The Yachtsman, Philadelphia, PA (bar)

Name:The Yachtsman
Type:bar
Street:1444 Frankford Ave
City:Philadelphia
State:PA
Zip:19125
country:USA
Phone: 267-251-3234
Status:operational

Description:
Just opened in the great tiki deprived NE. Located in the Fishtown neighborhood Phila. seems to have surf/ thatch re-claimed/ re-purposed motif with a classic tiki/ craft cocktail list greeting you with The Caribe Welcome Coconut served in actual coconut. Place has tremendous potential!

https://www.facebook.com/yachtsmanbar?hc_location=timeline
http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/the-insider/The-Yachtsman-sets-sail-in-Fishtown.html

[ Edited by: tikimug 2014-08-15 20:43 ]

I'll be in Philly between January 9-11... Anyone have have any reviews or recommendations for The Yachtsman? Things I gotta try, things I gotta avoid. Do they have a mug yet?

On 2015-01-03 14:58, Kanu wrote:
I'll be in Philly between January 9-11... Anyone have have any reviews or recommendations for The Yachtsman? Things I gotta try, things I gotta avoid. Do they have a mug yet?

great drinks. it gets crowded on the weekend. drinks are served in mugs but no signature mugs. low TIPSY score.

for other great non-tiki cocktail drinks in philly check out: southwark, ramstead room, hop sing, and emanuelle.

Thanks for the head's up... I will probably pop in and check it out.

Had a great time at the Yachtsman last weekend.

Opened and run by one/some of Philly's more notable Craft Cocktail mixologists, they have taken a neighborhood dive and done a very decent Tiki makeover. It is in a neighborhood that has seen better days, and is across the street from an industrial yard that buys scrap metal. They say that it is a quickly gentrifying neighborhood, and if that is so, it can't happen soon enough. Parking is tight on the weekends, so if you plan a visit, I'd recommend using cab/Uber/public transportation to get there.

From the outside, it is hard to know what the place is inside. I'm sure the name Yachtsman means something to the creators, but if I were scanning a list of bars looking for a Tiki bar, or Mai Tais/Exotic cocktails, Yachtsman would not blip on my radar. On the outside of the building it has a very stylized wave painted across the front and side - very reminiscent of the famous Japanese woodcut, "The Great Wave off Kanagawa." It is interesting to be sure, but along with the Yachtsman name, it adds to a very mixed message.

Walking in, we finally see a Tiki bar!

Myself and three friends sampled most of the drinks on the two drink menus (regular and happy hour), and there wasn't a false note. These bartenders know how to mix up a vacation in a glass. Superior to premium liquors and house made mixers and syrups. The main menu has several great takes on Tiki classics, like the Mai Tai, Suffering Bastard, Zombie Punch, Missionary's Downfall, as well as several original potent potables well worth trying out. I found their Agricole and Smith and Cross Mai Tai especially great. Happy Hour is 6 - 8 pm every day. They have a 8 for $8 special list of Happy Hour drink specials. Several are from the regular menu, but some seem to be specials.

The only disappointment was the lack, at least that night, of any tiki people besides ourselves. As the Saturday night crowd filtered in, I noticed that most of the room was very young (early-mid twenties), mostly non-tiki drinkers (many more beers than cocktail glasses). Seemed to me that they would be there regardless of the bar theme. If you were to judge it on the crowd it draws, the place would be more Grunge than Tiki.

No custom mugs yet. It would be great to see that in the future. I'd make a special extra trip just for a mug run if they did. But I'm guessing that this will depend on whether or not the Tiki theme really takes root or not. Because it doesn't appear that Tiki is what is drawing people there, I'm not sure a custom mug would be worth it to them.

The GM and head bartender on that day was great to our small party, even giving us the full Tiki by switching the music from the Ubiquitous Bar Rock to a really good Exotica mix for about 45 minutes - until the Saturday night crowd started filtering in, then they switched back to UBR to match up with the PBR set.

No kitchen. This is a straight up bar, but they do have menus from all of the local delivery places and they don't mind if you order for them to enjoy at the bar. Also, there are some great food trucks that make the rounds right outside the door, so there are some food options for those who do not like to rum up on an empty stomach.

I do hope that they find or create a Tiki following for the place. If they eventually find and keep that, they will finally have a full blown Tiki bar that will merit inclusion on some future edition of "Tiki Road Trip."

Overall, highly recommended and worth a trip.

[ Edited by: Dr. Coruba 2015-03-08 08:16 ]

Mahalo Ex! I’m gonna attend a Marine Corps reunion later this year and I’m looking forward to visiting The Yachtsman.
Cheers

I've been holding out going because I was hoping a custom mug was coming. They said it was "in the works" when I asked on FB but after reading your excellent post I think I'd better get there sooner than later. I don't want to have missed out if the tikiness goes by the wayside.

Nui 'umi 'umi - when you're out this way, let me know. Maybe I can arrange to meet up with you at the Yachtsman. I'm not familiar with that area of Philly but I'm less than an hour away.

Lori, we’re looking forward to it. Keep you posted.
David

On 2015-02-05 13:22, nui 'umi 'umi wrote:
Mahalo Ex! I’m gonna attend a Marine Corps reunion later this year and I’m looking forward to visiting The Yachtsman.
Cheers

happy 240th.
ps. please tell everyone at the reunion of my idea of placing a toynbee style tile commemorating the birthplace of the marines on I-95.

[ Edited by: exquisitecorpse 2015-02-06 07:56 ]

On 2015-02-06 07:52, exquisitecorpse wrote:

On 2015-02-05 13:22, nui 'umi 'umi wrote:
Mahalo Ex! I’m gonna attend a Marine Corps reunion later this year and I’m looking forward to visiting The Yachtsman.
Cheers

happy 240th.
ps. please tell everyone at the reunion of my idea of placing a toynbee style tile commemorating the birthplace of the marines on I-95.

[ Edited by: exquisitecorpse 2015-02-06 07:56 ]

they figured out who is making the toynbee tiles - maybe you can ask him :D

[ Edited by: Johnny Dollar 2015-02-06 08:18 ]

Exq, folks like you are what makes this site so freakin awesome!
Cheersen.
wikipedia.org/wiki/Toynbee_tiles‎

[ Edited by: nui 'umi 'umi 2015-02-06 09:26 ]

On 2015-02-06 09:21, nui 'umi 'umi wrote:
Exq, folks like you are what makes this site so freakin awesome!
Cheersen.
wikipedia.org/wiki/Toynbee_tiles‎

[ Edited by: nui 'umi 'umi 2015-02-06 09:26 ]

since the documentary came out a lot of talentless hacks have been placing their own tiles next to the originals overwelming them or others are straight up cutting them out of the pavement and stealing them.

My husband and I were in Philly last Saturday and finally made it to The Yachtsman. I sooooooo wanted to love it but I couldn't. :( The drinks were HORRIBLE. Seriously bad. For our first round we both had a Trader Vic's Mai Tai for $14. On first sip I was assaulted by an overwhelming limey-ness and then the strong flavor of cheap rum. The drinks were served in bucket mugs packed with ice cubes. Although I quickly felt the effects of the large quantities of rum the taste did not improve as I drank....in fact I'm only a backyard bartender and anyone with tastebuds would say my mai tai is better.

For our second round I ordered an Aurora Bora Borealis for the hubby (gold rhum agricole, gold ouerto rican rum, oregeat, coconut cream and lime) which was served in a large glass bowl on a stem, like a red wine glass, sort of. It looked creamy and had a purple orchid for garnish but really didn't taste like much of anything. For myself I ordered a Zombie Punch. This wasn't good either.

The decor is barely tiki with a few fishing floats, some bamboo and one large Moai statue. I'm so happy someone in my area opened anything remotely tiki and maybe, just maybe the drinks will improve. If I go back I'd probably try to stick with the Kona beers on tap. (But being a hopeless optimist I'd probably try a mixed drink again.)

Sorry to be a downer but you've been warned!

Lori, From one backyard bartender to another-Mahalo for your post.
David

On 2015-04-07 17:46, LoriLovesTiki wrote:
The drinks were HORRIBLE. Seriously bad. For our first round we both had a Trader Vic's Mai Tai for $14. On first sip I was assaulted by an overwhelming limey-ness and then the strong flavor of cheap rum. The drinks were served in bucket mugs packed with ice cubes.

Usually the Mai-Tai's are on point. i had a few of them on sunday.
i HATE the way the unglazed bucket mug feels in my hand; it reminds me of nails on a wet chalkboard.
they will pour your drink in a different mug if you ask, i always opt for the dynasty mermaid mug; in any event they both hold the same volume.

Has anyone been up to this place recently? I'm wondering if they've gotten any mugs in stock yet. I just happened upon this thread today, but am already planning a day trip with some fellow tikiphile friends to check it out. Any info would be appreciated!

Mahalo!

Hey. We were there a couple of weeks ago. I posted a few phone pics here:
http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?topic=49379&forum=4&3

They didn't have any mugs at that point. I asked the bartender, and he said it was in the works, and they would have them eventually, but he didn't have a timeline. So I doubt they'd have them yet, but it might be worth a phone call.

Mahalo KKB! Thanks for sharing the pics. Looks like it's worth a trip. I'm in Baltimore, so it's only a 90min - 2hr drive...I did send them an email to ask, but I won't get my hopes up. I'll have to send out word when I'm going to see if any locals want to meet up with us for a few libations. I dig their cocktail menu...def has an old school vibe to it.

let us know your plans, KahikiGuy... we want to get up there sometime soon as well.

On 2015-07-15 17:09, Johnny Dollar wrote:
let us know your plans, KahikiGuy... we want to get up there sometime soon as well.

Will do Good sir!

I'm bringing a small contingency from Baltimore to check out the Yachtsman on Sunday, August 23rd for anyone interested in meeting up for a cocktail or 4. Making a day of it, so we'll probably be hitting the bar some time in the afternoon, after a day of cheeseteaks and weird sites. Look for a fun-loving group wearing Hawaiian shirts, Tiki-themed jewelry, and thirsty looks on their faces...

http://yachtsmanbar.com/

we will be there for sure~!

solid...

My friend Djs a monthly exotica night at the Yachtsman now. Every 1st Thursday 9-midnight. No cover. Get $5 off your first drink if you bring your own mug.

Closed permanently.
http://www.phillymag.com/foobooz/2017/05/05/tommy-up-yachtsman-bankruptcy/