Sure it's tiny and divey, but they have a whiskey list that's 2 full pages long and Mark, our bartender, was able to help pick some winners. He kept drinks flowing for everyone very efficiently despite the full room.
Live music is common and we were happy to catch a jazz band for the tail end of their high quality set. Props to them for filling the space with great sound while not blowing out our ears - the trumpeter managed to wail without wounding!
You may listen, but you'd better not dance. Â Or sing for that matter.
My friends and I went on bluegrass night and saw The Citywide Specials, which to our understanding is the same band that plays every week. Â They were good enough, so good in fact that we started vibing a little too hard for one of the bandmembers' liking. Â He warned us to stop dancing. Â Okay, we thought. Â We're on the second floor, maybe it's not that structurally sound, we'll stop. Â A few songs later, a guy started singing along, and the same bandmember said something like "If you're gonna sing along, come to practice." Â Really man? Â Are we supposed to just stand at attention in awe? Â This didn't seem to be in the spirit of bluegrass, or music, or fun in general. Â
Also - I tried to order the Dead Pirate at the recommendation of other yelp reviews, and the bartender just shook his head. Â Not sure if they were out of Rogue Dead Guy Ale or what, but ended up drinking an Abitas Turbodog. Â They do have a good, reasonably priced beer selection.
I love the idea of this place, but the attitude of the band really killed the mood for me. Â Best part was the "bouncer" who was the one of the nicest dudes ever.
If you're into exotic beer and places that don't conform to the conventional norms, you should put Fiume at the top of your to-visit list. Go ahead: just bookmark it now. I'll wait.
Ok, all set? So here are the thing that Fiume does NOT have:
1) decor (though that's not to say that it's extreme austerity doesn't evoke a certain aesthetic)
2) a sign (finding it by going up the outside stairs outside Abysinnia is kind if rewarding in its own right)
3) a credit card machine (bring cash)
Here's what Fiume has DOES have:
1) the best bartender ever. He's super friendly, down to earth, humble, and knows a ton about beer
2) beer - their beer case, which the bartender will graciously give you a tour of, is stocked with everything from regular craft brews through exotics like De Dolle. They even store some beers that are currently out of season so that you can have them at off-times. For example, I got a Festina Peche (which is a summer beer) over the winter, and it was nice to drink it and think of warmer months to come
3) craft cocktails - the bartender will gladly mix you up some creative craft cocktails using some pretty top-shelf whiskeys and other spirits
4) great prices
Again, this place is not for the mainstream partier. It's got a really off-beat, speakeasy aesthetic to it, and not in a pseudo-speakeasy Franklin Mortgage/Ranstead Room sort of way. In a "is this place really legal?" sort of way.
Three of us arrived on a Friday night around 8pm. I loved the bar- it is so tiny but just had an air of nostalgia for me. The bartender was really nice and checked in on us regularly. I ordered an amazing (and strong) bourbon cocktail, and my friends ordered equally delicious beer, so we were all very happy with that. The beer choices were endless!
We were in the bar for about an hour and not a single person moved from a table (there are 4 tables or so)- we did manage to score one bar stool during that hour. It was also really warm inside- maybe about 80+ degrees. They had ceiling fans going so basically I just stood under one and tried not to move too much. As it got more crowded, it also got more difficult to hear one another and have a conversation. At that point, I made my friends leave so we could head somewhere where we could sit down and talk.
I'll definitely be back to spend more time here, but not on Friday/Saturday nights. It seems like a great place to go during the week or during off-hours, when it's easier to get a table and hear your fellow drinking mates.
I love this place. I almost don't want to leave such a glowing view because then more people will show up and there won't be room for me. Fiume is literally the size of a living room. Heck, it probably was a living room at some point. It barely holds the bar and couple tables it consists of, so imagine what it looks like on a packed night. Even with the cramped quarters, I enjoy coming here. It makes me feel like I'm at a friend's place, who just happens to have a whiskey bar in his living room. The bartender is super friendly and always willing to give suggestions. I have yet to go to the bluegrass concerts. I'm a bit concerned that the floor will cave in once it reaches maximum occupancy, but it's definitely on my list of things to do in West Philly.
Review Source:"It's basically a hipster's living room with a good beer selection."
Truer words have rarely been spoken with relation to anything. I don't want the above quote to be construed as an insult. It simply meets the dark, rustic hipster esthetic that has made many companies and bands many millions of dollars.
The bartender here is damn friendly and he is very knowledgeable about beer. He is extremely loquacious and will find something that meets exactly what you're looking for. If you get hungry, you can order food from Abyssinia downstairs. They'll bring it up so you can enjoy nice Ethiopian food with strange and wonderful brews.
I loved pretty much everything about this tiny (and I do mean tiny) little dive tucked away on the second floor of a converted West Philly rowhome that houses Abyssinia on the first floor. There is room for just a few tables and some seats at the bar, and I am still trying to figure out where the heck they hide away the 120 bottled brews that are available here nightly! (OK, OK, I know they are all tucked away in the fridge, but if you go to this lilliputian watering hole then you will see what I mean.)
I only had one beer, but next time, I'd like to try one of their amazing-looking bourbon-based cocktails. Something I really loved about this place was that the bartender asked my friend and I what kind of beers we liked to drink, and then made recommendations based on our tastes. We were both really happy with what we got. I also noticed that our bartender did entirely different types of pours based on the beers we ordered, which is awesome attention to detail. In general, he was really warm and friendly without hovering, and totally laid-back about the fact we were just looking to have one beer and chill a bit.
If you are a beer-lover, this is definitely the place to be. One of the top beer lists in the city, hands down!
i'm no beer person by any stretch of the imagination, which probably comes from the fact i launched myself into young adulthood by drinking the shitty stuff. i have no nostalgia for the cans o' piss my fellow 20-somethings are all about. i know, shit's cheap, but just gimme a shitty equally-priced long island iced tea or something so at least i'll get drunk faster.
anyway. fiume. fee-you-may? that's how i've been pronouncing it, no one's corrected me yet but check me if i'm way outta line. first place i've ordered three beers in a row because they were SO DAMN DELICIOUS. asked the bartender for his opinion on what i'd be into. described my taste, and he recommended three different kinds that might be up my alley. let's just say they were so far up my alley they were investing in alley real estate. i tried all three and couldn't be happier. high fived my man. knew i would be coming back.
bluegrass night is the best thing ever. get there semi-early and stay near the windows so that even when the tables clear out you're not pushed to the back - acoustics are not great so you won't be able to hear well unless you're at the front, and trust me, you'll want to hear this music.
part of me doesn't want people to know this place exists because its hidden charm is in its, well...hiddenness. also it's small, and i like cozy bars, but the size of this place means there's a fine line between cozy and cramped. the nights i've been there have all been fantastic, minus that weird hour or so when a bunch of penn guys who might be underage come in and you can smell the minty fresh entitlement on them? like seriously man, we aren't about that here.
This is an amazing spot. Â I kinda hate to write this review because I love the low key factor of Fiume. Â Excellent beer selection and the BEST cocktails. Â Seriously, the best. Â The bartenders are extremely knowledgable and friendly. Â Fiume is tiny, so be prepared to be cozy... but this bar has ambience for days. Â I really cannot say enough about this bar- favorite spot in West Philly. Â
Bring your cash or hit up the ATM around the corner.
I have had a love/hate relationship with Fiume for a while. Â I love the feel of the place and the bartenders are AMAZING. Â They are so friendly and willing to offer you great beer even if you're on a budget. Â I had an incident there a year ago where one of the musicians said something that was racially insensitive so I gave it a break. Â A couple nights ago I threw my anger out of the window and enjoyed two great shots of whiskey and an Old Rasputin. Â I also enjoyed awesome and enlightening conversation with the bartender and patrons. Â I had so much fun I left my phone. Â When I went back there the next day it was given back to me FULLY CHARGED. Â Who charges someone's cellphone? Â Yeah, I love Fiume again.
Review Source:Great little dive bar located above Abyssinia in West Philly. Â I kept hearing about this place, and would have totally missed it if the bartender hadn't been outside and happened to notice my friends and me staring at our phones discussing where it may be.
We hopped up the stairs and through the shady doors to the tiny little bar tucked in the corner room of the building, greeted by signs praising Johnny Cash and a surprisingly good beer list. Â Prices weren't bad, and the bartender was awesome (don't know her name, but the girl with the English accent).
I'll most certainly be going back for some bluegrass. After all, I'm a Southerner who spent a long time in East Tennessee, so I know my banjo tunes. Â The only reason that I docked a star is that they are cash only, which is somewhat of an unnecessary hassle to patrons nowadays, and its limited size means that it fills up very quickly. Â The latter criticism also adds to its charm sometimes though.
I am still dumbfounded that in the nearly 2 and a half years I've lived in Philly, I have only *just* made it to Fiume. Â There are a lot of terms that could describe this place: Philly's best bar, West Philly's best kept secret, My favorite bar, etc... Â And after hearing about this place forever, I finally came here last night. Â I think it's safe to say I will be coming back. Â Often.
Telling someone how to get here is like doing one of Stefon's monologues from SNL: "Philly's hottest bar is Fiume! Â Located upstairs and in the back of an Ethiopian restaurant, this former studio apartment..." which is exactly what this bar is. Â It's dimly lit, roughly the size of a single room apartment, and sits above an Ethiopian restaurant that is seems strangely vacant, but Fiume is stocked with an incredible selection of beers and whiskey manned by a single bartender. Â The beer list runs the entire gamut from PBR and Natty Boh ("hipster piss" and "carbonated pee-pee", respectively), to hard to find craft brews from local, regional, and foreign breweries. Â I had a Greenflash Friendship Brew and a De Dolle Boskeun. Â Where else can you get this around here?
But the best part is not the beers or crafted cocktails: it's the experience of just taking it in and watching the crowd that comes in and out during the night. Â It's a perfect cross-section of the neighborhood: locals and students, young and old, rich and poor (although Muffy from the Main Line wouldn't be caught dead here). Â And everyone is just there to have a really good time without pretense or expectations. Â Center City can have its Ransted Room, Franklin Mortgage, Hop Sing, etc... Â West Philly will always have Fiume.
My mistake: the beer selection here isn't decent; it's AWESOME. Â Fiume had Duchesse de Bourgogne, which is one of the most delicious beers I've ever had in Philly. Â They also had Echt Kriekenbier which was interesting, though not as good as the Duchesse.
Bluegrass on Thursday night is pretty cool too.
I hadn't been here in a really long time, then last night I ended up here and had such a good time, I felt I needed to yelp about it. Â
The bartender was legit. Â He was quick, he was cool, and he knew what he was doing. Â He made me a delicious drink which, he reassured me, would be what I wanted. Â The beer list is wonderful too. Â I hadn't appreciated the prices in my earlier days here, but I can fully embrace them now. Â A little cash can go a long way here. Â
Somehow, they even managed to keep the temperature reasonable even though its been hot as hell day and night the past few days. Â I didn't really notice it until we opened the door into the landing to leave and felt the heat in the stairs. Â
The con? Â It's tiny. Â (twss). Â If all the tables and the bar seats are occupied, there isn't a lot of room to stand around. Â We got lucky though because as soon as we decided we would probably have to leave because there weren't any empty seats, a couple folks got up to leave and offered their seats. Â Also, I have a feeling they're cash only.
Fiume is my go-to for good bluegrass every Thursday night from 10 pm to 12 am. Their house band, City Wide Specials, know all the bluegrass standards. Â Even without any sound amplification, they really rock out. Â The female vocalist/mandolin player is particularly good. Â Just remember not to stomp your feet; the bar has a strict No Dancing rule so as not to disturb the customers in the bar/restaurant below (Abyssinia).
Fiume also has a good selection of beer. Â I usually go for the Turbo Dog.
Try it out sometime: Turbo Dog at Fiume on Thursday nights = cool beans!
This is the best bar in Philadelphia. Â
There is no other bar in the city where I feel more comfortable or welcome. Â The clients are usually local, but almost always the sort of people I want to drink with; starting a conversation is easy. Â
The bartenders are excellent. Â If the bar isn't too busy then you can get highly educated beer recommendations or a well crafted cocktail. Â The whiskey selection is exceptional.
Up a set of stairs, through the unassuming side door of an Ethiopian restaurant, you'll find one of the best bars in West Philly.
On all but my first occasion to Fiume I have visited for a mid-run beer. I'm part of a club called Fishtown Beer Runners (!!!), and it is not uncommon for the founder and myself to stop here midway through a run for a quick carb up, and cool down (note: this is actually the West Philly Runners' home turf; you can find them here almost every Wednesday night, post-run).
The bartenders are amazingly friendly and insightful, and will go out of their way to let you know what beers are available and offer recommendations. 95% of what they offer is bottled, which makes for a great collection of rare and/or off-season brews. I was able to try, for three consecutive weeks, Anchor's Xmas Ale 2009-11. And at a reasonable price. But be forewarned, this place is cash only.
If you've got time to spare and can find yourself a table (it's a tight squeeze upstairs, especially on Thursdays when the bluegrass group takes over the corner window area), order some food from Abyssinia, the Ethiopian restaurant downstairs. It's amazing fresh and pairs perfectly with a good beer. Their vegetarian platter is always a solid choice.
I miss Fiume more than almost any other place I frequented in my years in Philly. The small space makes it perfect for a weekday night out with a couple of friends, sitting around a table and sipping your citywide or a beer the ever knowledgeable bartenders have suggested. The small local crowd lends itself to making instant connections with people you've seen around the way but never officially met before.
Mostly, though, I miss Sunday nights with Shakey Lyman's blues night. The bar gets packed quickly, but the atmosphere of friendship and fun is egged on by Shakey's banter between (and often during) songs. He'll take requests and single out some poor girl--not that we ever mind being that girl--to pick on, and get the whole bar singing along with crowd favorites.
I'll be back in town for a weekend in May, and you can bet that Fiume is where I'll be.
Fiume (named after the [in]famous Free State of Fiume) is a perfect definition of a dive bar. Small, poorly lit, unmarked and upstairs from a more reputable place, it's not going to challenge Sole Food in the looks department-- but what it lacks in polish it makes up for in ambiance. This was my favorite place to head after poking around the now-demolished Oil Cans. It's a cozy, friendly place with a pretty good selection of craft brews-- Stoudt's comes to mind. Stinking Lizaveta was easy to spot here when I lived in Philly. I still manage to make it back there every so often.
Ah, memories. Walking into here is like being given a warm hug.
Really cool atmosphere.
I was brought to this bar by a friend who had mentioned how much he likes the place. He's an awesome bartender and I trust his opinion at all times but oh my, I was very, very happy with the discovery of this "biggest little bar" in west Philly.
First, it feels as if you're walking into somebody's tiny studio apartment. There are cute little Christmas lights everywhere. Cheesy but in a good way. Chairs and tables.. Very divey. The bar itself only seats like 5 people anyway. The bartender is very friendly. My usual experience at a dive is that the bartenders think that they're the shit and won't give you any real suggestions. They don't care if you're there. BUT it's not the case here. I asked the bartender to help me find a beer that I would potentially like and he actually went in details(not overwhelming one, either) to why I should drink beer a, b or c.
And their whiskey list...YES. Come here if you are a big, big bourbon drinker.
The price... This is the most impressive part of the place. You don't have to splurge to have a genuinely a great time here.
Don't come here. You won't like it. It's in a secret location and crowded with people who care about stupid things like good beer and good music. It plays Johnny Cash. It believes you are responsible for any sex you do not have. It has bartenders who actually know what they're talking about and offer advice. It has books if you forgot yours. It has a gong.
Don't come here.
I used to think that if a bar offered the citywide special, then they were, by default, a dive. And so, I came here expecting another ramshackle beer hole. Â A dive where the carpeted floor looked like a stampede of cowboys had vandalized the place with their heels and spurs and then spewed all over it upon exit. Floors that acted as a cigarette cemetery. But that's not Fiume.
It may be cramped and the people may smell, but their birch wood flooring tells a different story. Fiume is all about order and cleanliness, a fact made clear from their shiny birch to their vast assortment of microbrews to their militant bouncer who smiles at her friends but scowls at the newbies. They even have a fully legit top shelf bar with organic and esoteric spirits.
The Thursday Bluegrass band (aptly titled "City Wide Specials") is all class, all honky-tonk, and not to be missed...but then again, prepare to suck in and stand, you'll be elbowing people with every move you make; it's -that- cramped. While I've never checked it out on an off night, I can imagine this place being a pretty decent hang-out.
Dear Fiume,
I realize that every time we get together, I've been drinking before, but I KNOW that it wasn't the Jack and Cokes (Banker's Club and Pepsi) that I had before that made me love you the way I do. I'll try and change, really.
Let me list the things I love about you:
-I can be drinking PBR or Dogfish Head and no one bats an eyelash at either.
-You play me bluegrass.
-The fiddler is cute.
-You're around the corner from my apartment.
-You have drinks like The Dead Pirate.
-You're more or less a speakeasy and that is COOL.
Forever and always,
Alex
FIUME SUCKS! Â YOU'LL HATE IT! GO AWAY!
Ok, is everyone gone? Good, I don't want too many people to start coming here...and ruin the fun this awesome place has to offer. Â I really do enjoy Fiume quite a bit, even though it gets insanely packed just about everytime i'm in there. Â It is a tiny tiny tiny space - probably only enough room for 25 people, but they seem to cram in like 4 times that sometimes. As pretty much everyone noted, the bluegrass on Thursdays is the best thing ever... but it can get annoying when obnoxious Penn kids won't stfu and listen (dang kids! god, how old am i?). Â The band often yells for the room to be quiet, but it never stays that way. Â Anyway, it's better when school is out of session... as are most places over there when the kids go home. The bar has a great selection, and it's pretty cheaply priced. Â I recommend getting there early to secure a spot.
It might be the Brawler talking, But it could also be the Rasputin. But in the long run it might just be The Dead Pirate (Rogue's Dead Guy ale mixed with a scurvy shot of Captain Morgan's!) doing the talking. But whatever it is, Fiume might just be my favorite bar in Philly.
I'm not just using the alcohol as an example because I'm feeling the effects. For the record this is only the second review that I have compiled while under the influence (The first was test driven to guarantee your approval - <a href="http://www.yelp.com/biz/clark-park-flea-market-philadelphia#hrid:BaTZvgj5_btNyDf8HHs_sQ/src:self">http://www.yelp.com/biz/…</a>). But I really do feel that Fiume is best reviewed while under the influence. After all, even though it's on the second floor. It's the only bar in Philly I can think of that very much resembles a speakeasy!
It might be smaller than my living room, but it's definitely much more active than it! It's the little bar that can to the point that, even though it doesn't have any taps, it has at least 48 beers on any given day. And the bartenders are efficient enough to the point that they'll let you know when they feel that a certain beer that they have is a rip off. I can't call it a gastropub because the Ethiopian food from downstairs doesn't go with that element, and I can't call it a dive bar because it has drinks that go beyond that pricetag. But Fiume certainly knows how to accommodate both elements, and give you a free book and some live bluegrass music in between. And for that Fiume is beyond amazing!
"Johnny Cash is dead, long live Johnny Cash," reads the sign over the bar. This sort of striking antithesis typifies Fiume: a broad offering of bottled beers from around the globe, but no draught options; a comprehensive liquor selection, but dependence on canned soda for even the simplest well staples; a small, cramped space usually saturated with a hip and lively crowd resting directly atop the most depressing and barren place in West Philadelphia (the bar half of Abyssinia, the loosely affiliated Ethiopian restaurant downstairs, whose vegetarian platter is delicious, and available upstairs). Plus, it's all happening in what looks like someone's living room.
I like contradictions. I also like Kevin, the 'owner' (quotes because he wasn't sure he was actually entitled to that description), who knows his beers, provides above average barkeep banter, and plays solid music. Fiume has quiet and unfeigned charm, which is difficult to find, and always appreciated. Please don't tell your friends, because seriously, sometimes it's tough to find a place to sit (standing room only after 15 or so guests).
Just moved to West Philly from Baltimore and had yet to find a bar to call home.....until last night that is. Â Coworker and fellow Yelper Mike B has been harassing me to check this place out for weeks and I finally caved....having finally unpacked all my boxes I no longer had an excuse. Â The bartender (Brian I believe) was not only very knowledgeable about the wide variety of beer but was extremely friendly and welcoming to myself and my girlfriend who are both new to the area. Â He recommended some delicious brews, gave us the lowdown on the neighborhood and what Clark Park has to offer and told me the closest place to get a case of good beer. Â The best part about this place is you feel like you are hanging out at your friend's apartment and not at a bar. Â
My only regret about last night was leaving before the bluegrass music began to catch the season premiere of It's Always Sunny. Â After skimming through the channels for 20 minutes I realized, to my dismay, Hotwire BS Communications does not have FX (W.T.F.) so I missed both the music and the show. Â I will NOT be making that mistake again.
I still miss Baltimore this morning.....just not as much.
Fiume Grade: Â A++
A few things about Fiume...
1) I never thought I would like bluegrass before I went there and found myself loving it and dancing like a fool along with all the unbathed hipsters (very distinct aroma at this place) and dreadlocked summer students
2) It is smaller than my bedroom.
3) The last time I was there, a roach fell from the ceiling onto my friends head. When I screamed, a hipster rolled his eyes and said "if you can't handle roaches, you shouldn't live in the city." He then told me an unsolicited story about the roach he had in his bathroom that ate only cough drops.
4) Â A roach. Fell. On. My friend's. Head.
5) The beer isn't as cheap as it should be, considering the location, but the selection is good.
6) Go on a Thursday night. When your friends ask you the next day why you're so blindingly hungover you can say "oh you know, i was just hanging out at a bluegrass bar in west philly. There's no sign or anything, you just have to kinda know about it. But where'd you go? Irish pub?"
Ahh, nothing like going native... There have been a number of nights where this was on the agenda, but West Philly is one of those place I just done get to that often.
I finally made there along with some of Philly's finest and my favorite West Philly Locals. I really like this place. Its basically an apartment with an awesome beer fridge. The bartender was friendly and made some kick ass mixed drinks for the ladies.
It did get pretty crowed as the night went on and the close quarters did highlight some of the patrons' to liberal attitudes hygiene. But, all in all its an good solid bar with great beer and fun people. I'm sold!
Yeah! I finally came here, accompanied by fellow local yelpers Sara C, Emily P, Nate F and Rachel L. I had heard it was tiny, but man, it's like Lilliputian in size! You really feel like you're hanging out in someone's apartment who happens to have a ton of beer and will make you drinks. In fact, our oh-so-kind bartender whipped me up an Alabama Slammer and I felt like I was on vacation. Sweet.
Great choice of beer and a neat crowd, but my god does it get crowded fast. Like, so fast that I went to the bathroom, came back less than 5 minutes later and it was completely SRO.
I'm glad I experienced it on a non-bluegrass night, as I'm not quite sure I was in the mood for that, but I was so glad I got to finally view the legend that is Fiume for myself. I'll be back for sure, even if it's just to people watch (I can't believe that some guys can grow beards that long. Don't they get hot and itchy? Just askin').
Ah, Fiume. Â If one were to make a quirky-yet-charming documentary/reality show/sitcom about twenty/thirtysomethings in West Philadelphia, it would probably be set in this bar.
On my first visit there (long before I knew of Yelp), I happily returned home to blog all about it - I was thrilled to have found "an awesome new bar out in West Philly. Â Very small, very chill, very low quotient of obnoxious hipsters." Â My sentiments toward the place remain consistent, though it's obviously not the undiscovered gem I thought it was.
While the hipster quotient seems to have risen in recent months, it's still comparably low for West Philly. Â Thursday AKA Bluegrass Night brings the community together - the crowd ranges from hipsters to fortysomething lesbian nerds with 80s haircuts and glasses. Â By and large, the people there are down to earth (the hipsters who try too hard and the occasional penn frat kid tend to wander out after a few songs) and though it gets crowded and hot inside, it's a great place to catch up/get rowdy with your crew.
Do try the dead pirate. Â At $6 it sounds a bit pricey, but it's DELICIOUS and gets the job done. Â Brian, your faithful barkeep, will hand you a Rogue Dead Guy Ale and instruct you to swig and hand it back. Â After you've done so, he fills it back up to the top with Capt. Morgan rum.
"Johnny Cash is Dead. Long Live Johnny Cash."
I remember when this sign went up right after Cash passed away. It's still hanging in this W. Philly bar and has since burned it's memory into my head. There are a lot of eccentric details to this humble bar, but all of them make the place what it is; one of the best, tiny and intimate bars in the city.
Whenever I leave Philadelphia, my first impossible wish is to be able to somehow box up Fiume (patrons, bartenders, musicians and all) and take it with me wherever I go.
Yes, it is small and on their bluegrass and jazz nights finding a spot to stand can be a bit of a pain. If you are hankering for live music and still want to be able to breathe without getting a whiff of that quintessential W. Philly scent of B.O. and patchouli (i only say this because it applies to half of my friends), I highly reccomend traveling to the bar on a Sunday night when local bluesman Shakey plays with an assortment of W. Philly musicians.
My favorite nights to go to the bar, though, are the nights when nothing is going on...There are always a great assortment of people hanging out at Fiume and even when I fly solo I often find myself waxing pseudo-philosophical over a beer with someone, whether it be one of the great bartenders or another solo patron.
Oh, and I try to drink something new from their huge selection of beers every time I'm there (when I can afford more than the standard city wide special) If you get a bit overwhelmed staring into the corner fridge while you try to make a decision, ask one of the bartenders for an opinion.
All in all, this is one of my favorite places to hang out in Philly and wherever my travels take me, I'll always have a special place for Fiume in my (cold, cold) heart.
Okay I am going to edit this review, due to an outing at Fiume just last night. Â Sunday nights here are going to be my new "thing" because it was exactly what I always wanted Fiume to be - not terribly crowded, enough room to interact with your friends and strangers, and sit at the bar. Â You cannot go wrong with $3 mixed drinks and Citywide specials - though I suppose you can go wrong if you have too many.
Sunday nights at Fiume also equal blues - and the group was awesome. Â Some of the songs were laugh out loud hilarious, in fact. Â The vibe was just right.
Big ups for the Dead Pirate - Rogue Dead Guy Ale & Captain Morgan - tastes like the most amazing cream soda you will ever have. Â But it's dangerous.
I really, really like this place.
It's almost like eating in someone's room. Â If this person had an Ethiopian restaurant downstairs, an excellent beer selection, and really great music. Â
It's one of those places that you have to be taken to because it's just downright weird and easy to miss.
If you were looking for a sign that says Fiume on it forget it. You gotta walk into Abyssinia entrance and walk upstairs. This is one of the only places I know in the city that carries Goslings rum. My favorite dark rum. If you go on a regular night people are hanging out sometimes playing cards or whatever. Kevin the bartender is really cool. Â On Thurs nights the City Wide Specials play bluegrass. On Sunday nights Shakey Lyman plays slide guitar and wails on the harmonica. It's very chill, and an all around awesome bar.
******music update******
the West Philly Orchesta now plays Gypsy Music every other wed night, the other weds I think they have brazilian music or something. So really you can't go wrong...
I really can't believe I'm the first person to do this. You Philly Yelpers should be ashamed. Fiume is the best bar in West Philly. Hands down. I mean, Dahlak's got outside going for it, but its not the same. I mean where else can a throng of musician/artist/activist/drunks/coolpennkids go to enjoy an awesome selection of bottled beers in a bar that looks like a bedroom?
Kevin and Brian (sp?) are the most personable and hardest working bartenders in town. You know why? They are their own bosses and don't have to answer to nobody (except of course the Ethiopians who own the building. The owner/renter relationship kinda reminds of Sam Malone, the Bartender, and John, the creepy owner of Melville's, the fancy seafood house above Cheers).
Three nights a week starting promptly at 22:00 there is live music, each one being either Jazz, Bluegrass, or Blues. This is the best and sometimes the most annoying part of Fiume. Not that the music sucks, but its the same thing every week. The bar gets packed full, nowhere to go except squeeze and drink. Like a speakeasy. If it gets supercrowded, you can always hideaway in the poolroom across the hall. The American pool table is the saddest, most retarded excuse of its species and it costs a fuckin dollar. If pool's your thing, you'll still play it though, quitchurbithin. Â But dont let Kevin catch you smoking in there, he'll kick your ass.
Its easy to get wasted here. Oh man. This used to be my neighborhood bar and you can drunk for 6 bucks. They have city wide specials here. If you don't know, the city wide is a PBR and a shot of whiskey (Evan Williams, Jim Beam sucks), and they fill it up very tall for ya (for 3 bones).
Once I was there with my roommates and I ordered a Chimay. Brian gave it to me in a Crystal Chimay Glass that was his favorite. Notice how I said was. Cause I broke that shit with one big, sweeping drunken Italian hand gesture. Stupid Italian blood. So I replaced it with a plastic skull mug goblet.
Lastly, the topic of OMAR. My first encounter with him was 1 year ago on a hot night in Fiume. I'd only lived in Philly for a matter of weeks and this bar was in my green zone of my social network colonialism. Omar of course is wasted and philosophizing/agitating some hipsters and harassing them for cigarettes. Next thing I know, Omar throws fire at me. Or I thought it was at me, he was going for the window which I was sitting in front of. For some reason hit lit paper on fire and I guess it got too hot for him. I wasn't too happy about it, but then as I was slowly indoctrinated to the ways of OMAR, I fell in love.
Anywhooooo, Fiume is a unique, beautiful monster of a speakeasy. In a city overpopulated with overpriced, homogeneous boozeshacks, Fiume stands alone. If Fiume was a person, it'd be throwing a Molotov cocktail at the cops during the week and smoking a joint in a hammock on the weekend. The camaraderie in this place is what people look for in bars. Its why they go them, to feel connected, less isolated in this fucking shitworld. Alcohol is nice, but its really secondary to why meeting houses exist. To have a unique and wonderful social experience with other monkeys that can talk.
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