Ray's Happy Birthday Bar

Love it !Very welcoming local spot to chill and get buzzed!Perfect old school dive bar in South Philly.

Oh boy, this place. The dive bar philly people love to put on a pedestal and call it "real". I assure you the reality of it is more like a toxic attraction. I went in with a few friends. We sit down, figure out what we want. I go up to the bar. My first concern is the bartender. Picture a methy poor man's Dinosaur Jr. with empty plug hoops desperately searching for a vape charger in the bar's lost and found. Fun fact, he actually looks like that and was actually doing that. After he finished his task, I then able to order a few drinks and while waiting start talking with a regular. He's super nice, in fact most everyone in there is nice, save for the bartender. So yeah, this bartender gives me some of the drinks. I pay him, tip him well, and as I walk back to the table, he says, "only one round for you guys." He made it very clear he's a little man in a small sad world attempting to keep what little control he has, which sadly is just being mean for no reason. The beer tasted like a$$, so we left.

Wow! Brought my visiting buddy out for a real Philly cheesesteak and looked for an old school local bar nearby. My nephew found this gem of a dive bar. Coincidently, the next day was my buddy's 70th.Love this place! Will return when in the area, even if it's not the birthday of anyone I know. Friendly bartender! Great vibe! (Sadly we missed the Karaoke... but there's next time.)Ray's Happy Birthday Bar is the way to go!

If you want a beer and a shot in an unassuming bar, this is your place. Don't go looking for anything else. The jukebox selections were fantastic and the bartender was very friendly and helped move around a bunch of chairs to seat our group as more people arrived.

If you are looking at a review for Ray's Happy Birthday Bar, this place may not be for you. This amazing South Philly legend doesn't need a review - it speaks for itself. It is the bar by which other dive bars measure themselves. It is the home of a citywide, a chatty bartender who also hates you, and customers who are more like characters you couldn't make up if you tried. If you want IPAS and sports, go to the other place across the street. If you want true magic and gold, come to Ray's. Just make sure to bring CASH.

Great local dive bar right behind the famous Geno's/pats cheesesteaks. After my cheesesteak, I stopped by this spot for a drink and loved the small local vibe to it. Bartender was friendly and locals sitting behind the bar were having fun. Thankfully I came on an Eagles night and the vibes were fun. Fun fact: Anthony Bourdain visited this place before!

Friendly people. Staff is cool. Most people smoke outside, so the air quality is OK. Cool drinks & Karaoke. Cash-only and this is pretty divy, so...

Chill neighborhood bar. No food only drinks, cash only. Karaoke on Friday. Prices were decent. Come on your birthday for a free shot. Thanks

I've known about this place FOREVER. I've passed by it, talked to people who have been regulars here and have thought to stop in on more than one occasion. But today was the day. My oldest daughter and I had time to kill before our next gathering and wanted to get a few drinks. We ended up here. It's definitely a neighborhood, "everybody knows your name" type vibe but still welcoming for those who don't. I ordered a couple of whiskey sours because my kid wants a somewhat "sweet" drink. Mike, the bartender became invested in my choice and instead of just serving the average drink he made a cocktail that included (but was not limited to) turmeric and ginger. It was absolutely delicious. We had another and stopped short of having another because well, we had two. This was just a great place to be and Mike was a stand out. It doesn't have to be your birthday to be happy at The Happy Birthday Bar.

Bartender that was there was rude and had an awful vibe. Left because she was rude. We just drove 4 hours just wanted to chill and relax and have a beer. We are all over 30 years old and were treated like we were stupid children. She 100% could have had a better attitude instead of talking a ton of shit when we walked out. Yes we have been to a bar. We actually are bartenders as well. Believe us we have been treated much worse by better people. Put a smile on and dont be so quick to be an asshole :) also she yelled BYE because we walked out due to her SHITTY attitude.