The Vintage Irish Pub In Philadelphia That Serves Some Of The Best Italian Food In Town

Once upon a time, around the early 1900s, there was a hunting lodge in Philadelphia. (Considering that the city's been a major urban center since the 17^th century, what, exactly, were the members hunting?) One interesting aspect of this establishment was that it contained an Irish bar. Over a century later, Murph's Bar is still in business (minus the hunters) and still identifies as Irish, although the décor and menu don't really bear that out. In fact, the latter's almost entirely Italian these days, thanks to a chef who took over in the 20-teens.

Murph's may be known as a dining destination these days, but that wasn't always the case. New ownership gave the bar a not-so-Irish maximalist makeover in 2003: light on shamrocks and shillelaghs, heavy on Elvis and boxing memorabilia. ( "Although this place is a sports bar ambiance, the food is really good Italian!!" as one Yelper put it.) However, the new millennium Murph's didn't serve any kind of food at first, but that changed in 2015 when an Italian immigrant and former restaurant worker asked about renting out the kitchen. Thus began a partnership that persists to this day.

Even if Murph's is hardly the usual environment for upscale Italian cuisine, customers seem to like it, as it currently has a 4.3-star Yelp rating and 4.6 stars on TripAdvisor. Most reviewers compliment the food, although several TripAdvisor users warn that it does use the dreaded QR code menus and food must be paid for in cash.

Murph's may be a bar, but the menu is hardly bar food, nor does it feature typical Italian-American menu items such as spaghetti, pizza, or chicken parmesan. You can, however, get pasta puttanesca, a classic Italian dish beloved by Sophia Loren. (A Yelper says of Murph's version, "It made my mouth dance!!") That is one of the more recognizable dishes on the menu, along with ravioli, but other entrées are less familiar.

Garganelli, a tubular egg noodle, is used in several classic preparations: aum aum (cooked with cherry tomatoes, eggplant, and mozzarella), arrabbiata (spicy tomato sauce), and amatriciana tarantina (made with onions, pork cheeks, and pecorino). There's also fiocchi pasta bundles packed with pears and cheese, and served in a honey-parmesan cream sauce, along with strozzapreti, a curly pasta whose name has the unfortunate translation of "priest strangler." Most of the pasta dishes are priced between $16 and $19, although big spenders can splash out on branzino with a lemon-garlic sauce for $35 or a rosemary and garlic-seasoned rack of lamb for $36.

The appetizer menu, however, tilts more toward the traditional. Here you'll find arancini, caprese salad, fried burrata, and meatballs that another Yelper raves about: "GET THE MEATBALLS! ALWAYS START WITH THE MEATBALLS! They will not disappoint. 10/10. Best meatballs ever." The dessert menu, too, treads familiar territory with offerings including cannoli, tiramisu, lemon mascarpone cake, and lemon gelato. Whether you order something well-known or less familiar, it seems Murph's cuisine usually satisfies. As a TripAdvisor user sums up the experience, "When you walk into a bar called Murph's ... you would expect Irish or bar food. [Instead, you get] the best Italian food around."