Meet Philly’s Longest-Running Bartender, Who’s Been at McGillin’s for 50 Years

McGillin’s bartender John Doyle at the Philadelphia bar in the early 1980s and today

In case you haven’t heard, 2024 is the 50th anniversary of Philly Mag’s Best of Philly issue. 2024 is also the 50th anniversary of Best of Philly-winning bartender John Doyle working at McGillin’s Olde Ale House, the oldest bar in Philadelphia. Coincidence? We think not. We caught up with Doyle, who shares his thoughts on rude customers, Fireball (blech!), and his surprising status as a Swiftie.

I was born in … the Grays Ferry section of South Philadelphia, in St. Gabriel’s parish. I grew up in the projects. These days, I live in the Roxborough section of Philadelphia, with my lovely wife Laura. We’ve been married for 53 years, and that’s how long we’ve been in Roxborough.

My first job in life was … being a huckster. I would go door to door selling tomatoes, oranges, all kinds of produce. After that, I worked at the Dairy Queen near my house in South Philadelphia. My job was to clean the area where they made the sundaes. They would drip ice cream and peanut butter sauce and chocolate sauce all over the place. And I had to keep it all wiped down. I made 50 cents an hour. I was 11 or 12 years old at the time.

After high school … I joined the Army. I was a medic in South Korea, right near the DMZ. I’ll never forget: The first time I got a pass to leave base and go into the village, I saw this big sign on the gate as I was leaving. It read: “YOU are the foreigner here.” The Korean people were wonderful. Being in the Army made me learn respect, and I think all young men and young women should do some form of military service. But when I came home from the Army, my friends and I went out from Friday until Monday. I never went home. On Monday morning, my father tells me: “You’ve been away in the Army. Your mother hasn’t seen you. If you are not going to come home at night, you better call your mother!”

I first started working at McGillin’s in … April of 1974. I was already a customer, and the door guy asked me to watch the door one night. So I said sure. And then it became a thing. And then I went to Ronnie’s Bartender School on the 1600 block of Market Street and became a bartender. I still have my bartending school diploma somewhere.

The mayor of Philadelphia when I started working at McGillin’s was … Frank Rizzo, who I actually knew from our neighborhood in Roxborough. He lived out our way. There have been so many mayors since. The one who came in the most was Ed Rendell. Some never came in.

McGillin’s bartender John Doyle (right) with former McGillin’s manager George Leflar and Joe Biden at the Philadelphia bar

The most famous person I’ve met at McGillin’s was … Joe Biden, when he was vice president under Obama. It was the last day of the Democratic National Convention in 2016. A bunch of delegates were meeting him upstairs at McGillin’s. They were up there forever. The city was all blocked off. I wasn’t allowed to leave the building. Finally, he comes down the stairs, and we had all been told: Do not approach the vice president. When he got to the bottom of the stairs, I yelled out, “Yo, Joe! What’s goin’ on?” Everybody starts looking at me. The owner thought to himself, “Oh my God, they’re going to shoot John Doyle!” But then he approaches me, so I walked to him. And we got a selfie.

If you want to piss me off while I’m behind the bar … use lots of foul language when there are women and children present. I get it. There’s a game on the TV, and you and your buddies are blank this and blank that. Sometimes, I have to tell them to knock it off. And they respect us. Usually.

My biggest tip ever at McGillin’s was … $500. These four guys from California got four stouts and four dry Hendricks martinis and left me $500. But we all split that. The tip jar is for all of us, because we are all part of the same team.

The one alcoholic beverage I’ve served the most throughout my career is … either Bud Light, Coors Light or Budweiser. They are, by far, the most popular drinks.

When I won Best of Philly in 2010 … I was astonished! The owner called me and said, “John, I have some good news and some bad news for you. The good news is that you won Best of Philly for Best Bartender. The bad news is that I just found out now, and the awards ceremony was last night.” To this day, it’s a real honor. I tell people that if you put “best bartender in Philadelphia” into Google, my name comes up. Not many people can google their own name and see an award!

The trick to making a proper martini is … that it’s gotta be cold! Chill that glass! The best martini is a very cold martini.

One thing I will never drink again is … Fireball. Or Jaegermeister. Actually, the worst is Rumple Minze.

A bar trend I’m not a big fan of is … rudeness. A lot of people today say, “Hey you!” or “Yo, yo, yo!” Or they wave money at you.

If you want to play a song for me on the jukebox, please play … Anything by Taylor Swift. I’m a Swiftie. Really!

Please don’t play … “Sweet Caroline.” Ugh.

The percentage of customers that don’t tip or undertip is … 15 percent. Most people who have three draft beers will leave three dollars, which is fine. But some will get four and leave a dollar. Then there are the people who come in saying, “Give me the cheapest beer you got.” I say, “It’s $3.50.” They hand me a five. I give them $1.50. They take it and leave. But, hey, maybe the person was just a little short that day, and I understand that.

The cheapest drink at McGillin’s is … Rolling Rock: $3.50 for a pint. But we also do the Philly Special: $5 for a shot of Jim Beam and a glass of Rolling Rock. That’s not a bad deal. We are not an expensive bar. A Tito’s martini will cost you $12, and you’re getting a lot of liquor.

One menu item I can’t live without is … our shepherd’s pie. Greatest in the city. The “mile-high meatloaf” is also fantastic.

If I weren’t a bartender, I would probably be … retired and gardening.

You can find me behind the bar … every Saturday from 11 in the morning until five o’clock. I had more shifts before the pandemic, but then once things opened up, I didn’t come back for a while, just out of concern for my health. And then when I did decide to come back, I didn’t want to take a bunch of people’s shifts away. That’s their livelihood. So one day it is! Saturdays at McGillin’s are fun. We have a lot of tour groups of sometimes 20 people come in. Some groups of Chinese people, some groups of German people, French groups. We actually have menus printed in various different languages.

The question customers ask me the most is … How long have you been here?!

The lousiest pickup line I’ve heard here is … “Do you come here often?” Oh my God. I see these guys just looking at these girls all night. I tell them to send them a round of drinks. If they’re interested, fine. If not, it didn’t cost you much to find out. Just send drinks over. Don’t just stare.

When McGillin’s went non-smoking in 2008 … at first, we were devastated. But it was actually the best thing that ever happened.

The best cure for a hangover is … water. Just drink lots of water. Nothing else works.

One mistake most bartenders make is … ignoring customers.

I will do this until … they get rid of me. Or I break my hip.

My secret to being a good bartender is … being happy. Even if I am having a bad day. This is a service industry. Nobody wants to see Mr. or Miss Miserable behind the bar. As Taylor says, shake it off!