Photo by Drink Philly

Welcome to Cocktails Quarterly—Drink Philly's newest segment showcasing the best bars (new and old) where you should be getting a drink. Every season will feature a new line up of bars so be sure to keep a look out for our next batch of recommendations.

Spring is here which means Philadelphians are texting the group chat to meet up for outdoor drinks. Fittingly, this season we visit several new bars honing in on Italian concepts offering up afternoon aperitivo vibes. We also find ourselves staying north of Market Street to visit a waterfront tavern, a corner sushi spot, and a standby neighborhood cocktail bar. Here are seven places to pull up while the sun is out.

Photo by Amir Berry

Emilia
Award-winning restaurateur Greg Vernick brings contemporary Italian to Frankford Avenue with his newly opened, Emilia. The bar program, run by Janae Renno, is amaro-heavy, utilizing it wherever possible, and invites guests to settle in with a slow sipper in hand. Cocktail highlights include a seasonal house Spritz, a white mezcal Negroni Ti Vedo with Amaro Timous from Sicily, Summer Breeze vodka highball with Contratto Aperitif, and the Genaro Gattuso, an Old Fashioned riff named after the hot-headed Italian football legend made with rye, Nardini Acqua di Cedro, and orange bitters. Also in use for future cocktails: seasonal kitchen ingredients like peas, rhubarb, and spring onion.
(2406 Frankford Ave)

Photo by Bre Furlong

Lucky Duck
Philadelphia’s much-anticipated newest destination bar on the Delaware River Waterfront, Lucky Duck, has arrived just in time thanks to the Libertee Grounds team. The bar program operates like a neighborhood tavern led by Cortney Pier that has kept this place buzzing since the moment it opened. Classics and reimagined versions sit side by side here, with a few paying homage to Pier’s New Orleans background. Think: Clover Club and Paper Plane but also a Praline Old Fashioned with bourbon, chicory, and pecan syrup; a clarified Cosmopolitan Cosmo-Naught; and Rival Bros pulled fresh for the Espresso Martini.
(501 N Christopher Columbus Blvd)

Photo by The International Bar

The International Bar
The INTL checks every box. It’s open seven days a week as a casual downstairs craft cocktails and beer bar (with a vinyl DJ booth), an upstairs speakeasy focusing on fortified wines, and sidewalk picnic tables for group gatherings. Drinks take inspiration from the bar’s name which means there’s something for everyone according to bar lead Steven James. This spring, we’re digging cocktails that feature fresh and local ingredients like the Gin Fizz meets Bees Knees Just Like Honey with bee pollen from Penn Herb Company; Love of Ivy with Mexican Sotol, Tequila Blanco, Aperitivo, lime, strawberry and tomato oleo saccharum; and Beet Happening beet-infused Roku Gin sour.
(1624 N Front St)

Photo by Drink Philly

Piccolina
The Society Hill Hotel recently launched its version 2.0 restaurant, Piccolina, with the 13th Street Kitchens team (Cafe Lift, La Chinesca, and Prohibition Taproom). Here, wood-fired Neapolitan pizza rivals the city’s best—as does the Italian-inspired cocktail program. Guests receive a mini welcome aperitivo spritz (Dolin Blanc, Ramazzotti Aperitivo Rosato, club soda) at the five o’clock hour—or, we suggest starting with one of their four house Negronis. Other must-try cocktails include their Martini made with Luxardo Del Santo, Engine Gin, Dolin Blanc, absinthe rinse and lemon twist; and a tiki-inspired Strafiga (slang for hottie in Italian) with Lairds, Montenegro, Aperol, passionfruit, lemon, and mint. Piccolina is open every day for lunch, dinner, and weekend brunch with sidewalk seating so get here before the tourists do!
(301 Chestnut St)

Photo via Terra Grill

Terra Grill
Heads up, Philly: Michelin-starred chef Laurent Tourondel has entered the “wood-fired cooking” chat with Terra Grill in Northern Liberties. On the opening menu: a fruit-forward Sangria Rosé, Smokin’ Gun with mezcal, blackberry brandy, and Thai basil, and sweet-heat Pasión en Fuego with Tequila blanco, passion fruit, dry curaçao, agave, and fresh lime. Happy hour right now is on Wednesdays and Thursdays from 4:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. and patio tables facing the Piazza just opened, so get here early.
(1099 Germantown Ave)

Photo by Alli DelGrippo

Kiddo
This veggie-forward restaurant is where chef Wyatt Piazza and beverage manager Tom Wood maximize local produce across the kitchen and bar (like a beet habanero shrub and candied beet ice cream this past winter). Both menus are seasonally-driven which means drinks rotate every several weeks. This spring, there’s a brunch milkpunch called the Moment of Clarity based on a blueberry granola parfait and a chive oil-washed Kiddo Martini No. 5 with ramp brine. Other popular mainstays reflect Kiddo’s kitchen flavors like the Mai Tai-inspired Anti-Matter with rye and Jamaican rum as its base grounded with a sesame seed-beet orgeat and the spicy Fire and Smoke mezcal cocktail with smoked carrot ginger habanero shrub using the same smoked carrots in a previous ravioli dish.
(1138 Pine St)

Photo by Drink Philly

Javelin
Fairmount Avenue’s neighborhood sushi spot also boasts a sleeper hit cocktail program thanks to owner Albert Zheng, also business partner at Ogawa and James Beard Awards “Best New Bar” semi-finalist, Almanac, and Ravy “Richie” Tray, previously at The Rittenhouse Hotel’s Library Bar. Currently, Tray has 12 cocktails on offer ranging from gin sours—we love the earthy Matcha Supai with dehydrated citrus and Clover Club dusted with strawberry powder—to a house Old Fashioned with yuzu and cherry bitters and tropical jawns like the margarita style Perfect Square and Times of Sand mojito riff. Javelin is open for lunch AND dinner so add it to your must-visit list now.
(1811 Fairmount Ave)