I live in South Jersey, work in North Philly, and often visit other areas of the city. Somehow, though, University City always remained blurry in my mind as a distant place that was just brimming with rowdy college kids and dive bars.
Local 44 turned out to a pleasant surprise, with a casual atmosphere and decent prices. It was a Wednesday night and I wasn't in the mood for a more intense drink, so despite my beer-phobia, I selected the Hitachino ginger, and, well, finished it -- which is saying something.
The bartender also heard me ask why they had a little man-like-thing hovering between their different liquors, and handed it over. Apparently, it's like a Russian doll (and, crap, I can't remember what he actually called it. A something-doll. It was fun.)
If ever back in the area, I'd definitely stop in again!
Just to clarify the rating, it's about a 2.5.
I have no qualms with the service -- it's been great. Except for their over-carding of people who either a) just want some food and not to drink or b) can't drink even if they wanted to [they would deny a pregnant woman a seat to eat just because she's in a bar without her ID?]. Other than that, the staff is nice from my experience. The bartender that i've usually run into is AWESOME and knows the shit outta his beer. The food comes quickly enough.
But the food-- maybe it comes TOO quickly. I've been there more times than I can count with two hands. I'm vegan, so i've tried everything off of the vegan brunch and regular menu. My favourite sandwich was the eggplant parm, but upon ordering it a last time, it was WAY too salty. And burnt.
Now, I wouldn't have a problem with a restaurant missing the mark one time, usually. I work in the food service industry as a cook and I know some days you're just off and you don't taste every dish -- especially early in the start of the day. That's cool. (But you should have seen how burnt the eggplant was before sending it out, man.)
But when I take into account that I've experienced this hit-or-miss food situation multiple times, I get a little frustrated. The popcorn is good. Their shiitake scrapple is good. But other than that, there are two things wrong with the food: 1) the portions: some dishes are definitely smaller than their $9 or $10 price tag would imply (i'm looking at you, breakfast burrito [haha esp. because Tom's down the street's burritos are 2x as big for the same price], 2) the vegan breakfast scramble is a very oddly put-together dish; honestly, it doesn't come together as well as it should. the chickpeas were barely cooked, too. 3) the vegan pastrami is bland. Â And these problems in execution and portioning, they're enough to really put someone off of a place.
So basically I love Local 44's beer selection, but their food leaves something to be desired. A lot to be desired.
Step your food game up to match your beer game and you'd seriously be my favourite restaurant.
Came here for our first Quizzo experience a few weeks ago and had a pretty good time. The host was really funny & outgoing and the bar service was more than acceptable given how packed the place was.
Beer selection is obviously great, although I agree with other reviewers that it's annoying as hell to not list the prices with the tap list (especially when they seem to be pretty affordable). Come on now.
We ordered popcorn (surprisingly delicious), an eggplant parm sandwich (solid red sauce), and a cuban (a little greasy but really good overall). I wouldn't come here specifically for the food, but it's definitely above average bar food and not crazy expensive (cough, City Tap, cough).
All in all, I definitely plan on coming back to Local 44 and would recommend it to people looking for a good beer and a bite in West Philly.
Randomly wandered in here one day with my boyfriend by accident. It was nicely air conditioned, clean and the staff was very nice. I was pleasantly surprised by the menu - lots of vegan items on it, yay! Had the general tso's tofu, which came with jasmine rice and broccoli rabe. Delicious! Wish there was more tofu, less rice, but what can you do. The broccoli rabe was spiced very well, too.
The waitress forgot our appetizer but we overlooked it because we figured we'd probably be stuffed by the time we were done our entrees, which was correct. Still, would have loved to try the brussel sprouts. Maybe next time.
It's pretty amazing that Local 44 has managed to get a 2 star review from me, given that I actually really like the atmosphere, the food, the excellent beer selection - and the location can't be beat at 2.5 blocks from my house.
However, I feel driven to warn people that this place has outstandingly rude service. It's been getting progressively worse. The most recent time I went there, I was was with a group of 5. The dining room was empty, it was after 9 on a weeknight, and three of the five of us wanted to eat. My friend asked for a table and they asked pointedly if EVERYONE in our party was going to eat, and then refused us a table "in case it got busy". After the two friends who were not eating decided to leave, I asked the hostess for a table again, and made a point of saying "There are three of us who would like to eat. Would it be possible for us to get a table?" Mind you, dining room still basically empty, while the bar section was packed full. She asked me, "Is everyone going to get an ENTREE?" Admittedly, at this point I lied and said yes so we could sit down. One of us ended up getting a salad, one of us got an appetizer, and one of us got an entree. At most restaurants, this would be an acceptable order - I wound up wondering if they would be mad at us for not all getting entrees.
This is the second or third time I've gone there and they've refused to seat my group. As per usual when you go to a neighborhood bar, I'm basically always with a group where some people want to eat and some just want to drink. I don't go too frequently, we're not rude or rowdy, we're just normal people who want to hang out and have dinner and drinks with friends. I would be fine with a "Parties that aren't getting food can't have a table" policy, or even a "At busy times, everyone has to get food" policy. But for a place that seems to want to project the image of a friendly neighborhood bar, a policy of "We won't seat your party in our empty dining room unless EVERY person buys an ENTREE" is absurd. The rudeness with which the hostess lays out this policy is also uncalled for. I would be a regular patron of this bar if they would just be polite to customers, because again, I love the food, the beer, and the atmosphere [except the servers].
Really unsure between 3 & 4 stars for this place. Â If I had reviewed local 44 a few years ago, it would've been a 4. Â Let me explain -
There really aren't many "good beer" bars in this part of the city, so they do get credit for
- having a good rotating tap list
- a good, varying food selection with vegan/vegetarian items highlighted
OTOH, the minuses are
-two hand-written chalkboard lists of their beers. Â you have to get up from wherever you're seated to walk over & see what they have. Â And if it's nighttime, hope you have good eyesight (see below..)
-lighting at night is not good. Â Maybe I'm getting old or something, but the lighting just seems too dim at night, maybe they want to go for a romantic ambiance thing, don't know, but they could turn the lights up a bit. Â Also makes the beer list hard to read.
-when it's busy, it gets LOUD. Â Just the wierd set-up makes for loud acoustics in the place.
Beer bars should be happier places.
They should be places where bartenders know how to pour a FULL PINT, rather than pints missing an inch or more at the top.
Better yet, they should be places where the standard size is an imperial pint.
They should be places where beers in the 7 or 8% ABV range aren't served in puny, overpriced, flumy things.
They should be places that really know from tavern food. (The soggy, spoiled-tasting fish and chips here will turn a pescatarian vegan.)
They should be places with clear, fun descriptions of their beers (or at least a categorized list), not an undecipherable list about which bartenders visibly hate answering questions.
In a neighborhood with few alternatives, Local 44 gets by. In another town, it would be your last choice.
Good beer selection (although I think not pricing your beers on the sign is pretentious) then I ask about the beer which is called "Enjoy by 2/13/13" I ask "can you tell me about that beer?". Answer comes back "its a beer thats only around until then". Well ya dont say! Â Im not an idiot, I want to know what style, taste, etc... So that was lame. Â Then the place is packed and we're waiting for a table. I get barked at for standing in the only area you could really stand in. Â Then we FINALLY get a table and I order the fried chicken and grits. Â Grits were a patty (seemed from frozen) and the chicken was tasteless. Â I asked for and got a different meal, which was nice, but I got the chicken and dumplings. Â Nobody told me it was soup. Â It was fine and all- a little salty but ok. Â Overall I'm so underwhelmed by this place. Â I used to live by North Star Bar in Brewerytown. Â Wish these guys would stop worrying about being cool and just provide good food and drinks at a reasonable price w/out all the West Philly pretentiousness. Â This is why ppl don't like hanging out on this side of town.
Review Source:Local 44 is a great place to grab a pint and a sandwich. Â I swung by last week for dinner with some friends. Â We were seated in a cozy booth in the corner. Â They hit one of my pet peeves though- they list the beers without any sort of indication as to what they are. Â Fortunatly, there were some familliar ones, and it was happy hour so the risk was minimal. Â They also don't list the prices. Â I mean that stuff is good to know!
I had the veggie ruben for dinner, and it hit the spot! Â I love that they have vinegar for their crispy fries, and i love the feeling of having a hearty meal- really sinking teeth into something vegetarian that will keep me full for quite some time. Â It was great!
My boyfriend had the wedge salad, and the wings. Â He seemed happy. Â Our friend had Beef on Weck and also seemed pleased. Â Our 4th friend had fresh fries and seitan wings. Â The seitan wings are inedible! Â I love this place, I do, but I don't know what they're doing serving that stuff! Â There are some places that have KILLER seitan wings. Â These things are rock solid and fairly tasteless. Â I wouldn't recommend that. Â Pretty much everything else on the menu is better.
Where can you go on a glorious Sunday morning and get ambushed, upon entry by two different staff people, talking to you at the same exact time, saying completely different things? Why, Hop on over to Local 44.
I was immediately transported to my trip here 6 months ago, where I ordered the wings which were cold and raw inside. Still, I stupidly let my husband convince me that this was worth another shot. Â
11:35, my husband and  I enter and the aforementioned incident happened. We request a table and 15 minutes later, a server asks us if we want a table. Hmm, interesting, the same person we requested from.
11:50 we sit a a high top table that has a bunch of miscellaneous crap on it (a tower of plastic cups, a few dirty glasses, and crumpled napkins.
11:55 Â the owner I believe asks me if we want him to clear the table. He goes back to drinking with a few of other friends, and then comes and clear the table.
12:05 We get menus and then the server aforementioned informs us that another table is available and we should move.
12:10 We sit at new table and are greeted by two different waitresses (fine, no biggie)
12:15 we get water, and another waitress comes over
12:30 we order french toast and a sandwich--waitress takes order and then smartly the waitress asks my husband and I for Id's. I laugh it off, the irony is that my 28th birthday is tomorrow and I had a major hangover from the night before, and I haven't been carded in a while, and i left my passport home. I say sorry, don't have my ID we're not ordering alcohol and after almost an hour in this place she says "Just run home, if you don't live far--sorry, it's our policy.
I think to myself, that's interesting, at any point in this 50 minute ordeal we could have run back to the car to get an id, especially when we were offered seats at the bar, and inherited a table with half full beer glasses, etc. But no, not at local 44.
How do I hate thee? Let me count the ways...
Actually it's a waste of my time to be creative in trashing this place, so enough of the faux poetics. I really wanted this place to be awesome, but for me it just isn't. If you like to be treated poorly with your good food and great beer then this is the place. I've been four times, just to give it a fair shot and because I wanted to be wrong, but nope, it sucks. I just don't enjoy being scolded or yelled at for ordering a burger at the wrong time or having an incorrect number of people at a table to maximize the profits of the business. Maybe you're cool with that, perhaps things have changed, or most likely I'm a kook. Try it out if you like, but the most positive thing I've ever heard is that it's the best available option in the neighborhood, or that you just put up with the attitude to get the food and beer, a soupnazi kinda thing.
I've decided on a self-imposed lifetime 86 from this place and I've extended that to the Memphis Taproom and Resurrection Ale House too, same owners, even though I have heard good things about them. There are other places to spend my money. I go to Fiume, just around the corner, or get food at the various restaurants within a block of this place. All in all I'd rather it go back to Kelliann's, the rather lowbrow former occupant of this corner.
You wouldn't think it by simply looking at the place, but Local 44 has a very bold menu. They don't settle for the basic pub fare, which is impressive given how little restaurant competition there is in the Spruce Street stretch. They could get by with the standard burger, pasta, fries, and that token cobb salad. Instead, they push themselves to reinvent the bar food wheel. They have some good vegetarian and vegan options, for one thing, and even the burger has a twist: lamb.
The lamb burger came highly recommended, but all in all, there were definitely better options on the menu. My mom went with the Roasted Bone Marrow, which was a bold choice and not sure I'd go that route. The Beef on Weck was my dad's choice, and he thought it was decent. The Scallion Hushpuppies were remarkable and the Black Bean Burger looked really good (that would be my choice next time around).
The last thing would, of course, be the drink selection. While I didn't try any cocktails or mixed drinks, the generous beer selection is scrawled on a chalkboard on the north end of the long bar. The taps are constantly changing and the selection is the best in West Philly, bar none. Nothing about Local 44 is cheap, but it's certainly nice to have it in the area. This place and Dock Street Brewing are rays of light in an otherwise bleak culinary scene. I'd like to give brunch and quizzo a try, so look for a follow-up review soon.
The food was good - the grilled ceasar was one of the best salads I've had in a long time and the service was quick.
The waitress did balk a little when we asked to divide up the check and also charged us $3 for a little bowl of pickle slices. (Which were delicious, but not worth $3 for a condiment sized bowl of pickles.)
Used to love this spot.
Great concept, but dropping the ball on delivering that concept.
Love the beer selection, but they refuse to give you a taster.  They tell me that is because they keep their beer prices low.  First of all, their beer prices are not low.  Second of all, a two ounce pour once in a while from a keg that  is going to generate over $1,000 of profit is not going to change the margin that significantly.  Third of all, I don't feel like paying $7 for a beer to find out that I hate it.
Food is decent, but it is hard to get a table, so often I have left and ventured elsewhere.
Noise level is way too high and needs to be addressed.
There are too many places nearby that offer better service, better food and better atmosphere
Confession: I'm a Center City snob. I always mean to hang out in West Philly, but I get out there maybe once every couple of months. So when I walked into Local 44 to meet a coworker who wanted to relive his Penn days, I immediately berated myself for not having frequented the place in the past. It definitely had the right vibe at 5 p.m.: halfway sketchy-looking dudes drinking beer a little earlier than respectable on a weekday.
The server (who, by the way, was awesome) came by and told us about the happy hour beers--$3 local beers. As the afternoon stretched into the evening, we tried a bunch of food as well: wings, lamb burger, beef on weck. The wings were ho-hum (the spicy wasn't all that spicy; the Korean wings weren't noticeably Korean). The lamb burger was a bit better--the meat was juicy--but there wasn't a whole lot going on. I thought the beef on weck was the best order, but that could be because I was four or five beers in at this point.
But this is all beside the point. Once happy hour ended (and the vibe/crowd had really picked up), I actually got up to see what non-local beers were available. And behold: BFM Abbaye de St. Bon Chien. My mind was blown.
Happy to report I made it back to Center City in one piece.
Come for Quizzo! Stay for the delicious beer! The pretty decent food! And the really great vibe of this terrific neighborhood.
Seriously though, the french fries were great. They were so deep fried as to incapable of not being mouth watering.
Also, quizzo will make you a better person. They ask the questions that should be asked of presidential candidates.
Went here on business, searched for local pub. Their menu on here is NOT right they do not have pub food. They have things like fried Brussel sprouts, bone marrow, general thao's chicken, and lamb. Their menu is SO random and apparently "changes every week". Their beers were extensive and probably the best part of the meal. If you're feeling adventurous this is the place to go, otherwise... NOT pub food.
Review Source:Local 44's slogan for all intents and purposes is: "gastropub. We kind of hate that word." Don't worry though, Local 44, no one will ever accuse you of being one of those if the definition of gastropub is "an establishment that serves food of quality higher than poor." Seriously, I get that you want the emphasis on the beer not the food, but it is actually possible to have a decent rotating beer selection and at the same time offer food that isn't utter crap for people to enjoy while drinking it. (News flash: People like to eat while drinking!)
Around late summer, we heard that there was going to be a new chef and hoped for a menu that wasn't 80% deep fried (Black bean burger? That's gonna be deep fried. BOOM! You're welcome) but somehow the food managed to get even worse since. One evening my husband and I stopped in for a drink and snack -- he got the new bone marrow appetizer and I got the grilled shrimp cocktail, $9 and $8 respectively. OK, first of all, there was MAYBE a full tablespoon of marrow in my husband's dish and my "grilled" shrimp cocktail consisted of lukewarm, clearly microwaved, previously frozen shrimp like the kind that comes in the shrimp ring at Pathmark, sitting on top of a sloppy bed of cloyingly sweet ketchup-heavy "cocktail" sauce and -- WAIT FOR IT -- covered in lettuce. THE. HELL? We also stopped in for a perfectly serviceable brunch on New Year's Day which was fine, I guess, other than the fact that it took an entire for our food to come out after we ordered it.
On the last point, and I do realize what I'm saying here, but the wine selection also has much to be desired, especially for the $8-$9 per 70's style small goblet that they charge for it. I get it, I get it -- again, it's a beer bar. However, I have stomach sensitivity when it comes to beer and I don't think it's too much to ask that my husband and I can go someplace where he can have a good craft beer and I can have a nice glass of wine, as we can countless other beer-centric places in the city -- Johnny Brenda's, Prohibition, Memphis Taproom, POPE, to name a few. It's just disappointing that Local 44 is really the only place we have like this in West Philly, and it's not, well, "better." C'mon guys... Can't you set the bar just a bit higher?
I don't often find myself in this part of the city. although there are many good spots. This is definitely a good spot! 2 stars? Service issue.
I arrived here with a friend and just had to wait a few minutes. It was a weekend evening. The server was super nice, explaining the beer list and offering recommendations. The food was excellent! I had the unexpectedly good General Tso's Tofu. The heat in the dish actually kicked my ass a little. In a good way.
I noticed throughout the meal that we were checked on way too frequently. This turned into being rushed. The servers also were ducking out of the way to let others pass REALLY CLOSE TO MY TABLE and it was distracting because of the frequency of them checking in the other times. They were very reachy and grabby with the glasses. It was obvious people were waiting to get a table but that doesn't mean rush the diners who are seated. It does here.
It's a great spot! I just hope that this isn't the norm with their servers.
By default, this is my favorite bar in West Philly. I don't mean to knock this bar, it's just frustrating when there is nothing else in West Philly and a bar becomes my favorite because of that. In general, I don't go to West Philly much, but when I'm there, it's always nice to stop by Local 44, whose most impressive feature remains the 20 beers they have on tap, and the two beers they are offering cask-conditioned. Brendan and Leigh, the geniuses behind Memphis Taproom, a bar that you've heard about time and again from this blog, did it right with Local 44. For beer-drinking, Local 44 is the place to go. I haven't frequented it very often (because it's like the MTR of the West), but my experiences there have been positive. West Philly really doesn't have much else.
The problem that Brendan and Leigh, though, have created for themselves is the presence of Memphis Taproom (a better bar, in a better neighborhood). And for a resident of Kensington, I don't have much reason to ever be in West Philly, so I will always compare their other creation to Memphis Taproom. And even though Local 44 has more beer options than Memphis (and it is totally awesome to only have Orval in bottles), Memphis beats it on all other fronts, in my mind. And that's just one problem, the other is that the clientele there is just more... bro-ish than in Fishtown. Sure, you'll find hipsters in Fishtown, but I can tolerate their four-square and electronica more than I can football fans and their pop rock music.
But, Local 44 is still owned by the people that own the bar I frequent the most, so there is a large level of trust and reliability that I put in that bar. I know the beer will be good, even if the food menu and the atmosphere are not as good as what I'm used to. And you can blame that on college students.
A quality bar for those who appreciate good craft beer. The crowd usually seems interesting, educated, and/or approachable if you're a West Philly pseudo-bohemian like me. The bartender and servers are personable and hipster-lovely (in that order), but don't get any ideas.
My only gripes: I don't know if it's the decor or what, but the establishment seems to lack *character* and some atmosphere, compared to other "serious about beer" bars. Also, you get no description of all the different craft brews unless you ask. I don't know about you, but I like to pore over a small menu before I order a quality beer; it's hard to figure out on your own what something like "Whimsy Winter Ale" would actually taste like.
The beer is still great!
The food, on the other hand, is now mediocre. I shared the Cubano and the fried chicken with my dad. They were both bland and had weird textures. It seems like they are scaling down their food options and I'd say that the food value is now a big step below the other gastropubs in the city (ie Good Dog, Abbaye, Royal Tavern, Grace Tavern). I'll probably never eat here again. :(
I didn't expect to like this place as much as I ended up liking it, which almost never happens. I like their beer selection, they had an amazing sour ale on tap, the way to my heart these days, probably the only thing thats actually IN my heart.
Very casual but not too much and a decent crowd. Not being a regular at West Philly, the warmth and openness of the bartender really made me feel welcome to this part of the city. Im all about good beer and even better conversations. Goes hand in hand. Totally worth a cab ride.
I lived a block away from Local 44 for over a year. I will always come back to west Philly to visit this place.
The beer selection is always amazing. Theres beer from all over the world and they normally also have a bunch of local stuff.
The bar it's self is cozy and if your sitting down to eat the back part reserved for patrons ordering food is comfortable as well. I've ate here a few times and was always great. From burgers to creative salads every bar staple is represented well.
Also Nate is the man and is the best bar tender in the city.
I used to frequent Local 44 often but a few instances of subpar food has left me wary. I still go occasionally and have recently been satisfied with the food although not overly impressed. The beer selection is good and I always enjoy a good cask ale.
One gripe I have with many pubs is that when I ask for a pint they don't serve me 16oz's, I never bother asking if they serve an imperial pint... I am nit-picky about ales and measures and Local 44 pricing would be fine if they actually served 16oz pints or stated their measures.
Local 44 is a decent spot ambiance-wise yet I tend to prefer Dockstreet at 50th and Baltimore consider it a better value. The pricing and average quality dissuades me from going more than once every few months but I don't mind going with friends as it's decent enough for a run of the mill craft beer pub.
The first time I've been here, I got an empanada and fries. The filling of the empanada was bland and mushy. The fries were tasteless and limp. It's hard to mess up fries in my opinion.
The food have always been subpar for me.
One of the good things about this place is that their menu always updates. And their beer option is pretty decent.
Unforgettable first time here:
I went with 3 friends. Both my roommate and I order fish tacos. The wait for our entrees goes from 'longer than average' to long to 'let's start thinking about leaving'.
Wen we had questions about our order status and wait time, the waitress was nowhere to be found. And plus,what can she do about the fact that they ran out of soft taco shells and someone had to...wait for it...leave the kitchen to buy more.
I don't know. Maybe someone could've told us. We aren't addicted to fish tacos or anything.
That was 2 years ago. Bad customer service memories linger and are repeated to friends.
As for the food, it was unremarkable.
Holy cheeseburger, Batman! No, seriously, SUCH a good cheeseburger, with a variety of topping options and a heaping helping of fries. They also have a wide variety of classy/interested deep-fried goodies to go with all of the awesome beers. But none of that (well none of the food, I love beer) compares to my Saturday morning indulgence -- bacon, egg and cheese fries! Their tasty fries, topped with copious amounts of delicious bacon, melty cheese, and fried eggs. Perfection and an epic hangover cure.
I have had a couple of experiences with the staff being a little rude, but honestly that was a while back and in the recent past I've been treated really well (by the staff at least... can't always speak for some of the other patrons, but that's a different story).
Ok, so. I like this place. The beer list is generally awesome, even if it is impossible to read from your table.
But, do not eat here. I ordered fish and chips, and got the soggiest, most tasteless, inedible fish I've ever seen. After 2 or 3 bites I asked the waitress if I could order something else, since it was awful, and she said that she could refry the same pieces of fish if I wanted, but that's the best she could do unless I just wanted to order something else (and pay for both dinners). I told her nevermind, and didn't eat one more bite of my meal. It came with burnt hushpuppies that I could barely break in half, and had no desire to eat.
When the check came, I asked if there was anything we could do about the $12 charge since I didn't eat my dinner. She argued with me, essentially told me that it was my fault that it was so bad (clearly, I let it sit on the table too long...folks, make sure you jump up and make an immediate scene in this establishment if you need to send something back to the kitchen...), and said she offered to fix it. I told her refrying the same bad fish is not fixing it, and she continued to argue. I told her nevermind and she stormed off tantrum-style.
It was an unfortunate experience, and I will not be eating here again.
I want to love Local 44. I should love Local 44. I wish I could drum up some sort of feelings towards Local 44, other than 'meh'. They have some great people behind the bar and on staff but ...
So, here's the thing. Reading the beer list in the dining area can be a pain in the ass. When the lights dim or the sun goes down, bring your reading glasses and a flash light. You will crawl over people to get in and out of your table, all depending on where you're seated. The brunch is apparently awesome but I'd rather schlep to one of my other spots. The food, while good, is nothing spectacular. It's gastropub food and the menu is consistent. Bring cash because once it gets busy, you may have to chase down your server.
Oh and be prepared to run into everyone you do not want to see.