Eulogy Belgian Tavern

pappas

New Jersey

4.65/5  rDev +7.6%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 5 | selection: 5 | food: 4 | $$

i love eulogy. the only thing i'd change about it is its size and stocking more t shirts in small sizes! it can be crowded on weekend nights, so it is more comfortable to go during the week. the food is good, everything goes great with pretty much any beer and some of the chef specials change- try the bratwurst!

taps are dominated by belgians, no surprise, but they always have a few others up there. the bottle selection is enormous, so you won't be disappointed. try something new!

the best thing about eulogy other than the beer is the service. the bar tenders are more than willing to offer samples, so going on a saturday afternoon or evening during the week will allow you to sit at the bar and find a new beer you love while chatting it up with the staff, who have always been knowledgeable in my experience.

bar is always clean and beer fresh tasting. this place is a true beer lovers spot.

10-28-2011 05:33:59 | More by pappas

MsRif

Pennsylvania

4.05/5  rDev -6.3%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | food: 4.5 | $$$

Eulogy will always hold a special place in my heart because it's where I met my husband, where we got engaged and where we held our engagement party. Even before I knew my husband, Eulogy was my favorite bar. The atmosphere is usually excellent...a very laid back place to enjoy a good beer. Unfortunately, because Eulogy has been so hyped up, it has picked up in popularity and lately it has been insanely packed, and most of the crowd has been pretty obnoxious. It varies day to day...if it looks crowded, you can always go to Triumph which is right across the street.

If you can get to know the staff here, make an effort to. There is a cellar at Eulogy and if you are having trouble finding something, the staff will (at times) offer special brews to you. My husband and I once had 120 Minute here in the middle of summer which was a very special treat. Of course, we also shared a bottle of Westvleteren 12 with the staff during our engagement party.

Food is awesome. A little overpriced for some items, but I usually just go for the fries and that amazing dipping sauce they have! Really, the perfect beer/food pairing in any scenario! The fruit/cheese plate is also pretty tasty...and let's not forget the mussels! Lots to choose from, just be careful if you are on a budget.

The selection, aside from the cellar, is pretty damn awesome. Pretty much anything you want will be on there list of 300 bottled brews. Taps (21 of them) generally focus on Belgian brews...but after all, Eulogy is a Belgian tavern. There is a lot of rotation, so generally if you come often there will always be something new to try.

The only thing I wish is that this place could be BIGGER! It gets very, very crowded due to popularity and seriously, it's just too much of a "close quarters" feel on weekends. I generally only go on weeknights now...it's almost always a nicer atmosphere there on weeknights.

If you get the chance to, go. This is a great establishment...I know I will be giving them my business for years to come.

10-24-2011 23:07:57 | More by MsRif

rfgetz

New Jersey

3.74/5  rDev -13.4%
vibe: 3 | quality: 4 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4 | $$$

Have visited this place on occasion, but with Monks a little closer, no pressing need to continue to return, especially with the overall average feel to the atmosphere and service.

The thin first floor features a few tables and a long bar, Belgian beer logos adorn the walls and the room is surprisingly brightly lit. A few TVs on the wall and a display of various glassware line the back of the bar.

Draft list contains a mix of average Belgians (Leffe, Hoegarden and Stella tap completely out of place) and solid domestic craft. Bottle list is expansive and contains a lot of great stuff, but frequently out of date (Bottles of Cantillon the have not had in 6+ months are still on what they have you order from).

Service is hit or miss. Usually filled with tourists and the bartenders reflect that. Friendliness from them appears to be needed to be earned by letting it be known you are a local.

09-26-2011 16:09:27 | More by rfgetz

pdeepak

Pennsylvania

4.58/5  rDev +6%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 5 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4 | $$$

Eulogy is one of my go to spots whenever I make the trip down to old city from university city.

Chris, the downstairs bartender is the man and he really knows his beer knowledge. The beer week events that they hold here are always top of the line and make sure to check out their annual coffee beer brunch.

The draft selection has something for everyone and is slightly skewed towards belgians, but that should be obvious from the get go. the bottle selection is MASSIVE and they have a seasonal sale selection for beers that have been on the shelves for a while.

I would definitely recommend stopping in here for a beer or 3.

07-29-2011 23:08:56 | More by pdeepak

AndyAvalanche

Massachusetts

4.4/5  rDev +1.9%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4 | $$

Wasn't planning on going in here when we did, but we are certainly glad we did. My wife is a big history buff and wanted to goto City Tavern (a little restaurant where they dress up like it's 1776). But we weren't impressed so we split a beer flight, got an appetizer and hit the streets to get dinner, we found several places right around the corner and picked Eulogy Belgian Tavern.

It was a little weird walking in, a little dark and crowded. There was a heavy curtain to go through, but I think it was to keep the cool A/C air in the bar. We walked in and it was pretty crowded. We looked around from the entrance and couldn't find a place to sit. The was in front of us with a few small tables. There were probably about 25 people in there and it was I'd say pretty close to capacity. A hostess made herself known pretty quickly and kindly brought us to the dining room upstairs. There it was much quieter (not that it was too loud downstairs, but just different) and pretty dark. Probably about 15 tables or so with a very small bar that probably sits less than 10 people. A Large flatscreen TV at the front with sports stuff on it. Each table had candles on it. The center of the room is darkest, some slight window light at the front with a few lights and a few dim lights in the back. Beer paraphernalia both upstairs and downstairs.

Quality I think was a must at a place like this and I think they succeeded. Seemed to offer fresh ingredients in the food department and a decent tap list that seemed fresh with what I gathered were clean draft lines, the beer at least tasted fresh.

I was really impressed with the service here. Like I said, the hostess made herself known right away and got us seated pretty quick. The waitress was even better. She was very attentive, knowledgeable, and friendly. I love beer, but I'm really not into Belgian styles that much, and what I do like I'm pretty inexperienced at, this girl knew what was on draft off the top of her head and could give a good description, and even offered good recommendations based on the other styles I like. Another thing that was really nice about her was her attentiveness to my wife. My wife was a sport on this trip and got a beer at just about every bar we went to, but had pretty much had her fill at this point. So my wife said she didn't want anything to drink the waitress said in a sympathetic voice "oh you don't like beer?" We both explained that she'd had a lot of beer on this visit and could use a glass of wine about now. The waitress came back a couple of minutes later with a small amount of liquid in a glass. She gave my wife a sample a Belgian Sour that she stated had low carbonation and was dry like a wine. She didn't end up liking it enough to want it, but I thought it was a nice of her to offer. She was pretty good about watching how much was left in our drinks as well. The food came out pretty quickly and staff was right on top of clearing dirty dishes.

Selection is very good, bottle list is VERY extensive. Tap list is very good as well, but it's geared primarily to Belgian style beers (hence Belgian Tavern). I think there were 20-25 taps available, not sure I didn't actually count, but it was more than 20 for sure. Stella Artois and Long Trail Double IPA where the only non classic Belgian style brews. Both Belgian and American versions of the styles. I got a Long Trail Double IPA and a recommended Quad that I'm angry I can't remember because it was really tasty (no it wasn't St. Bernardus Abt 12). The bottle list was really great. Something from just about every major brewery in the States I'd go down the list, but it was about 3-4 pages long with both 12 oz and bombers. My wife did get a beer eventually and went with a Brooklyn Lager, solid brew and safe choice.

Food was really good. Plenty of sandwiches, burgers and salads. With traditional fairs as well. Mussles, Belgian Fish n Chips, crab cakes, Steak, chicken and sausage/Brat dishes. Lots of good things on the menu. I got a burger and my wife got a salad we split an extra order of fries (frietjes). Food was really good, the aitress gave us 3 different dipping sauces for the fries, all really good and creative, one was, spicy, one was creamy and one was like a whiskey base. I really liked the food.

All in all the prices were really good, and the portions were really big on both the food and beer. I was really impressed with the size of the beer glasses especially. Based on the portions and the quality, it was one of the better places we went to in the city.

It's funny because Monk's Cafe was what everyone was saying was an absolute MUST to goto, but I think Eulogy was leaps and bounds better than Monks as an overall experience. Any beer lover should visit this place in Philly.

07-25-2011 03:04:40 | More by AndyAvalanche

NittanyBeerFan

Pennsylvania

4.38/5  rDev +1.4%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 5 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4 | $$$$

So I finally made it down to this place for the first time today. Hopped off the El at 2nd street and walked the literally 1 block to the corner of 2nd and Chestnut where I saw a sign that said, "Drink Good Beer." I was on my way there anyway, but I needed no further prompting.

Eulogy has a lower floor with a bar that seats around 15 people, as well as two tall bar tables that sit two each as well as two shorter tables for 4. Upstairs, there is another bar with about 6 seats. The upstairs tables are larger, but they are only for dining service (you can drink too, but you can't only drink). Really dark up there. The bathroom downstairs is shoved back in a corner, and even when the bar isn't packed it's tough to get there. I can only imagine when it fills up. There are about 20 sq. ft. of space when only the chairs are full.

Our waitress was very attentive, and the bartender handled both the bar and the tables with impressive efficiency. A personable staff who is interested in helping the patrons find beer they like is certainly a nice thing to see. I wish that you could note how much you know about beer so that I wouldn't have been told that my stout was going to be malty and roasty, but hey, I'll take what I can get.

The tap selection is listed on the wall, and it has some basic craft offerings (Stella, Hoegaarden) as well as some other more impressive stuff. The bottle list is more impressive, with coolers packed with beer that takes about 5 pages of a large menu to list by brewer and beer name. On there are some real gems, mainly Belgian, but also everywhere from Denmark to America to Australia.

The mussels were friggin great, and the mozarella and tomato salad was very good, too. I can only imagine that the rest of the food is going to be good, too. However, I am not sure that I will ever find out, because the prices between the beer and food are pretty high for my pay grade. I will definitely be back, but Eulogy will most likely remain a special treat for me.

07-03-2011 03:40:26 | More by NittanyBeerFan

Andreji

Colombia

4.28/5  rDev -0.9%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.5 | $$

So, you've finished the USMLE step 2 CS exam and after 8hrs of seeing pretend patients you don't feel like any more sightseeing.

So you take up on wandering through the city and towards the easternmost part of chestnut what sign do you spot?

"Drink Good Beer ---->"

Celestial, I know.

So I went in and grabbed a table right by the window. it was closed and had some heavy curtains right by it, making the place quite scarcely lit. not very full at 5pm I'll say. Long bar, not too noisy, music was moderate. a stairway leads somewhere. It looks dusty and old but in a comforting sort of way. this place is probably similar to In de Wildeman or maybe Poechenellekelder for a comparison. Very à la Belge.

Was instantly served by the waitress, a nice young girl who devoted her attention essentially to serving me and another couple of folks. she had a friend sit by her and they chatted at times but never in detriment of service. She also knew her menu well and was frank in saying "we really don't have many locals- this is a belgian bar- but this is good...." and gave frank and seemingly knowledgeable advice: she told me to have this or that if I prefer sweeter than bitter, etc.

The menu is beautiful. several pages of a phone book-like menu probably ranging in the 200-300s. Of course mostly belgian but a fair share of local and american crafts pop out of there. They used a rating scale on the menu-chart for each beer on a 1-5 scale so I assumed it was the BA ratings, but I may be wrong.

I don't know if i'm overrating the place. It felt pleasant and adequate, beer focused enough and laid back, relaxed environment to taste beer and to clear my head post-stress. I'll definetly hit it again when back in Philly.

05-12-2011 23:07:50 | More by Andreji

mattgreger

Pennsylvania

4.75/5  rDev +10%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 5 | selection: 5 | food: 4.5 | $$$

This tavern is located in Olde City. Its at 2nd and Chestnut.

Its a great location tucked into the Olde City bar scene. For a casual patron making there way into this location, they will find a very intimate, two story bar with some great brews and food.

For a craft beer drinker, there is a small treasure. The bartenders are very knowledgable and know there brews. Your greeted with about 12-15 on draft brews, that range from local, to some rare or impressive imports. On top of that they also provide a beer list, that ranges from 4-6 pages on any particular day. Many of these brews from all over the world. They give you everything you want to know about these brews.

On top of that, as i said, the bartenders know there stuff. I was there about 3 weeks ago, my brother and I both ask for something that we had never had before. Both times this bartender pulled out two amazing brews that were just amazing.

This place also has some amazing food as well. Though the menu isn't huge, its a great and some flavorfully packed choices. One of the best things I can recommend are the Fries. It comes with 3 dipping sauces. I know they are only fries, but my brother and I have actually drove the hour into philly to have a beer and fries at this location.

This is a great find, and always a stop for myself if I am in the, especially near Olde City. We also try to hit it up when we are leaving a Phillies Game. Awesome.

05-11-2011 04:04:10 | More by mattgreger

Rifugium

Pennsylvania

4.35/5  rDev +0.7%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4.5 | $$$

Located in Olde City at 2nd & Chestnut. Great two-story bar with intimate, quasi-Euro atmosphere. Massive, serious, 4-page beer list with brews from all over the world. Usually about 15-20 brews on tap (different upstairs and downstairs).

*Updated note, 2012: As far as tap selection is concerned, Eulogy is pretty old school and not really into changing to accommodate the modern-day craft beer nut. You probably won't ever see the rarities on tap that you might see at places like TJ's or Teresa's or Capone's or even Monk's. And as the name would indicate, they specialize in Belgian beer, so chances that you'll ever see a Founders Anything Breakfast Stout are slim to nil. That said, they do rotate their lists pretty well, their bottle list is still strong, and they still actively participate in events, especially during beer week. But as one of the first big components of the Philly Beer Scene, Eulogy is, like I said, old school, and compared to other places, they may seem to have fallen by the wayside so to speak as far as really seeking the rarities and "fad beers." But in their own right, they're still one of the best.

Anyway, getting back to the review, great food here too, although not too extensive of a food menu. I will say this with confidence: the Dijon mussels are quite possibly the best mussels you will ever taste. Overall friendly and knowledgeable staff, and they often remember you and your tastes. The atmosphere is nice, though not quite as pleasantly gloomy as Monk's. But overall, I'd say Eulogy is definitely > Monk's. Prices can be a little on the hefty side, but not too damaging.

Eulogy is probably my favorite bar, mainly because I have a lot of history there. It was where I first really started learning about good beer, and on another note, it's where I first met the woman of my dreams who is now my lovely wife. :D

04-29-2011 13:47:54 | More by Rifugium

CuttDeez

Virginia

3.95/5  rDev -8.6%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | food: 4 | $$$

Eulogy is a small little bar with a trendy casual upbeat atmosphere. They have a very good beer selection on both tap and bottle. They actually have some pretty interesting bottles when I studied the menu with an inquisitive eye. They have a great selection of serving vessels as well. The service is good not great. The waitors are on top of getting beers for you and being attentive. I though their beer knowledge was decent, but none of the bar tenders wowed me. I generally get excited when bar tenders are excited and want to suggest a few things and have suggestions on their favorite things. This didn't happen here, but it did not detract from my overall experience. I will say that this bar is overpriced for the Philly area. There are some dives and quaint bars in the area that can give you good selection at a cheaper price. That being said the bar is very nice, has great food, good selection, and I would not mind going back.

03-16-2011 12:27:25 | More by CuttDeez