Stateside — Restaurant in Philadelphia

Attn: Stateside (owner) - The review was left on the Passyunk location…

I have never been disrespected and discriminated at a bar/restaurant until now.

My girlfriend and I stopped by during happy hour to grab some drinks before our reservation at a local restaurant. Everything was fantastic! The mood, the drinks, everything!

We loved it so much that we decided to head back for some after dinner cocktails. There were seats available at the bar inside and we proceeded to sit down and the bartender told us to use the QR code to look at the menu. After a couple mins we knew what we wanted and patiently waited while the bartender was making the drinks that were already ordered. After about 20 mins had gone by, a couple sat at the bar inside right next to us. We were all seated right in front of the bartender as he was mixing drinks. I could literally extend my hand and poke him if I wanted to.

Within 5 mins of the couple sitting down next to us, the bartender went up to them and asked them what they would like to drink. Completely treating my gf and I like we didn’t exist and that we weren’t patiently waiting for 25 mins. Now I do not want to say race was involved, but I cannot think of any other reason why a White couple was offered drinks within 5 mins of sitting down and my gf and I who are Asian were not offered drinks for 25 mins. I thought maybe he didn’t see us but we were literally right across from him the whole time and the couple who he went to serve was right next to us.

I was so embarrassed and infuriated that I stood up, expressed my displeasure and left. He did not try to amend the situation and instead just stared at the ground as my gf and I left. I went onto Stateside’s website and submitted a complaint which I was then told that someone would reach out to me within 48 hours. Well it’s been weeks and I have not received a single response. It seems like they want to sweep this issue under the rug but I will not allow it.

So please enjoy your 1 star review! You thoroughly deserve it! If anyone is in the mood for a sour taste in their mouth without having to pay a dime, Stateside will deliver with their awful, borderline racist customer...

My wife and I probably walked past Stateside ten times before we ever went in, probably because it looks unassuming, but always seems to be packed, especially in the warmer months. But, after visiting once, we were hooked, and we see why it's such a popular spot.

Stateside has a small but very solid food menu with a lot of great smaller plates which you can share at the bar. They also have oysters, including a $1 oyster happy hour. The best thing about this is that they usually have very good and unique oysters on for the happy hour, not just the same cheap ones you see at every buck-a-shuck special. We have not had any food here so far that we were not happy with.

The drinks menu includes a nice mix, with an interesting section of draft beers, wines by the class, and a pretty creative and decent cocktail menu. Among other happy hour drink specials, they do a $5 old fashioned! This old fashioned special, I think speaks volumes about Stateside. The whiskey they use is of course cheap, but decent (Heaven Hill I think) and definitely not rot-gut bottom shelf. But more importantly, they take the time to make them to order, even during happy hour. They aren't batched and come out sickly sweet or watery. They make a great drink for a very good deal.

This care they put into a lowly $5 happy hour cocktail I think is representative of what we have experienced at Stateside in general. (They also, by the way, have a HUGE whiskey selection, that they sell by the 1 and 2 oz pour). There is a reason this spot is always packed, although we have not really had any problems getting a seat. It's a great spot, with probably one of the better happy...

Time of Visit: Friday night in June - 9:00pm About 8 Outdoor seating bar seats are available, it was a nice night so outside was busy. I walked in to sit at the bar and wait for my date when the host/assuming he was also the manager told me "the bar is busy, you can have a table though." There were two empty seats at the bar so I wasnt sure why I was being told no but in an effort to not care too much I just stepped back outside to wait. We were seated at a high top by the bar, the host/assumed manager was also waiting on us. He wasn't friendly. Being my first time there I had no idea they only served American products (which I think is great, just had no clue) so when asked about tequila he was very short impolite in his explanation of why they don't have any "No tequila, American products only" (Side note: google it and to be considered tequila it has to be made in certain Mexican cities) ... before we could order he started to walk away. He did this many time through out the night as well as not giving us a last call for table service warning, just came over and took the menus. Overall he is why I am rating Stateside 3 stars, Vibe, Ambiance and drinks were great... but management/server/hostess man wanted nothing to do with serving his customers and just gave us the feeling he had much better things to be...