The husband and I were walking the dog tonight and saw it - we have walked by this place a million times... we were wondering what you all think of it? any experiences you've had with it?

I tried to google it and only 1 site came back - it was mentioned in passing on a seemingly unrelated site.

i told my husband i'd ask you all and i'd get the skinny. thoughts?

sorry, it's near 9th & tasker. would've been nice if i'd told you that.

I don't have any experience as a Grumpy's patron, but I witnessed a very ugly scene outside the premises one Saturday evening last September. My husband and I had just moved to South Philly and were still sampling all the different restaurants within walking distance of our new home. So after having had a delicious dinner at Io e Tu, we were walking down Ninth Street to go back home when we saw some heavy-set man in his forties pull up on Tasker, grind his car to a screeching halt, jump out of the vehicle, then immediately run up to an elderly man who was standing outside of Grumpy's, all the while cursing up a blue streak at the little ol' man -- who, to me, just looked like somebody's sweet old grandpa. When the old man didn't respond to the verbal assaults, the younger guy punched him a couple times in the face and then in the gut, then jumped back in his car and fled the scene. It reminded me of a scene from "The Sopranos."

I was quite startled and upset by the up-close brutality but still took the cowardly, but probably smart, response -- I minded my own business.

I went to Grumpy's for the first time last weekend -- on a South Philly Bar Crawl that included Bonnie's Capistrano, the SP Tap Room, Ray's and, oh yes, the Dolphin. Grumpy's rated on the bottom of my list -- pretty smokey, not a whole lot of atmosphere, and the music was super loud. There was a pool table in the back of the bar though. . .
The South Philly Tap Room (15th and Mifflin) is probably the nicest bar I've been to in Philly. It got a good jukebox, great beer selection and a menu that won't break the bank.

Grumpy's -

Plusses: Pool Table. Good bar food - try the sausage scallopine or the burgers. Cheap beer - the beer on tap is ICE cold, brain freeze cold - $1.25 a mug. Sam the cook is super friendly, and comes out to take your order personally so the bartenders don't screw it up.

Minuses: The music is WAY too loud. The shots are skimpy, I like BIG shots. The crowd gets loud and annoying sometimes, and the place gets too crowded, but that's pretty much like every other bar in South Philly, and could actually be a plus if you like that kind of thing.


Overall, it's not a bad place to stop and have a bite to eat and a beer or three on the way to the Acme, but I never can handle it for too long. Some drunk idiot usually starts playing Sinatra or Neil Diamond or some other crap on the juke box.

And the music is way to freakin loud.

Thanks for the interesting review and astute comments. One thing though. You forgot to mention ... what do you think about the music?

Joel

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