Devil's Den

slander

New York

4.06/5  rDev -3.6%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | $$

Saturday sometime earlier this year. Luked, Poped, and now something something. Our group grown and on the move from where we were to elsewhere not there anymore. An easyish walk through the not terribly deep south to this corner are they open joint? Yes, they be. That's how we beer...

Stepping in and up, a clean wood "L" shaped bar with a foot rail holds the outside wall. Seating for 20 or so on backed stools for Randy's not hating, should he be tricked into coming to town again. Center logo mirror on the barback with tiered booze below, and more shelved vertically to both sides. Glassware on the counter and shelved a length above, below large flatscreens on the ends showing Blazing Saddles today. Drop squarish bell lampage tracing the bar and track spots overhead.

Red & yellow painted walls mostly, with the wall to the adjoining side room being brick with arched cut throughs, and a 2 sided fireplace in between with a rack of cut logs alongside from which to feed. A few pieces on the mantle there; a stein, a vase, and naturally a painting of the devil holding a chalice. I'm looking at that thinking, "Really? He's holding a chalice with cloven hoofs? Really?" Fold out double windows to the front & side wreathed. Red ceilings with wide wood post cross beams framing, and wood slat floorings. The walls decorated with light brewery signage & trays, and a framed Spaten Rheinsgobot print, if only Phil could be here to bitch about it.

4 hightops adjacent to the bar, 1 on the end, and 2 more up front. We are occupying one of them, although (Evil) Davo will be made to stand, odd man out in the cold, without a coat, having drunkenly left it in a bar, again. The side room holds about a dozen tables, more than ½ of which share an "L" bench. Black raftered ceilings and wonderful large city scene prints mounted.

2 burgundy ceramic towers of 8 each along the bar, 16 taps in all. Roughly ½ of them PA & regional (Lancaster Winter Warmer, Weyerbacher Imperial Pumpkin, Prism Bitto Honey IPA, Brooklyn Winter Ale, Southern Tier Raspberry Porter, Flying Dog Snake Dog IPA, Heavy Seas Winter Storm), and the remainder a mix of micros beyond (Boulder Never Summer Ale, Duck Rabbit Baltic Porter, 21st Amendment Monk's Blood, Terrapin Rye Pale Ale, Great Divide Hibernation Ale), and a handful of imports (N'Ice Chouffe, Schneider Aventinus, Franziskaner Dunkel, Spaten Lager). I drank the Duck Rabbit Baltic Porter on this one and out, and the Ballast Point Sculpin' on revisit this last time around, a few hours early for Bells (booobies!!!) Beers are clean and fresh.

And roughly 160 bottles, including the ones tagged for close out. The list broken out by style; nearly ½ of them US micro, about 30 Belgian and just as many German & UK combined, plus a handful of this and that. It's a solid list. Also, some 3 dozen+ wines, if you're about the stomped grape.

Decent foodings menu, Ed & Heather had wings done hot so as to deny me any & IPA cheese fries with bacon. We liked the tunage and listened at them with our ears. A most comfortable house; newish, clean, sharp & polished. I was expecting more fire & whatever brimstone is, but it's still very nice here. We do dig this place.

06-09-2010 16:19:19 | More by slander

woodychandler

Pennsylvania

4.45/5  rDev +5.7%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4.5 | $$

Transcribed from notes dtd Su, 27 Feb 2011.

Located on the corner of S. 11th and Ellsworth Streets, I had been here many times before, but I simply did not take notes and especially not on one VERY memorable occasion when it snowed and I had to cab it out of South Philly and back to the train station.

The entry was on 11th Street, near the corner, and opened onto a small vestibule with a short flight of steps that led up to an ATM and what passed for the m.d.s. Next to the ATM was a brick archway, then a working wood-fired fireplace, followed by another brick archway and a series of high tables and chairs along the wall, stretching back to the lavatories. The long "U"-shaped bar ran along Ellsworth Street and held two (2) tap towers, each with eight (8) taps, fifteen (15) of which were CO2 driven and one (1) was N2. Below the back bar were six (6) coolers with three (3) shelves each for bottles. The back bar held a central mirror with shelves for liquor and glassware. Through the brick portals was the dining room with a combination of booths fronted by tables as well as standard tables and chairs.

Atmosphere: Low-key lighting; lots of wood; a friendly waitstaff; good (but not loud) music. I really dig the windows that fold open in the warmer months.

Food: I had the Norwegian Eggs Benedict (with smoked salmon). Yum!

Mom Test: She would not come here on her own, but neither would she be totally put off. Worth a visit!

11-10-2011 00:31:39 | More by woodychandler

NeroFiddled

Pennsylvania

4.13/5  rDev -1.9%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4 | $$$

I've been quite remiss in updating my review of the Devil's Den and I apologize, particularly as it's improved so much. I should have gotten around to changing this months ago.

The food has improved greatly, both in quality and variety. The servers have become more knowledgable about the beer (which doesn't do much for me, but at least now my proper pronunciation won't be corrected with improper pronunciation), and the bartenders have become more attentive. Some minor changes in the appearance of the space have given it a more comfortable feeel throughout as well. The draft selection remains impressive, as it always has been, and the bottle selection follows suit. At this point I'd certainly recommend a visit.

09-03-2008 03:29:53 | More by NeroFiddled

DoubleSimcoe

New York

4.06/5  rDev -3.6%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4.5 | $$

Very glad I found this bar listed here on BA, as it was halfway between our bed-and-breakfast in Bella Vista and the restaurant we were dining at in East Passyunk. Close to Hawthornes and Bella Vista Beer Distributors as well.

A great beer choice in Philly, must better than the famed Monk's. Cozy warm inside, with lots of brick and wood plus a fireplace. Great chill Pandora music (which turned to punk/garage later on when we came back after dinner).

They have lots of events here, and it shows on the tap list. Their Arcadia tap event had at least five taps left, including Bourbon-barrel Shipwreck (which kicked just as I was ordering it).

The printed beer menu is not updated, with some beers gone and not replaced, and I'm not sure the server knew a lot about beer. They have 16 taps here, with cool stuff like Iron Fist Gauntlet, Duck Rabbit Wee-Heavy, De Struise/Stillwater Outblack, Weyerbacher Fireside, Victory Dark Lager, Iron Fist Velvet Glove...

Great bottle selection as well, divided by styles and including Older Viscosity, Russian River, lots of Stillwater and Lost Abbey. Not bad prices- I had a Emelisse Jack Daniels Imperial Stout for $9, which is pretty much what it costs at Whole Foods in NYC. Draught beer is similarly well priced, almost nothing over six dollars.

Can't wait to revisit!

02-16-2012 05:58:12 | More by DoubleSimcoe

johnmichaelsen

Oregon

3.6/5  rDev -14.5%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 2 | selection: 4 | food: 3.5 | $$

Stopped by for their "Bella Vista" event during Philly Beer Week.

Located in a small corner pub, the DD is a fairly small place with a decent size bar to your immediate right as you walk in. There is also a modest size dining area to your left, as well as a few tables and chairs scattered around the bar area. The atmosphere is low key and relaxed, with your typical posters and beer brick a back on the walls and behind the bar.

On this particular day, I think they had between 12 and 15 beers on tap, including a firkin of the stateside saison. Quality was undeniably high, with an interesting and diverse selection of imports and craft beer. The food menu looked promising, and seemed to be a slight cut above your typical pub grub. I ended up getting the lamb breast flat bread, which was tasty enough. It actually tasted more like pulled BBQ pork on crackers, but in any event, it tasted fine.

Service was just not very good. Granted, the bar area was fairly crowded for beer week, but when the wait is so long that the couple next to you are trying to flag down the bar tender on your behalf, there's a problem. Also, I'll be the first to admit that I just don't like it when the bartender seems to be going out of his way not to even make eye contact with customers. Not only did I feel as if I was being ignored, it was almost as if I didn't exist. Aside from the extra long wait to get a beer, I was also a bit annoyed by DD's portrayal of this event. The bar had a list of Bella Vista beers for the event on a beer menu, which I thought they might put on when the event started (7:00). Nope. Despite what the menu said, there were no Ballast Point beers, no Voodoo IPA and no double crooked tree (probably a few other beers were missing in action as well, but that's all I was interested in). When I was able to get the bartenders attention and ask about the missing beers, he indicated they would be on either later that evening or later in the week. I'm sure that's true, but seeing as how I didn't plan on hanging out for the rest of the week, his explanation wasn't much help.

This is a decent enough place, but I would probably try to avoid it on a busy night. Some places are able to handle a large crowd without too much problem (TJ's, Local 44 and SPTR among others), but I gather that DD can't. Otherwise, this is clearly another solid place that I'd likely visit pretty often if I lived in the area. I don't, so I probably won't.

06-05-2010 19:50:37 | More by johnmichaelsen

Deuane

Pennsylvania

4.06/5  rDev -3.6%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | $$

Being just a few blocks away from Bella Vista makes this place a nice place to hit up before or after your shopping at BV.

I have been here once before, during PBW, and the place was such a ZOO I couldn't stand it. Took me 10minutes to get to the restroom and back out the door....and I didn't even get a beer! I vowed to return to offer fair judgment, glad I did.

A very pleasant interior with lots of wood, nice metal work and inviting tables. I was impressed with how clean and neat the establishment looked.

Our server was quite pleasant and seemed to know her stuff. She was speedy with out orders and we didn't have to wait long at all between fills.

A solid selection of taps with some very interesting choices. We stopped by this day to specifically try the 21st Amendment Monk's Blood. We also got to try the Bitto Honey IPA from the relatively new Prism Beer Company. Nice to see the local establishments offering support.

Skipped food on this visit...but what I saw looked decent.

Another quality establishment in a city FULL of such places. I will certainly stop in again when I find myself in the area.

01-13-2010 12:02:25 | More by Deuane

corby112

Pennsylvania

4.35/5  rDev +3.3%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.5 | food: 3.5 | $$

The Devil's Den is a great beer bar in South Philadelphia, only a few minutes from Bella Vista Distributors. Very large bar that takes up most of the front room with close to twenty rotating craft, micros and imports with a emphasis on German beers. They probably have the best happy hour in the city with half price drafts Monday through Friday from 5-7. Also, they have a tapas menu and half price on select appetizers during the happy hour. Although I only sat at the bar, the service was very good. Appropriate glassware and knowledgeable bartenders, and the owner is very friendly and down-to-earth. Aventinus is always on draft which is always a plus.

12-04-2008 07:07:19 | More by corby112

mltobin

Connecticut

4.13/5  rDev -1.9%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4 | food: 4 | $$$

My friend and I went here on a Saturday in the afternoon and the place was dead. That was a bit of a bummer, oh well.
The selection of beer was good, I had a hanssen`s gueze and my friend had one of the microbrews on tap.
The bartender was personable and attentive which was key since it was so empty at that time. I was here from out of town for the weekend, but note to locals...1/2 off happy hour applies to all of their taps and they had some nice stuff on tap. Devil`s Den is worth checking out.

11-11-2008 01:46:45 | More by mltobin

onix1agr

Pennsylvania

4.28/5  rDev +1.7%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.5 | $$

Like dueane, I was also here during beer week and it was packed to the gills, I could not even see the bar or move for that matter, so I came back recently to get a better feel for DD.

Devil's Den is a average looking corner bar in South Philly, but once you walk in the craft signs let you know that there is good shit here. A whole lot of different types of people, young and old, beer geeks and aspiring to be geeks with some regular folks as well. DD is a beer bar that does not come off snobbish, come one come all.

Quality is up there with clean tasting beer, a virtually spotless bar, filtered lighting so the bottles don't sour, A big dining room for larger parties, and a not so clean unisex bathroom with graffiti in it, ah well. Other than that I don't have a issue with quality.

The service was great. The guy tender pointed out what had kicked before we even ordered which is a change of pace of ordering and them saying 'out of luck'. He was on point and quick with the refills. The girl tender chatted it up with me for a bit and she knew her beer and made some suggestions to the people next to me. Service is great at the bar, table service i'm not sure on yet.

This place has a great selection of beer and being so close to bella vista does not hurt things at all. I'm guessing that DD is the only bar in Philly that has a never ending supply of sculpin bottles in the coolers. About 20 taps, American micro, German offerings, Belgian selections and about 200 different bottles from around the world. A good selection of hard alcohol as well if that's your thing. I had a Bell's Van Twee, Old Howling Bastard, and a liberator dopplebock, they tasted great.

Oh and this place probably has the best happy hour in the city that I have seen, with 1/2 price drafts (all drafts) and food specials as well. Give the Devil's Den a go.

03-20-2010 16:28:24 | More by onix1agr

Imstillthegman

Delaware

4.44/5  rDev +5.5%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.5 | $$

I hit here for the Bell's event "Beer for Boobs" during Philly Beer Week. Cool atmosphere with a very diverse crowd. Lots of exposed brick (which I really dig) and tin beer signs. Pretty good sized bar had about 20 or so seats...might have been more but the place was packed and I couldn't tell who was sitting or standing. Fair amount of tables as well. The staff was extremely busy, but always quick to help when they noticed you needed it. Great tap selection and nice amount of bottles, as well. Of course, I was here for the Bell's and the firkin of Double Cream Stout and the HopSlam were both spectacular. Parking in the area could be a little tight, but I parked down at the ACME parking lot and just walked the few blocks there. I don't think it took more than five minutes to get there, if it was even that long. I will be back here on a hopefully less crowded night sometime.

03-08-2009 14:02:44 | More by Imstillthegman