EMMANUELLE

1052 North Hancock Street (at Germantown Avenue)

Philadelphia, PA 19123

(215) 791-8090

My New York friends always groan when I write about a place in Philly, but I spend enough time down there these days that it hardly makes sense not to. Plus, I like cocktails. I like cocktails even more when I don't have to walk too far to get to 'em. Emmanuelle, on the edge of Northern Liberties' Piazza is just what I've been craving. Good drinks, five feet from where my brother lives. 

Emmanuelle sits semi-hidden in a windowless room on the backside of the Piazza. Semi-hidden because while the door is barely visible and there's no sandwich board, there is a huge "Emmanuelle" logo; almost so large that you might think it's a billboard. Inside, it's pitch black. There are some tables, and fewer seats at the bar, but it was far from crowded when Bro and I went, adding to its intimacy. If I had a date to take, I'd take her here. 

Bro and I didn't go crazy with the drinks, what with dinner yet to be had, but the few we did have were excellent. Emmanuelle says that their drinks are French-inspired, whatever that means, and there's both top shelf liquor as well as craft beer. Our drinks were strong, rich, and well deserved after a day of wandering Old City antique shops looking for things that don't exist anymore. The staff was pleasant, ESPN was no where to be seen, and an eclectic mix of rap and jazz was the soundtrack. Emmanuelle clearly is not following in every footstep of the neo-speakeasy scene, but it manages a good mix of both the present day and the past. If you're ever in Northern Liberties and are loathe to wind up in either a sports bar or a crappy Mexican place, if you want a drink without it having to come equipped with a television screen being screamed at by frat guys or equipped with a cask-ale tap manned by a hipster in a beard, Emmanuel has just become your destination.

For a cocktail one should expect to pay anywhere from $9 to $12. Reasonable coming from my neck of the woods. The downside is that Emmanuelle is cash only. They say that it's because they're so new, but from what I hear, they're owned by the folks next door at PYT, so I'm going to go with laziness. That doesn't mean I won't return and make Emmanuelle a regular place to stop when I'm in Philly.

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