The Franklin Mortgage & Investment Co.

Named for a Prohibition-era bootlegging operation, The Franklin has held its position as Philadelphia's benchmark cocktail bar since reopening in its current Rittenhouse Square location. The unmarked door at 1715 Rittenhouse Square opens onto a dimly lit room where the cocktail programme favours spirit-forward builds, house-made ingredients, and seasonal menus that rotate quarterly. The bartenders work with the quiet competence of a team that has been doing this longer than most of the city's cocktail bars have existed, and the drink quality is remarkably consistent night after night. Open until 2am on weekends, which gives it a late-night credibility that Rittenhouse's earlier-closing neighbours lack. The bar that set the standard, and still meets it.