie-style bar food, including char-grilled burgers, sandwiches, salads, a dozen styles of hand-tossed pizzas from the brewery’s Earthstone wood-fired oven and Tuesday-special strombolis and calzones. Don’t miss the ricotta donuts for dessert.
Where: Dock Street Brewery, 2118 Washington Avenue, Philadelphia, PA
Lilly’s Gourmet & Catering has been offering innovative food in Bucks County for more than 20 years. In 2018, Lilly Salvatore teamed up with Geronimo Brewing to open Lilly’s Jury Room, serving a gourmet menu with a pub twist. The rustic eatery and small-scale brewery pair excellently, offering small plates, sandwiches, salads and entrees such as taco pizza, a Cuban press sandwich and a custom-blend burger with beer mushrooms and avocado.
Where: Geronimo Brewing at Lilly's Jury Room, 1 W. Court Street, Doylestown, PA
Formerly a popular takeout shop in Fishtown, Poe’s Sandwich Joint reopened inside imaginative Kensington brewery Human Robot, offering some of the best sandwiches in the city. The menu features favorites, including a meatball parm with mozzarella made in-house, seven different chicken cutlet selections, the veggie “Commish” with mozzarella and basil pesto, and one of the city’s most underrated cheesesteaks.
Where: Human Robot, 1710 N. 5th Street, Philadelphia, PA
Pottstown’s J.J. Ratigan Brewing Company isn’t just a great place to grab a craft beer — it’s also a great place to eat in Montgomery County. The full-service restaurant features a scratch menu inspired by beer gardens around the world, with specialty items like a wagyu pub burger, crab nachos, swordfish jambalaya and some real fine barbecue.
Where: J.J. Ratigan Brewing Company, 227 E. High Street, Pottstown, PA
Housed in a 130-year-old grist mill, La Cabra Brewing in Berwyn serves an extensive menu that leans heavily on Latin American and Spanish cuisine with items like flash-fried duck empanadas, an Angus beef burger with goat cheese and tomato chorizo jam, and a barbacoa cheesesteak. Twenty minutes away in Bryn Mawr is the La Cabra Brewing Smokehouse, the brewery’s full-service restaurant extension featuring Kansas City-style barbecue favorites from their live fire kitchen and wood smoker.
Where: La Cabra Brewing, 642 Lancaster Avenue, Berwyn, PA
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La Cabra Brewing Smokehouse, 810 Glenbrook Avenue, Bryn Mawr, PA
Known for its hazy IPAs, smoothie sours and pastry stouts, Other Half Brewing has been a Brooklyn staple for nearly a decade — and now Philly gets to partake in its highly ranked brews in its newish Fishtown location across from The Fillmore. Complementing the acclaimed beers is the food, available inside or to take out to the massive beer garden, featuring unique takes on pub fare. On the menu: smoked trout dip, a double smash burger, and homemade white chocolate Cap’n Crunch and chocolate Rice Krispie treats for dessert. (Yum is right.)
Where: Other Half Brewing, 1002 Canal Street, Philadelphia, PA
Some brewpubs have giant food menus or hulking pizza ovens. Punch Buggy Brewing doesn’t need all that. Outside a smattering of pub-tizers, Punch Buggy’s menu features gourmet grilled cheese sandwiches in rotating styles like jalapeño popper, buffalo chicken and s’mores dessert, as well as stacked hot dog varieties spanning the globe, including Chicago, Tijuana and, of course, Philadelphia. Pro tip: On Thursdays, melts are available pressed onto soft pretzels — a match made in Philly heaven.
Where: Punch Buggy Brewing Company, 1445 N. American Street, Philadelphia, PA
Suburban Restaurant & Beer Garden has been serving an eclectic international menu in Exton since opening in 2017. Now the eatery is bringing its signature pub dishes and Pennsylvania Dutch-inspired snacks to its new Suburban Brewing Company 322 Taproom in Honey Brook, just 10 miles down the road. The varied menu includes brioche steak burgers, falafel franks, Dandan noodles, three styles of pub eggrolls and a poutine riff with egg.
Where: Suburban Brewing Co., 3041 Horseshoe Pike, Honey Brook, PA
At Tired Hands Brewing’s two Ardmore locations — the BrewCafé and its Fermentaria, located just three blocks apart — guests find a small, seasonal menu of simple yet sophisticated items heavy on local ingredients. Tired Hands sources all its rotating cheeses and charcuterie from within 100 miles and bakes its house ale yeast-fermented bread on-site daily, served with most every dish. The BrewCafé features a selection of house-made pork frankfurters and upscale apps, while the Fermentaria serves lavish sandwiches and vegan specials like a tomato hoagie with ginger-garlic eggplant purée.
Where: Tired Hands Fermentaria Tap Room, 35 Cricket Terrace, Ardmore, PA
Tired Hands BrewCafé, 16 Ardmore Avenue, Ardmore, PA
Many breweries offer brick-oven pizza. What makes the ones at Urban Village Brewing different is the naturally leavened sourdough, cold-fermented for three days and served in seven red and seven white varieties topped with items such as house-made pepperoni and fresh mozzarella. Beyond the pizza, Urban creates rotating menu items that pair well with its freshly brewed beer. On offer: a perch po’boy, house charcuterie, vegan options (think a chickpea and arborio rice veggie burger) and its own cheese blend poured generously over hand-cut fries.
Where: Urban Village Brewing Company, 1001 N. 2nd Street, Philadelphia, PA
If you run the largest craft brewery in the Philadelphia region and you open a new taproom on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway, you better bring the goods. And Victory Brewing Company’s new spot does just that. Elevated, scratch-made pub food is the specialty here, including roast pork tacos, hot honey popcorn shrimp and a veggie Indian street burrito. Plenty of Philly faves are also on the menu: house-made soft pretzels, cheesesteaks and loaded fries featuring Victory Prima Pils cheese sauce. Patrons can enjoy all of this foodie goodness at two indoor bars, one outdoor bar, at sidewalk seating or on the rooftop patio.
Where: Victory Brewing Company Philadelphia, 1776 Benjamin Franklin Parkway, Philadelphia, PA
The Visit Philly Overnight Package — booked more than 190,000 times since 2001 — comes with free hotel parking (worth up to $100 in Center City Philadelphia) and overnight hotel accommodations.
See why the Philadelphia region is one of the best places for beer in the world...