Restaurant Review: Flat Rock Saloon

Restaurant:

Address: 4301 Main St., Philadelphia, PA (Manayunk)

Rating: (out of 5 stars): ★★★(food),★★★★ (beer)

Style: No frills bar with pub fare

Food: Decent and a bit more refined than the food at other bars

Atmosphere: Neighborhood bar where the game is always on

Parking: Street parking is very difficult

Service: Surly then quite friendly

Price Range: Inexpensive

Unique Features: One of the best beer lists I have seen in a while and a variety of steamed mussels.

On a day when neither the weather nor co-workers are cooperating, my thoughts turn to quitting time when can I grab a nice cold beer and juicy burger. Flat Rock Saloon in Manayunk seemed the perfect place to satisfy my needs. I arrived and waited for two friends to find parking (even on a weekday night the parking situation is challenging). Twenty minutes later, they came sauntering up the street and we grabbed a table outside.

The beer list is impressive and features all sorts of craft, artisanal, local and imported beers. We began with some pumpkin beers and an apple cider. The Original Sin smooth drinking cider was crisp and sweet. You could barely taste any alcohol. The Buffalo Bills Pumpkin Ale and Dogtoberfest hit all the right notes and served as harbingers of the cooler autumn weather. My friend went into hysterics when she saw that Pumking was on the beer list. At $14 it was quite pricey but our server explained it was a 22 ounce bottle and about twice the level of alcohol in most beer. Quickly doing the math in my head I figured out it was the equivalent of four normal beers. We ordered one for the table and three glasses and it did indeed pack a wallop.

The beer smelled like scratch and sniff popcorn stickers from my youth and that nutty, corn flavor carried through when I took a sip. I could also taste subtle hints of cinnamon and nutmeg. I couldn’t really discern any pumpkin flavor although my friend swears it tastes like a savory pumpkin pie.

My friend ordered the carrot ginger soup with pound cake croutons to start and while the soup was steaming hot it was a bit underseasoned. Some salt and pepper fixed this and we all enjoyed the satisfying soup with the cake croutons. It was a nice play between sweet and savory flavors.

The Flat Rock Saloon salad is worthy of any meal as it’s quite large and loaded with grilled chicken. The cheesy croutons/crostini were fine and the chicken was cooked nicely. The greens were fresh and the red wine vinaigrette enjoyable.

We ordered the Saloon burger and the American burger. Featuring 10- ounce patties, these burgers are not for the faint of heart. The Saloon burger with blue cheese spread, red onion jam, bacon and romaine lettuce was not as good as the American burger with cheddar, bacon, lettuce, tomato and onion. Both burgers were strangely dry, perhaps they should use a higher ratio of fat to beef? The french fries were, however, excellent. Skin-on fries crisp on the outside and bursting with potato flavor on the inside, these were heavenly.

All in all we left with our bellies full and spirits lifted. The service was surly when we entered but improved as time progressed. Maybe they needed some time to warm up to us? By the end, our server was as friendly as can be and full of suggestions. Our food came out quickly and dirty glasses and plates were cleared immediately.

The Phillies game was on in the bar area but we chose to sit outside in order to have adequate space to vent about our day and people watch. The Flat Rock Saloon has been in business since the early 1900’s and while much has changed in our world since then, they still manage to serve fine beer and hot food to their patrons which was exactly what we all needed that day.

Click here to visit the website and browse the menu.