Silk City Beer Garden

Friday night the weather seemed perfect, so Rachel and I headed out to check out the new Silk City beer garden before watching a most supreme victory. I had been past this new spot a few times, and it looked cool. At the risk of being redundant, this place is essentially a better version of Standard Tap (which I reviewed a few weeks ago.) I am finally getting it together and taking pictures, too:

For atmosphere, this place is great. It has a lot of seating, with a separate smoking area. It's a big open area with seats for at least sixty, and it's great because there's a lot of room; they didn't cram as many tables in as possible. The decorations are brightly colored, kind of weird and beach themed, but I think it works really well. Another nice factor is that you could easily get a table for a larger group; there was a table of ten seated when we arrived. There's a nice little faux tiki bar that is as cool as it is cheesy.

When the weather is perfect, it aligns with an awesome happy hour M-F 5-8pm. It includes $2 pints of Lager and Kenzinger and $2 High Life bottles, as well as specials on cocktails. Other beers on tap include Stella, Hoegarden, Philly Pale Ale, and one of my current personal favorites Bell's Two Hearted Ale. All pints are $5 or less, and the bar is going to start serving up pitchers "soon." The beer list is weak, but the availability of Bell's makes everything alright.

The menu has a good choice of options, with a few daily specials to mix things up.

I think the prices are about $2 more than everything should be for food. I ordered the crab BLT. It was good, not excellent. The crab was breaded and the ratio was off. The portions are generous. Rachel ordered a salad with tuna and enjoyed it, but hers looked a bit small, like I could have eaten three of them. The food is pretty standard, it seems like there is an overabundance of average to good traditional sandwich and burger bar food. All said, the food is no reason to come here.

The service wasn't great, but I didn't mind too much, either. It didn't really affect me until I was out of beer.

Bottom Line: I will probably be here more than a few times this summer. The beer garden is that cool. I wish they had more beer on tap, and the food was a bit different and/or cheaper. Overall, it's an excellent spot to hit for a drink or two, especially during happy hour, before continuing on your evening.

More pictures on my flickr.

Essentials:

435 Spring Garden (5th and Spring Garden)

(215) 726-2337

Avg Ent: 9-17

Cash only: No

Reservations: No?