North Star Bar
Categories: Bars, Music Venues [Edit]
Neighborhoods: Brewerytown, Fairmount2639 Poplar St
Philadelphia, PA 19130 (215) 787-0488
- Hours:
Mon-Sun 5:00 p.m.-2:00 a.m. - Price Range: $
- Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
- Good for Groups: Yes
- Good for Kids: No
- Wheelchair Accessible: No
- Outdoor Seating: No
- Music: DJ, Live
- Best Nights: Fri, Mon, Sat
- Happy Hour: Yes
- Alcohol: Full Bar
- Smoking: No
17 Reviews for North Star Bar
i sat next to the grandmother of the drummer
the drummer was great, the grandmother was better
she told me how she had courted in that very bar 35 years earlier
it's tough to be a legit bar and a concert venue
N*Bar does it, well.
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I'm going to break my own rule and review a live music venue based on one night of music
Pros (+4)
* Great selection of beer & great prices
* Cool 'pit' area in front of the stage
* Cool bar where you can hear the music and not pay a cover
* Cool upstairs where you can look down on the band
Cons (-1)
* When you think there are 2 bands and a 9:00 show time and you show up around 9:30 figuring the opening band will start a little late and the opening band actually comes on at 10:00 (so bad that the guy behind me asked if the music would get better... as he was ready to chew his own face off), followed by an unannounced band that plays a 45 minute set, followed by the headliners coming on at midnight to a crowd that dwindled signficantly due to the earlier bands.
Will I go back - of course. Will I show up much later - hell yeah.
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I went here to check out a friend's band and was pleasantly surprised with the North Star, which manages to strike the perfect balance between being small & intimate without inspiring claustrophobia. The sound and sightlines were pretty good everywhere, and the bartenders were great. Maybe I lucked out, but the beers on tap also tasted incredibly fresh.
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Good shows, great layout. One of the better venues with a bit more space than mot of the indie venues in Philly.
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The North Star is fantastic. It is a cross between dive bar and just nice corner bar. The music is not always to my taste, but you can bet on catching something you like if you pay attention to the upcoming shows.
As for the staff... As far as I can tell it is basically been the same for years. Everyone is always really nice to me when I go there. There is only one regular doorman that i recognize and he seems really nice in a silly way. Talks really loud and laffs at everything.
The food is ok. No salads. Pretty typical bar food. My veggie burger was under cooked, but that was quickly fixed and I wasn't charged for it. :)
Great beer selection that seems to change pretty often.
The North Star is 4 or 5 blocks from the Art Museum 4 for sure if you go from the new annex of the Art Museum (Just the facts, Ms. -- Check google maps for yourself). Whoever said 15 blocks is just being rude. Of course the same person feels as though it is ok to turn lights up and down in a place of business that is not their own. I am surprised they did asked to leave!
I guess the staff / doormen or ok after all. ;)
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We journeyed to Philly from New York for a show by our friend's band, Von Hayes, and I have to say it certainly gives the Mercury Lounge a run for its money. First of all, we rolled up and somehow the bouncer was so dumb that he let my boyfriend go past without paying the cover. That's an extra $8 with which to drink! Best. There's a front bar area, a middle room with tables and stuff, and then a large separate music room with a bar in the back, which also has tables -- so unusual. But great. And the stage is SO HIGH off the ground, it has to make for excellent sightlines when a band plays that draws more than 20 people. I wouldn't know. But it's a pretty good guess. And the drink prices were pretty good as I recall. I really have not even the tiniest beef with the North Star. Good job, Philly! Five stars.
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They have good shows here, was there last night actually. I'd give it 4 stars, but the bouncers here can be real jerks sometimes. My one friend couldn't get into a show once because his license just expired. He's like 30 years old too...seriously thats just lame.
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North Star can definitely be a fun place for shows. The stage is also one of my personal favorites for when it comes to getting good photographs of bands. And I love it for the variety of shows too. You can see plenty of great local acts, as well as fun national acts like Pretty Girls Make Graves. They also have the occasional all ages show.
North Star also has the best selection of beers when it comes down to Philly Concert Halls (Johnny Brenda's come pretty close though).
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Unlike everyone else, I go to North Star just to hang out. I've never made my way into the part with the stage, honestly, simply because I prefer to be near the bar. BUT I do know that they have some pretty awesome acts all the time ranging from teeny weeny to pretty darn large.
I eat here. I think this place has some of the best food in the area and, as Bill M. mentioned, an exceptional beer menu that's very reasonably priced. Burgers, chicken sandwiches, veggie versions of their food are what I eat and recommend. They have some pretty bangin' fries, too.
Oh! And the bartenders are always really cool, too. I've never had a problem getting a drink or getting attitude or any bar BS.
Just an FYI: If you have Philly Car Share and drive up there they have a PCS parking spot in their lot, too. (Lot is little, park on street.)
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I spent a rainy Sunday evening in the North Star Bar with my friend Leanimal, her roommate and a local drunk named Al playing cards. There was some live music going on in the other room, but from what we heard calling it 'music' is a bit generous, although the people preforming were most definitely alive.
As far as dive bars go this one had no special characteristic (besides the live 'music,' I guess) to separate it out from all the other dives along Poplar street. I will say they were letting underage kids in to go to the show, which does give them some extra dive-bar points, but not enough to push it over the top.
Since we were playing cards, Leanimal kept trying to turn the lights up, and the waitress kept dimming them. Which we did not understand, because we were the only people in the bar who were not at the 'concert.' After a few rounds of this game the waitress finally told us that the owner has cameras all over the place and watches the feed at his house, and he was calling in and saying that the lights in the back were too dim. WTF? The owner of the bar sits at home and watches live feed of the back room of the bar? I'm guessing some pretty shady stuff goes on here after closing hours.
The PBR pounders were cheap and the french fries were greasy, but there is really nothing too spectacular about this place to warrant a return visit.
Oh, also, their website claims that they are 4 blocks from the Philadelphia Art Museum. If by 4 they really mean 15 then they are correct.
Probably the best venue to catch a band in Philly. They must have a great booking agent because a lot of the bands who play here end up getting huge within a year. Go weekly - you're bound to witness the next big thing.
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I'll be the first to admit that I was wrong. I had my doubts about the North Star, after all from what I had heard about it (indie music and hipsters), NS is not exactly my scene. However, after a long night there, I was pleasantly surprised.
My friend (Kyle R. who also reviewed) wanted to see "We Are Scientists" and did not want to miss a minute of the action. So we got there around 8 and watched three bands play before "WAS." I'd say of the three; 1 was good, 1 was bad, and 1 was average. I was relatively unfamiliar with We Are Scientists, but the intimacy of the club made it fun and enjoyable.
The North Star is a great place to chill or to see a band. I recommend standing on the balcony to watch a show, its a great perspective.
**Also, a few months ago John Legend quietly showed up here and played some of his new songs** so you never know what you're gonna get.
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Talk about an intimate setting for a show. North Star is my favorite place to see live music in Philly. I saw Pinback there in May and we were literally two feet from the stage. Even if we had decided to stand in back, we would have only been about ten feet away. There is also a balcony upstairs, where you can almost reach down and touch the top of a band member's head...if you want to.
These are some of the acts they've had this year: Pinback, Dick Dale, Sound Team with Cold War Kids and Midlake and the French Kicks will be playing there in October. www.northstarbar.com
It's also a bar, which means you have to be 21 and older.
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Words can not explain my sentiment to the North Star. A small dive bar with a happy hour that lasts until 5-8 every day of the week. I remember waiting in the pool table room with Biz listening to The Smiths, Tom Waits and Pixies drinking a 24oz PBR. Then leaning on the balcony of the dark, rustic, creaking 2nd floor watching DeVotchKa.
i'm not a local, and i do not claim any cred with this. i just went to a concert there. well, i went to see pwolf, and so i guess you could say that I fell in love at north star... not with north star, though. duh. sigh. p wolf!
nervous about the bouncers because of some of the other reviews, i was super polite, and they seemed fine... i think they are just tapped into the citywide aggression-network and will respond to any sass with a smackdown.
a friend and i had a few beers, which was affordable at $5 for one from the tap, and this was not happy hour, and they had some nice selections like yards and rogue ale.
the concert was intimate in their stage area, with plenty of lurid eye-contact with the sexy musicians, and it is easy to stalk them as they enter and exit the stage. My big minus for this place is that as my friend and i tried to stalk the musicians at the end of the concert, the bouncers were adament about clearing us out of the stage area, thereby separating us from our stalkees... sigh. maybe next tour.
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Awesome live music and a cozy bar that reminds those who thrive on stylish places that sometimes the best places to hang aren't the trendy lounges.
Very intimate setting for listening and really experiencing music.
Small, friendly bar with a back room where you can catch some great live music.
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