3rd & Girard

This place sucks and is shady as hell. The bartender literally stole my phone while I was playing pool. It was 100% him, because there were only three other people in the bar (all of whom I knew), and he was incredibly weird/​shady the entire night and especially after it happened. I had had a horrible week, so it was a terrible ending.

I stopped by 3^rd & Girard this past Friday & it’s a cool spot. The bartender was really cool & their beer menu is crazy & overwhelming, but in a good way. Can’t wait to get back there soon.

As an area musician who appreciates bar and venue owners supporting the scene, I highly recommend 3^rd & Girard. The owner, Freddie, will work with you to make your show happen the way you want! They have a great stage and it’s easy to make the 2^nd floor live music area feel as DIY-​awesome or professionally official as you want. I’ve played everything from art openings to punk shows there. Plus, the beer selection is stellar! Most recently I had an Icelandic white ale that was brewed with orange peel and coriander– it was as delicious as Bjork’s hair on the Biophilia album cover.

I’ve been here a few times. The first was for a friend’s birthday party. I give them props for accommodating a large group of people, including several in ball gowns. It was back in December so the weather outside was frightful, but inside it was delightful, thanks to the strategically-​placed heaters. A live band of local youths with quite a following was playing upstairs, which was also fun.
The other times I have been here since, it has been fairly empty and low-​energy. If you just want a quiet place to drink and think your thoughts — and sometimes that’s exactly what you need — then this is a good place. If you’re looking for a destination to drink and chat with strangers and make an event of the night, this is less of a perfect spot for that. Still a good bar though, and I’ll still be going back.

Bar — Great beer selection.
Food — Good with decent portions. Took a while to get, though.
Music — Good but very random. (Gauntlet Hair & Phantogram to Journey & hair bands)
**Haven’t seen a live show there**
Restrooms — single person, pretty clean
Games — Nice pool table and Chenga and other childhood games available on the first floor.
Crowd — The first floor bar goes from completely empty to packed to completely empty in a very short amount of time. I went there last night with a few friends from out of town and the people were very diverse when I first got there around 10pm, but within an hour the crowd became almost 100% LGBT (pretty sure it was due to whoever the entertainment was for the night). The change in crowd caught us off guard but was fine with us.
A great place to just chill and have a few good beers and decent food.

I recently went to see a punk rock show at the 3G Bar, and was surprised to not see a punk rock show at all.
What I saw instead was the Owner complaining about the music being too loud, and complaining about how big the amplifiers were; eventually leading to the last band loading their equipment out of the bar and leaving.
If they decide they’re a music venue, they should just put padding on the windows and let musicians «play» live music instead of saying «this is too loud» when the music playing inside the bar downstairs is louder than the bands on the 2^nd floor /​the traffic of Girard in general.

Cheap beer? Check.
Craft beer? Check.
Tasty strong cocktails for less than $ 4? Check.
Ample space on a Saturday night? Check.
Hipsters in spades? Check.
I’d come back here again if in the neighborhood, but the crowd there (other than the one we were with) wasn’t quite my scene.
But like I said, they checked a lot of boxes on my go-​to bar check list, so if you’re in the area, give ‘em a shot!

We checked out 3^rd & Girard the other night with some fellow Unilocalers & co. for a friends birthday party. We were with a large group, so we were happy to see that it wasn’t terribly crowded for a Saturday night. We were able to pull up a few tables and got our drinks right away.
The beer prices weren’t too bad considering the quality of their list, and they had $ 3.50 well cocktails. There is also an upstairs where there was a band playing. It’s always nice when a bar has a band and doesn’t make you pay a cover. Although, I think the sound was a little off, because when we went upstairs the treble was so high it actually hurt my ears. The band wasn’t too bad though, and I hope that this was just a one-​off issue.
They do have food here, although we didn’t try anything. I would come back another time to try their menu and hopefully have a better experience checking out bands here.