The Dolphin Tavern

Dolphin Tavern is like the scene in the movie when the main character starts to hallucinate.
It’s hazy from the fog machine, loud from the DJ bumping whatever he pleases, and only illuminated by the checkered disco walls. People in Batman and Robin costumes wander around, then disappear into the haze.
Super weird = fun, at least for me.

So tonight was suppose to be a dance party featuring mainly Prince songs. $ 5 cover, not a problem. My problem is that they aren’t playing any goddamn Prince, they are playing lame ass techno music instead.

I don’t wanna hate on this place just yet since I’ve only been here on a Saturday and the DJ’s tend to vary throughout the rest of the week. I do like that it’s in South Philly so I don’t have to venture far. However, it’s not quite my newest favorite dive bar just yet.
For starters, it needs to decide whether it wants to be a grungy dive or a grungy nightclub. You can be grungy, but you can’t try to get the best of both worlds. Somehow, Medusa Lounge is able to pull this off, most likely because the bar is much smaller and the setup is generally better overall.
I felt like I walked into the 1970’s the second I walked in this place, which is awesome. The bar is very gigantic and placed up front (plus, a spot to hang your coats which is an added bonus) and then the dance floor is behind it, followed by a smaller bar in the back and then awkward bathrooms in the rear where your knees touch the stall doors when you sit on the toilets.
I guess drinks are decently affordable, I’m not sure. I stuck with $ 2.50 Tecates, but I’m sure mixed drinks here are awfully strong. They don’t have a variety– no Corona or Miller High Life, for instance. Whatever is on the chalkboards is what they have. I kind of like the brass tacks thing they’ve got going on, though.
As for the nightclub aspect, the DJ this particular night wasn’t bad, per se, but the deep house music with its lack of build up or drops gets a little monotonous. If you’re on drugs, I’m sure this would be the most amazing thing. But mehh, not for me.
The large, square built-​in wall lights really transported me to a disco atmosphere (and EVERYONE had to Snapchat themselves in front of them), but goddamn are they nauseating. I usually don’t have a huge problem with flashing lights, but seriously be forewarned, if you’re prone to motion sickness or dizziness, avoid this place or stare at the ground all night like I had to do. Throw in that unnecessary fog machine and you’ve got the recipe for disaster. It started to pack up super quick and navigating through the crowd with those lights and the smoke gets to be a little too much.
$ 5 cover isn’t ideal since it’s not center city, but I guess if you’re getting quality music inside it would be worth it, though Saturday wasn’t quality music to me. Thursday night is «Drake Night» I guess? What does that mean? Like are you only exclusively playing Drake? If that’s the case then I’d like to avoid it, I just need to know if I’m missing out on something amazing.

Ugh. Waste of time and waste of a $ 5 cover charge for lousy DJ music that sucked for dancing (unless you’re a white hipster with no rhythm for real dance music: think club, hip-​hop, reggae or Latin.) And the annoying smoke machine in such a tiny dance floor space where it’s hard to breathe already, is just dumb. Yup, waste of time.

Best dance club in philly by far. They constantly book the best DJs to play there and have one of the most friendly staff of bartenders, security, and management. Never a bad time at the Dolphin!!! get there early because they always sell out!!! Happy hour is half off everything every night that they are open from 8 – 10!!!

The drinks are pretty cheap and we got there before the cover started, but the DJ was terrible at 10:30pm on a Saturday night. There were about 12 people visibly trying to dance on their hip dance floor and the DJ kept playing very chill music that no one could dance to. I may be biased because of the atmosphere that I expected but I was a little upset that my friends and I had to leave because of the quality of the DJ. They have too good of a dance floor to disappoint on a Saturday night

Fun club esk atmosphere. Light panel walls are really cool.
Only issue is the drinks are very watered down or are terribly mixed. I had 2 whiskey and cokes and there was next to zero whiskey.
I got my girlfriend 2 long islands and they were realllly bad. Way too much tequila.

Went in for the Pop Muzik New Year’s Eve Extravaganza and barely came out alive. I’m older and kept getting tripped, hit and pushed around. The juveniles (millenials) on the dancefloor were rude and could care less about others who wanted to dance while they stood motionless while japping with each other in the middle of said floor. The only exit was blocked by crowds standing at the bar. It took me 15 minutes to get through and by this time my claustrophonia was kicking in. If you suffer claustrophonia, this is a death trap. I don’t recommend it unless you have a death wish. There are better places to go dancing at. I’m never going back. Don’t waste your money at the Dolphin. Once a dive, always a…

Went it to this ghetto place for the first time, paid 5 dollars for cover. They Gave me this sharper Mark. I went inside, danced a little then I went outside for cigarette and Tried to get back in. Then The bouncer said it wasn’t valid. Like wtf?

Came here for drake night tonight, showed up at 12am on my birthday, waited outside for 30 minutes just to be told that they aren’t letting anymore people in. No explanations given. I told them that I came just for my birthday, and they said there’s nothing they can do they’re full until 2am! Don’t plan on coming back here very rude!

So rad to have finally gotten to come here. I’ve heard about this place for a long time but would never make the trek all the way down. Now I’m a block away — the perfect amount of stumbling distance for a late night out.
The dance floor was rocking, and there was an eclectic crowd keeping the energy high. There was even a group of old ladies busting a groove that I got to shimmy past them to get to the restrooms. The lighting on the walls is unique and a throwback to decades past. Gotta love it.
There was a 5 $ cover charge at the door. I think they should do away with the cover charge — it keeps all the fun and interesting riff-​raff away.

The new Dolphin is terrible. The new owners took all the fun out of the place. There’s nothing worse than turning an amazing old gritty titty bar and turning it into some generic dance club. The old dance floor could have been salvaged, but it looks generic and shitty now. All the pool tables were removed so that an area meant for extra dancing space can exist unoccupied most of the time. Oh well, I guess rich idiots will just continue to turn great old bars into homogenized garbage in Philly.

Drinks were cheap. Cider was good. I asked bartender if they had food. They don’t. Asked if I can order wings in. Yes. Ordered food. It came we ate they asked us leave. Bouncer told me that owner told us no food.

Dolphin Tavern is what nightmares are made of. Good as a dive bar — low prices, lighting, and standards. But as a dance club? Much to be desired. The set up is horrible — you have to snake through a packed crowd to get to a cramped bathroom with barely-​functioning facilities. Due to the set up, people are constantly pushing through, bumping into each other, and spilling drinks. So hot that condensation is dripping off the walls, no air conditioner vents to be felt, no fans. My eyeballs were sweating. Rude crowd that doesn’t understand the concept of common courtesy. Would be good for a casual drink on an off night, but definitely not as a packed dance venue. I would prefer Lit any day, and that’s really saying something because Lit was the lowest of the low til now.

RIP the real dolphin. Not only is this place symptomatic of the gentrification of philly bars, but it’s filled with the worst people imaginable. Thanks four corners, for turning philadelphia into a Mecca for yuppies and assholes. I’d rather give myself a lye enema than walk on the same side of the street as this place, let alone go inside.

It was my Birthday on Saturday and after an early night filled with bar hopping, we wanted to dance. My brother’s girlfriend suggested the Dolphin. One of her favorite dance spots. We went to the Dolphin around 10:30PM. There wasn’t a line but the cover was $ 10 a person.
The drinks were cheap and the crowd was pleasant. I would describe the vibe as chill with a house feel.
The DJ played deep house with a constant beat. I loved the walls, which lit up in different colors.
Wonderful suggestion Caitlin!!! I can’t wait to go back!!!

To be fair, I must say that the drink prices were reasonable and the bartender actually made a pretty damn good old fashioned, which was only three dollars during happy hour.
However, also to be fair, I must say my experience on the whole was awful.
I went there a couple nights ago to go to see a «DJ» who turned out to be more like an iTunes jockey than a real DJ. They had a smoke machine going and it was filling the place with smoke quickly. I turned to my friend to say «this is not a good place for a smoke machine» (because it’s basically a hallway with no windows or ventilation). The barback overheard my comment and said «if you think this is a bad place for a smoke machine, you don’t know anything about clubs.» All balls and no brains, I guess.
Well, I live and work in Hollywood and I actually know a lot about clubs, because I’ve been playing real clubs for years. First of all, the dolphin is soooooo NOT a club. It’s a tavern. Hence, the name. Second, the barback should not be talking to customers that way. Obviously, she doesn’t know how to chat up the customer (me) who just left a great tip because he felt sorry for the decent bartender who had to work in this heinous place. Third, half the crowd kept going outside because they were choking on smoke. So I guess it really isn’t a good place for a smoke machine after all.
That said, my experience at the dolphin sucked for myriad other reasons. It’s filthy. My feet stuck to the floor and my hands stuck to the bar. The bathrooms are all the way in the back so you have to fight your way through the sticky dance floor to get to the bathroom. They actually charge a cover, just so you can stand in this sh*t hole and deal with it. Amazing.
Oh yeah, there are cool lights cascading across the wall. A grand distraction. Whoopee.

Great bar, cheap drinks, great staff. Did I mention the best music in the city? I LOL every time I see someone complaining about the cover. Why is it so funny? The dopes complaining clearly have no idea who is djing on any given night. E.g. $ 15 to see Skream or Seth Troxler?!? DER TOO MUCH MONEY! Never mind that they consistently sell out venues 3x as big and usually command tickets 3x as expensive. This is a bar for people who like cheap drinks, quality atmosphere, and most importantly the best music in Philly. If you want to hear top 40s and awful EDM DJs and still pay as much… Go somewhere else.

This is hands down the worst venue I’ve ever been to. This bar was not designed to be a club. The Dolphin somehow manages to get some of the best acts in Philly but drastically oversells all of their shows. This place is very small but they insist on jamming as many people in as possible. If they capped their ticket sales this place would be worlds better.
If the space wasn’t limited enough, the brilliant architect put the bathrooms in the very back of the venue which guarantees you’ll be getting pushed around the entire time you’re there. It’s inevitable and it’s awful.
While I really love some of the acts coming to the Dolphin I’d rather deep throat a cactus than ever step foot in there again.

Went here for the Goldroom concert last weekend. We had a blast. Music was great, sound excellent, and the lights were perfect. Good crowd. A little tight around the bar, but they capped the number of tickets so it wasn’t too bad. A little tricky to get to the bathrooms, but hey that’s the case at any bar.

I’ve been to this bar several times and every time it gets worse. If you want to be in a crappy place with crappy people ruining otherwise decent music, this is the bar for you.
The Dolphin is designed to be human powered pinball machine where the goal is for drunk people to knock into every surface until they piss at the end of club. Seriously, the bar is a just a giant hallway leading to the toilets.
The dance floor is one of the single most unsatisfying club experiences on the east coast. The lights seem cool, the sound seems okay, it builds my hopes of having a good time. Then I actually try to dance. This is nearly impossible since the dance floor is merely a giant obstacle en route to the toilets and urinals. This makes everyone in a bad mood or ready for an argument, while forcing themselves to have fun.
Nothing can be done with any ease or efficiency. Dancing is impossible since you’re just blocking the route to the toilet. Getting a drink is a nightmare since the main bar was built too wide for the type of club it’s trying to be, therefore no one can move around the outside of it if a few people are waiting for drinks. Then the back bar is blocked by the dance floor and is yet another obstacle on the way to the rest rooms. Hanging out is just annoying since the tables are pushed together, yet somehow exposed and once again just obstacles on the way to the toilets.
Because the club experience is so terrible, the only people willing to suffer through it are jerks and idiots.
My advice:
1. put the toilets in the middle of the club
2. push the dance floor to the back with no toilets and no bar behind it
3. rip out both bars and build a new narrow one in the middle of the club somewhere
4. ditch all the tables and consider booths or hiding areas in the front
5. build a coat check at the entrance where you pay the cover too
6. connect all your cash register terminals so that tabs are transferable
7. stop sucking so bad, this place is a huge disappointment

$ 12 cover? For what? I think you can go to nearly any other «club» in Philly for less than this cover charge. Regardless I had fun, but I still was unsure of why exactly the cover charge was so steep. Drinks were cheap, music was decent, vibe was cool, my only rationale for why they charged so much to get in is that if you don’t pay to get in you’re stranded in literally the middle of nowhere in South Philly and that’s a place I don’t necessarily want to be.
I’ll probably be back, but I’d rather go somewhere else.

I came here for a Klingande concert and it was amazing! It looks very divey and I loved the multicolored christmas lights strung across the place. The dance floor is super fun and has a wall with giant light installations that change colors.
The drinks were pretty reasonably priced ($ 6 for a well-​drink) and the opening DJ was awesome. I would definitely want to come back here to check out what its like on a non-​concert night.

Dolphin Tavern has ALL the ingredients for a place that I would like.
A place that I should like.
All of the ingredients except one: a palatable staff.
Upon entering the other night, I was so excited, music was blaring, great Brazilian DJs were rocking, the drinks were flowing. A cold enough night to warrant a puffy coat, we realized when we walked in that the «coat room» (some racks with hangers, I get it, we all make due with what we have…) was full. We stood there for a moment trying to figure out what to do, and the woman taking cover told us to move out of the way, saying there’s NO space for coats. I said «Ok, sorry, didn’t know what to do, we were just wondering we might do with them» and she said «If you’re going to give me attitude, you can just get out.»
Wait.
What?
It just felt like she came into the night trying to fight someone. The other employees were not directly rude like that, but the bartenders were brusque and rushing customers. That probably had more to do with the fact that it was totally packed, but it left a sour taste in my mouth.
LUCKILY, the dance floor was popping, and I shook off any dissatisfaction there. The bathrooms were a little grody but, again, I wasn’t expecting much. Drinks weren’t cheap, but weren’t outlandish. If you’re looking to get sweaty and rock out surrounded by all of the lights, Dolphin’s your place. But if this visit was any indicator of normal customer service, don’t come expecting a spot full of smiles and assistance.

DON’T:
go by yourself to drink quietly
sit on the speakers
take too long in the bathroom
complain about paying to get in
DO:
drink heavily
dance the night away
instagram a picture of the light up wall
tip the bartenders
remember to close your tab

I can’t say I’ve had the pleasure of experiencing the old Dolphin in all it’s skeevy glory, but the ‘new & improved’ (I guess?) Dolphin isn’t bad! We arrived around 10pm on a Saturday night and didn’t have to pay the cover (because we are old and lame and didn’t know 10pm was ‘early’). Beer prices are reasonable ($ 5 Victory Saison) and the dancers were entertaining. There were 2 girls & a guy. The guy (I think it was the same guy?) changed his outfit a few times. At first he had kind of a cowboy-​sailor thing going on, and as the night progressed, he ended up looking more like a member of «The Prodigy» (Firestarter!).
When we first arrived, the place was pretty empty with no one on the dance floor. They keep it freezing cold which is good for dancing, not so good for just sitting there. Later on, the dance floor filled up. It was fun for a while but the dj was mostly playing Motown stuff (not my cup of tea). The bathrooms are surprisingly really clean.