U Bar

Of all the gay bars I’ve visited in recent years while visiting Philly, this is my fave. Center City, including it’s gay community, has become this bastion of clones. I’ve wandered from venue after venue in search of diversity, coming up short oh so many times. Because as a visitor, who happens to be a man of color, one just may tire of «sticking out» every time you want to simply unwind. U Bar offers the most diversity I’ve experienced in Philly in my last 5 or so visits (unless you count the men of color who serve as bouncers at the other joints). The staff is very friendly, even when it’s busy, and the lack of pretentiousness is refreshing. For sure, this will be my go-​to gay spot whenever I’m next in the City of Brotherly Love. Cheers!

Been going here for years and was really taken aback by the security guard literally removing every item from my backpack and questioning me about it! Will not be going back there again!

As for the gay bars in Center City this place is just «ok” – The people from Philadelphia think it’s a «hotspot” – but if you travel a lot and see other clubs across America it’s just, «ok.» The crowd itself is marginal and mediocre. Yes, that’s the way all the clubs are in «cc» philly.
Parking anywhere in the downtown Center City area it is a challenge! Cabs are hard to come by –SEPTA, and public transportation is unreliable.
The Philadelphia parking Authority is ruthless! You can pretty much bet you’re going to start out your night in this portion of Philadelphia paying a hefty price for parking!
The large glass windows around Ubar kind of put you in a fishbowl environment. The crowds are extremely cliquish!
If you are an «outsider» from outside the Philadelphia region, expect to be treated rudely. Philadelphia has a nasty reputation as a whole for being rude and having nasty attitudes str8 or gay! I was asked in U-​Bar by three local gay guys, «where are you from.» I responded that «I’m from Los Angeles, live in Dallas, and work in Philadelphia.»
One of the three guys said, «so you’re stupid and ignorant because you’re from Texas; fake and plastic because you’re from Los Angeles.» This exchange occurred between total strangers, who had only been talking for a few minutes! They were unapologetic about their conduct! This level of discourtesy seems to be the hallmark of most clubs in Philadelphia and their Gayborhood!
Expect to be bombarded with requests to parTy! Drugs seem to be all over the Center City area and gay community in Philadelphia! In the fall of 2013, Philadelphia made national headlines when two gay men were beaten savagely in the philly gayborhood by a gang of 12; one of the suspects was the daughter to a local police chief – The Philadelphia district attorney was only able to file criminal charges on three of the 12 suspects involved! PA, at the time have no hate crime laws on the book for the state of Pennsylvania! This clearly tells you how far behind the times Philadelphia is!
Your personal safety in the Center City area of Philadelphia is a real concern whenever you go into the gayborhood around Ubar!
If you’ve never done Philadelphia’s gay community and bars; it’s okay to do once or twice – then save your money and go to the Raven in New Hope, PA or NYC!
If you do U-​bar; you won’t see much variation in this crowd – the crowd is the same at Woody’s, iCandy, and the other bars in the area. You see the all the same faces; all the time; with no variation!

This place is so simple and bare, yet the layout and intimacy of it made me an instant fan! It’s a great place to fall into conversation with people, not to mention it offers some fun people-​watching

I went here with a group of 6 people and had a blast! Good music, good drinks, great staff! Just overall a great time!

The bar renovation is a great improvement over the old Uncle’s; however, they now employ a Saturday night doorman who is incredibly rude and obnoxious. Too many other great places in Philly to have to put up with the rudeness of this employee!

The UBar could be a 5-​Star review if based on 3 of the bartenders there who are wonderful — however I was truly shocked when, right in front of my eyes, another bartender REMOVED the change from UNDER the napkin UNDER my drink. There happened to be only 2 dollars there — so I didn’t protest publicly. This is not a good sign — you don’t take money off of a bar unless it’s unattended or CLEARLY placed as a tip.

I make it to Philadelphia a few times a year, usually to hit up a rock show at Union Transfer, The Electric Factory, or the Mann Center. All of my friends in the Philly area are straight, so we usually end up at any of a number of awesome beer bars and/​or dives, which is just fine by me.
However, I always like to find a spot where I can have a nightcap and at least look at other boykissing boys… and maybe on the rare occasion, to find one I can at least have a normal conversation with (if not invite back to my hotel for a different sort of nightcapping).
Unfortunately, most of the gay bars in Center City are at least as obnoxiously, stereotypically mediocre as the ones in NYC, and I end up wearing my iPod headphones to avoid the insanely loud (and dreadful) thump-​thump dance music and slapping away the groping hands of muscle queens, dancing divas, and salacious creeps. I never thought a city could have as many awful, same-​ish gay bars as NYC, but Philly most certainly fits the bill.
On my most recent visit, someone suggested a handful of places I should check out. Place number one: a «sports» bar with violently loud house music and shirtless bartenders. No thanks. Place number two: an overcrowded mess of clones in too-​tight t-​shirts and shaved heads, along with slightly less loud but just as awful house music. Again, not even worth approaching the bar to place an order.
Like Goldilocks trying out ursine options, place number three was just right: U Bar!
I had actually stumbled upon this spot a couple of years ago when colleagues and I were on a business trip, and we enjoyed a chill happy hour at the open front windows without even realizing it was a gay bar until it started to fill up with some of its usual clientele. My favorite kind of gay bar is one that doesn’t scream «GAY» in your face the moment you walk in, so I told myself I’d have to come back… and then I summarily forgot where the joint was.
I’m so glad I was referred back, because both nights I went in (Friday and Saturday) were kind of full, but also pretty friendly. I struck up conversations with strangers without feeling like I was being judged as a «trick,» the bartenders and bouncers were pleasant, and – a true blessing – there’s a jukebox on which I was able to play Bad Religion, NOFX, and lots of other stuff that nobody fussed about, but which I’m pretty sure would have gotten me chased out of the queenier establishments I’d tiptoed into (and straight out of) on my way there.
I shall return whenever I’m in town, and I highly recommend it to anyone who is looking for an alternative to the meth-​soaked dance club vibe that is sadly the norm for gay establishments!

The name «U Bar» is an homage to Uncles, the legendary gay bar that used to occupy this scenic corner of Locust & Camac streets. (Maybe Uncles wasn’t really that legendary, but it was definitely there for many years and turned a lot of people into alcoholics in that time, so there’s that.)
But now Uncles is gone, but its legacy lives on in the form of the letter U.
In my mind, though, it will be called R Bar, where the R stands for «rectangle». Because that’s all it is. A rectangular bar. You walk in, there are four sides to sit down at… and that’s it. No nooks or crannies to explore, no real ambiance other than the windows overlooking the streetscape. Just a minimalist place to drink. And that’s fine with me.
What I care about is the quality of the Old Fashioned, and U Bar makes a mean Old Fashioned. I’m not too fussy, but when it comes to Old Fashioneds, I don’t want them too sweet or too boozy, and U Bar strikes just the right balance.
The locals are surprisingly friendly and are eager to chat up strangers, especially on an off night when the fraction of people who are there to S&M (stand & model) is at a minimum. So drink up!

When somebody spills a full drink it’s usually customary for the bar to replace it. Boo!

Great Stoli Honey Martinis. It was my bday and the tender gave me and my friend a shot. Loved the open air alcove. Great for people-​watching.

Pleasant and cozy little pub. Main bar is too wide so there’s not much space on either side. Big windows look out onto Locust and Camac Streets.
Beer selection is maybe a touch above ordinary. Service is friendly, crowd seems laid back.
When I was there with friends they were playing a lot of depressing old pop ballads and R&B songs so it made me more want to go home and cry myself to sleep rather than have a lively time.

While walking around the gayborhood, we decided to try U Bar.
It’s a non pretentious bar. We just went for one drink. The clientele was friendly, as was the bar tender. It’s basically just one big bar. There were a couple of tables.
I had a Chainbreaker white IPA. It was also really good. It was my first white IPA.
I would definitely visit this place again for a chill place for a drink.
They have some build your own sandwiches, but we didn’t try them, but it concept sounded cool.

What’s not to like? The bar looks great these days — a far cry from the old Uncles days. .. it’s always friendly, usually local patrons who are regulars mixed with a few out –of-​towners.
Decent drinks, nice pours and good bartenders. .. it’s a great place to start an evening and a great place to spend an evening.

Sunday Funday at UBar! This place is packed on Sunday afternoons. Great crowd, pleasant and chatty groove to this bar. See some old familiar faces and it’s also a nice place to make a new friend. Bartenders are friendly and drinks are just right. It’s fun bar to tie one on with friends.

As far as Philly gay bars go, I like this one. Doesn’t get filled with air-​headed, drama queen twinks, which is a nice change of pace. Definitely a more mature crowd and much more enjoyable than places like iCandy.

This place is an amazing place if you wanna have a great cocktail and not be bothered with all the young immature boys… The drinks are always in point and worth the price… Tony is an amazing bartender! I never have a dull moment! Is it over looks Locust/​Camac!
Cheers!

Hard to believe I’ve been imbibing here for twenty years. It is a small space which sometimes is very crowded — the recent remodel with the large windows overlooking Camac St. helps open the space up.
The large windows also add table space so there isn’t a fight for drink space on the bar. The drinks are reasonably priced and quite strong. Martinis come in a nice sized glass. Draft beer is available but I am not a beer drinker. I tend to stop in on weekday nights after 21.00 Hrs. when Steve, Jamey or Tony are. I have stopped a few times for Happy Hour with Donnie and once on a Friday afternoon when Ian was on — no complaints with any of them.
The crowd tends to be older, I’m marching up in age as well, but an interesting mix happens from time to time. I’ve never had a hard time joining a conversation or being left alone, if that is what I want. Ubar can be a bit noisy when crowded on the weekends but during the week it is easy to listen to the person next to you.
The remodeled «Uncles» restroom may be off putting to those who suffer shyness, the urinals remind me of those from my grade school.

U Bar is one of the ultimate local pub type places in Philadelphia. Each time that I’ve wandered in, I’m greeted by the bartender and can quickly strike up conversation with one of the many locals sitting at the bar. Lively and entertaining bunch of guys!
The crowd tends to be a bit older, and even though this is a place that friends meet up, they are also welcoming to strangers and out of towners. U Bar is in a great location in a really fun part of town.
If you are looking for a place to start off the nigh and find out a bit more about Philadelphia from the local perspective, you can’t go wrong by stopping in here for a beer or two.

U-​Bar occupies the footprint of the former Uncles bar, a former legendary establishment in Philadelphia’s gayborhood. With the demise of Uncles, there came a top to bottom renovation, fresh pain, removing the years of filthy smoke stench from the walls, new bathrooms, an airy appearance, and a new atmosphere that can only be described as Ultra bright Mehhh… With all the money that they spent on renovations, they forgot to put sound absorbing panels on the wall or something that would attenuate sound. Instead, the bare walls actually reflect and accentuate noise, creating an ultra loud, almost uncomfortable ambiance.
Still, it’s a wonderful improvement over what it used to be.