Good Dog

onix1agr

Pennsylvania

3.73/5  rDev -3.6%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 3.5 | selection: 3.5 | $$$

Went here for a San Diego brewery tasting after passing by this place for at least a decade.

Looks on the slim side fromn outside, a nice circular neon sign stating "Good Dog" Once inside a long skinny hall with a bar seating 15 or so on the left and a row of booths that once again look small. Four people would be a bit cramped for these booths. It's a glorified dive bar with some nice wood and that Philly ceiling that I see all over. An upstairs bar with more roomy seating arraingments with circular tables although a smaller room.

Service was pretty speedy during the event with a full bar and one bartenderess who was hot as all get out, id like to buy her a drink! Management and barback seemed a bit peeved when I asked them some simple questions since I've never been. The beer tasted good, no off flavors from dirty lines. The place looked clean enough but the bathrooms could use some work and air freshner.

Every once in a while Good Dog will put on a pretty pretty good event. These events usually revolve around Bella Vista's line up because they seem to get a ton of Ballast Point. A firkin of habanero sculpin is nice plus they had some non bottled BP offerings. The bottle selection is small but covers many styles yet they dont jump out at me. Prices were on par with other Philly bars, Read- EXPENSIVE. The draft prices were on the high side as well but the tax was built into them so there is that. Damn you PHILLY BEER TAX, who cares about the education system, that went down the toilet years ago.

Between Good Dog and Blue Dog in the Suburbs, I wonder who came up with the slogan 'Come, Sit, Stay' first. Seems like a conflict of interest.

07-28-2011 14:22:59 | More by onix1agr

Rifugium

Pennsylvania

3.64/5  rDev -5.9%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 3.5 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4 | $$

The dive bar that could. Looks like a dive bar, but.... Well, anyway, a nice place in Philly with 3 floors of noisy atmosphere, but there's still a neat charm to it. Also, they keep a good selection of local and craft brews on tap, and a decent selection in bottles. First floor has a large, busy bar and some tightly cramped tables. Second floor has more tables and a nice small bar, which is good if you can get a seat, but only seats about 5 people. Third floor has no bar, just restrooms and pool tables, so you can take your beer up and get away from the crowd a bit. Staff is nice, but some of the bartenders can be a bit inattentive or distant. I have yet to try the food here, but from what I've seen, it looks very good. Prices are reasonable to inexpensive.

04-30-2011 16:20:18 | More by Rifugium

pburland23

Pennsylvania

4.18/5  rDev +8%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5 | food: 5 | $$

Good Dog is one of the best beer bars/restaurants in my fair home city.

It looks like a hipster enclave, but looks can be deceiving. Good Dog is one of the friendliest, most inviting spots in town. I tend to head upstairs to the smallish (8 tables or so) dining room. There is also a small bar with a few stools I like to use. The bartenders are friendly and at the end of the bar, you get a clear look into the busy kitchen. Bonus points for having framed pictures of dogs all over the walls. Dogs are awesome.

The beer selection is great. Lots of locals (Yards, PBC, Sly Fox) and a rotating list of other American micros (Stone, Lagunitas, Russian River, etc.). Happy hour specials are great. I love getting $1.00 each can of Pikeland Pils.

The food is incredible. Good dog does a meatloaf that is better than the one my mother or wife makes (please don't tell them). The cheesesteak empanadas are also delicious.

Since appearing on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives, Good Dog's popularity has gone through the roof. It's always worth a stop for the great, home cooked comfort food and the very good craft beer selection.

03-16-2011 00:24:07 | More by pburland23

Skemo

Pennsylvania

4.63/5  rDev +19.6%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 5 | food: 5 | $$

For my money, one of the best beer bars in Philadelphia. First of all, the prices are extremely reasonable. They have a small, but usually very good selection. I always see one or two beers that are very hard to find in the city. Most of the pints are around 5 bucks. I had a Rogue's Shakespeare Stout for that price last time I went. At most of the other beer bars in the city that'd be at least 6 bucks or more.

The bar is divided into three levels. The first level is a cramped, loud bar. Service is surprisingly good considering how busy it gets, but its difficult to move around. The second floor is much more appealing. It features a small "back-bar" of sorts and tables for food. The third floor is a very chill sitting area with a pool table. I'm personally not a fan of crazy busy bars, and the upstairs areas are perfect. Even on a busy Saturday night, the 3rd floor area is always pretty quiet.

I haven't had a lot of food there, but a few things do stand out. Their fries are amazing. They feature a sweet potato/regular mix. Thin cut, well salted, and served with a spicy mayo side. Believe me, when you've knocked back a few of the aforementioned Shakespeare Stouts, there are few things that taste better. Last week I tried their "Good Dog Burger." A nice 1/2 pound pattie stuffed with Roquefort cheese. Yes. Stuffed. It was topped with caramelized onions, and I added bacon (at that point, why the hell not?). It was quite good, but not the second coming people make it out to be.

Basically, for the price and the selection, I think Good Dog is in the top 5 best beer bars in the city. Whenever I have friends come down I make a point of it to go there, well within the epicenter of many other great beer bars and well worth the trip.

02-22-2011 00:55:22 | More by Skemo

jhughes23

Delaware

4.25/5  rDev +9.8%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4.5 | food: 5 | $$$

Look, there has been alot said about dive bars trying to be trendy, and how that may not be trendy, or divey, or I don't know...All I know is, this place has KickAss Burgers and some even more KickAss beers.

It has 3 levels, each of which offering a different atmosphere. The 1st floor in my opinion is where it is at! long, narrow, crowded and full of noise! Give me a Lagunitas and Im good! The guy on your left smells like he hasn't showered in 3 weeks and reeks of bong hits...the guy on your right just got done working his 9-5 shift at the bank across the street and just wants to sip a good brew while dredding returning home to the fam I'm sure!

Some say overrated, some say tourist trap, I say...who gives a ****! Its still a must place to go whenever in Philly!

02-03-2011 02:51:39 | More by jhughes23

Riggsy

Pennsylvania

3.95/5  rDev +2.1%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | food: 3.5 | $$

Have been in Good Dog a few times over the last year or so, so I figured I put up a review.
Kinda dark space. As you walk in bar w/ stools to the left, a single row of booths the right. Photos of various pooches crowd any available wall space. Mixed crowd during my visits, hipster to post-work suits. Mellow crowd, granted I've not visited past 9pm.

All draft beers listed accurately on board above the bar as well as on menus. 10 taps and a good selection of bottles. Locals are well represented. Nothing rare here but a solid selection.

Servers seemed to know their stuff, and beers were served in proper glassware.

Food is average to slightly above, burgers are a good bet.

I've enjoyed my visits to Good Dog and will visit again.

06-13-2010 17:29:46 | More by Riggsy

mltobin

Connecticut

4/5  rDev +3.4%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | $$

Good Dog was located fairly close to my hotel on a recent visit to Philadelphia (center city area). So, as the night was winding down, I popped in for a beer.

They have 10 taps by my count: Yards Philadelphia Ale, Sly Fox Dunkel, Ballast Point Big Eye, Stoudt`s Winter, and the Flying Fish Grand Cru that I drank are the ones that I recall. In addition, they have some bottles and cans...BMC, PBR and Sly Fox in the cans. It is all served by a helpful and speedy staff, (it gets busy).
Overall, the vibe at Good Dog is loud and boisterous. It is a great place to unwind, and I will come back when in town again.

01-29-2010 14:01:45 | More by mltobin

NeroFiddled

Pennsylvania

3.83/5  rDev -1%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 4 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4 | food: 4 | $$$

I'll be the first to admit that I just don't understand the Good Dog. It's almost always crowded, and the beer and food aren't that great. It seems to me that the younger crowd loves it for some reason, but I'm not sure why. Is it really that sociable a place? It seems loud and crowded to me. Or is it that in a crowded place there's just more women/men to choose from? Or is it that when it's really crowded you're automatically forced into other people, whereas otherwise you'd have to approach them. I dunno, I think I'm just too old for it. On the other hand, I never really liked crowded places when I was in college either. But let's forget the psychology...

The place looks OK. It's not upscale, but it's not a dive bar either. And when it's not crowded the size is good because it's kind of intimate, but still big enough. I don't even bother with the game room, and the second floor is kind of just for spill-over.

On to the beers. Well, I can't fault them there, they've got a solid selection - and they support local breweries! But there's nothing really exciting there, and with only 10 taps they're easily beat out by other places.

So what about the food. Well I've always enjoyed what I've had, but it hasn't been great. It's pretty much what you'd expect, it's not great, but it's just bar food either. And when it's not overly busy you can relax and enjoy your meal.

So what to say... ? Overall it's a pretty nice place, but it seems to be a victim of its own success in that it's always crowded (not unlike Monk's). So, I guess if you're in the area it's worth it, but Philly offers so many nicer places I can't really imagine making it a destination spot.

04-27-2009 15:14:46 | More by NeroFiddled

deapokid

Pennsylvania

4.15/5  rDev +7.2%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 3.5 | food: 4 | $$

Stopped in for lunch yesterday afternoon.

This is a really relaxed Center City location with nice dim lighting, great music playing at all times and cool dog photographs adorning the walls.

Although I usually post up at the bar, my girlfriend and I decided to make a date out of it and snagged a booth. She got a Franziskaner Hefeweisen and I got a bottle of Southampton Saison (which I'd been meaning to try for a while). Our waitress was very friendly, chatting over menu selections with us and bring us our drinks and silverware as fast as possible.

Besides our drink choices, they have an admirable selection of craft brews, notably Sly Fox O'Reilly and Black Raspberry, several choices from Philadelphia Brewing Company and a few out of state picks from Stone and Rogue.

For our meals, I got the Mediterranean Wrap (since it was quite warm out and I wanted something light) and my girlfriend got the Prosciutto and Fresh Mozzarella sandwich.

Mine was pretty tasty, but I don't think anything can beat the Good Dog Burger. Her sandwich was good as well, but she was a bit disappointed by the amount of fat on the prosciutto. Both meals came with shoestring fries and those were excellent as usual.

All in all, this is a great place to stop and have a drink or a meal and I wholeheartedly recommended stopping in for a couple. It's also a block away from Latimer Deli, if you want to bring a few bottles home with you.

04-27-2009 13:56:08 | More by deapokid

johnmichaelsen

Oregon

3.31/5  rDev -14.5%
vibe: 2 | quality: 3.5 | service: 3.5 | selection: 3.5 | $$$

So. Wanted to have the opportunity to meet Mr. Greg Koch tonight, so thought I'd take a chance with this place. On a Saturday night, very bad idea.

The Good Dog bar is a small, hole in the wall bar on S. 15th, very close to Rittenhouse Square. As one walks in past the friendly bouncer, one is confronted by a loud, dark, tiny bar room, with a long bar running along the left side of the room, a few booths on the right, and a couple of tables. It's very hard to see or hear inside, so who knows what sort of decorations might adorn the walls (was told by my friend later that there were a lot pictures of dogs on the wall - guess that kind of figures). Whatever. You really can't see much of anything anyway, so who cares. Service was OK, especially given the packed, frat boy atmosphere of this place. Likewise, the selection wasn't bad, with around 10 beers on tap. However, were it not for the fact they were featuring some "special" Stone beers on tap (oaked aged bastard and ruination), I don't know what I would have ordered. The tap list consists of magic hat number 9, southampton ale, troegs brown ale, guinness, and things like that. A good enough list, but in town like Philly, I can't imagine anyone would want to come here for the beer.

Maybe I'm too old or I just don't get it. My 12 ounce glass of ruination was $6, so I can't imagine people come here for cheap beer. Maybe the drinks are really strong or this is a good place for casual hook ups. Otherwise, I'll be damned if I can figure out why anyone goes here. The place was over crowded, with the music so loud you couldn't hear yourself think. There was nothing relaxing about my brief stay here, and I'm sorry, I just don't see what the attraction is. Why the regional Stone rep wanted to bring Mr. Koch here is anyone's guess. (though I did get to meet him, say hi, shake his hand, tell him how great I think his beer is, etc.)

In any event.... if you're looking for a loud, high energy, over the top crowded beer bar with a fair to good booze and beer selection, then I guess this is your place. It certainly is not mine.

03-15-2009 01:57:49 | More by johnmichaelsen