Monk’s Café

A world class beer bar. Similar to a Dutch (or Belgian) brown bar. Center city location, weekends are packed. Tons of outstanding brews, including a solid collection of Belgians. Also world class microbrews, largely from the NE. Food was stellar. Not the best mussels I’ve had, but it’s hard to find them anywhere, especially at beer forward restaurants. Visited during AHA 2023.

Old school beer bar. Narrow, lots of wood. Taplist is phenomenal, if also fairly old school. Lots of Belgian styles, zero hazy IPAs. Did not get food. Would definitely go back.

Smallish European-looking bar in the center of downtown, nice relaxed atmosphere, lots of dark wood and brass. Modest selection of mostly Belgian and Belgian-styled beers on tap, and allegedly a huge bottle list (with some hard to find beers for the US), which I didn’t look at. Smallish food menu, I had the moules frites, which were rather good. Good, friendly service. I wouldn’t rate this place as highly as others have but it is definitely worth a visit.

Small nondescript place in Philly. Dark inside, our server was very knowledgeable about all the beers and food on the menu. Outstanding beer list. They had a few whales on there that I was pumped to be able to try. Great food as well. My family and I had a long, European-style lunch here. I will definitely be back if I am ever in Philly again.

I love these classic beer bars, especially as my beer drinking career continues to become more lengthy. A few have shut their doors over the years but Monk's Cafe looks like it is going strong. The ambiance is faithfully European. The beer selection is excellently curated and rotates very frequently. They showcase a great balance between widely distributed Belgian beer and smaller, less available breweries. The food is excellent as well. Service was great. I have nothing but highly positive things to say about this place.

Best Belgian watering hole I've found in the US in a while. Website updates their current draft and bottle offerings daily. They had Westmalle Dubbel on tap when I went! Went by myself and sat at the bar next to a kindred spirit. Frites were pretty good. Can't wait to go back to try the moules.

good selection on tab and a great selection in Bottles, and they had my favourite shapped glass and let me take a couple. All round hhad a great time here

Visited during my autumn '18 engagement trip to The States, with S. Great place, very welcoming. Bigger then expected. Very good selection. Got to try Blind Pig from tap, which may not be a big thing for most, but it's been a big want of mine ever since trying my 1st Pliny the Elder. Would recommend to everyone.

Came for dinner and really enjoyed myself. Cozy but bangin place my vibe for sure. Super friendly bartender. Pliny and plenty of Lost Abbey available. Wish I had a friend so could’ve split a bottle of the special Cantillon bottle aviailabke but alas had to pass. Mussels were good, fries a touch salty but I’m sensitive to sodium. Anyways I thought it rocked.

What more can be said about this place? Cozy little bar that can be get very busy, as it was when we visited. 8 well-chosen taps, classic stuff at this point, with both Pliny and Blind Pig on, a Tired Hands and some sours. The bottle list is the pull, with all sorts of Cantillon available (including a LP Gueuze 2013 for $60). It's not a ticker's spot, but if you're looking for some lambic, some Russian River, or other good sours, this is the place to come in Philly.