Bar serving small plates plus cocktails and bottled beers - may have an age requirement, check ahead. Host happy hour weekdays. Kitchen open til 1am. Sister business to HipCityVeg. Main menu isn't available past 11pm on weekdays and 12am on weekends. Then a late night menu is available until 1am. There is an age requirement to sit at the bar but not at the tables. Open Mon-Thu 4:00pm-11:00pm, Fri-Sat 4:00pm-2:00am, Sun 4:00pm-11:00pm.
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131 S 13th St, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA, 19107
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- Outdoor seating
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Last update on 02 Jan 2025 by OperationChowhound
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Added by eravencroft on 09 May 2014
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186 Reviews
First Review by s1ave4sing1n
Thepennsyltuckyvegan
Points +1015
FANTASTIC - Edit
It's so rare that one would find a vegan bar, so THANK GOD for Charlie was a Sinner. I recommend this to everyone, vegans and nonvegans. The atmosphere is lovely, the drinks are creative and refreshing, and the food is simply divine. Everything they serve is worth every penny! I can't wait to go back for a girls night.
Read moreGuest
potatocake
Points +60
Best vegan food I've ever had - Edit
This restaurant is a true gem. I can tell you nothing like this exist in Florida where I am from. Meals are served tapas style which makes this place a fun date spot or place to eat out with friends. The menu is amazing. Everything I ate blew my mind. Stand out dishes were the bao buns, ricotta w/ bread, and the potato croquettes. The cocktails are also unbelievably good. Will travel from Florida again just to come back here.
Read morePros: Food that will leave you speechless, Great cocktails, Cute atmosphere
Cons: Small space, Very Expensive but worth the price
Guest
Bloodyicecream
Points +39
the best - Edit
This place RULES. They have such a wide selection and everything is absolutely delicious. It's a tapas bar so the portions are small; get ready to order a bunch of stuff and share with your friends. The mixed drinks are great too. I've tried a ton of the menu items and have never been disappointed. Calling ahead and placing a reservation doesn't hurt because they tend to be pretty busy on weekends. Awesome spot for a fancy date.
Read morePros: amazing food, romantic atmosphere
Cons: expensive
Guest
JoshHyatt
Points +518
Amazing Tapas - Edit
This is my favorite tapas restaurant. I have never had such incredibly high quality tapas. In fact, it is not really but what normal serving sizes should be. The food is remarkable and the chocolate pot de creme is phenomenal!
Read moreGuest
JonJon
Points +20827
Drink and food! What a place! - Edit
I took a drink and a few tapas here and I never regret it. The place is really pleasant, centrally located in a lively neighborhood. I ordered a vegan ricotta with grilled bread and a cucumber gazpacho with vegan cheese vegetables. Both tapas were amazing. So tasty and fresh. If I found the price of the whole a little bit high, I definitely recommend the place to spend time, having drink and quality food with friends.
Read morePros: excellent food, nice place, central location, good vibes
Cons: a little pricey
Guest
mas
Points +226
Great Atmosphere - Edit
This is a really nice place for drinks and a snack especially. The drinks are done very artfully. We had dinner here once and our waitress suggested we order 4-6 small plates per person which ended up being a lot of food. Too much food. That didn't stop us from eating it though because it was so delicious.
Read morePros: top-notch drinks, very professional service, large variety of dishes
Cons: expensive
Guest
aurelio7th
Points +32
nice bar - Edit
drinks were superb, when I got the food I was wondering where was the rest but its a bar so not the place to go for dinner I guess. its small portions but it was delicious and surprisingly enough after leaving we were lost and were walking around 2 hrs looking for my car and weren't hungry.
Read morePros: all vegan
Cons: none if you know its a bar serving bar food servin
Guest
Killertofuuu
Points +117
Greatest Ever! - Edit
Cannot get over the delicious food here!!! We tried half the menu and are already dreaming of going back! The staff was so kind, our waitress Melissa was amazing, and the atmosphere was really cool, but the food and drink spoke for itself! I had the basil fennel lemon soda mocktail and it was like summer in a glass. Artichoke frites were my favorite course!
Read morePros: friendly staff, great variety , small portions for sharing and sampling
Cons: small, limited seating
Guest
kmanchester306
Points +838
Probably my all time favorite vegan restaurant - Edit
I live in NYC, but my husband and I come down to Philly pretty regularly now since the vegan scene here is pretty awesome nowadays. The first place we always make reservations for is Charlie Was A Sinner. Even if you're not a vegan, you can't pass this place up! They serve mainly tapas, but every dish is absolutely insane. The drinks are also creative and the service is always attentive and friendly. Charlie's is small and always crowded on the weekends (probably during the week too, I've just never been during that time) so definitely make a reservation. Love, love, love this place... and that means a lot coming from me since I live in a vegan mecca of By Chloe, Cinnamon Snail, and Candle 79. Must go when in Philly.
Read morePros: Atmosphere , Service, Food
Guest
onesonicbite
Points +113
LOVE LOVE LOVE - Edit
I love this place. I've been twice, once for just cocktails, and another for an expensive fancy dinner with my husband. Both times were awesome. Cocktails are amazing, food is amazing, and so were the dessert. The staff is awesome. Once I ordered desserts and they accidentally brought the wrong dessert and I already started to eat it. It wasn't a big deal, it was still delicious. But they brought the correct dessert anyways, and didn't charge us anything extra (even though we said we were okay with the wrong dessert anyways.)
Read moreThis is a great bar to bring an omni person to since the vibe is far from the stereotypical healthy vegan hippie, and if you have a friend that doesn't drink, there are some virgin cocktail drinks to choose from as well.
In general the price is high, but not more than other bars for the cocktails. The dinner dishes add up quickly but this is the perfect place to go to celebrate any special occasion.
Pros: Great food, Seasonal dishes, Well crafted cocktails
Cons: Expensive overall
Guest
GenevaJohnson
Points +101
WOW - Edit
This place is absolutely amazing. Staff is amazing. Food is incredible. Highly recommend checking this place out!!!
Read moreGuest
Kingrichardiii
Points +20
one of the best in the city - Edit
This is one of my top 3 favorite philly spots. Everything from the interior design to the innovative cocktails is spot on. The menu of small plates is constantly changing and have yet to be disappointed by a single thing.
Read morePros: vegan, cocktails , small plates
Cons: limited seating
Guest
svm9357
Points +100
Awesome!! - Edit
Charlie was a sinner is an awesome spot. It's owned by the same people who have HipCityVeg, so I knew I was going to love it. I brought some of my non-veg friends here (who were wary), and they loved the food! Most of them had the daily selection of tacos, and I had the crab cakes, which were delicious. They have a large selection of cool cocktails and then wine and beer as well. It is a bit pricey because it's tapas style, and the drinks are priced how you'd expect at a hip bar. The atmosphere is also really cool; may be a bit dark for some people, but I loved it.
Read moreGuest
xveganjedix
Points +27
What a vegan bar/restaurant should be - Edit
Anyone who wants to open a vegan bar/restaurant should visit Charlie was a sinner. This place does everything right. Great staff all around (we sat at the bar and couldn't have had a better bartender). I had a mocktail that was fantastic, and my wife had a few drink specials that were all expertly crafted. We tried a few food items, and all were exceptional. Our favorite were the chickpea sliders which were cooked and sauced perfectly.
Read morePros: Everything
Cons: None
Guest
serosenberg
Points +72
2nd only to Vedge - Edit
Up until Charlie Was A Sinner opened, the only real upscale vegan option in the city was Vedge, which in my opinion is unrivaled pretty much anywhere. CWAS has a nice chill but classy vibe and the small plates allow for sampling plenty of dishes, which is always fun.
Read moreOn my visit, I tried 3 of their cocktails, 9 plates and 1 sumptuous dessert. Drink-wise, my favorite was the Ulysses-referenced special (Ask Again Yes). Our waitress recommended another one I can't remember the name of, but it was made with white wine, vodka and I think pear purée. Also a nice one. The Penicillin cocktail was way too strong for me.
As for the plates, my favorite by far was the crabcakes, smoky little numbers served on the soft mini buns with potato chips. I couldn't even tell what they were made of (zucchini?), but my goodness where they tasty. Other standouts included the sensational Caesar salad, crispy and spicy tofu rolls and the ricotta, a smooth lemony (cashew-based?) dip, served with perfectly chard bread. other selections were decent, but not as memorable, including the tofu puttanesca, the spiced cauliflower, the gnocchi and the comfit potato cup with mushrooms. The only dish I really didn't care for was this other potato concoction, which sounded like it was going to be amazing, but tasted more like tater tots resting on a few scalloped potatoes. The artichoke frites, sadly, never arrived.
Dessert of course was chocolate- a rich, luscious pot of chocolate with some rum-soaked bananas and whipped cream. I was super full but scraped every last morsel out of the bowl
Pros: crabcakes, cocktails, can taste lots of plates!
Cons: none, other than the fact that nothing could ever
Guest
kc2085
Points +36
Great! - Edit
Good service, warm atmosphere, great food. One of the best vegan restaurants in the country.
Read moreGuest
Alyannkar
Points +1175
High school rivals and mysterious projections - Edit
So, I was taking some Southern friends of mine around Philly, which they had never visited before. Because I am vegan, I wanted to bring them here, because I hadn't previously had a chance to visit. Our server was incredibly friendly and had even attended my rival high school. He took time to explain the whole food and drink menu. As for the drinks, they were artistically developed, using very diverse ingredients. I was pleased with the choices. As for the food, it was incredibly difficult to choose what to try. We ended up sharing five tapas. The tapas were small, but very filling. I would say that the food and drinks are severely expensive, though, so it is a better place to visit when you either have extra cash to spend or are trying to celebrate something.
Read morePros: Delish food, Great staff, Classy atmosphere
Cons: Prices
Guest
JesseIves
Points +133
a nice date night on vacation - Edit
This was a really nice meal while on vacation. Our food was all very good, as were our drinks. It was a busy Saturday night, we had a reservation, we were a bit early and they were able to seat us. We sit by the front window, and after our table became available we were asked if we wanted to change tables, I'm glad we didn't, the back room was so loud with conversations that I don't think I would have been able to talk with my girlfriend. As I mentioned, it was a busy Saturday night and our server seemed to have like 6 other tables, it seemed like she got lost at times and didn't pay the most attention to us, especially at check out time. Worth the trip, but be patient.
Read moreGuest
Aliwg
Points +421
fantastic! - Edit
Great atmosphere - tapas style plates, 100% vegan. Friendly, attentive staff and very cozy feel with candlelight and antique decorations. We ordered about 7 plates and they were all delicious!
Read moreGuest
Worldvegkitchen
Points +1383
great date spot! - Edit
We really enjoyed our experience at Charlie! The atmosphere is great - you would have no idea it is a vegan place until you read the menu. The clientele are not your granola kind. You know how awkward it is going to a regular tapas place with non-veg friends. Finally, a vegan tapas place where everyone wins! Even the gluten free folks are accommodated. My favorite cocktail was the el conquistador and dish the Maryland crab cakes. The spaghetti meatball dish was great too, but I didn't care much for the lemon saffron artichoke though it's presentation was the nicest. I docked a star because they tell you to order 4 tapas per person and the two of us were stuffed with 5 between us.
Read morePros: great atmosphere, quality dining, mixology drinks
Cons: order less tapas, not more
Guest
Plant Powered Eater
Points +576
Fun Night - Edit
On a recent trip to Philly, one if our most fun outings was here! Special drinks were delicious. EVERYTHING on the menu was vegan- What a treat to have everything on the menu as an eating option!! They also were happy to help my husband make oil-free selections.
Read moreGuest
NatalieF77
Points +29
delicious - Edit
Excellent service. Food & drinks are super delicious. I've been twice now, and will definitely return.
Read moreGuest
eravencroft
Points +173
This is the vegan bar your mother warned you about - Edit
The welcome addition of Charlie was a sinner. is the tipping point that has turned Philadelphia into a veritable vegan oasis.
Read moreIt's dark, cool, and classy, without being pretentious.
I generally prefer beer, but the signature cocktails have me going out on a limb. In particular, the Escape Velocity will please any grown man. A couple more draft selections would be nice, but the Dortmunder Gold will tide me over just fine till then.
The food is excellent, varied, and, as small plates go, fun to order. Everyone pick something. Enjoy. Share a bite (except for the Tofu & Bean Sausage, that's mine.) Repeat until satiated, leaving room for dessert.
All in all, our group agreed the vegan fine dining experience to be on par with, and a nice alternative to, Vedge... like Vedge's edgy sister?
Pros: Great attention to detail, atmosphere, Those little hot dogs sure are cute., Open on Sunday
Cons: A few more beer selections would be nice
Guest
s1ave4sing1n
Points +22
Amazing Vegan Tapas - Edit
The food here is impeccable, as are all the drinks. The dishes are tapas style, so it should work out to about two to three plates per person. My party and I shared a number of different dishes, including mini hot dogs, potato croquettes, and crab cakes. The entire menu is vegan, so don't be put off by the names of certain dishes or drinks. I had the Singapore Sling for my drink, which was fruity and amazing! For dessert, I had Charlie's Chocolate Cake, and it was just the right amount of sweetness I needed after dinner.
Read moreThey really seem to know what they're doing. The place was packed on a Wednesday night after being open only a month! For being a new restaurant, they are certainly doing something right! I definitely recommend this place to anyone who likes good food.
Guest
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