Barstool Sansom Street — Restaurant in Philadelphia

There’s no reason that it’s 2024 and racism is so visible. My friends and I went into the bar to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day. It was a group of five of us and I was the only black person in the group. We were greeted by our server (who was great) and started just to enjoy our time. They had a DJ playing and he started to play music that was all over the place. My friend and I decided to go to the booth and ask for Drake. He rudely told us no and would not explain why. There was less than 50 people in the bar and when my friend went to take out her phone out I was approached by security demanding that I leave. I refused because I had done nothing wrong . Security proceeded to follow me back to my table and I continued to tell him I wasn’t leaving . The manager got called over and automatically told me that I had to leave. As my friends were trying to talk to her she ignored them. She couldn’t answer if they had to leave or if it was only me. She stated how she wanted to talk to the DJ and even pulled our sever to the side even though she had nothing to do with the situation and was a minority herself. When I pulled the manager aside to state how I felt as if I was being targeted I was told well that’s not true because the “security guard is black”. This is the definition of systemic racism . The managers ignorance makes it even more precedent how this establishment targets individuals of color! This place is the most racially motivated place I have ever encountered. Go anywhere else...

The customer service I dealt with last night was horrendous. I don't even want to rate it a 1 star. My fiancé lost his wallet and did not realize towards the end of the night. We presumed to ask the "bouncer" if anyone found it and he ended up remembering the wallet and the name on the ID (my fiancé name)... however, once the wallet was brought to the front of barstool, the customer service failed. One of the employees (a lady with a blonde pony tail) at the front approached my fiancé, myself and friends with such attitude. She began to ask my fiancé to prove that his wallet was his with a photo id... so I chimed in and said how can he do that if you have his wallet with his id? THATS NOT POSSIBLE! She then STUCK HER HAND IN MY FACE. I am sorry but that is POOR CUSTOMER SERVICE and disrespectful. She kept insisting he prove himself with a picture.. but once again he had no photo id... She just was not asking logical questions. She was making it so hard for him to get his wallet back or even ask questions. We then offered her the "idea" of stating his address. She then proceeding to throw the wallet at him and tell us to GET OUT. The customer service in this place is awful. This needs to be addressed immediately. That employee needs to be dealt with. FIX...

Barstool definitely has that classic Philly vibe—crowded, energetic, and filled with a much younger crowd. My friend and I (both mid-30s) were simply dancing and enjoying ourselves when we tried to purchase a table for a little more space once the place started filling with 20-somethings.

When I asked, I was told it was $125 per person. I agreed and even offered $500 for just the two of us. The waitress disappeared and never returned. I followed up with another staff member, who first said they couldn’t sell a table to only two people. I explained we had two more friends joining and was then told we were “too intoxicated”—despite never being given any warning or indication of a problem. We weren’t disruptive, just dancing and having fun.

I even offered to purchase a bottle (whether we drank it or not) just to secure the space, and was still denied. The reasoning kept changing, which felt unprofessional and inconsistent. If there’s a strict policy, that’s one thing, but it should be communicated clearly and respectfully.

Overall, the vibe is fine if you’re early 20s and looking for that scene, but for anyone older who’s actually willing to spend money, the way this situation was handled was...