The Gayborhood’s dive bar — that’s how Bar X describes itself, and it’s the most accurate one-line summary you’ll find. Occupying the corner spot at 13th and Locust that for decades housed the legendary Venture Inn, one of the oldest and most well-known LGBT+ bars in Philadelphia history, Bar X has reimagined the space as a dive-meets-dance hybrid with strong pours, cheap-ish drinks, live DJs, and a distinctly younger, later-night energy than its predecessor. No food, no pretension — just drinks, dancing, pole performances on select nights, and a crowd that skews 20s and 30s. If you’re looking for the Gayborhood’s most accessible, unfussy nightlife option, Bar X is the answer.
Before Bar X moved in, this corner space was Venture Inn — one of the Gayborhood’s oldest and most storied LGBT+ bars, a Philadelphia institution that operated for decades as a classic gay restaurant and piano bar. Visit Philadelphia officially recognizes the space as “historically-sanctioned” in the city’s LGBT+ nightlife history, and Bar X’s Facebook bio explicitly acknowledges the inheritance. The new concept represents a generational handoff — where Venture Inn served martinis and show tunes to an older, dinner-hour crowd, Bar X pours strong cocktails and plays DJ sets for a younger, later-night scene. For longtime Philadelphians, the space still carries real emotional weight, and Bar X has been careful to honor that history while building something new.
Bar X’s reputation rests on three things: strong pours, reasonable prices, and a welcoming staff. Reviews across Yelp, Google, and queer nightlife guides consistently mention the same bartender — Liam — by name, which is rare and usually indicates a genuinely good service culture. The drink menu is cocktail-forward but not precious, and the prices sit well below the fussier cocktail bars a block over. The crowd is mixed but skews queer, 21–35, and arrives late — most nights don’t pick up energy until after 11 PM. No food is served, so eat first at Knock, 254, or any of the 12th/13th Street restaurants before heading over.
Unlike most Gayborhood dive bars, Bar X programs live DJ sets several nights a week, keeping the atmosphere closer to a small dance club than a neighborhood pub. Music leans danceable and contemporary — house, pop, hip-hop, and the occasional throwback set depending on the night. The bar has also hosted pole performance nights and occasional drag appearances, though these aren’t on a fixed schedule — follow @phillybarx on Instagram for the current week’s programming. The interior is intentionally dim, which some reviews note as a drawback and others consider essential to the dive-bar aesthetic.
Bar X sits at the corner of 13th and Locust in the heart of the Gayborhood, directly on the rainbow crosswalks that mark the neighborhood’s unofficial center. That location puts it within a two-minute walk of every major Gayborhood venue: Woody’s is across the street, Voyeur is half a block north, Tavern on Camac and 254 are a block east, and Knock and U Bar are both within 200 feet. That makes Bar X a natural starting or ending stop on any Gayborhood bar crawl — it’s the easiest place to grab a strong, affordable drink before hitting a cover-charge venue, or the easiest place to finish the night when the bigger clubs close. The 13th Street SEPTA station is half a block away, and there’s usually parking on Camac Street or in the 12th Street garage.
