McGillin's Olde Ale House

Watched as the owner let underage people in and acted like he wasn’t doing anything wrong

Service: 1

Stopped in gor a beer. Great place, very historic and service fun place

Atmosphere: 5

Service: 5

Awesome bar with Awesome service! One of the oldest and best bars in PHILLY!!!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Old school bar with amazing service and prices!

Atmosphere: 5

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: Craft Beer

Historical site, fantastic food, wonderful waitress and hostess. Busy place!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Philly cheese disappointed. Beef was meh, lightly cheesed, no onions. Guess I expected more.

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 3

Service: 4

McGillin's Olde Ale House completely ruined what was supposed to be a special birthday celebration for my husband on April 7th. We had tickets to a nearby Historical Society book event focused on the pub itself and figured we'd kick things off with a casual drink at Philly's oldest tavern—it seemed like the perfect plan.

Because my husband lives with CIDP (Chronic Inflammatory Demyelinating Polyneuropathy), a serious neurological disorder that causes progressive muscle weakness, loss of balance, and constant fatigue, he uses a cane just to stay upright on good days. I dropped him off right at the front entrance while I circled the block multiple times hunting for parking in that chaotic area—anyone who's been to Philly knows how brutal that can be.

He wasn't even attempting to go inside yet, when the bouncer—a guy who clearly didn't bother to assess the situation—marched over and ordered him to leave the property immediately. No questions asked, no explanation given, nothing about my husband blocking anyone or causing a scene—he was just existing there, visibly disabled and waiting patiently for me. It was humiliating and heart-wrenching to see, especially on his birthday.

As a public accommodation in Pennsylvania, McGillin's is bound by the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act (PHRA), which explicitly prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities in places like bars and restaurants—full stop, no exceptions for assumptions or appearances. Denying access to someone based on visible symptoms of a condition like CIDP, without any evidence of disruption or intoxication, smells like a textbook case of perceived disability discrimination. We ended up wasting money on event tickets, parking fees, gas to get there, and the whole evening went down the drain—we skipped the bar and the event entirely... What a disappointment!!!

This isn't just poor customer service; it's the kind of incident that makes you question if they've got a pattern of mistreating vulnerable patrons. Seems so, should have looked at the critical reviews first.

Zero stars, no return visit ever, and we're documenting everything for the Philadelphia Commission on Human Relations just in case. Historic spot or not, they need to train their staff better.

Great pub and staff. Friendly place !

Atmosphere: 5

Service: 5

A classic Irish Pub in the heart of Philly. A historic, must experience, Philadelphia bar. Rustic, raw, traditional pub grub and drink options you would expect. It's an ideal place to watch sports. The crowd is engaged with the game as you hear cheers throughout the night. We had wings and nachos which did the trick. It's noteworthy that you can get a stout but it will not be a Guinness. They have rightfully boycotted the brand for opening up Guinness sponsored pubs to complete against them. Good for them! I tried the O'Hara's stout but it wasn't for me. Avoid any highball cocktails bc the glass is full of ice and thimble sized. Order your whiskey neat. All said,it is my Philly home away from home! Unapologetically Philly through and through.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Stopped in for a beer in the early afternoon and enjoyed the ambiance of the city's oldest continually operating pub.

Atmosphere: 5

Service: 5

Why is there a $5 cover for an “Irish” pub? We assumed since there is a cover and a long line there would be something interesting inside like dancing or games or cheap drinks? No. Just filled with frat/sorority types in their own groups and mediocre drinks. The music is too loud to have a conversation but there’s literally nothing else to do there! Regretted as soon as my friends and I were inside. It is much more worth it to go to a regular bar without a cover because there’s nothing special here.

Atmosphere: 1

Food: 1

Service: 1

Rene and Abby.. let me tell you. Above and beyond the call of just being behind the bar. Truly the best service I ever experienced. We talked about everything. From life, death, love and everything in between. No one else I’d rather have handing me a pitcher of beer than these 2. It’s a blessing that I will not forget meeting them and honestly.. at this point.. Rene is in the running for god father of my future kids. With Rene and Abby I just know they will always be taken care of.. just like I was at mcgillins on a random Saturday in April… this is what they do. You walk in , they make you feel like family and then you are hooked.. a true family environment as well as a great place to make new friends. I love this place, I love my bartenders and I love America. God bless.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 2

Service: 5

Amazing atmosphere, servers and bartenders were great. Shout out abby behind the bar!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Philadelphia's Oldest Tavern. Atmosphere was great, service was phenomenal, food was appropriately priced for serving and very delicious! If I could, I would eat there everyday!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Great pub, very busy place!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 4

Service: 5