The Barbary — Local services in Philadelphia

If you've ever wondered what it's like to lose your credit card within seconds of handing it to a bartender, only to be blamed for it and told to "check the ground," this is totally where you need to go. And it only gets better :) Because, when you leave a factual review about your experience, (without having even made a larger issue of it during the instance itself) instead of apologizing or taking responsibility, their owner hops right on their keyboard and cracks their knuckles to respond with a smug, condescending reply that says you were the one, in fact, overreacting and just "too angry"!!! And thinks you should have just "oPeNeD a TaB" like THEY prefer.

Then you're hit with their pathetic little attempt to be edgy and unbothered with their cheughy little "Can we be friends again, pls?" line as if that changes that you had to cancel your card because their super professional and experienced bartender said she was just too busy to deal with it and then have the big bad owner behind the screen really showing you not to mess with them through google reviews.

Some tips: Train whoever is handling your Google review responses to honestly, just not be an idiot. Did you honestly think it would be a good look to only respond to the review(s) that are negative and immediately jump on the defensive and blame the person and offer zero accountability?

If you are the manager/owner who is responding lmao, you might want to consider someone smarter to hire :/

Get some bartenders who can hand the card back to the person who gave it to them without losing it in the five seconds it takes to swipe.

You'd think a bar in a major metropolitan city would understand that the purpose of Google reviews is to gather customer feedback, not to publicly dispute, deny, and mock the people who fund their establishments. So, if you're looking for some basic overpriced drinks while being blamed for someone else losing your credit card, you know...

ETA: Thanks for the reply, not only not being apologetic whatsoever, but also blaming me. I never picked up the receipt tray so not sure how it would have slipped off. Several people looked on the ground around me and did not see it. And I was literally not angry at all. I told her I’d lock my credit card and check back later if they found it and I left a tip. Could I have been more annoying about it? Yes definitely, but I wasn’t. No one asked me if I wanted to open a tab and not sure why you even care if someone opens a tab or pays repeatedly one million times or how that’s my problem. I wouldn’t have opened a tab anyway because I didn’t plan to stay at the Barbary all night. The point of my review was to let people know that you guys don’t really care if you make a mistake and your reply to my review just kind of confirms that. Just weird and rude.

They lost my credit card in the 10 seconds between me handing it to the bartender and her swiping it. She handed me the receipt tray without my credit card on it. I asked where my card was and she said she “thought she gave it back to me” and told me to check the ground around me. She looked around behind the bar but couldn’t find it and basically said she was too busy for this and to check back later to see if they found it. Never got my card back and had to cancel it. They were not apologetic at all. I had literally just arrived when this happened and went the rest of the night without a card to use....

I came to see Spencer Brown with a couple friends. We had high expectations of The Barbary based on the reviews we saw online, and the experience was definitely worth the hype. It was a Brooklyn nightclub quality experience, but the venue is on the smaller side making for a more intimate experience with the DJs (a plus imo). While the space is on the smaller side, occupancy is limited to 200, so it never felt too crowded.

There are 2 stages, the main stage downstairs and a slightly smaller stage upstairs. Each has a decent sized bar immediately adjacent to the dance floors (easy to access) with a good selection of canned beers, seltzers, and canned cocktails, plus all the basics for typical made to order cocktails. The sound system is very good, especially the downstairs stage. Bring ear protection if you plan to stand near the stage or speakers (I forgot mine, but they do sell earplugs at the bar for cheap). Both stages have good light displays synced with the music, but no lasers.

There is a “disco den” upstairs near the back, which has indoor seating to take a break from the music if you need. The disco den has an outside staircase to go down to the outdoor (uncovered) patio area, which is also accessible from near the entrance downstairs.

Highly recommend The Barbary, and I will definitely be adding it to my Philly...