Brew - Philadelphia

So I needed a place to sit and do school work on my laptop that wasn't Starbucks. Favorable Yelp reviews combined with me being in this general neighborhood at the time led me here. You know, I get the general feeling that the overall positivity here in the reviews is driven by the fact that it's a coffee shop that has beer. This is a big selling point. And it works. Because that's what drew me here. The decaf coffee I had was serviceable. But the ability to get a beer instead after finishing the cup was the perfect complement. I enjoy having the best of both worlds. The wifi worked for me. The vibe is cool. I may never go to Starbucks again if I'm in this area. Plus, the ability to potentially get drunk while writing a term paper on my laptop is an interesting option to have in your hip pocket, even if I never take the option. It's just nice to know that it's there.

It depends on what you want but this place earns 3 stars in my book. I didn't get to try the pour over coffee, though, which is this place's signature. That said, I know that if a place does it right, it still needs to compete with other aspects of a cafe. The store design is pretty modern and slick. It doesn't fit in with South Philly at all. But, it's still pretty neat. Staff were really helpful and nice. The chai latte I had was good, a little on the sweeter side than other places, and it is a great place to work with free wifi and tables. I would not, however, recommend the snack foods. I had a faux oreo cookie and it was overpriced and had no taste. I was instantly sad I bought it after biting into the chalky cookie. But, you win some and you lose some. This place is open late, which I think gives it a step up from others in the area, but it doesn't feel as friendly as the other places. Maybe it's just not my style. If I didn't feel swindled by the cookie, I might have a better feel for this place, but it seriously was an issue and ended my evening on a low note.

Stopped in here last Saturday for a coffee and a light bite. We sat outside and enjoyed our delicious coffee (one of the best I've had in ages). Since we had not had lunch yet we decided to check out their sandwiches. They only had a hummus sandwich left and I happened to be starving. The sandwich was on potato bread and contained hummus, pickled carrot and avocado. Definitely an interesting combo, but not for me, especially for the $6 I paid for it. Next time I'll go for one of the gigantic cookies they had upfront and leave the sandwich in the back fridge... P.S. They also sell beers here which is sweet. My friend comes here on weekends and crafts her own sick-pack.

The first of many long overdue review updates. When I first reviewed Brew/Ultimo it was before they had become a beer paradise and had only had just recently picked up their liquor license. But since that time I have come to enjoy a good number of beers in their cafe, and take home quite the impressive selection of six packs. As far as selection goes I won't call their beer offerings as widespread as the likes at Bottleshop, Foodery, or Hawthorne's. But it is well thought out with plenty pf good locals and imports. And the prices for certain brews are also better than they are at the other spots. While Ultimo is a good spot to do a mix a six pack, a their deals make it better to pick up a straight up six pack, especially since Philadelphia Brewing Company packs are always $8.99. They also have a kick ass Beer of the Month special where I've seen 4/6 packs from the likes of Founders, Abita, Six Point, and others on sell for significantly less than they would be at other places.

I felt out of place here. I 'm not one to frequent places this trendy (for lack of a better word) It 's a coffee bar, and a bottle shop that does co-op vegetables? I struggled to find my order from the unpronounceable varieties and exaggerated descriptions on the menu presented pretentiously to me on tiny clipboard. I opted for this months special, A coffea tea soda. They take the flower from the coffee bean and make carbonated tea from it. It taste exactly how it sounds... but not bad. Additionally, It pretty cramped in here with them sticking two businesses and all thier customer into one