This PA Bar Named Among Best In U.S. For 2025

PHILADELPHIA — There is no shortage of places to get a drink in Philadelphia.

From the ritzy Skyhigh atop the Four Seasons Hotel Philadelphia at the Comcast Center to neighborhood haunts like Les & Doreen's Happy Tap, Philadelphia has the setting for just about anyone to sip (or shoot) an adult libation.

But one bar that opened in 2023 has been named one of America's top 15 bars by Esquire Magazine.

The list is focused on the best straightforward bars, the ones where "you can loosen up and be yourself and incinerate all that world-gone-mad stress before it incinerates you."

"We’re talking about a bar whose very existence says something about the community you happen to inhabit," the editorial staff at Esquire wrote about their top 15 bars.

Among these top bars is Philadelphia's Meetinghouse.

Located at 2331 E. Cumberland Street in the Olde Richmond neighborhood, Meethinghouse takes its name and its ethos from the Quakers: a place where friends gather without frills and froufrou.

Here's part of what writer Joshua David Stein said about Meetinghouse:

Like all things Quaker, such a place tends to be plain and soft-spoken (i.e., shtick-less). So it is at Meetinghouse, the bar. There are five beers, three of them—a pale one, a hoppy ale, and a dark lager—made by Tonewood Brewing in Barrington, New Jersey. (The other two are the Belgian Trappist ale Orval and Guinness, poured here perfectly.) The cocktails are nicely balanced, batched, and only eleven dollars.

Stein mentions the popular spot's menu briefly, but it deserves more attention.

While very limited, the dishes are executed extremely well. From the otherworldly waffles on the brunch menu to the steak frites offered on special during Saturday dinner service, Meetinghouse's bites are spectacular.

Meetinghouse boasts 4.7 stars based on nearly 200 reviews on Google.

"My boyfriend and I went for a more casual anniversary dinner after hearing about this place from friends who live locally and a TikTok we saw," one reviewer wrote. "And man, our expectations were high but they were blown out of the water."

"Casual pub atmosphere can't be beat," another said.

"Tasty food, great aesthetic, pints of Guinness don’t hurt either," one person said.

"This bar curates a good vibe," another person wrote. "The music is awesome. I Shazammed most of it. The closer you look the more cool, custom, design work you notice in the bar. The drink menu is perfectly rounded."

Check out Esquire's full list of the 15 best bars in America online here.