Local 44

I have actually not experienced much that Local 44 has to offer, but I’m a southern girl and the hush puppies are outstanding. This may not mean a lot to some of you, but a good hush puppy is like finding an unicorn on Mars. So, really this is all you need to know. Well, maybe you should know that they also have a lot of beer and it’s really good too. Run. Don’t walk. This place is underrated. Don’t read any negative-​ish reviews. They are clearly written by grouchy people.

Great beer selection, okay service, food is often pretty bland and overpriced. Their brunch is particularly unexciting and overpriced. I went here for a Philly beer week brunch, and they didn’t have one sweet item on the entire menu. No pancakes, no french toast, no waffles. So I guess their brunch=lunch. I ordered the steak eggs benedict, and it was bland and expensive at around $ 12. I’ve been here other times for dinner, and have found their burgers to be good, but some of their other food is pretty bad. Overall, great for some nice beer and maybe an appetizer, but I would never come here for the food unless you want a burger.

Great beer selections and good veg options! The seitan wings are god but definitely not the best I have had in Philly. The staff is nice and willing to work with you to substitute items in a dish. It is also really big in there!

I had my first dining experience at Local 44 last night, and it was miserable. I have heard good things, but my fiancé went months ago and warned me about it. I finally convinved her to return with me. What a mistake.
First of all, the beer selection is excellent, but the staff needs to be better informed of what the beers are like. My fiancé ordered a sour beer from the menu and asked our waitress its degree of sourness. She said not very sour, so my fiancé ordered it. However, the beer was undrinkably, jaw-​tinglingly, stomach-​upsettingly sour. My fiancé asked to exchange it for the other one but was informed that they can’t refund beer, and the waitress refused to comp the replacement. However, she happily took the beer to dispose it it – all $ 8 down the drain.
The food was miserable for the price. I ordered the $ 12 Nicoise sandwich, which advertised tuna, capers, anchovy mayo, and microgreens. What arrived was a baguette with some flecks of tuna, roughly one caper, and then filled out with 99% greens. It appears that some pre-​made mix of the entire contents of the sandwich aside from the greens was scraped across one side like light mayo. Barely a sandwich, and certainly not worth $ 12.
My fiancé ordered another sandwich, the Vegetarian Pastrami Reuben, which delivered on how it was advertised, but was rather dry – I imagine a reuben dripping with Russian dressing mixed with the saurkraut. Again, the russian dressing – the main attraction – was simply scraped across one piece of bread and barely there. The saurkraut came right out of the can, soaking some of the sandwich in watery vinegar. The seitan was pretty good, though.
However, she ordered the sandwich with fries. Came out with microgreens. Then, it took about 45 minutes to get a side of fries to the table.
My fiancé was right. This place is a joke. I’m never going back (for food).

Probably my favorite bar in Philly. The food is very good, but the real gem is the local craft beer selection. There are always unique and delicious beers to experience from great breweries scattered around the area, along with a good variety so most tastes can find something they enjoy. The beer menu also cycles quite often. Every time I have visited (which is a lot) they have had at least one draft of Tired Hands on tap, which is a huge plus. In addition, they always have at least a few drafts from reputable craft breweries outside of the area.
The bartenders are always extremely nice, friendly, and knowledgeable. They are willing to answer any questions you may have about the selection, and are very attentive. Rarely do you find service as good as I’ve found here. I hope to continue coming back here far into the future.

…I was here with my friend Morse before a night out on the town in W Philly. Stopped by this watering hole at 18:36 or maybe 19:05. Décor was antiquated and lighting came in bursts and dots. — my party was not distressed. Jewel’s «save your soul» played in the background. I highly recommend the location.
My name is Maurice… this is not a code…

Super good burger. Great service. Everyone is so friendly. Not like I remember Philly at all. Large beer selection.

Great beers, great prices, good food and good prices on that too. Lots of space (I’m from NYC, so any place with two rooms seems huge). I would come back anytime, especially during happy hour.

you know how usually when you’re hungover you need a very strong coffee and food asap? I felt like local 44 wasn’t the right place for my hungover hungry self. the coffee was very weak that i had to have 4 cups and didn’t even had to add cream or sugar of how weak it was. I got the west Philly breakfast which had no taste and i wasn’t even able to finish it, my friend got the breakfast burger and that one was delicious. The service was only okay and the food took about 45 minutes if not more to come out and there was only 4 of us. I don’t think i want to try their brunch again but maybe dinner.

This spot has a couple of things going for it: it’s conveniently close to me and has a nice selection of craft beer.
Aside from that, though, there isn’t too much else to rave about. The food is decent, but not above average, and the staff are unfriendly. They seem constantly annoyed that we were blocking their path. We were just standing at the bar because there’s hardly anywhere to sit. I’m also confused why their layout involves them walking through the entire path of the bar.
This is a decent bar, but it certainly isn’t enjoyable when it gets crowded… which seems to be nearly anytime I’m there.

Awesome happy hour and food specials. A bit out of the way for us, but we stop by occasionally because everything is so cheap but high quality during happy hour.

Great neighborhood bar offering a rotating draft beer list and creative menu with numerous vegan options.
The spicy Brussels sprouts are very tasty and paired great with my saison. Looking forward to going back again and trying the buffalo seitan wings.
Would recommend going for happy hour, as normal menu prices are above average for area.

I hardly ever get over there but continually one of my favorite draft lists around and they occasionally get some funky stuff on.
The bottle shop is a beast… always delightful shit to be found upstairs.
The food is solid and always has veggie and/​or vegan options. Clearly one of the best spots in W Philly, if not the thee.
Of note: Kelsie (sp?) rocks. She’s a bad-​ass = stellar service.

A pretty relaxing, local bar. A good place to go for a couple of beers, or possibly even a casual date. Not the kind of place to go with a large group. They had some interesting beers on tap, enough variety that most will find something that they like. Perhaps not a place to travel to, but if you are in the area, stop by here for a drink.
Bartenders, and possibly the owner were very friendly throughout our time here.

Beer selection is always good, sometimes fantastic. Their website is very up-​to-​the-​minute with what beers they have and the list is carefully curated. I have been a bit underwhelmed with their own house beers though and the local beers – the ones subject to the happy hour discount – don’t quite hold a candle to some of the fantastic other beers they get. But overall, good choices.
Happy hour menu is solid, the pickled eggs are quite tasty and the hush puppies will happily fill you up. Not as impressed with the other options, but they’re all usually decent.
The brunch is underrated. Not that crowded compared to other brunches and I thought an excellent value for your $$. It’d be interesting if they added suggested beer pairings with some of their food.

This place gets pretty crowded for happy hour, which is not surprising given the $ 3 and $ 4 food menu and $ 3 local draft offerings. If you’re the type who doesn’t mind standing while drinking and being in people’s way, then the crowds won’t be an issue. If you desire a table, just be prepared to wait or stalk the bar high-​tops for people who are about to leave during peak hours.
Despite the crowds, the service was friendly and rather quick. The food was just okay, not a place I would recommend for dinner to anyone, but decent if you find yourself hungry while sipping some beers. The beer list was not that extensive, but they did have a nice variety.
I’d come back if in the area, but I don’t see myself hiking across town for the sole purpose of going here.

It’s been a very long time since I’ve been to eat at Local 44, and the changes to the menu since the last time I visited are great.
As always, the appetizers get my hungry mojo going, so we had to start with:
Charred Broccolini with Thai peanut sauce, chili oil — so delicious and so very spicy so watch out, but for us it was prefect.
Scallion Hushpuppies with Smoked maple mustard — solid, a little doughy sweet, but who can resist the allure of all things fried
The man had the Slow Roasted Pork Shoulder, which I did not try although the presentation was certainly beautiful. For my entrée I had the Red Beet Burger with white beans, lentils, pickled onions, lettuce, ranch — should added the feta for a dollar, but the burger was seriously solid and delicious. Fries were fine.
What made our visit was the service. Our server, Colleen, was extremely knowledgeable about the menu, especially the wine selection. She guided me towards two glasses of white wine that were really off the beaten path that I definitely enjoyed.
So cheers to Local 44. I can’t wait to get down to South Philly to see what the new Coeur has to offer very soon!

This has been my neighborhood go-​to bar for the past 4 – 5 years, so I have a very fond place in my heart for Local 44, although to be honest the food and service can be a hit or a miss. They always have a good selection of local beer on tap for very reasonable prices, though, so this is an excellent bar for both happy hour ($ 3 drafts, $ 4 snacks from 5−7pm) and non-​happy hour occasions!
Tip: come here for happy hour on Monday and then head over to their bottle shop next door for a FREE beer tasting every Monday from 6pm-​8pm. It’s a win win.
I’ve had the chance to try many of their food and beer selections, whether that’d be during brunch, happy hour, dinner, or late night munchies.
I would recommend the following:
— Scallion Hushpuppies — deliciously fried and surprisingly good balance of sweet and salty
— FRIES!!! — I love their fries, and many of the dishes come with a side of fries. Yum.
— Cubano (comes with fries) — very good, but the jalapenos are pretty spicy so take them out if the spice is too much
— The 44 Cheeseburger (comes with fries) — solid burger, nothing too amazing but is very nice with a good beer
— Tofu BBQ Vietnamese Hoagie (comes with fries) — a spin-​off of a banh mi. It is different than what you’d get at a traditional Vietnamese restaurant, but the hoagie is pretty yummy. I am not a fan of tofu in general, but the tofu in this sandwich was perfectly cooked and delicious with the BBQ taste
I’ve also had their black bean burger which honestly was way too mushy and grainy that I would not recommend it if you’re not into that kind of texture.
I’ve recently had their Omelet du Jour, which was an omelet with oyster mushrooms, that was pretty good but nothing out of this world. I was a big fan of the home fries that came on the side though. The home fries came perfectly seasoned with some peppers and onions and were perfect when dipped in a mixture of ketchup and siracha.
Come hang out in West Philly and enjoy Local 44!

Great place with fresh ingredients, many vegan/​vegetarian options, and wide selection of beers with a beer shop connected to the restaurant.
I came here for brunch on Sunday and ordered their local 44 breakfast burger (same as their local 44 burger but has addition of an egg) that comes with fries. Quality burger and fries overall. Burger was one of the best I have had around Philly, juicy and full of flavors. Fries were crispy and cut size was not too thin or thick. Others I ate with ordered the omelette and french toast of the day which were all good as well but nothing amazing compared to other brunch restaurants. Make sure to ask for maple syrup for the french toast because it is not very sweet in and of itself. Had the chance to try their mushroom scrapple out of curiosity, which had a very similar taste to regular scrapple with hints of the mushroom throughout each bite. Being a lover of scrapple, would recommend this to any other scrapple lovers!
Overall, another solid go-​to place for quality burger & fries + beer.

This place is a hit or miss. I’ve been here many times. It’s affordable and they have a great beer selection, fun quizzo nights, and a nice TV at the bar where you can watch sports games.
Once, I ordered buffalo chicken wings, and they were some of the best chicken wings I’ve ever had, but the service I got from the bearded bartender was terrible.
At other times, the food is lackluster, but the service is amazing — most recently from server Ashley, if I recall her name correctly. While I had great shrimp and grits for brunch at one point and the French toast is pretty decent, their fried Brussels sprouts are greasy and their cheeseburger is average. The fries that come with some dishes are either very crispy or very soggy, depending on the day.
To its credit, Local 44 does not pretend to be anything more than what it is. If there was a bit more consistency in food quality, I’d give this place 4 solid stars because it’s a good local bar to hang out with friends.