16 Halloween Pop-Up Bars & Ghoulishly Decorated Restaurants in Philly for 2025

Through Sunday, November 2, 2025

One of Philly’s most popular holiday pop-up hotspots is back with a vengeance for another spooky season.

Decked out with over-the-top spooky decor and slinging scary-good cocktails (imbibed via blood bags, smoking cauldrons and a witch’s boot, of course), Nightmare Before Tinsel features wildly Instagrammable decor and artifacts — with this year’s theme channeling a creepy circus.

Sip to the season with cocktail twists like the Hocus Pocus (with elderflower liqueur and prosecco), the Resting Witch Face (with coffee liqueur and cold brew) and the Screamsicle (with buttershots and cream soda).

Through Friday, November 7, 2025

​​Grab a lab coat and follow in the footsteps of the great minds (read: mad scientists) that came before.

Led by one of Frankenstein’s senior scientists, alchemists-in-training mix up beakers and test tubes of mysterious potions and shimmering elixirs in the doctor’s secret laboratory hidden inside the historic Divine Lorraine. The result: a delicious cocktail or mocktail concoction to enjoy with your fellow evil geniuses.

You can top off the 90-minute experience with additional pay-as-you-go drinks, hair-raising photo ops and a private tarot reading (at an additional cost).

Through Saturday, November 8, 2025

Each fall, Eastern State Penitentiary — the historic facility that counts infamous criminals like Willie Sutton and Al Capone among its former residents — opens its cell blocks after dark for Halloween Nights.

Transforming the prison into one of America’s largest haunted attractions, the annual festival features immersive haunted houses, historic prison tours and several pop-up bars and restaurants, like:

• the Fair Chance Beer Garden, an outdoor beer garden showcasing museum exhibits and treats from Triple Bottom Brewing and Down North Pizza

• the Pumpkin Plaza, where literal Boogie Monsters hit the open-air dance floor while you enjoy festival bites and sips among the hay bales and gourds

• the Bloodline Lounge, an indoor/outdoor bar and lounge featuring a variety of live acts, and

•  the VIP-only Speakeasy at Al Capone’s Cell, a glamorous Prohibition-era cocktail lounge showcasing the vocal musings of the living dead.

October 4 – November 22, 2025 (select dates)

Sistahs! Step inside The Speakeasy at Red Rūm, a hidden pop-up bar meets immersive theatrical experience.

The theater becomes a witchy lair where the Sanderson Sisters of Hocus Pocus belt out cult classics — all while guests enjoy themed potions and naughty party games (October 4-25, 2025).

Can’t get enough camp? Do the Time Warp again with the wacky cast of the Rocky Horror experience. Sing along to your favorite tunes, plus enjoy rowdy games and spirited sips (October 24 – November 22, 2025, select dates).

Some of the most haunting tales ever written by the master of gothic horror himself — who penned some of his most enduring prose right here in Philadelphia —  leap off the page and come to life at this spooky speakeasy experience.

Skilled storytellers explore the darkest corners of Edgar Allan Poe’s mind, reimagining The Cask of Amontillado, Anabel Lee, The Pit and the Pendulum, and The Fall of the House of Usher right before your very eyes. Each story is paired with a handcrafted spirit inspired by its macabre details and eerie elements.

Now open

Step right up — a different type of carnival is in town. Demented circus performers, unsettling sideshow attractions and unseemly “freaks of nature” beckon you inside the big top — if you dare.

Each fall, the ever-popular perennial perch, Uptown Beer Garden, transforms into one of the largest (and spookiest) Halloween pop ups in the city. Elaborately decked out in haunting decor, the expansive themed beer garden features bars dishing out creepy cocktails, chilling drafts and scary small bites. The Center City cirque du terror is walk-in only and open for a limited time.

Through Friday, October 31, 2025

Spooky season is here — and this one’s for all the ghoulish gourmands. Craftsman Row Saloon transforms back into a Halloween-lover’s haven with its revamped Nightmare Before Christmas pop-up experience: Spooktacular Movie Mash.

Channeling the spirit of Beetlejuice, The Addams Family, Scream, IT, Halloweentown and more, the ghostly pub decks the halls in orange and black, and dishes out a seasonally inspired menu of Halloween milkshakes, themed cocktails and frighteningly good eats. Vampire burgers and spook-etti & meatballs, anyone?

Through Friday, October 31, 2025

What other pop up makes spooky season look this good? A South Street favorite for American fare and classic drinks, Bridget Foy’s gets a creepy-yet-chic makeover.

Decked out in full Halloween regalia, the restaurant’s Haunt experience promises goons and goblins like yourself a frightfully delightful menu of themed cocktails, like the Nosfera-tini Bloody Mary; the vodka and sake drenched Corpse Reviver Number You; and the frozen Count Daiqula, topped with “eyeball” sprinkles. Also on deck: tarot card readings, screenings of your favorite Halloween flicks and more.

Through Sunday, November 2, 2025

Manayunk’s Taqueria Amor loves a theme, and this year’s Nightmare on Main Street pop up channels all your favorite horror classics.

Channeling flicks from A Nightmare on Elm Street and Friday the 13th to The Shining and Saw, the restaurant and bar features over-the-top decor, spooky food and cocktail specials, and projector shows at sundown.

The drink menu highlights include the Bride of Chucky cocktail (gin, elderflower liquor, creme de violette, lemon and lavender, with a black salt rim), and the Want to Play a Game? shot (butterscotch schnapps, coffee tequila, cold brew and whipped cream, with Jigsaw sprinkles).

Philadelphia’s oldest continually operating tavern gets the Halloween treatment this fall, featuring all sorts of spirits … and spirits.

Pumpkins, cobwebs and other festive decor transform the pub into a spooky, scary skeleton’s favorite place to be. Grab a seat at the bar with the tavern’s resident ghost (what 165-year-old establishment doesn’t have at least one?) for an autumn-themed menu of pumpkin martinis, Crimson Harvest mules and Ma McGillin’s Pecan Pie cocktails, alongside other potions from the pub’s fall menu.

If that wasn’t enough, keep an eye out on the bar’s social media for scaraoke (aka costumed karaoke) toward the end of October, and a big Halloween party on October 31, 2025. Plus, fans of history, secrets and super old bars should check out the bar’s new book, Cheers to McGillin’s, Philly’s Oldest Bar.

Hear that thunder and lightning? Evil Genius debuts its first-ever Halloween pop up in Fishtown, Taproom of Horrors.

Paying tribute to the most famous fearsome figures from film, TV, literature and legend, the taproom features seven fright-filled zones with eerie decor, animatronics and shrines to horror classics. Plus, guests can sip on Trick or Treat Chocolate Pumpkin Porters, Hellfire Mules or Poison Apples while snacking on mummy dogs, coffin flatbreads and cemetery dirt pudding.

Evil Genius also hosts fall-themed events throughout the season, like Oktoberfest, doggie costume contests, a monster prom and more.

Philly’s massive waterfront perch, Liberty Point, transforms into the ultimate Halloween playground with the family-friendly Cityside Pumpkin Patch.

Pick your perfect pumpkin, and then dive into festive fun with scarecrow archery, carnival games and a pool of pumpkins (!). Smash gourds in the appropriately named Pumpkin Smashing Zone, snap pics with spooky backdrops and sip on Halloween-themed treats. Tickets are required.

This new Halloween pop up at Cavanaugh’s on the Delaware River waterfront is inspired by the legend of the Red October. As the story goes, the 19th-century ship set sail downriver one stormy night, never to be seen again — that is, in this life …

Pour one out for the Red October and its ghostly crew at this haunted attraction featuring themed cocktails, spooky bites, $5 Freaky Fridays (with $5 drink specials) and Thriller dance parties on Saturdays.

Don’t miss the pumpkin slingshots, the carving contests and a Día de los Muertos celebration in November.

Year-round

If year-round Halloween is your aesthetic, then Monster Vegan is the place to be. Dishing out comfort foods and creepy cocktails, this vegan monster mash complements its spooky decor with a neon-lit bar and classic black-and-white horror movies on-screen.

The film-inspired menu features starters, sandwiches, salads and pasta, while the killer drink selection includes brews, wines, classic and alcohol-free cocktails, and specialty drinks like the “Tomb of the Tiki” bevvies, which swap the tropical for the macabre and are served in large skulls.

Year-round

A newer addition to Philly’s scary-good bar scene, this heavy-metal-inspired bar and restaurant in NoLibs really leans into its hard-rocking roots. The music? Loud. The space? Dark. The vibes? Moody as hell.

But behind its prickly, slightly scary exterior, the bi-level bar has all the pub food you’d expect (think: nachos, wings, chili dogs) along with a robust menu of vegetarian and vegan delights, a bevy of fun draft beer and cocktail options, and a few off-the-beaten-path eats (bone marrow, anyone?). But what about dessert? We’re glad you asked: cosmic brownie ice cream sandwiches. Rock on.

Year-round

This ’70s-inspired lounge is not necessarily “scary” in the traditional sense. Unless, of course, you are deathly afraid of clowns. Then, friend, Neon Clown Dream Lounge is your worst nightmare. Boo.

A delightfully chaotic, colorful dreamscape, this Fishtown cocktail lounge is absolutely plastered in circus-inspired decor. Tucked away above Kung Fu Necktie, the lounge serves an impressive lineup of cocktails, mocktails, wine and beer. So sip away — drink options include the Endless Nightmare and the Doom Cruiser — in the company of Bozo, Ronald, Krusty and more.