Phil’s Tavern

This place used to be one of our favorites. Had a great dj. Music was awful last Saturday. Made the beer in plastic taste worse. Service was good, but there wasn’t a lot of people there so they had that advantage.

So we have had an ant in our drink, watched bartenders touch people’s food and a bouncer refused to kick out a guy who showed His junk to girls. Classiest place ever.

We ended up here for a quick bite and some drinks before a show at TWC Arena on New Years Eve. Drinks were strong and cheap and service was fast and friendly even though they were swamped. I opted for the French Dip, hubby got the Reuben and we both very much enjoyed them, as well as the homemade potato chips (they were worth the upcharge). The only thing preventing me from giving 4 stars was the strong sewage backup smell that plagued us and nearby patrons during our meals. Maybe it was just the tables on the side near the restrooms? I’d probably come back, but I’d sit as far away from the bathrooms as possible next time.

The place feels like an old bar. I went there with a group of work folks so I got to see a variety of sandwiches hot and cold.
Phil has lots of different sandwiches that you can try, I don’t really have a favorite since I am trying to find something new every time I go to a place.
I gave this place 3 stars because it is a nice place. Sorta away from the people out side and streets. I will come back to it again to try other sandwiches.

Not the place to be. Crowd was dull. Music was ok

My friend and I stopped in Phil’s for a bite to eat before seeing a play at the Belk theater. We enjoyed the food and drinks and the DIVE feel. The owner seemed really nice but the waitresses were hard to flag down. The second time we were there was on a Friday night and there were about 5 people at the bar so we sat at the table right behind the bar. Never got served in the 10 minutes we were there so we left and walked in the rain to another bar. We will probably stop in there again but if the service doesn’t get any better then we will find another DIVE.

I’m from Chicago suburbs, so I’m used to townie dive bars and this place is great! The service was great! Richard, the manager was fantastic and made us feel at home. They were playing the Hawks game on the tvs and any bar playing the Hawks is a bar of mine! You HAVE to try the virtual bowling game! So much fun!

Phil’s is what Phil’s is,
A DIVE Bar. It’s a little bar tucked in next to other bars. They usually have a drink special every day, and yes you get it served to you in a plastic cup. I have never came here to experience the DELI portion of what they claim to offer. I have tried their fried pickles and seen other people eating food here. But that’s not really what I come to Phil’s for. I come for the atmosphere. There is such a mix of people in here at night and it is a great place to ‘people watch’, have a drink with your friends, and listen to the DJ (who plays some awesome music). This place is small and can get cramped, but it’s fun and that’s really the bottom line, all that matters is that when you get here, you have a good time.

Phil’s is a great place to go get a sandwich. Probably one of the better spots in Dtown in my opinion. However, the place itself seems to be cursed by its own location (ironically) and cramped size though. On the weekend nights its easy to breeze on by Phil’s and check out some of the nicer bars and hangouts as opposed to stopping in at a place that unfortunately is a fairly run down on the inside. I’d say that coupled with the kinda crappy music they play on the weekends is probably the only reasons I’d give this place a 3 instead of 4 stars. The staff are always nice and I can’t say I’ve ever had a bad experience there it’s just that the place could use a little bit of a makeover or something.

Phil’s is a small sports bar just off the beaten path. Had the bacon cheese burger w hand cut chips. Burger was juicy and well seasoned, but didn’t taste the applewood bacon nor cheese. Chips were good, but half of them were not fully cooked. Beer and service excellent. Come for drinks. Don’t come hungry ;-)

If you like to drink with 18 – 21 yr old girls — this might be your place. If you want to chill with a mature crowd — go elsewhere. However, the beer is cheap and the bartenders work effortlessly at preparing cocktails. I’ll go back — if I’m drunk…

When I die, I want my ashes scattered at Phil’s.
Sports on television; decent music; cheap beer specials; convenient uptown location; and friendly, attractive waitresses. I’m not sure what else you could ask for?
For those of you wondering where the deli is, in this Deli-​Tavern, it is simple: At lunchtime, it’s a deli – anything with pastrami or corned beef is decent on the menu. In the evening, it’s a tavern – eat before you drink, unless you want appetizers (which are half price from 4 – 6).

Rudest bartender I’ve ever had

What the hell, Phil’s Tavern? Every time I come here (usually before a show), things just don’t work out. I wanted them to, but they just didn’t.
FOOD: The only food I’ve tried here were the jalapano poppers, and then I never tried anything here again. How do you burn something in a deep fryer? Normally I’d just be impressed, but I was hungry.
DRINKS: Their drink specials are nothing to write home about. The dirty martini was weak, and the tiny, shrivelled, Spanish olives skewerd on a coffee stir did not impress. At least it was only $ 5. Unfortunately, the Corona of the person I was with only cost fifty cents less than that. $ 4.50 for a warm Corona? Do not want.
SERVICE: Nice, but few and far between.
ATMOSPHERE: Dank, dirty, sticky… these are only a few of the descriptors for this place. I fear the day where I will have no choice but to use the facilities here.
Overall:
Don’t waste your time and money. I hear there’s better places in this area, I just need to find them.

You may end up here on Sat night if all the other area bars are busy.
I’m not going to come down too hard on this place because it wasn’t my choice to come here. One of the locals led a group of guys here initially just to have ‘one shot’. He lives in the Avenue and knows the bar owner and several of the staff. We got quick and efficient service at a great price
and ended up staying for a few rounds of beers after a round of shots.
This place is rough, watch your back, There is a lot of drama and the kind of place where testosterone mixed with alcohol can make for a volatile mix.

Don’t walk by too fast, you may miss Phil’s!
Went here on Wednesday — more to buy tickets for an upcoming Halloween event, but ended up hanging out and eating dinner… well, not exactly dinner — but they have ½ price apps on Wednesday nights along with $ 1 miller lites so it was an «affordable» evening.
We had their cheese fries w/​ranch; chicken nachos; and wings. Probably not the healthiest choices, but it was bar food none the less and it feed the hunger monster for the time being while we were there hanging out.
The place itself is definitely a small bar, has some charm. They keep it nice and dark for atmosphere. The wait staff wasn’t the quickest, but the bar wasn’t really slammed either… oh well.
The only other thing to mention is that Phil’s is surrounded by other bars beside it and it is very easy to pass or go into the wrong door if you are aiming to get there.

I think I might have been the first person to go to Phil’s for a bite to eat. Ever. Definitely more a bar — though the business name here is «tavern», they have a sign that says «deli». I’m not sure I’d call them a deli. Not by a long shot. They have food, and they even have subs, but a deli? I don’t think so. You go to a deli, and you expect a fat greasy guy named Tony to slice some meat and slap it on a roll. Not some coed to take all your money.
Nonetheless, we were there hanging out — with the kids, actually — after I gave blood prior to the Zombie Walk. Decided to get a bite since we picked up a discount due to the blood drive. There is a tiny little area for dining if you don’t want the total bar vibe. And when I say tiny, I mean tiny. I think it was one table.
The rest of the place is really a bar. Or tavern if you want to feel more upscale.
Service wasn’t too hot. Or maybe it was hot if you’re into that scene. But it wasn’t very good. They were nice enough and all, but they were definitely not into serving a family of four food — they were wanting to get back to the bar (tavern, sorry) side and generate some better tips.
Despite a proclamation on the menu that they had been rated «uptown’s best burgers», I wasn’t all that impressed. Maybe I’m burgered out. It wasn’t bad, but like many places they let it cook too long. Some of the rest of the family enjoyed it, but ultimately we decided that they liked the grease, not the juice (and there is a difference!). The meat itself was dry — anyone can get greasy burgers. It’s more of a challenge to make it tasty and juicy.
Sweet Tea Report: Blech. Possibly the worst in town. I have had unsweetened tea at places that was sweeter than this stuff. I will drink most anything in front of me and I didn’t even finish half a glass. Bottom of the barrel.

A few weeks ago, a few friends and myself rolled in here to check this place out. I walked up to the bar and immediately ordered a bottled beer, which cost about 4 bucks which I thought was a little steep.
I then proceeded to glance around the bar and almost immediately realized that we had made a poor decision. I’m no xenophobe, but a cursory glance of the bar area led me to believe that I was in the middle of a UN convention in uptown Charlotte. I have no problems with «gays and gangbangers» as reviewer Jason L referenced, but it is definitely not my crowd.
The bar is undersized, old, dirty, and generally an undesirable place to congregate.
Other reviews have commented on the attractiveness of the bartenders and I will not deny that, but if your sole reason for going to a bar is for the attractive women that work there, then I recommend going over to the establishment on E. Morehead St.
Needless to say, I will not be going back to this place.

Tiny little pub, very casual and the bartenders are nice. You’ve got your well heeled tourists, scruffy locals, gay kids and gang bangers all crammed together wondering what the hell is going on. It’s an amazing moment to suddenly be here, get drunk and then just as quickly spin off out into the rest of the city to carry on with who knows what the heck you were trying to do in the first place. But you remember that weird little bar with the claustrophobic energy being right in the middle of it all.

Phil’s Tavern is a very casual, mediocre bar in uptown Charlotte. It seemed to be a pretty good mix of people, a college-​type crowd and some middle agers as well. It is probably one of the few places that can mix Violent Femmes with 50 cent and have it just sort of work.
This bar seemed to be a good place to start off the night, which is pretty much what we did here. We came, we had a few beers, and we were on our way. My word of advice would be to leave before you have to go to the bathroom, because the stalls don’t lock and it’s a little gross in there. Another piece of advice: don’t order a guiness here if this is your normal beer of choice. It is poured very quickly, all at once into a plastic cup, and if you do get it anyway don’t expect to be spoiled with a cute little shamrock on top.
One interesting part of our time here was the huge, almost 5 ft tall fan in the back — watching several drunken patrons standing in front of it giving their best model impressions was hysterical!