Almanac
Cocktail bar · Old City ·
Japanese-inspired cocktails, omakase drinks, wagyu hot dogs, miso wings
Japanese-inspired cocktails, omakase drinks, wagyu hot dogs, miso wings
"Oolong infused omakase cocktails and a hot dog under one roof? Believe it, baby. Almanac takes their drinks seriously—you may overhear the bartender talking about what he last foraged—but the wagyu frank at this buzzy Japanese bar in Old City is just as well thought out. It’s topped with tonkatsu sauce, slaw, bonito flakes, and nori, giving it the perfect blend of crunch, tang, sweetness, and umami smokiness. Served on a toasty bun, it’s so good that you’ll struggle to decide if you’re there for the third time this week because of the hotdog or the drinks. Spoiler alert: it’s both." - candis mclean
"When thinking of the watering holes we’d like to hibernate in, it’s usually a neighborhood spot where regulars have been chasing whiskey with whiskey for decades. But with specialized, Japanese-inspired spins on American cocktails, this sexy Old City bar has us considering moving in. The bartender asks your preferences and customizes your drink—though we love both the Juban District, a botanical take on the Manhattan, and the Chūhai, which beautifully blends rice shōchū, oolong, and lemongrass—giving an omakase cocktail experience that rivals the one at Ogawa downstairs. You’re not here for a full dinner, but the bonito-flaked, nori-topped wagyu hot dog and smoky miso glazed wings make for stellar bar snacks, and worth the reservation that you most certainly need (there are only a handful of seats, so don’t plan to show up unannounced). photo credit: CANDIS R. MCLEAN photo credit: CANDIS R. MCLEAN photo credit: Stephen Recchia photo credit: Stephen Recchia Pause Unmute Food Rundown Omakase Cocktail You’ll think the bartender can read minds—or at least bribed your friends to find out your tastes. After a few questions to gauge your bitterness, sweetness, and love-of-licorice levels, you’ll get a drink that’s quite literally made for you. Based on the three times we’ve tried it, they have a 100% success rate. photo credit: CANDIS R. MCLEAN Kyushiki Almanac's take on an old fashioned is made with Japanese whiskey instead of bourbon, and kokuto instead of simple syrup. The brown sugar lends the easy-to-sip blend a hint of sweetness. If you haven’t had an old fashioned before, it’s time to start, and we suggest this one. photo credit: Stephen Recchia Jūban District Almanac isn’t a place you waste on a first date or a group of rowdy friends. It’s an intimate spot with a bunch of smooth operators on the cocktail menu, and this drink is one of them. It’s a bold mix of whiskey, scotch, and pretty much the Japanese version of everything else in a Manhattan. photo credit: Stephen Recchia Wagyu Hot Dog This wagyu frank is topped with tonkatsu sauce, slaw, bonito flakes, and nori, giving it the perfect blend of crunch and umami smokiness. Served on a toasty bun, it’s so good that you’ll struggle to decide if you’re there for the third time this week because of the hot dog or the drinks. Spoiler alert: it’s both. photo credit: Stephen Recchia Karaage Chicken Sandwich Find us a comfy corner booth here, and we’ll happily commit to eating this chicken sandwich until dawn. It’s layered with a spicy chili glaze, melty pepper jack cheese, and tangy pickled sweet peppers. Fantastic. Fries A simple basket of fries with creamy wasabi garlic and Japanese mustard sauce. Meh. photo credit: CANDIS R. MCLEAN" - Candis R. McLean
"Tucked above a sushi spot in Old City, this hushed, jewel-box cocktail lounge is part laboratory and part love letter to Japan’s boundary-pushing seasonal approach, translating the country’s 24 solar seasons into hyperseasonal drinks. The menu leans precise and elegant—examples include the Kasugai Sour (a barley-shochu daiquiri with Midori, yuzu, and Calpico) and the visually striking Sadotini (a matcha martini made with sweet potato shochu, Japanese gin and vodka, egg white, and amazake)—and the omakase cocktail experience asks guests about preferences before delivering bespoke drinks built from foraged and market ingredients. A sharp, limited food menu supports the program with bar snacks like spiral-sliced pickled cucumber salad and Wagyu hot dogs topped in tonkatsu sauce, bonito, and nori, making a visit feel close to traveling to Japan." - ByJoseph Hernandez
"Led by a James Beard–winning bartender, this hyper-seasonal cocktail program fuses American and Japanese drinking cultures and sits upstairs from an omakase restaurant. The bar follows the Japanese 24 Solar terms to guide ingredient availability, sourcing botanical ingredients grown, foraged, or farmed in the Northeast. In a dimly lit setting, signatures include the Kasugai Sour (barley shochu, Midori, yuzu, lime, and Calpico), a punchy yet smooth daiquiri with lingering barley notes, and the Hey Mami, which pairs Japanese whisky and bourbon with peak-season ingredients—recent iterations have celebrated tomatoes, earthy mushrooms, and bright spring alliums." - ByEmily Bloch
"Above Ogawa Sushi & Kappo in Philadelphia’s Old City, I stepped up to a discreet, apothecary-like 21-seat cocktail bar that opened in late 2024 and serves Japanese-inflected cocktails and snacks. A host guides you to a second-floor walk-up and, behind a curtain, shelves of mason jars and housemade ferments greet two bartenders doing long pours and pulling highballs. The program is driven by Danny Childs’s farm-to-glass, ethnobotanical approach (he’s the Slow Drinks author) and head bartender Rob Scott’s experience with ginza and izakaya bartending, resulting in a mash-up of meticulous craft and casual, high-quality service. Drinks are conceived by moon cycle and micro-climate seasonality, the menu rotating every two to three weeks with a pantry mentality summed up by “we have it until we don’t”; bartenders ferment sodas and kombucha, use koji (shio koji, amazake), make tinctures, bitters, liqueurs, amari, and aromatized wines, and work with foraged or farm-sourced items like nocino from walnuts, backyard lemongrass, produce from Suzuki farm and Kitazawa Seed Co., and home-planted Japanese mugwort, mitsuba, momotaro tomatoes, and shishitos. Service leans on omotenashi: the omakase cocktail (dealer’s choice) prompts guests to pick a season for their drink, then staff ask about sweetness, shake vs. stir, and any aversions to tailor a custom cocktail; for example, a suggested autumnal, semi-sweet shaken option might be a Penicillin riff leaning on apple brandy or Calvados with lemon, honey syrup, shio koji for savory depth, a touch of scotch pulled back, and barley shochu for earthiness, producing a smoky, tart, ginger-tinged profile. The bar has evolved from reservation-only nights to a walk-in-friendly, six-night-a-week industry hang with a growing team (including Japanese American bartender Chi Yorizumi), and it emphasizes sessionable lower-proof options like inventive highballs—using osmanthus, chrysanthemum, barley teas, and shochu—to teach and broaden appreciation for seasonal, technique-driven cocktails." - ByAlisha Miranda