The Barn On Baltimore

This is one of my three favorite bars in the neighborhood. It’s tough to find a pool table, and theirs is pretty good. They have cheap drinks, a good beer selection, and were making killer whisky drinks over the summer. Others’ notes about jukebox selection have been valid, but natural selection seems to be taking its toll on the Grateful Dead/​bro-​metal crowd (I haven’t heard any recently). It can be loud, but usually only when it’s busy, and what’d you go out at night for anyway?

The barn has come a long way since its opening week. $ 2 draft yuengling, shelves full of games, and an awesomely diverse crowd make this my favorite local bar.

I loved the barn! they had great wings with two sauces, which were both good. I liked that you could order just a half order of wings ($ 5!). and I had several citywide specials at affordable prices. the bartenders were really nice and friendly and we watched the local news and LOLed together. they made it seem like I wasn’t essentially paying them to pretend to be my friends and I barely felt like I was drinking alone on a Tuesday at 4pm.

The constant blasting of the jukebox is the worst, especially before 11pm on weekdays. Customers are routinely held hostage by that one group of friends looping «Ignition (Remix)» endlessly at 8pm on a Tuesday. Particularly, the tables right next to the speakers are a special kind of headache-​inducing, incomprehensibly loud, neon-​lit inferno.
Also the name! Oh, that horrible, terrible, dreadful, no-​good name!
Why the stars then? The drinks are as cheap as the Ethiopian bars in the neighborhood and there’s slightly more variety, the bartenders are friendly and seem experienced, there’s a bit of a queer scene developing here, it’s not the gentrified caricature the terrible name implies, I like sitting on couches when drinking beer, the pool table is a huge plus, and the board games are alright.
Calling this a 2.5 star for right now.

Rough around the edges, but the food here is incredible for the price. I have lived in Philly for the better part of 20 years and have learned during that time that our city is an amazing food city. The Barn lives up. No frills, delicious food, amazing value. I had the smoked half chicken, which could not have been better prepared, crispy skin and moist. My girlfriend had the burger. Seriously, a contender for best burger in the city. The beer selection is respectable, small but with many good choices. Also, not your father’s root beer. They have it. Try it. And try The Barn!

still my neighborhood go-​to bar. the bartenders are always fun and friendly and seats are always available. beer options rotate… but for the most part, they have a decent selection. they’ve also started serving food and it won’t disappoint you! i’m not a vegetarian or vegan and ordered the vegan nachos the first time and it was so damn delicious! the next time i ordered their bbq burger! omfg! yup, again very delicious! love this place!

This place fills a definite void in the neighborhood. The bartenders are really nice and its drinks are well priced (though I have not had the cocktails). The bottle and can selection is solid, and there is a great level of diversity in patrons.
However, they could use some better selections on tap. Why would anyone want Rolling Rock or other macro-​beers on tap when they could just get it in can? Make those can only and rotate some great pale ales.
Regarding the food: I ate their smashburger and was not very impressed. Why not just charge an extra dollar or two make it come with fries or some sort of legit side? The chips are a little sad-​sack. The beef was also very under seasoned. You can do a minimal approach if the meat is of good quality (which I’m not sure is what they are going for), but either way you need to at least sufficiently salt and pepper it. My suggestion is that this place focuses on a pared down menu with rotating options and really fine tunes each offering.
Next, the décor: I’m fine with the simplicity inside. The outside sign, however, is really sad. I’m not calling for some sort of yuppie lodge style signage but maybe go for something a little more than just poorly painted text on ply wood. Take a cue from the Pope’s (Pub on Passynunk East) signage.
Lastly, the jukebox: Last time I was in it was flooded with heavy metal songs. That might be OK in some cases. I can go for a Guns N’ Roses song or ACDC, but this was a barrage of really terrible bro neo-​metal for over half an hour. We actually left because it was so bad.
There have also been times when someone has put on the Grateful Dead for up to an hour, with some songs lasting over ten minutes. Music democracy doesn’t quite work in public spaces and is better left to home. Regulars give these people a hard time, but we’re all still stuck with basically the same song for far too long.
The music the bartenders play is great; they focus on 90s and aughts popular R&B. The ideal scenario would be to do away with the bizarre digital jukebox that can access too much music to allow for a properly curated experience and have the staff DJ or else introduce a properly curated jukebox. Or maybe some hybrid of the two.
This place certainly fills a hole left by the demise of Elena’s Soul Lounge, but with additional measures, it could be a truly great addition to Baltimore.

Cute space. I love how diverse the clientele and employees are, I also dig the gender neutral bathrooms (bravo). I’ve gone twice now and had a ball each time. It’s definitely a space where locals go because I’ve ran into so many old friends here. Do try the city special, it’s cheap and will do the trick. Also, grab a board game– they have quite a selection.

A little rough around the edges, but still a good time. Monday nights are karoake night, so if that isn’t your thing, it will feel a little dominating. It’s totally an undone project, but maybe that is part of the appeal. It’s kind of a testament to «if you build it, they will come.» For the Barn, it’s more like «if you half-​build it, they will come.» The environment is the irony of it. A dive bar where everything is a buck more than it should be (but still out of stock, as was in our case – the distributor didn’t drop off the cans that day).
At 49^th and Catherine, right against development edge, this bar is a microcosm of how even West Philly crust-​punks can gentrify. Dingy and as a rule undone, but still exclusive to whom it markets to and attracts. It’s not affordability that prevents long-​term residents from joining the party, it’s an aesthetic. The aesthetic that says: we could make this better, we just aren’t. And we like it that way. There’s a little privilege in that.

It’s odd to me that the reviews are so mixed /​trending negative for The Bar (n,) because I had an excellent time getting drinks and hanging out here – though it is the bare minimum for a standard bar in West Philly.
I stopped by on a Friday night with some friends, since we were eating nearby. Clearly, The Bar (n) is still new and working out some décor issues (the gentrifying sign outside is so hilariously awful that it adds to the… charm (?) and the inside is standard barren dive bar with tiny tables, couches, and lots of neon,) but it was still pleasant for my group.
Beer was reasonably priced, but cocktails were incredibly expensive – the selection of both is decent, though. My friends and I appreciated the loungey couch area and wide selection of games (we played Cards Against Humanity for probably too long here.)
Overall, I have no major complaints about The Bar (n) – it’s just a barebones West Philly dive bar, not the swanky local-​food-​esque place it advertises itself as.

It’s reasonably priced divey bar. Yes it’s a work in progress. Yeah, the sign is a bit weird — but I’ll take weird over the previous management.
This area needed a straight-​up bar that wasn’t a restaurant (like Dock Street).
The bartenders are always pretty friendly to me.
(Re: clientele. I didn’t see anyone bounced out because of their race. Did you? Maybe if you parked a few more Japanese racing motorcycle, there would be more black guys hanging around again? That seemed to be a big draw. And maybe that will happen in the summer. What I do now — it seems that there are fewer phone calls to the police.)
One complaint — music is waaay too loud. Way too loud.

I like it. It was a fun night out with the friends, pool was great, and drinks were what you would expect at a dive. Actually it was the first time I had ever had a $ 4 city wide with Crown Royal… Although this was because they ran out of cheap whiskey, I’ll take it. I’ll definitely be back soon.

It’s not perfect, but it’s a dive bar with cheap drinks and music. There was some live music the night I was there. The service was good and the drinks I ordered were decent. I live in the area and would probably go here again. It could use some more seating.
I look forward to them adding food to the menu.

Okay, this is my first visit to the bar (n) and I like it. The drinks are reasonable for the area, board games available, jukebox, pool table and «city wide». Im a huge fan of most establishments that offer the citywide. The barmaid is attentive an it seems like a cool local bar. I’ll have to stop by another time but later in the evening to see if my review is valid.

Been here a couple times. Met the owners, they seem great. Very gender and orientation nonspecific crowd. A place for all to be welcome. Nice drinks and fun games to play. .25 PAC man! So why 3 stars? Service. Hands down. Nice enough but don’t seem to want to be here. Very uninterested in their jobs. Hope they get it right, I like it here. Oh– and food please!!!

I was very excited about the opening of this place and after I went there last evening I wasn’t disappointed. They have a really impressive beer list and the bartender who served me was extremely polite. It wasn’t busy in there around 6pm which was great as my friends and I got a chance to talk and enjoy the vibe of the place. Really looking forward to more evenings spent at the Barn in the future.

Man, I really wanted to like this place. It’s a great location which could really anchor a key corner of Cedar Park.
However…the ambiance is terrible. It’s hard to describe but basically it’s the visual equivalent of listening to band in which all instruments are tuned half a step off from one another. Nothing works, it’s awkward and your eye doesn’t know where to go. One exception is cool lighting at the bar, but that only makes the rest of the place look even worse.
As a new place, you would think they would want to encourage groups of people. Nope– just a couple of random love seats and a few tables for four. No seating for large parties.
Drinks are ok pricewise but they are extremely weak. Also, the bartenders need some help. One of my friends ordered a G & T, and was served it– in a shot glass. Not ironically or anything «cool» like that. Then, another friend ordering the same after the glass size issue was cleared up was asked «Do you want lime in your G & T?» Um, yes as that is standard in AMERICA, we do.
Music was some sort of insane funk mix that words cannot describe because it was so awesome. jk. It was terrible and also did not fit anything going on. Oh yeah, and this was when they HAD A DJ. Not playing off of a poorly selected Pandora station that slipped the mind of the staff. It was chosen. ON PURPOSE. And like the décor, did not make any sense in the environment or contribute positively to the vibe.
Also… the name is THE WORST. I heard it was because the Farmacy owners claimed that people call the Farmacy «the Farm» and that the «Bar (n)» was supposed to be complementary. A of all, no one, except maybe the owners themselves, call the Farmacy the Farm. B of all, the Bar (n) is the WORST. Please change asap. K. Thx.
I get that the new management wanted to open fast and start doing business but this is not the way to make new neighbors & customers feel like you respect them. It felt like the operators just assume that people in the area will patronize them no matter what because they are describing themselves as a cool new place.
Also, there should be some way to make this a cool fusion place that draws customers from a variety of socio-​economic and racial backgrounds. Sadly, this business that previously served a largely black clientele has now switched to being almost exclusively white. There’s a middle ground– I hope they find it. In other areas, they need to seriously rethink their business strategy.

This place is alright. I like the old school vibe. And honestly, I think it’s a great idea that they have opened up with little change to the old décor. Start making some money and make renovations little by little. It’s a work in progress, but it’s packed every night. I’ve lived on Baltimore Ave for 3 years, and since Elena’s Soul burned down, I’ve been thirsty for a place on the Avenue that isn’t Ethiopian. I enjoy the African jawns, but could we have some variety? I would really like to be able to walk and have a beer and eat something other than injera. So I’m looking forward to seeing their menu when the kitchen opens. It’s also nice to have a place where we can play pool or grab a board game and chill with friends or dance it out on the floor. They have live DJs and will have live music soon. I see it kind of as a Tattooed Moms meets the Barbary someday. This place is already a success, and it’s not even finished yet. I would really like to see them put up a new sign out front, though. My only criticism.

Good bar!

I want to start this review by saying I am generally against judging places their opening week. However, I think it is fair to judge how a place handles their opening week from a customer standpoint.
I was in The Barn for all of 10 minutes. The place is a block from my apartment and I cannot fathom ever returning.
The Barn has no signage save for a laminated piece of paper on the door. Otherwise from the outside (and it turns out, also the inside) it looks like New Third World Lounge always has.
Upon entering, we were greeted by a bouncer (?) who stared at us and said nothing. Apparently he was there to ID people. After reading his mind and showing him my license, I gave the place a once-​over.
They have done nothing to the interior of this bar. Guys, I cannot overstate this enough – this place has NO ambiance. It’s barren with awkwardly placed tables. Zero décor. RX the Farmacy is cute, so I expected they would have tried to fix the former New Third World Lounge up a bit. NOPE. It’s the same as it used to be.
We weren’t sure how seating worked since no one seemed interested in speaking to us. Keep in mind, this is the day after their «Grand Opening Party». I approached the bar and watched the three bartenders standing at the other end chatting with each other. After serving the people within arms reach of them and making eye contact with me about 7 times, one finally came over. I asked for a food menu, and she informed me that they did not have any food yet.
Let me just say this bartender was very nice and I don’t fault her for the fact that their kitchen isn’t open. HOWEVER. If the little press a bar/​restaurant has gotten has been focused on their farm-​to-​table fare, there should be at least a limited menu at the grand opening. Or at least a teaser menu to look at, followed up a «Sorry we don’t have food yet, but we will on x date!» The bartender did not have any idea when the kitchen would be opening. Welp.
RANT WARNING
The Barn is doing exactly what every other new place in West Philly does – the bare minimum. There’s so few places in this area that establishments wind up succeeding simply because they exist (Dock Street and Little Babies being some exceptions). I’m tired of it. Someone needs to step their game up and show this neighborhood the respect it deserves.
TL;DR Nope, nope, nope.