The Irish Pol

Have to say I was not terribly impressed with the new Irish Pol, especially after hearing so many good things about the «old» Irish Pol.
Came here for their Beer Week «event» which wasn’t really anything more than them having their normal beers. The place was probably ¹⁄₃ full, and it lacked the neighborhood warmth I sort of expected after hearing about it so much. One of the few pros was that it was right next to Franklin Fountain, which I happen to enjoy. But when one of the best things about your location is that you’re close to another business, that ain’t great.
They had some good Goose Island, and New Belgium stuff, but nothing too out of the ordinary. We grabbed one of the high tables and hung out for a while, but it was a little uncomfortable being one of two groups there. I guess it was our choice to hang out there, but dang, it was rough.
Service was decently quick with getting our beers out, but just about unresponsive with anything else. We asked if they could turn the TVs to the NBA Finals, but to no avail. As a result, we didn’t feel any reason to stay after we finished our beers. Prices were decent, at about $ 7 for craft beer, but nothing quite too special from
Not quite worth coming out of your way for, as we did, but solid for some beers.

Emily and John took such good care of us. It was a great evening for our friends birthday. Awesome all around.

Came here later in the day after attempting to go to the South St festival. My buddy told me that if you use the Untappd app n log your beers it’ll show up on the screens which is cool, but the main thing for me were the 2 beers I’ve had, the Saxonator and the Barleywine Ale. Both were really good and the other selections looked good too and I’ll most likely be back again soon to try them out since my buddy lives nearby!

Solid beer selection, good snacks and you can bring your dog (yes your dog, inside the restaurant). My dog splinter loves going, especially if he can see any other doggie friends.
Note that the bar moved from 3^rd and chestnut to on market between front and 2^nd.

This place is a beer drinkers paradise! They have 40 craft beers on tap that are always rotating and a keg room that is in plain sight behind the bar. Its a very cool set up. One thing that’s really cool about this place that if you want your own space they have a really cool room downstairs that is perfect for sipping whisky and has a classic lounge feel to it. I have been here on a 1^st Friday and sometimes the Upstairs banquet room has an art gallery going on witch is perfect for that old city feel… i like to have my own private watch party for march madness/​flyers etc. and its nice to know there is a venue that can accommodate. I have had The wings witch are fall off the bone delicious and the chicken Caprese that was cooked perfectly. I love sports, good beer and food so i would definitely recommend this place for all the above.

Had the chance to check the new place out yesterday night and it easily exceeded my expectations. Clearly they spent some money to make the interior very cozy while at the same time making it look like the old place in terms of not being too large and what not. I was given a tour of the basement section and that looked excellent and very modernized compared to the old dive hang out.
Beer — very many quality beer choose from! Sure not all the taps are filled but they may have easily had 30 of them up yesterday. Prices are great and as I said, The selection is ultimate! Bartender was also nice enough to mix two beers for me (Terrapin Wake-​n-​bake + Rouge double chocolate Stout) which in my honest opinion actually tastes better than founders breakfast stout!
Food — this was my favorite part of this establishment because I already expected them to have great beer. My buddy got buffalo wings (not the mustard ones that everyone raves about unfortunately) and they were pretty dang good. I like to compare a lot of the wings I eat in Philadelphia to one of my favorites (found at N. 3^rd) and these were definitely on the level. I had the truffle fries and they were absolutely fantastic. I posted a picture on Unilocal but not to this message (whoops!). And as I look at their menu it appears as though they had a lot of variety ranging from shrimp Po boys to calamari to burgers. Solid bar!

Came in on a grey Saturday after the lunch hour and it was pretty empty. Despite the lackluster crowd, the bartender was still pretty dismissive and abrupt with us, a group of four at a high top off the bar.
You’d think this bar did everything right. Exposed kegs, wide variety of drafts, electronic menus with a live running bar of social media mentions, including twitter, foursquare, and untapped. But nothing really hit home. The electronic menus were hard to read. The bar felt too slick and packaged. Everything had a false note to it. In this part of the city, it’s really not necessary to settle for such lackluster ambiance.

I miss the old Irish Pol, even though I never actually went to it. A place that holds a weekly event featuring Pearl Jam is seriously my jam. However, the current rendition of the Irish Pol is a bar without a standout identity and lacking customer service to boot.
My only two visits revolved around the Flights and Bites promotional nights. Five dollars got you a sampling of four beers and food samples. The first time around they picked the samples. The second time you were supposed to be able to pick the samples, but the event listing was wrong and they still wouldn’t honor it. Let’s just say, I wouldn’t have made the trip down to Old City if I knew this was the case. The food samplings were also pretty unmemorable. Basic sliders the first time and tacos slathered in some sort of sauce the next time. Meh.
I believe in the past all drafts were $ 3 during happy hour. I was told this time that all pint sized drafts were $ 3. A friend was told all pint sized drafts under a certain ABV were $ 3. Can they seriously get their stories straight?
The main floor was basically just a bar with a few high top tables. There’s different setting on the second floor and downstairs, however due to my husband’s injury we were limited to the first floor. Some tables received a server and some didn’t. I guess I didn’t have the lucky table with a server as I ended up running up to the bar most of the night. Even half of my table got a server. Just not the person with the walking boot or the person who usually takes care of him. Part of the fun of going out is having someone help with this stuff.
The bar was bright and just had some random decorations from breweries. Although they pride themselves on 40 drafts, there were a handful of drafts that were empty. They also still had pumpkin beer… in the end of February. Ick!
In a city full of standout bars, Irish Pol is not amongst the elite.

I’m going to suck up my pride and admit I reviewed this bar prematurely.
Like in my last review, I signed up for the $ 5 Flights and Bites night — February edition. I overall had a good time in December despite the false advertising back then and read that it would be «pick your own» this time around, so I was lured into returning.
Upon arrival, I found out that the bar staff had changed their minds about the «pick your own» part of the event at the eleventh hour and created a pre-​set listing yet again. Uh, k?
I walked up to the bartender to ask what was going to be served as part of the flight. The reply came that it would be a lager, a pale, an IPA, and a double IPA. And you know what I haven’t really been drinking for months now? IPAs. Do you know what I never like? Lagers.
I told the bartender that I didn’t like the selection and he shrugged at me. I then asked if there was any way to sub out at least one of them for something I’d enjoy. He said no.
Helpful. So glad I made the trip from Fairmount for… a lager? Woo-​hoo yay?
So, at that point, I asked for my $ 5 back and just ordered from their Happy Hour menu, which was supposed to be $ 3 for any 16 oz. beer. Of course, when my bill came, two of my beers were listed as $ 6 each.
I then explained to the server why I was upset and gave suggestions on how they could improve (aka: don’t assume people want a certain style and at least have a minimal selection if you’re going to change your tune at the last minute). He adjusted my bill and said he’d pass along my thoughts.
I hope he does, but I can assure you that I won’t bother signing up for a third Flights night, nor will I go out of my way to return to this bar. You have to treat people right if you want to retain customers.
Three stars is fair for this establishment.

It’s true — I miss the old Irish Pol, which was an awesome beer bar. It had a great selection of beers on tap, friendly and knowledgeable bar staff, fitting tavern-​esque décor, it was in a beautiful old building and had a funky (in a good way) art gallery upstairs with interesting art and another bar.
The new Irish Pol has kept the great beer selection and the bar staff and the art gallery upstairs. But the building is an uninviting and dull rectangular box that has been outfitted downstairs with a generic sports bar with its attendant multiple flat screens and flags and upstairs with a stiff art gallery — both loudly playing unappealing musical selections. The fish and chips I tried here were served hot and fresh, but tasted sadly mediocre. The old Irish Pol was a worthy alternative to a classic Old City beer bar like Eulogy, but the new Irish Pol, alas, is not.
The beer selection and staff are still excellent, though, so it certainly merits visits to catch a televised game with fellow fans.

We have ordered food here for a couple gatherings when we could not cook due to a kitchen renovation. Very good food, all fresh and cooked perfectly. Pricing is on point and staff is very pleasant.

Craft beer selection is awesome! Happy hour prices are outstanding. $ 3 beers from 5 to 7, I believe. Very much improved from their old location on third Street. The place is very clean and new, and the staff is professional. Huge upstairs and a nice size basement area to have private parties. We even met the owner, and he is very hands-​on and involved. A good thing for a local business.

If you like trying different craft beers, this is the place for you. My favorite part of this bar though is the Hot Mustard wings. Actually, it is the food in general but the wings here are phenomenal. The meat was falling off the bone as I ate. I have never had wings like it. Really though, the draw is the beer and with roughly 40 beers on tap at any time, it is hard to leave unpleased. I never went to the previous location, but I will definitely be going to the new one often!

Great spot! Visiting PHL and this spot looked interesting. Lots of brews on tap, with a good mix of local brews. I had the mustard wings and my cohort had the meatloaf sandwich… both excellent!!! Great find!

Well, this was a nice surprise! I signed up for the $ 5 flights-​and-​bites event last Friday with a couple friends and figured it’d probably be a quick, average experience. Not true at all!
I had never visited the Irish Pol in their last location, so I can’t compare the two. When you walk into their new digs, you’ll note that it’s fairly bright and open. I didn’t feel crammed in like I assumed (though I left around 11 p.m., so it may be worse later at night).
So we walked in around 7 p.m. and were quickly given pours of already-​determined flights. At first I was a little grumbly about this, because I didn’t actually realize that the flights were chosen ahead of time for you. The flight included a beer I had just had at the last bar, as well as an a-​okay IPA (and I’m on an IPA break still).
I got over it quickly. Mostly because I really liked the one duplicate beer (Cape May’s Mop Water), and my friend traded my IPA for her Weyerbacher sour session. Woo!
My visit lasted much longer than anticipated, and I ordered three more heavy hitters before leaving very happy. Even made a new Untappd friend and got to watch the Flyers win on their nice TV! A nice little bar community was going on!
Note that their drafts are displayed above the bar on a digital screen, and the two screens don’t flip, so you may need to stand up to see the other screen. There must be some sort of fix for that. I’ve seen rotating screens at several other bars, after all.
Nonetheless, great place and even the sliders were good. I’d definitely go back in the future!

I was waiting to meet a friend for an ice cream date at Franklin Fountain when it suddenly started to pour. What’s a girl to do as she twirls on Market Street trying to protect her hair from the rain?
Walk into the Irish Pol, of course, and enjoy a $ 5 sangria that was SO GOOD. It was so good, in fact, that when my friend joined me, we just stayed and enjoyed another round of sangrias (and some handout fries because … potatoes!).
The bartender was nice and the section of beer seems to be something that craft beer lovers would enjoy. Me, I’m not a beer drinker, but the sangria was light and refreshing. We ordered a snack of handcut fries and enjoyed them thoroughly.
The place filled up quickly as the workday seemed to end. Good sign, of course.
The bartender was nice and conversational. Menu looked pretty good, too!

I had never been to the old location, but a PSSC softball team that I am occasionally forced to play with usually posts up here before games to get a good buzz goin. The beers are abundant, cheap and prominently displayed on electronic screens above the bar. The staff is always pleasant & friendly, and they even randomly dropped off a free plate of wings at our table once for no reason at all. I’m definitely a fan!

40 great beers on tap. Hot mustard wings are to die for. And the staff is the friendliest in philly.

I really dig the Irish Pol’s New digs. Went here last night with my girlfriend, and it was awesome. The staff is incredibly friendly and service is top notch. The 40 tap list is amazing, and if you have Untappd, your beer check-​in shows up on their screen. The food was really good pub fare! The cheese plate starter was amazing (bacon jam is amazing on it) and my pulled pork was spicy and tangy. I do hope to stop back there soon, and thanks for a good evening guys!

Although it’s weird getting used to the new location, which is shiny and new and not so divey — they still have the good stuff: happy hour, friendly faces and 40 taps. Their menu looks amazing and is much more extensive than their location on 3^rd street — I can’t wait to try!

I am so excited. We were long time regulars at the pol before its new location and having stopped in yesterday night it is up and running and better than ever! Walk in to the first floor and you’ve got a tap system for their well known extensive 40 taps. I have to say– the selection is always top notch. They’ve opened that selection to some bottles, wines, liquor. Almost all 40 will be up and running soon! The bar is bright and friendly. Food menu is exciting & inviting with selections that make you want to dive in as well as others that’ll make you want to snack and stay a while. Upstairs is an event space where they’ll have comedy shows on Thursdays. If you’re to whiskey and the like, go downstairs where they’ll be opening a lounge to sip on some of the best spirits they can find. Two things I can tell you have carried over to the new pol– the staff who are as welcoming and great as ever (and equally excited about this new location) and their taste in drinks. The beer list is always on point and filled with classics as well as trendier favorites. The addition of cans and bottles opens up options to those who aren’t into what’s on tap and the menu will make you want to stay. Super excited to have it reopened and even more so to see it grow. If you haven’t stopped in yet– do it soon! If you’ve already come by, give them a few more weeks to get it fully up and running and come back often to see what’s on tap next. They’re also on philly tap finder so keep an eye out!

They moved locations but brought the important stuff: 7-​day-​a-​week happy hour, the wings, the beers and the staff. A new menu was put in place, no more tots; but, they now have a selection of sandwiches. I have been sampling the menu with each visit. So far, so good!