My spouse and I visited McGillin’s Olde Ale
House on a Saturday afternoon in late June 2017. We stayed nearby at the
Holiday Inn Express Midtown, and we looked for a bar nearby where we could
enjoy our own happy hour. McGillin’s is open daily from lunchtime until late
night (or early morning, technically).
McGillin’s is a little hard to find, located
in a two-story house on Drury Street, an alleyway that connects 13th and South Juniper Streets, between
Chestnut and Sansom Streets. (The rear bar door leads to a narrow passageway
that empties out onto Sansom.) The bar is called Philadelphia’s oldest continuously operating pub. In 1860, Irish
immigrants Catherine and William McGillin opened the bar as the Bell in Hand
Tavern. In 1910, the McGillins renovated the building exterior and officially
changed its name to McGillin’s Ole Ale House. During Prohibition, the bar began
selling food. In 1958, the Spaniak/Shepaniak family bought the bar; many
generations later, it is still run by the family. The pub has won many awards
over the years, including Gourmet magazine’s “one of the 14
coolest bars in the US”, Philadelphia Magazine’s “best bartender”, “best happy
hour”, Fodor’s “one of ten best historic bars in the US” and “one of the best
Irish bars in America”. It has also been mentioned on Fox News, CBS, USA Today,
and the Huffington Post.
We loved the wall décor that included iconic signs
from now-defunct retailers and restaurants including Gimbels, John Wanamaker, Strawbridge
and Clothier, Woolworths, JE Caldwell Jewelers, CoreStates Bank, and Le Bec
Fin. Other notable decor includes every liquor license the bar has held since
1871, and also the original Bell in Hand sign. Besides the signage, the bar
features lots of wood (tables, chairs, and the extra-long bar) and tile floors.
An additional bar and seating is available on the second/top floor. Miraculously,
the bar has managed to find the exact right level for its music – loud, but not
ear-splitting – and we were surprised that we could not hear the music until we
opened the door and stepped inside.
We sat at the very end of the bar during our
visit (near the back door), and it seemed like a chore for the bartender to
serve us. (Only one of us was ordering beer, with the other ordering
non-alcoholic soft drinks). However, we enjoyed ourselves anyway.
McGillin’s was a fine choice for our
self-made happy hour.
