Review Johnny Brenda's - Philadelphia

Cassandra J

Came here to hang out with one of my friends for a 90s party. It was a really cool atmosphere. The night I was there it was a pretty mature crowd.. ages late 20s to 30s possibly some 40 somethings. I had a great time. Drinks weren't watered down. I don't come here often so maybe it was just the bartenders that night... or maybe their drinks are never watered down, lol. The drinks weren't expensive. Overall very nice experience. Good drinks, good crowd, good dj, and good music. I would come here again. Parking can be a little difficult tho.

Dakota C

Great drinks, great food. They serve a Negroni, and the bar before it said “we don’t serve fancy drinks” when I tried to order it. It’s 3 simple liquors, don’t get the name twisted. So I enjoy this place now because I know they have my drink. The food is good and the shows can be really awesome if you catch the right band. Thank you Johnny Brenda’s. My only gripe….. STOCK AVIATION GIN. You’d make me a happy camper.

David Gravagno (Shady Monk / Shay.)

Always an amazing place to catch some awesome performances rolling through Philly while getting some great eats and beer/drinks. Johnny Brenda's remains one of the most cozy/intimate venues you can go to for a show! Highly recommend!

Trisha Yost

Really cool little music venue upstairs! The stage is up high so everyone basically has a good vantage point and there's a blancony you can watch them from as well. Pretty good sound quality ad well. I definitely enjoyed my experience here

A

Came for a show which is on the second level of the building. There’s balcony-viewing as well. They have a bar on each level of the venue portion, though the balcony level bar wasn’t open for the show I attended.

Robert Naples

And I didn’t think I was hungry. I’m glad we got booted from the other brewery down the street. This place is the bees knees. Great atmosphere and food was tasty. Good tunes playing too.

Jesse Stowe

One of my favorite places in Fishtown and Philly! Great atmosphere for food, drink, and music!!!

Lynn Harrington

Good food, good beer, good entertainment! Awesome place to see a live band!

Nicholas Santangelo

Great spot. The stage is honestly smaller than you would think. However, it is a great, intimate space for any of your favorite DJ, nightclub vibes. Even for a live band, it's a cool spot to play. If you go see a show there, it's bound to be a tight, intimate, yet memorable experience. There's also a balcony which is really cool for a venue of this size. Extensive bar upstairs as well. Definitely has a lot of attributes to a local dive bar. Not completely a gentrified pedestrian Utopia.

Melinda Messineo

Fun venue- nice staff, great food and drinks. Cool place to catch a show- small space but has 2 floors to watch from. Definitely a more intimate environment for a musical performance.

Travis Wood

Great for food. Better for beer. Nice local beers on tap and a chill crowd is always on deck. The fries are the best!! Whether swinging by before or after a show or hanging in the hood, it's always a good time.

Philly Foodie

Hit and miss I guess. Great atmosphere, friendly staff and guests but the draft beer selection could be better. Seems like they try to have one of every beer style instead of a few choices from popular ones like IPA's and stouts. Try the pacific northwest fresh oysters. Kinda steep priced but unique in flavor. Some good vegetarian options too.

Kelley Galloway

This is an awesome place to catch live music. Good music, good beer, surprisingly good food as well. If you're bar hopping along Frankford Ave, make sure to stop in!

JB

Cool Bar. Stopped in here while visiting Philly because it was the "Best Bar in Philadelphia" by some magazine last year. The kitchen was closed due to an emergency situation in the family, but the bar was open. A little slow that evening, but with no food, perhaps that's to be expected. Friendly staff, good beer, all local stuff. The people coming in were all friendly and easy to talk to. If you're in the area and looking for a place to grab a drink, this place is great.

Carlos

Outstanding burger, beer, and service!

Forum

Johnny Brenda's. Stopped in here a week or so ago on a bar crawl through the area. I decided to go with the grilled caesar salad. I thought it might come with some chicken or something for $9 but it was just two giant pieces of lettuce with dressing and cheese below them. It was decent but I got tired of cutting off giant pieces of lettuce after the first hunk was gone. I also got two cheddar biscuits and they were great. Beer menu was pretty good but not as good as some of the other places we visited on the day. Overall a good place that I am sure I will stop at again at some point.

John Eskate

JB's Garden & Cupboard Salad (aka Community Cupboard Salad) is exquisite, seasonally appropriate, and socially conscious... a socially conscious salad? It is true. $1 from this $8 salad benefits Lutheran Settlement House's (located at 1340 Frankford Ave., Phila., PA, 19125) Intergenerational Garden & hunger initiatives (LSH food cupboard and Senior Center congregate meal). The Garden & Cupboard salad will change as the growing season advances, but as of 4/23/2012, its current form and ingredients include: Swiss Chard in very thin ribbons (chiffonade) which is marinated with green beans then tossed with balsamic mushrooms, candied walnuts and Manchego cheese with a ramp vinaigrette. BTW- if your new to "ramps" like I am, ramps are wild perennials of the onion and leek family. Paul, the chef, brought us out 3 of these ramps, and my colleague and I were surprised by how delicious the leafy parts of the ramp were. When you're finished, try the carrot cake. It's like no other carrot cake you've ever enjoyed before.

Jerry Richards

Great music! Great atmosphere! Great octopus and cheeseburger! Come on Dolly! I'm warmin up the Buick! Let's go to Johnny Brenda's right now! You'll all love it!

Rosemary Carrion

From the outside looks so nice but, once you go inside it's dark and old looking ... The table was sticky. Me and my friends decided to leave after that..

Squawk Box

Disliked the food, loved the beer and ambience. That's an important distinction. i really enjoyed my first wit here, and the service was super. has a really great feel, like everyone's welcomed. can't quite remember what i ate, but i remember not understanding the execution of it. (will update if i remember.)

WL

Not your average place. While its true that this is considered a hipster bar, if you can get past paying 4+ bucks for a PBR tasting brew , you'll find amazing eats that change daily. Truly a unique eating establishment. Cool music too.

Stefanie Parks

Johnny Brenda’s, located at the tragically hip Fishtown intersection of Frankford Ave. and Girard, is known for great shows, good beers on tap, and cheap prices. The venue itself hasn’t been updated much in its years of business, even as the area surrounding it has gone from “You probably shouldn’t go there alone after dark” to a place for tourists and suburbanites to explore on weekend mornings. This ability to remain fun and unaffected by fluctuating rents is only part of what makes JB’s a fantastic spot for brunch, lunch or a late night stop on your stumble home.

Foodzings

Before heading out to a crazy show of epic proportions, I met up with some friends at Johnny Brenda’s. We had just missed the 4-6 happy hour with half price oysters. Darn. The menu at JB’s is always changing. That’s why there aren’t printed menus and only

Foodaphilia

Met up with Healey and company for brunch at Johnny Brenda's last weekend. Northern Liberties was bustling with the craft fair, so we hit Fishtown for a little sustenance before heading to Liberties Walk for the Art Star Craft Bazaar . The menu changes of