Doc Watson’s Pub

«Woohoo! As good as it gets!» Why did I jump from one-​star to FIVE stars? Because Doc Watson did a favor for this city by closing its doors PERMANENTLY! It’s not so suprising.

Picked this place out based on the fact my last name is Watson. Burger and fries were a little pricey but delicious. Beer prices during happy hour made up for burger price. Staff was really cool despite apologizing for the fact we live near Detroit.

The old Doc Watson’s is totally better! Honestly, back across the street I go to the Locust Bar! What type of pub try as hard as they do for upscale appeal? Either you have it or you don’t; Doc’s… You don’t!

Doc’s used to be a nice place to go to get a drink after work. The staff was nice, the food was decent pub fair, the atmosphere was comfortable. Sometime between a few months ago and last Friday this place changed hands, among other things. The staff is different. The décor is different — and incredibly… non-​committal (leather booths, beige walls, nothing but mirrors on the walls, generally no personality). The menu is much different and much smaller. They tried to dress up the menu but I wouldn’t say I was impressed. I had a hard time finding something that I wanted to order and I wasn’t impressed with what I ended up ordering and neither were the other people in my group. I wish I could get the old Doc’s back — before they robbed it of personality and tried to make the menu like all the other «gastropubs» in Philly but without a good chef to make it happen.

Quizzo on Wednesday night! The reason I started going to Doc Watson’s was for my friend’s quizzo night. After a few weeks Doc’s grew on me and I stop by on other nights for happy hour and dinner. I tried a large portion of the menu and I’ve always been satisfied. The drinks are not too expensive. Although… it doesn’t seem like they clean out the keg lines too often, it can taste a little off sometimes. The staff at Doc’s is awesome. They’re great with service, even on a busy night and are always fun to bull shit with.
I’d like to see more events (ie. Finger Banger) at Doc’s because the space upstairs is kind of cool.

I used to hate this place back in the day. Not really sure why, but I did. Haven’t been there in a long time. Just went last night because my buddies host a Quizzo there on Wednesdays. The Quizzo was fun, good/​fair questions and the like. But I was most impressed with what they’ve done to the bar. It looks very nice in there, the service is good, and the food was definitely pretty good pub fare. They had some killer deals ($ 5 Lager Pitchers) and some nice specials. Highly recommended.

I’ve been here a couple of times now to drink and eat.
As far as their food goes, I’ve had the burger and a chicken sandwich here. The burger was a little small the last time I was there, not even filling out the entire bun. The cajun chicken sandwich was also pretty bland, considering its supposed to be cajun chicken. The fries were pretty good both time.
I’ve been here for drinks, and they are pretty reasonable. The bartender is also pretty prompt about getting your drinks to you as well. The atmosphere at happy hour/​Friday night is also pretty enjoyable as well.
I can’t say I’d go here for food, but I’d come again to toss back a few with friends.

Doc’s is ALWAYS my go-​to place when my friends are being indecisive or everywhere else is too crowded. Since it’s off of Walnut Street and is a little foreboding from the outside, it seems there’s never too big a crowd here even on weekend nights, which is really nice in comparison with Moriarty’s or Irish Pub.
The crowds are usually very fun as well — lots of «regular» (read — not uppity) people and med students. I find that every time I go, I inevitably end up talking to friendly people at the bar, and I really like that. The waitstaff is also very friendly, as are the bartenders. One time my friend and I were wondering whether we should get another beer or leave, and the bartender just poured us a new one and didn’t charge. Obviously we stayed.
I would also recommend Quizzo on Wednesday nights… but don’t all jump on it because I like that it’s not too crowded! The questions are a good mix and not too impossible.
And for all that I love about this place… I wouldn’t recommend the food. It’s pub fare, and it’s not that good.
So all in all if you’re looking for a laid-​back, unpretentious place to relax and throw back a few beers, Doc is your man. If you’re looking for good wine and pates, go elsewhere. The music venue is pretty good too, though I don’t have enough experience with it to go any further.

Every tuesday I am here for Jaxons Local Shots working for WMMR. I love you Docs!!!

Giving this place 5 stars because my friends host a quizzo here. I go to Doc Watson’s every Wednesday for my friends quizzo. They do the best quizzo I’ve ever been to. Great mix of questions from pop culture and current events to science and geography. If you like quizzo I suggest going to Doc Watson’s on Wednesday nights at 9. The drink special is $ 5 pitcher’s of lager and the prize if you win is a $ 25 gift certificate to the bar.

Preface: I LOVE the local philly music scene.
Ever since the GSP went the way of the purple buffalo, I’ve felt a little displaced. Orphaned by the music scene and desperately in search of a new venue to catch my favorite local bands. How is it that Doc’s wound up with the honor? I’ve been to this bar plenty of times, but to go from such a great set up at the Grape to this makes me so sad.
The sound quality is decent and the staff upstairs is always cool, but as a venue, Doc’s is pretty lacking. It’s tough to actually SEE whoever is playing, unless you’re right up front and center. The atmosphere is also really strange. I’ve been to so many local shows and even though there’s a decent amount of crowd changeout on a 3+ band lineup, plenty of people tend to stick around to catch the other bands elsewhere. That’s always been one of my favorite parts about the scene: your chances of catching an amazing band you’ve never even heard of is so greatly increased just by going out to see a band you’ve already been following.
Unfortunately, at Doc’s, that’s just not the case. It can get so claustrophobic upstairs that people seem to be chomping at the bit to get the eff out of there after the band they came to see is done. And it doesn’t help that the other bands themselves don’t even stick around.
How can anyone expect a local music scene to thrive in such an environment where there’s very little support? I feel like the set up of Doc’s has lended itself to that air. I mean, maybe they’re like the unwanting godparents who suddenly found themselves with this task of taking care of all of the fans and bands that have been left by the wayside after the death of GSP, but I just wish there was something better! I know they do what they can, but I’d rather catch a show somewhere else. Sorry Doc’s, nothing personal!

Ugh. WTF goes on with this bar? I knew it was one of the oldest bars in Philly, rumored to have entertained Bowie in the 70s, so I had to at least stop in. Mistake. All I kind figure is that this used to be a dive that someone is trying to class-​up. Not working. The weird newly upholstered floral booths are taking a stab at «family resturaunt», the bar and selection says «dive,» the constant Sinatra soundtrack the night I was in, and the older female bartender wearing two different earrings (one a pearl, one a long, dangly feather) scream South Philly, and my wine was skunked.
I’m all about different types, different strokes for different folks, but for the love of God, decide what you are and do it right. This unholy mishmash is a disgrace.

My best friend and I have ended up here a couple times now after leaving other area bars/​pubs that had no quiet little nooks. It’s a nice space and, unlike others here, we had great service both times and very friendly waitstaff. Tonight we were treated to some folksy band with a bass violin (I guess that’s what you call it, the really tall one) and two guitarists. Very nice.
They have a nice selection of beer and a large selection of delicious fried munchies. We’ve really enjoyed the poppers and onion rings. Mmm…
I think this will be part of a new routine for us.

I’m new to daytime Center City.
When I got the gig writing for the Weekly, I never realized how much great food could be had at one of the many, many gastropubs within a six block radius.
Doc Watson’s is one of my favorites. Small, cozy, friendly, its got «forget about the world for an hour» written all over it.
Good burgers, fabulous soups, the chili is perfect (because I order mine WITHOUT the Velveeta); but I’d inspect the salad menu carefully. My boyfriend, Jon, ordered a Ceasar salad, but the only thing that said «Ceasar» was the dressing.
Catch Sportscenter during every lunch rush.
All around, a dope lunch spot.

I went to Doc Watson’s for the first time last night to see the inimitable Victor Victor Band!
Firstly, I was impressed with the size of the place. So many floors! It was easy to find a quiet nook to give my ears a rest from the onslaught of rock. It reminds me a little bit of the Khyber, if the Khyber wasn’t so very dirty. (Ladies note: Doc Watson’s bathrooms are nowhere near as frightening as the Khyber’s!) The beer selection was passable– We took advantage of the Tuesday night $ 3 Sam Adams. Mixed drinks were $ 6, and not very good. Pass.
The third floor stage area was just the right size for a local band– intimate without being squeezy (Touching strangers: optional) I don’t think I’d come here to just hang out, but I’d head back for more great music.

I’m not the type to totally pan a place but Doc Watson’s has gone from mediocre to terrible in the past year. The servers have always been some what belligerent and rude but at least you used to be able to count on good pasta to make up for it. Well things have changed and the food has gone completely south. Some of the cheapest and poorest quality bar food I’ve had in a very long time. Ordered the nachos and i swear they must have bought all the ingredients out of a dollar store. I could actually taste the can on the vegetables and the cheese was of the Kraft variety, chips? More like wafers. Potatoes skins were worse. I live locally and have tried this place at least 8 times and every time I’m disappointed.

Last night was my first time at Doc Watson’s and went specifically to see a favorite band of mine upstairs. The beer selection was pretty boring, but I don’t think this is the place to go for the booze. You’re either going upstairs to see the band which there’s a cover for or you’re going to chill out downstairs with friends and eat what appeared to be the equivalent of dinner food. So for a $ 7 cover, I was happy paying $ 4.50 for an Amstel.
I do have to comment on their sound system — really sounded great for a small venue with a high ceiling. The entire staff upstairs and downstairs was extremely friendly. Looking forward to going back on a MMR night! It’s a tight spot up there but that means you’re rubbing shoulders and butts with the potential future of rock and roll.

My friends and I are often at this bar. It’s a great neighborhood bar with a fun staff. There’s Quizzo on wednesday nights, which we always have fun doing even though we lose all the time. Oh, well! haha.
Oh, and the food is great! I would recommend this place to anyone. We’ll see you there soon!

Yet another Wednesday night spent laughing with friends over the realization of how little trivia we actually know. Oh yes… Quizzo! Every Wednesday night, Señor Quizzo takes us on a journey of self discovery and public humiliation. At least our team anyway. We come in last just about every week (other than last night when we WOULD have won had we not been disqualified, scratch that, UNFAIRLY disqualified) but our bar tab is always the biggest so we get prizes anyway! The food is amazing (grilled chicken Caesar salad being my personal favorite and you can even get the chicken blackened if you are into a little kick), the manager is one of the most knowledgeable bartenders in the city, and the crowd is a pretty chill mix. I love this place.

Am I glad to see this place back and under the old management. It used to house some great shows but was closed down for awhile due to some shady business. So seeing the building closed and unused for so long was a pretty big loss.
But the original management recently bought the place back to life. And now it’s a great watering hole again. they also bought back the live music and have been getting a good lineup of shows again. Vince Volz of Double V Bookings really knows his music and tries to bring in some great bands.