Very small place (even with the back bar), high prices (which may be normal in Philly), small draft list that was pricey, a lot of bottles were sold out, $30 for a 3F Gueuze? Insane. Mussels were delicious and cheap. burger was okay and fries were soggy. It wasn’t packed for a Saturday and we found a seat pretty fast.Service was nice but both people helping us had fake smiles and were very impatient despite it not being that busy. Pretty cool they also have a full bar.

This place is an absolute institution in not only the Philadelphia beer world but in history of the United States. As with any institution, they kind of have the attitude that they don’t need "your" business because someone else will always be behind you to take your stool. However, it is absolutely worth a visit. Monk’s Cafe is responsible for bringing Russian River to Philadelphia.

Visited on a Friday evening in May ’10 around 5.30pm. Place was pretty busy and continued to get busier during the hour we were there but we managed to snag 2 seats at the bar. Good Belgian bottled line up but that only interested my cousin from PA not myeslf so thankfully found some US craft on tap, local PA stuff mainly. Service was good at the bar and we were never left with an empty glass bearing in mind how busy it was. This wouldn’t be a destination bar for me personally but I can see why it is very popular with those seeling Belgian beers!

Best beer bar in Philly.. Gets crowded but for good reason. Awesome selection and good food. Real nice.

Good selection of beers but too many European ones for a visitor from Europe who wants local American beer! Nevertheless still plenty of US beers too. A tadd overcrowded and slightly more expensive than average but you pay coffee quality here.

Updating my review for a recent visit after several years since the last visit. Small dark pub, tremendous bottle list and very solid draft list. For a NYer, a great selection of things not distributed in NY like Lost Abbey and Russian River. Staff is tremendously helpful and chatted with me continuously about different beers during my entire visit. Prices can be high for some harder to get bottles but the drafts were pretty reasonable. There’s a front and back bar with different taps but there’s no problem getting taps from the back bar if your sitting up front. Food I had years ago there but was really solid. Overall, great bar.

Rather a tiny place, yes, heavily belgian as was some of the food. Service was good. Was just expecting more.

This is a dark little pub with a front and a back section. The draught list is pretty great and little needs to be said about it. Unfortunately, it is kind of expensive, but there are some more inexpensive options for the thrifty consumer. I only get stuff off draught usually, so I didn’t peruse the bottle list, but I am sure that it would be good. The food that I got the second time was pretty good, but maybe the veggie burger wasn’t the right option. I am sure their mussels are better. Ambiance is good and the bartender I spoke with the first time I came here knew what was up.

Very happy to finally check out Monk’s! Met up on a Saturday night with 6 people. They don’t take reservations so we waited for about an hour for a table to open up. While we waited we sampled some of the beers on tap. Overall they offered a nice selection but I wasn’t completely blown away by the offerings. The menu looked pretty decent and I went with the mussels which were really good. Service was ok. The place was really packed and all 6 of us were crammed into a small round table in the corner. Overall, it was a cool experience.

Ambiance is small dark belgian pub. Service was pretty good, and very knowledgable. Selection is freaking awesome for bottles, not a huge tap list, but big enough, with lots of interesting things. Is a bit expensive, but its in city center and worth it for the selection. Definitely the place to go in Philly to find rare beers.