My spouse and I dined at Social Still for the first time on a Saturday afternoon in late October 2015. Social Still is open for dinner only on Wednesdays and Thursdays, and lunch and dinner on Fridays through Sundays (the restaurant is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays). The restaurant accepts reservations by telephone and via the Open Table system. Plenty of off-street parking is available (except during Musikfest and Christkindlemart!) in parking lots on either side of the building. You can take an in-depth tour the distillery on Saturday afternoons at 2:00 pm and 4:00 pm for $10 per person, and you can do a tasting anytime for just $2.50 per sample (refunded if you purchase a bottle of spirits to go). Social Still’s spirits (vodka, gin, rum, and whiskey) are used at Lehigh Valley restaurants including the Bayou, The Dime, Carmel Kitchen, Bell Hall, 3rd & Ferry Fish Market, Two Rivers Brewing, the BrewWorks, PJ Whelihans, and the Sands Casino (at the three Emeril restaurants).
Social Still
opened in late December 2014 in the former Gosztonyi Bank (built in 1915, just
prior to the Prohibition Era) on East Third Street on Bethlehem’s South Side,
across from the remnants of the old Bethlehem Steel buildings. The building
restoration turned out beautifully, with huge soaring ceilings, and many large
glass windows, including those that surround the distillery area. The main
dining area is at street level adjacent to the bar, with small mezzanine areas
at each end that offer additional dining (and which might be suitable for
semi-private dining). The restaurant retained some of the building’s original
details, such as the vault, the marble foyer, and the floors. Upon entry is a
small room that sells Franklin Hill Vineyards wines (the owner of Social Still
co-owns Franklin Hill, along with his mother).
Our dining
experience began with a rocky start when we tried to order beer and wine.
Social Still serves only housemade spirit-based drinks (and a few non-alcoholic
things like iced tea). We were shocked that there was not even ONE bottled
beer, or ONE house wine available to satisfy different types of customers. We also
wondered why our waitress did not mention that we could purchase a bottle of
wine from the Franklin Hill shop to consume in the restaurant, which we later
learned about in an online article; we also read that the restaurant hopes to
gain authority to sell Franklin Hill wines, as well as aims to open a brewery so
that they can sell beer. (As it turns out, the restaurant holds only a limited
distillery liquor license, so for now, they can serve spirits only.)
We shared a short
rib and gouda flatbread, followed by two entrees of shrimp gnocchi (with
mushrooms and peas) and barbecued pork shank (accompanied by sweet potato hash
and French-style green beans). The only desserts offered were housemade ice
creams, which we declined. Although a waitress tended to our (non-alcoholic)
drink order, our food was delivered by the chef, which was a nice touch. Prices
were reasonable, with the flatbread at $10 and the entrees around $18.
Although we enjoyed
the food, the service, and the setting, we probably will not return to Social
Still until they begin serving beer and wine (and as mentioned previously, we
are not looking for an extensive selection, just one of each!).
July 2019:
