14 Surprising Restaurants to BYOB in Philly

Garces Trading Company may now have a bar but you can still BYOB.

Philadelphia is rightfully known for its BYOB scene, but it also seems an increasing number of restaurants with liquor licenses are offering corkage-free days as well. Why? Well as Petruce et al’s Tim Kweeder tells us, sometimes diners want to open a special bottle on an anniversary that they brought back from their honeymoon, or they might have something that’s just not available in Pennsylvania restaurants. Kweeder also shares that sometimes he hits it off with some diners, and they want to show off a bottle from their collection with him.

So if you have a special bottle you want to uncork, or if you just want to save a few bucks (and who doesn’t), here’s a whole slew of restaurants that offer at least one night of corkage free BYOB.

Brigantessa – The bar at Brigantessa stocks a heavy selection of Sicilian and other Southern Italian wines, but if there’s something else you’d like to drink with your star-shaped pizza, Mondays are the days to do it.

DanDan – Every day before 5 p.m., the Center City Sichuan-Taiwanese restaurant offers corkage-free dining.

Davio’s – Make it a BYOB night at the steakhouse on Sundays.

Derek’s – The Manayunk mainstay offers a 750ml bottle per table all week. You can back that up with a cocktail or a bottle from their bar.

Fond – Harking back to the East Passyunk Avenue restaurant’s roots, Fond offers BYOB Tuesday through Thursday.

Francoluigi’s – Owner Franco Borda makes his own wine, and he invites his fellow home vintners and wine aficionados to bring their own wine in every day.

Garces Trading Company – When Garces Trading Company opened, it was BYOB and it had a wine shop in the building. That wine shop is gone, but the restaurant still holds on to its BYOB ethos, offering the option to bring your own wine every day.

Le Virtu – So you brought a special bottle back from Italy? Break it out on a Tuesday at East Passyunk’s Abruzzo restaurant.

London Grill – It’s long been a tradition to offer BYOB Sunday through Thursday at the Fairmount mainstay.

Petruce et al – Subscribe to the Petruce et al newsletter, and you’ll get suggestions for what Moore Brothers wines will pair well with the Walnut Street restaurant’s Sunday menu.

Positano Coast – Relive your Italian vacation with a bottle you brought back from the Amalfi Coast on Sundays and Mondays.

Prime Rib – Kick it old-school with your own red at the P-Rib on Sundays.

Verdad – In order to get the Main Line out and dining early in the week, Verdad offers no-corkage Tuesdays.

Zento – Sushi on Mondays is even better when you bring your own sake, wine or beer. Zento will provide the stemware.