City Tap House University City Reviews
Submitted by Arianna Mears on 04/26/2022
Arianna Mears 5 stars rating.
Had a fabulous time by the fire pits out back with friends. Drinks and snacks were reasonably priced, especially for University City. Cosmo wasn't the best I've ever had, but service was excellent and they had great vibes.
Suzi Meyer 3 stars rating.
The pictures look great for this place. Beer was good! I ordered grilled cheese with tomato soup. Grilled cheese was good, but the soup was Mariana sauce in a bowl… it was gross. Tomato soup in my opinion should be creamy not chunky. If I want spaghetti, I would have ordered that. My friend ordered the ahi tuna with wonton nachos. She got 10 pieces of tuna, shredded kale on a pile of wonton chips. It was sad. Our first experience in Philly and this was not what we expected. Step it up man.
Submitted by Suzi Meyer on 09/02/2022
Amy Dalton 2 stars rating.
Drinks are pretty good. Atmosphere is nice. Bartenders are really not attentive. Bar was only 30% full and it took 20 min to get even order a drink. And that continued throughout the entire visit. Wouldn't recommend
Submitted by Amy Dalton on 09/01/2022
Soumendranath Bhakat 3 stars rating.
Classic spot which is directed towards UPenn. I ordered a wheat bear which was 8 out of 10. Loved it. However, the pizza was terrible. The crust was doughy, oil dripping from the pie and overall gross. 5.5 /10 for pizza. I was expecting a classic bar pie for the price point. Pizza game must be improved.
Submitted by Soumendranath Bhakat on 08/20/2022
Thomas Crochunis 4 stars rating.
Visited this City Tap House location for the first time this past weekend. It was a decidedly mixed experience.
First thing I have to note is that finding the entrance was flat out weird. Maybe there is some other way to get in, but we wondered around, finding a stark hallway with an elevator that asked for a code, then back outside (how would this work for accessibility?), then finally locating a sign that pointed us up an exterior stairway to a terrace, past groups of homeless folks and groups of local teens to find the entrance. I mean, this wasn't particularly worrisome, but given that it was hard to know if we were actually going towards the restaurant entrance, it was a little strange.
Once in, things were pretty quiet at 7 pm on a Sunday evening. We chose outdoor seating when we saw there was plenty available and the weather looked good. We had a nice table location with a view of UPenn high rises and an interior wildflower patch. Cool. After a while, more other customers showed up and the feel of the place picked up a bit. Guess 7 pm is a little early for the West Philly crowd.
Our table itself was sort of unwiped, with rings from past drinks. But it was alright...mainly just wet from earlier rains. When eventually our server said she'd come out and wipe it, we thanked her and didn't make a big deal of it. Then she never returned to do what she said she would. Sort of odd. (Meanwhile, we saw several other staff sent out to wipe down other tables that no doubt had similar surface wetness.)
Beer list is absolutely first rate, as one expects from City Tap House. Such wide variety, some offered on Nitro, then also 5 oz. tasting sizes. Not only were there some nice finds on the list, but there were many favorites. Essentially beer heaven. I would note that it took a surprising amount of time to get the first pint delivered.
The food menu was modest in size, but offered some good alternatives for members of our party. It's true that this is a pub-style menu in some ways—offering a few flavorful-sounding entrees, mussels done a few different ways, sandwiches, brick oven pizzas, and a range of appetizers. Still, for a pub-style menu, the variety is nicely on point and a little more than what you might get elsewhere. We tried a Caesar salad and two variations on the mussels. Each of these were good, but one of my party found her Abigail mussels a little lacking in flavor. My Pancho mussels were maybe a little more interesting. The frites were...okay.
Overall, I'd say that the beer menu and other drinks were very good, the food not bad, and the service sort of distracted and a little confused, if friendly. Everyone was pleasant enough and the location...once you find it...is really interesting and enjoyable. I'm inclined to chalk up some of the oddness in service to post-pandemic staffing and business-level uncertainties. But, hey, do something about signage and guiding people into the place.
Submitted by Thomas Crochunis on 06/14/2022
Patrick Wills 4 stars rating.
Nice place in the city near Penn and USciences. Good beer selection and nice outdoor area.
Submitted by Patrick Wills on 05/24/2022
Lyndsey McCormick 2 stars rating.
I loved city tap house for several years before the pandemic. We even had our wedding after party here! But tonight’s experience (first time back in several years) was subpar.
We arrived at 5:30 on a Sunday when it was very slow, and still waited several minutes for a table. The table they wanted to put us at was—not exaggerating—2 inches from another table of people eating, when there were at least a dozen other empty tables open.
Our server was very nice and helpful, and the cauliflower app she recommended was very tasty (even if it was drenched in sauce). However, the shrimp tacos were disappointing: wasn’t prepared as explained on the menu, was soggy and bland, and didn’t come with the rice and beans that were listed on the menu (and no doubt factored into the price). When we asked for the missing rice and beans, we were told that they didn’t serve them at this location anymore. To boot, our server was unable to get us a discount for said food that was promised but never came.
After that we decided we had enough and asked for the check. When it came, I noticed that I had been charged for two ciders — one “large” and one “small”—even though I only ordered one pint. I told the server about the mistake, and she said that management was making her charge for me for the 1oz tasters she had brought earlier, even though they were offered to me *unprompted* when I was trying to decide between two!
We used to love city tap house, but front of house needs to get organized, the kitchen needs to learn their menu, and the management needs to NOT cheat their customers (all while making the poor servers cover for them)! Unfortunately we won’t be back anytime soon.
Submitted by Lyndsey Mccormick on 05/15/2022
Rasheed Bennett 5 stars rating.
This place is a hidden gem! If you are in the west Philly/ university city area I highly recommend you come check them out ! Indoor/outdoor seating great for a good weather day to enjoy lunch or dinner with friends, family or even by yourself. The food was very tasty 10/10. You have to check this place out Philly!
Submitted by Rasheed Bennett on 05/08/2022
Sid N 5 stars rating.
Nice place for brunch, I went here for my cousins bday.
The service and the food is soooo good.
We ordered waffles with strawberries, Honey spicy chicken sandwich, mushroom pizza.
One should give a try, if ur in city.
Submitted by Sid N on 03/18/2022
Shannon Harper 5 stars rating.
We came in between lunch and dinner when it wasn't busy a d ordered entirely from the appetizer menu. The pork nachos were amazing and huge. Brussel sprouts were delicious, especially with the sprinkling of pomegranates. The beef tacos were brought to our table by accident and we didn't even notice because we had ordered so much. They didn't charge us of course. Overall, a nice atmosphere, great menu selection, good service.
Submitted by Shannon Harper on 12/17/2018
