Where to Find To-Go Cocktails in Philly, Now That It’s Legal
Now that it's finally legal, here's where you can pick up manhattans, margaritas, piña coladas, house specials, and more.
Photo courtesy of Mission Taqueria
Finally, we’ve got some good news for restaurants. Governor Wolf has signed House Bill 327, which gives businesses with restaurant and hotel licenses the ability to serve mixed drinks to go. Since liquor is typically one of the highest margin items in restaurants, this is an important step forward for businesses trying to hold on during the continued shutdown of dine-in services. It’s also good news for bartenders who have been out of work since the shutdown came into effect, and for consumers who are struggling to mix their own drinks at home.
Hop Sing Laundromat
The crew from Hop Sing are doing something a bit unusual during these trying times. Rather than simply serving from their menu at Le’s Chinatown Bat Cave (like one might assume they’d do), Le has teamed up with three different restaurants around the city and will be providing cocktail service to go along with their curtailed Covid food menus. The cocktail list is long (40-odd drinks, all freshly-made and served in to-go bottles), and will be launching on June 5th at Spice Finch. The new Leda & The Swan in Midtown Village joins the party the following weekend, then Han Dynasty’s Old City flagship next. Bonus: Le convinced each of the locations to sell his cocktails for just $10 because “since we can’t offer the guests a full HSL experience, we shouldn’t charge full price for these cocktails. That would just be money-grubbing.” So since you’re getting such a good deal on your booze, maybe help out some restaurant workers and pay it forward by being extra generous with the tips, huh?
ITV
If you’ve been making good drinks at home this whole time, you’re probably looking for some options with more complicated ingredients. ITV’s cocktail options include ingredients like smoked pineapple and house-made shrubs. You can also get a 1-liter bottle of the Painkiller, which serves 6 to 8 and sounds like the beginning of a very fun evening at home. They’ve also got a few food options, from snacks to full meals.
Bar Hygge
Since cocktails are not legally allowed to be delivered, now is a good time to hit up your neighborhood spot. Bar Hygge has several options in single serving and large-format sizes, including a draft Aperol spritz perfect for summer-y drinking on your porch or in the park (we won’t tell.)
Blue Corn
You could do taco night at home, or you could let the pros take care of it, with margaritas, mojitos and piña coladas to pair with your tacos, enchiladas and guac.
Parc
Parc has been doing to-go frosé on the low-key for a while now, so we can only assume they’ve got the technique on lockdown. Walk up to their window to pick up a couple of loaves of bread to soak up the liquor.
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Pizzeria Beddia
Beddia’s Negronis and Old Fashioned are a great option for to-go drinks because they’re served straight-up, with no ice that threatens to over-dilute your drink before you get it home. $30 gets you enough for 4 drinks, which is actually a great deal.
R&D
The best thing about all of R&D’s large-format cocktails is that they tell you how long they’ll stay good in your fridge, so you can stock your fridge with well-made drinks with ingredients you might not have on hand. For example, the Mission Statement, made with gin, Kinsey rye, fig, sercial madeira and citrus bitters will stay good for up to two weeks, though it’s not likely to last that long.
Manatawny Stillworks
In addition to several mixers and their regular selection of bottled of liquor, choose between several options for take-home prepared cocktails including classic old fashioneds and a hard lemonade.
The Lunar Inn
You know what will get you feeling right when you wake up to yet another day of staring at walls of you house, or whatever else you might be doing? A kimchi brine Bloody Mary. Lunar Inn has got them, in addition to plenty of other cocktails, snacks, wine and even full-out meals.
Vedge
Watermelon margaritas, Bloody Marys and specialty house cocktails are among the offerings from Vedge, which is also serving ice cream, wine and cheese sets, and a rotating selection of soups.
Vernick
Classic cocktails for two are on the beverage menu alongside beer, wine, vermouth, sherry and more at Vernick. Choose between an Old Fashioned or a Pegu Club for $24.
Mission Taqueria
More margs! Mission Taqueria has margaritas in cute, branded glass bottles in flavors including mango/pineapple/jicama and green juice, plus the option to add on a chili-lime rimming salt, which is the extra excitement we’re all looking for in our lives these days.
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Fiore Fine Foods
Fiore’s bar program is generally focused on their excellent collection of Amari, and their to-go cocktails reflect that. For $50, take home a five-drink bottle of nocino Manhattans, a house Negroni, Old Fashioneds, and more. Simply pour over ice and enjoy. Place your order by calling the restaurant.
Barbuzzo
Barbuzzo’s to-go cocktails include a sazerac for two, several types of sangria, and a basil lemonade spiked with vodka, which sounds like an excellent Memorial Day beverage.
Martha
If you’re looking for a snack-and-drink spread, check out Martha for lots of small bites, draft beer, and their house cocktails, perfect for sipping in the sun, like the Martha Mule with vodka, ginger, jalapeño and lime.
a.kitchen + bar
a.kitchen has its very own house vodka, distilled by Philadelphia Distilling, called (what else) a.vod. They’re stirring it into $16 bottles of their Orange Catholic, among others. Each bottle serves two.
