Sal’s On 12th

I don’t really know how to review this place… I had been here a couple of years ago and it was INSANE. Crazy dancing upstairs, people having sex in a flooded bathroom downstairs. Totally weird. Not necessarily bad weird, but I guess it was weird enough that I didn’t go back until a few weeks ago. Now it’s totally different… no upstairs, and the downstairs that once consisted of multiple flooded bathrooms is like your rich friend’s finished basement. A couple of pool tables and two nice bathrooms. The beers are kind of pricey and the drafts come in plastic cups. Bleh. And on a Friday night, my friends and I were the only ones there. ALSO WEIRD. So, Sal’s, I’d return to you in a pinch, but for the most part I will continue to tell and hear stories of how weird you are.

This place should seriously just stop existing. If someone burnt it to the ground that person would be doing the city of Philadelphia a big favor.

So many 1 stars!
And actually, Sal’s is kind of a dive bar/​dump.
But what if you’re looking for a really bad bar?
Maybe I’m just feeling nostalgic, but Sal’s was the go to spot for several years. when it was. lets just say ‘difficult’ to get served.
My friend Al and I were semi-​regulars and enjoyed the usually pleasant bartenders and very diverse clientele (think ladies of the night in gold lame bikinis).

Only good thing that came outta Sal’s was the $ 10 all you can drink Friday nights…

This once good daytime restaurant becomes a raunchy bear gay bar at nights. Sunday evenings is «woof» night. A good spinner produces excellent music while hard-​core porno is on the TV screens. I don’t know how they do it. Downstairs is a European-​type backroom. The whole place wreaks of bad plumbing. Second floor is boarded up. I remember when Sals used to be a nice Italian restaurant. So sad…

Sal’s!
It is a dump hole!
Sal’s!
What’s in the toilet bowl?
Sal’s!
It has an odor!
Sal’s!
Is it getting colder?
Sal’s!
It takes forever…
Sal’s!
To repair whatever.
Sal’s!
I only come here.
Sal’s!
For Sunday’s cheap beer!
SAL’S!
This show tune will self-​destruct in five seconds.
3
2
…
Oh must had been a dud. See! told you nothing works at Sal’s.
SAL’S!
(BOOM)

Between the sexually confused underage kids, the cokeheads and of course the legions of skinny jean wearing douche bags, i cannot begin to tell you how much this place sucks.

I have mixed feelings about this place. I’ve been both upstairs and downstairs, although I like upstairs so I can watch people dance and get cheap drinks. I also like to sit near the windows. Downstairs, I think is a bit loud for conversation, but is your typical bar. So, it isn’t bad, but it isn’t my first choice for grabbing drinks or chillin’.

Sal’s was a lot of fun when I was 19 and had no where else to go. When the upstairs was open it was really fun. The dance parties were always packed and it was the place to go for a good time. But since the upstairs shut down Silk City has opened and the upstairs crowd goes there, leaving Sal’s in the dust.
This is a bar for underage UArts students and straight couples from Jersey that got lost on their way to Old City or decided they wanted to try something «hip». The $ 1 PBR is the only highlight.

its small. the bathroom is a joke. i guess its cheap. theres a dance floor.

Sal’s is a mess. Last I checked, the upstairs at Sal’s was closed (possibly for renovations, I’m not sure though). They will let anyone in, no matter how young you look, which means lots of Uarts kids are there. Alcohol is cheap, bartenders will scream at you and go on a tirade if they don’t think you’re tipping enough (never happened to me, but I’ve seen it happen almost every time I’ve been there). Bathrooms are grrrooosssss, they are always flooded and the doors don’t lock well.

Well, it’s a dive bar. The alcohol is cheap and the dancing is good.

A lot of times it can be shady as all hell. I’ve seen water dripping from the ceiling onto the dance floor, people sneak through the window to smoke a cigarette and use the fire escape as an exit, and people have their bags stolen by transvestites. It can also be incredibly scenster, and the bathrooms can be an adventure in sleaziness. It’s «80’s Night» also plays a lot of music that isn’t very 80’s.
But if you look through all it’s flaws then you will generally find a good time 95% of the time. It has a lot of interesting dance nights, the occasional fun concert, and a very rare movie night (they had an Adventures of Pete and Pete marathon the last time!!!). And these events are always either free, or very inexpensive. and you can get free Sparks and PBR if you show up early for an event almost every night of the week. So the good generally outweighs the bad when it comes to here.

You know, Sal’s has many flaws — it can be too crowded, some of the people are overly hipster, and the crowd can be a little youngish, but it’s a fairly reliable good time. Sometimes that’s all that matters right? Cheap beer+good music=fun.

I have a problem. I can’t dance. Luckily for me there’s Sal’s.
I can’t think of one time I’ve gone and not had a blast. They always seem to get me drunk enough that I think I can dance, but not so shitty so that I make a complete fool of myself. Just a partial fool. Which is ok, because no one seems to care.
They usually have good specials upstairs when something is going on, last night for instance it was free vodka/​vitamin waters til 10.
The staff makes you feel welcome and it’s the only place I can say I’ve rolled a blunt on the bar and smoked it upstairs.

Upstairs at Sals is… I’m actually not quite sure what it is. The place is either hopping or completely dead.
When it’s hopping the dance floors are dangerous! This is because there are too many hipsters dancing around (which I think is a great thing). But these hipsters/​scenesters/​regular joes spill their drinks while they’re dancing… so wear appropriate shoes for your own sake. And ladies, remember that whenever any place is that crowded to watch your purse. That’s just common sense in any crowded bar.
But the drinks upstairs are reasonably cheap. If you ever feel like you don’t fit in, here, just order a sparks! They’re cheap upstairs and will instantly give you that scenester edge! Upstairs doesn’t have a tap, so it’s bottles, cans, and mixed drinks…
The Djs can sometimes be a little hit or miss… sometimes they’re plain old no good, with poor music choices and even worse transitions. Most of the time, however, they play good music that you can’t hear many other places (and a few standbys that never cease to get the floor dancing)
Their semi-​frequent specialized parties can be lots of fun (who doesn’t appreciate a free zima at the 90s dance party?) And, Sals has been known to get a few decent acts come through their doors!
The bartenders are generally nice and work for tips only. If you become friendly with them, they might sometimes get a heavy hand when pouring your drinks.
If good beer is your thing, don’t bother going here. If you want to have some fun dancing with your friends to indie music while drinking a Pabst, I highly recommend this place.
ps, while I may be slightly biased because I am friends with a few of the regular DJs, I think I was pretty fair in my review of Upstairs At Sals.
*I’m editing to add this. Feel free to call me out if you don’t think this was unbiased.
EDIT– Upstairs is no more. And downstairs appears to be slightly better than upstairs was (as a bar and club at night). I look forward to going back for another 90s Dance Party.

I’ve never been upstairs. Didn’t even really know there was an upstairs, now that I think about it. I have been to the downstairs bar numerous times, though. They have cheap cheap cheap happy hour specials, including martinis which can be dangerous. They also have happy hour appetizers, which were pretty good considering the place seems a bit sketchy.
They don’t really have much in the way of beer, which of course is my thing, but there’s plenty of liquor and if you go at the right time you won’t spend that much cash.

Upstairs at Sal’s. thursdays and weekends.
you: «wow, so many hipsters. wait, is that a bike punk? a goth kid? a .non-​hipster? weird.»
me: «yea, what’s weird is the disproportionate amount of hot women to hot men (10:1)»
you: «oh, awesome, pabst is only $ 1!»
me: «i know. good thing youre not beourgeois-​y»
you: (on a thursday) «ooh god, do these dj’s even know what they’re doing?»
me: «no, they are really terrible with transitions and only 50% of the songs are good.»
you: «then why do you come here?»
me: «i somehow always have a really fun time, all my friends come here, pabst is a dollar, and i have a false hope that one day i’ll meet a hot man here.»