A Information to Fishtown, Philadelphia’s Coolest Neighborhood

It is no secret amongst Philadelphia locals that Fishtown is among the metropolis’s buzziest neighborhoods nowadays. What began as a small fishing village within the 1700s — therefore the identify — turned a working-class hub of the industrial shad-fishing business over the subsequent two centuries.

However the neighborhood, which is about 20 minutes north of Middle Metropolis by practice, fell on arduous occasions by the Nineties and early 2000s. About 10 years in the past, nonetheless, issues started to alter with the opening of a well-liked beer corridor, just a few yoga studios and even the flagship location of La Colombe, a high-end Philadelphia-based espresso model.

Since then, Fishtown has drawn locals to North Philly with its thriving dwell music scene together with venues like The Fillmore and Johnny Brenda’s, award-winning eating places like Thai spot Kalaya (whose chef, Chutatip “Nok” Suntaranon, received a James Beard Award in 2023) and modern culinary entrepreneurs: Philly’s first cheese merchandising machine and city vineyard each opened in Fishtown in 2024.

Even Beyoncé thinks Fishtown is cool: She’s ordered her birthday cake from Cake Life Bake Store a number of occasions over time.

The August 2024 opening of the stylish 50-room Lodge Anna & Bel within the former Penn Asylum for Indigent Widows and Single Ladies cemented the neighborhood as a vacation spot in its personal proper. With an in-house Mediterranean restaurant and a vibrant cocktail bar, this new boutique lodge welcomes locals in but additionally gives a serene haven for visitors with a heated outside pool in its middle courtyard.

I just lately spent a weekend in Fishtown: Listed below are the very best locations to eat and drink and issues to do in 48 hours on this up-and-coming Philadelphia neighborhood. (Plus, get there on factors!)

Methods to get to Fishtown, Philadelphia

Since I dwell in New York Metropolis and do not personal a automotive, the simplest approach for me to get to Fishtown was by way of Amtrak practice. It took about 1 1/2 hours to get from New York’s Moynihan Practice Corridor at Penn Station to Philadelphia’s William H. Grey III thirtieth Road Station on the Northeast Regional practice. (Sooner Acela trains make the journey in a bit of over an hour.)

With dozens of exits a day, it is easy to snag last-minute tickets, however you may get monetary savings by reserving upfront. I paid about $200 for round-trip coach class fares a few days earlier than my journey. Nonetheless fares begin from $10 or 375 Amtrak Visitor Rewards factors every approach should you e book a month or so out. It is also doable to get business-class tickets on an Acela practice beginning round $58 or 2,175 Amtrak Visitor Rewards factors every approach should you plan forward.

I do not journey on Amtrak ceaselessly sufficient to warrant getting an Amtrak bank card, however should you do, the Amtrak Visitor Rewards® Mastercard® provides 2 factors per greenback spent on Amtrak journey, together with onboard purchases, and the Amtrak Visitor Rewards® Most popular Mastercard® provides 3 factors per greenback spent on Amtrak journey. Each playing cards provide perks like a 5% rebate when redeeming Amtrak Visitor Rewards factors for journey and rebates as a press release credit score on onboard meals and beverage purchases.

The data for the Amtrak Visitor Rewards Mastercard and the Amtrak Visitor Rewards Most popular Mastercard has been collected independently by The Factors Man. The cardboard particulars on this web page haven’t been reviewed or supplied by the cardboard issuer.

Associated: One of the best bank cards for Amtrak and practice journey

From the thirtieth Road Station it’s a straightforward switch to Philly’s SEPTA metro system for the 20-minute journey to Fishtown. Uber and Lyft each function in Philadelphia and take about quarter-hour, relying on site visitors.

For those who’re coming from farther away, Philadelphia Worldwide Airport (PHL) is only a 20-minute drive south of Fishtown and is the first hub for American Airways within the Northeast.

For these making it a street journey, it is pretty easy to seek out avenue parking in Fishtown, since it is a residential neighborhood.

The place to remain in Fishtown, Philadelphia

Whereas there are many factors motels in Middle Metropolis, just like the W Philadelphia and the Motto by Hilton Philadelphia Rittenhouse Sq., I skipped the redemption alternatives to remain on the new boutique Lodge Anna & Bel to immerse myself on this charming neighborhood for the weekend as a substitute.

Simply bear in mind to maximise your factors earnings through the use of a journey bank card just like the Chase Sapphire Most popular® Card to earn 5 factors per greenback on lodge bookings bought by means of Chase Journey℠.

Lodge Anna & Bel

Named after its location on the nook of East Susquehanna Avenue and Belgrade Road, Lodge Anna & Bel is a cushty and stylish place to remain. The impartial boutique lodge, which simply opened in August 2024, is operated by Lobby Mission, a domestically based mostly hospitality and actual property improvement agency.

Every of the 50 rooms and suites has a singular structure that preserves the 18th-century purple brick constructing’s authentic options and historic character. They’re adorned with custom-made furnishings from Bali and distinctive items of artwork from largely native feminine artists. Some have shared balconies that look out over the lodge’s heated pool in its central courtyard. Rooms additionally include kitchenettes — the homeowners are a married couple and fogeys to a few boys, so that they needed to offer households with amenities to maintain snacks and lend the lodge a residential really feel.

The vibe throughout my keep was usually relaxed, with teams of girlfriends lounging by the pool to reconnect for just a few days or {couples} sneaking away for a quiet weekend. Locals and visitors alike mingled at Bastia, the lodge’s restaurant serving a mixture of Corsican and Sardinian fare, and Caletta, its intimate cocktail bar and piano lounge.

Room charges at Lodge Anna & Bel begin at $217 per evening.

The place to eat and drink in Fishtown, Philadelphia

There are dozens of bars and eating places to select from in Fishtown, so you might simply spend a whole week consuming and consuming your approach by means of the neighborhood. However, should you simply have 48 hours like I did, these are the highlights. An added bonus? I used to be capable of earn 4 factors per greenback on eating at eating places (on as much as $50,000 in purchases per calendar 12 months, then 1 level per greenback thereafter) in any respect these locations utilizing my American Categorical® Gold Card.

Kalaya

Following her James Beard Award win in 2023, Kalaya’s chef Chutatip “Nok” Suntaranon was just lately featured within the seventh season of Netflix’s “Chef’s Desk.”

Her southern Thai specialties are served in a big warehouselike house on West Palmer Road. My buddies and I opted for the $75-per-person “Style of Phuket” prix-fixe menu that featured 13 dishes together with standouts like the brilliant purple shaw muang flower-shaped dumplings, hearty poh taek seafood soup and two flavors of shaved ice (coconut pineapple and low caramel). I left so full I may barely stroll, nevertheless it was a cheerful sort of discomfort.

Center Little one Clubhouse

Center Little one Clubhouse, situated below the elevated practice on North Entrance Road, is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner every single day of the week besides Monday. Once we arrived round 8 p.m. on a Friday evening, the eating room was buzzy and packed to the brim.

Of all of the artistic remixes of basic consolation meals, my favourite dishes included the latkes served “okonomiyaki-style” with unagi, kewpie, pickled ginger and scallion ($3 per piece) and the pepperoni ragu rigatoni served with blush sauce, Sicilian oregano and parmesan ($22). I additionally loved the “Philly Chilly,” a rotating seasonal frozen drink — after I was there in late September they had been serving a pumpkin spice painkiller ($14), which was a festive mix of spiced rum, pineapple, coconut and orange juice.

Fiore

For breakfast or lunch, take a brief stroll from Lodge Anna & Bel to Fiore, a standard Italian bakery simply over the Fishtown border in East Kensington on Frankford Avenue. We ordered a bunch of issues and break up them, together with the saltie sandwich with smooth scrambled eggs and whipped ricotta on house-made focaccia ($11), a maritozzi bun full of contemporary whipped cream ($5), a pistachio cornetti ($6), a savory tomato pastry ($5) and a pile of hash browns ($7).

Perrystead Dairy Cheese Merchandising Machine

Perrystead Dairy is technically situated only a few blocks west of Fishtown correct within the Olde Kensington neighborhood, however this award-winning cheesemaker is value strolling the additional few blocks to top off on picnic provides and even souvenirs to convey house. The store itself is closed on Saturdays and Sundays, however don’t be concerned — shopping for cheese from its 24/7 cheese merchandising machine out entrance is half the enjoyable.

I selected Perrystead’s signature Intergalactic cheese ($17), a barely pungent smooth cow’s milk cheese made with Iberian cardoon thistle flowers as a substitute of animal rennet. Additionally they promote crackers, jams and cured meats within the merchandising machine if you’re planning a picnic.

Cake Life Bake Store

Cake Life Bake Store is greatest recognized for making Beyoncé’s birthday cake a number of occasions, however I used to be simply on the lookout for a bit of candy deal with on the Saturday afternoon that I ended into this neighborhood bakery on Frankford Avenue.

Many of the cupcake flavors are seasonal, so the strawberry shake cupcake ($5) I had might not be out there if you cease by, however you may all the time discover classics like Funfetti and purple velvet on the menu.

Mural Metropolis Cellars

Mural Metropolis Cellars, the primary city vineyard in Philadelphia, moved to its new digs on the northern finish of Fishtown in March 2024. The previous auto physique store is now house to a wine-making facility, bottle store and wine bar. Mural Metropolis Cellars is understood for making only a handful of wines every year from grapes sourced from growers inside a 300-mile radius of Philadelphia.

My buddies and I cherished Mural Metropolis Cellars’ relaxed and unpretentious vibe a lot we stopped by twice in a single weekend — as soon as on Friday evening to take pleasure in a bottle of skin-contact pinot gris ($55) within the wine backyard throughout the road the place a dwell band performed, and once more on Saturday afternoon for glasses of chambourcin ($14), a jammy chilled purple, on the bar indoors to interrupt up our stroll again to the lodge from lunch.

Issues to do in Fishtown, Philadelphia

Although most of my itinerary was centered round consuming and consuming, there are additionally loads of different issues to do in Fishtown, particularly should you love purchasing at small companies or listening to dwell music.

Jinxed Classic

There are a number of classic and vintage shops situated alongside Frankford Avenue, the primary industrial hall of Fishtown, however I cherished the eclectic mix of furnishings, homewares, jewellery and miscellaneous tchotchkes I discovered at Jinxed Classic. Opened about 10 years in the past on this location, Jinxed additionally has two different space shops in South Philly and in Manayunk.

Penn Treaty Park

The far jap boundary of Fishtown is the Delaware River, which is greatest seen from Penn Treaty Park, a small city park with views of the Benjamin Franklin Bridge. The park will get its identify from being the place the place, in line with legend, William Penn signed a peace treaty with the Lenape tribe within the seventeenth century.

You may take your picnic provides right here on a heat afternoon for lunch or discover it on a espresso stroll like I did whereas my buddies slept in on Sunday morning earlier than we departed.

Johnny Brenda’s

Although I did not get an opportunity to catch a dwell present at Johnny Brenda’s, this native music venue on the nook of Frankford Avenue and East Girard Avenue has been a neighborhood stalwart since opening in 2003. Downstairs, you may discover a gastropub serving smashburgers and native beer. Upstairs, yow will discover indie rock artists and bands like Kurt Vile and Matt Pond PA enjoying within the upcoming months.

Backside line

Whether or not it is your first — or hundredth — time in Philadelphia, it is value exploring the Fishtown neighborhood and its vibrant eating scene. Higher but, make a weekend of it with a keep on the new Lodge Anna & Bel so you possibly can soak in all of the neighborhood vibes and uncover a brand new facet to Philly.

Associated studying: