Philadium in South Philly: A 1971 Sports Bar Serving a Margherita Square That Blew Past My Expectations

I walked in, ordered, paid the bill, and reviewed the pizza like every other customer. No heads-up. No comps.

Whenever we head down for a Phillies game, my crew has one rule: skip the chains and the tourist spots and find the places locals actually go. This trip, my buddy suggested Philadium, a South Philly sports bar I’d never heard of in all my trips to the City of Brotherly Love. It opened in 1971, just a few years after the city built Veterans Stadium. We didn’t look anything else up. We just went and grabbed seats at the bar.

Atmosphere

Philadium feels like an Irish pub, a Philly sports bar, and a neighborhood watering hole all at once, and that’s exactly what we were looking for. The locals knew we weren’t from around there right away, but we had our Phillies gear on, so they welcomed us in. The bartenders and servers were friendly and on top of things, and the conversation just kept going. Staff talked with customers, customers talked with each other, and it seemed like everybody was chatting with everybody.

There are TVs everywhere, including a huge screen in the back dining room, plus a covered patio that looks about as big as the inside, maybe bigger. They’ve made the most of every foot of space. If you’re getting your bearings, it’s about a block down Packer Avenue and across the street from Chickie’s & Pete’s.

We also ordered the French dip, burgers, and crab fries. Every one of them was excellent.

The Mystery Box

The guy next to me had a pizza to go in a rectangular box, the kind you’d get an Old Forge pie or a Philly tomato pie in. Since we were in tomato pie country, I figured that’s what it was. Then he told me it had cup-n-char pepperoni and hot honey. So maybe this wasn’t the room-temperature, soft, bakery-style pie with a thick sweet sauce on top.

I wasn’t going to ask a stranger to open his box, so I left it a mystery and ordered the Margherita Pizza from the menu.

The Margherita Pizza

When you order a margherita, you usually picture a round pie with red sauce, fresh mozzarella, and basil. What I got was a square, as we call it in NEPA, with a big, puffy edge that had some char and blistering on it.

Crust

The middle of the pie was stretched thin, a lot like a New York-style crust. The bottom had clearly been baked in a pan. It had nice blistering, probably from oil in the pan, and it was a deep golden brown. The underside was a little uneven, which left a roadmap of tan and brown spots. The edge was golden brown with a few char marks, and those charred spots had some smoky notes.

My notes from the bar sum it up: very crisp, and very chewy in a satisfying way.

Toppings

Everything else was classic margherita. The fresh mozzarella went down first, and there was plenty of it. On top of that came bright, slightly chunky tomatoes that were lightly seasoned, naturally sweet, juicy, and a little tangy. They finished it with a generous drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, which gave it a buttery note, and a basil chiffonade.

It was well balanced, and every part worked together.

Pizzaiolo’s Notes 🍕

• Pan-fried bottom, NY-thin middle, puffy blistered edge. That’s an unusual mix, and it gave the crust both crunch and chew.
• Fresh mozzarella under the tomatoes kept the tomatoes bright and let them be the main flavor.
• Chunky, lightly seasoned tomatoes tasted natural, not sugary. That’s the opposite of the pasty tomato pie I was expecting.
• Plenty of olive oil gave it buttery flavor and helped fry the bottom.

What I’d Order Next Time

• The cup-n-char pepperoni and hot honey pie. I want to know what was in that box.
• The crab fries again, and another round of burgers or the French dip for the table.

Final Thoughts

I went from having no idea what to expect, to assuming I’d get a Philly tomato pie (which I enjoy for what it is, though it’s not my favorite style), to getting a pizza that looked nothing like either one. The shape, texture, and execution were different from any pizza I’ve had before.

My Takeaways

• 🍕 A square margherita with a crisp, pan-fried bottom, a thin middle, and a puffy, charred edge
• 🍅 Chunky, naturally sweet tomatoes with a little tang
• 🧀 Generous fresh mozzarella under the sauce
• 🌿 Fresh basil chiffonade and plenty of olive oil
• 🍺 A friendly South Philly bar that’s been around since 1971, where everybody ends up talking to everybody

We loved the bar, the people, and the food, and the pizza was very good too. For a neighborhood sports bar, it blew away my expectations.

Have you had pizza at Philadium before a game? If you’ve tried the cup-n-char and hot honey pie, tell me about it in the comments. That’s my next order.

Pizza is Similar to:

• Pizza House in Scranton (closed, but never forgotten)

Technical Scorecard

• Pizza Ordered: Margherita Pizza
• Style: Square, Pan-Baked
• Visit: September 2026

The story behind the scores: the 8.3 for sauce is the highest number on this card. Those chunky, naturally sweet, slightly tangy tomatoes were the star of the pie. The 8.2 for crust goes to that crisp, chewy, pan-fried square with its smoky, blistered edge. Put together, they made this an 8.0 Overall, which is a big number for a neighborhood sports bar. I stand by my gut ranking of what I enjoyed most in the moment, and I stand by the technical scores I locked in 24 hours later.

Philadium
1631 Packer Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19145
South Philadelphia · About a mile from the stadium complex
Neighborhood sports bar since 1971 · Big-screen TVs · Covered patio seating

Speaking of great sauce: if you want tomatoes that bright and naturally sweet at home, check out our Pizza Sauce Rankings and Amazon affiliate picks on NEPA Pizza Review. Every click helps keep NEPA Pizza Review independent.