Capital Beer

I went here because several people said the sushi was great. It was HORRIBLE. I had to throw more than half of my meal away. I’m not even that picky an eater — but I will never eat from here again.

As far as take out Chinese goes in this part of Philly, this is by far my favorite. But it’s still not as great as some of the greats in Chinatown, which I’m using as a gauge. Prices are decent and the employees are always friendly.
I’ve gotten take-​out a few times since they opened when a hankering for takeout Chinese hits. They also have sushi… so the menu is odd in that regard. But the sushi is decent — fantastic but better than what I expected. To be honest I’ve only gotten cooked rolls here as I’m a little afraid to get anything raw at a place that is not specifically known for sushi.
As far as the Chinese side of the menu goes, I’ve gotten wonton soup, veggie lo mein and sesame shrimp. All were pretty good for take out.
Big downfall is that they don’t deliver. But a bonus (for some) is that they have beer to go (maybe that’s why they can’t deliver?).
It’s good for what it is… fast take-​out food.

I think it’s funny how people review and compare the food at this local place, like it’s a 4 star restaurant! For the area in which it’s in, I feel it’s pretty good. They have different options for all tastes, and thirsts! It’s a little over priced… But compared to a lot of the place around the area, the food is tasty! Would be nice to see them start delivery orders soon! But for the area it’s as good as it’s going to get for now, like I already said!

I love this place. The sushi, the beer, and the atmosphere have kept me coming back for years. I recommend Capital Beer to all my friends and family.

Finally a sushi place in Fishtown:) It’s close to my house, and within walking distance so I can’t complain. My fave sushi is the M16 and the rock and roll. The sushi bar closes at 10 so make sure you order before then. I love their sushi and their chinese food isn’t bad either. They also have 6 packs of cider to buy which is awesome because I don’t drink beer. I wish they delivered though, because that would definitely expand their business. Don’t mock it till you try it!

Good Chinese food and really nice beer selection. Haven’t tried the sushi yet, so I can’t speak to that. True, the staff isn’t exactly the most cordial, but they’re plenty nice enough for Chinese food take out. This is not an expensive or fancy restaurant, so you should go in with reasonable expectations.

The proportions are huge, enough for two meals. The food was decent but nothing to brag about. The person who picked up the phone was somewhat rude. He asked if I would look up their menu online because I asked if they had a few things. The garlic chicken had a lot of vegetables and not as much flavor as other places I’ve tried. There is take out beer which I guess offsets the mediocre service and so-​so food… Or maybe not. I will go to other local hot spots next time.

To be fair, I’m not much of a Chinese food fan in general — but my boyfriend ordered the special Lo Mein and thought it was pretty good. He said he would definitely be back — as it was the best Chinese cuisine he’s had in Philly, though he’s had better at other places we’ve lived.
I got a couple of sushi rolls and the crab Rangoon wontons. The sushi was really fresh, very well made and some of the best I’ve had in a long time. I got the tuna roll and the Fancy roll, which is salmon and avocado topped with spicy tuna.
My food fell more within the 4 star range. I wish there were half stars, but I think atmosphere/​environment knocked it down to 3 for me. It felt a little too casual, especially if I’m paying over $ 40 for a meal for two. Plus they don’t offer smaller sizes of the entrees if you eat in.

First time going here and i just got vegetarian rolls (sweet potato and also vegetable futo maki) as well as hot n sour soup. It was good! I think next time I’ll try fish rolls. Was hesitant because a friend had the Philly roll and they used smoked salmon, but maybe it’s just for that roll. It’s not amazing food but they didn’t do it wrong. Also has a really good beer selection. Wait was long, i would strongly suggest calling ahead.

Worst place ever! Had to talk to 3 people just to get our order right. They still messed it up and had a real bad attitude like I was the one who made the mistake by messing up the order. The food is down right awful. Avoid this place.

I have to admit I was very skeptical to order sushi from a place called capital beer. To my surprise it was actually very good. We don’t have many sushi places (if any) unless you go further down into northern liberties. The place is very clean. Their only downfall is they don’t have delivery. Hopefully soon they are able to resolve that issue because honestly it’s not just about the sushi. The Chinese takeout is one of the best in the area. I really hope this business stays around in the area.

I really want this place to succeed because I love sushi and the neighborhood lacks any such restaurants. But I’m afraid it’s doomed like every other business that has occupied that building in the past 15 years (and there have been MANY).
The sushi has to be graded on a curve. For the neighborhood, it’s 5-​star. But if this business were in Center City, it would be a 2-​star last resort. What I hate about this observation is that sushi, if taken seriously, can be truly mind-​blowing when made well.
But these kids — yes, it’s run by kids — don’t take it seriously. In fact, they don’t seem to take any part of the business seriously. I’ve spent a lot of time waiting for an order to go, watching them barely lift a finger, roll their eyes at customers, play on their phones, and ignore new guests.
(And about waiting for an order to go… you better bring a book, because these guys are sssllloooooooowwwwwww).
I get the distinct impression that one of their parents owns the business, that Capital Beer is someone’s «starter job,» and that all of the employees are the owner’s kid’s friends. Colossal turnoff.
For me, the food is good enough. But I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone.

Who doesn’t love a place where you can get Chinese and sushi AND beer. Their beer options are great and there’s a ton to choose from. We have done take out and it is always to perfection. When family comes to visit we take them their as well and they love it. I only wish they had a hibachi table!
–No sushi Mondays

Capital Beer offers a plethora of choices. Eat in or take-​out? Chinese or Sushi? Brooklyn Lager or Four Loko?
I recommend the Chinese food. Rating: Very delicious and above average. I recommend anything on the menu. The General Tso’s has been consistently good. Anything else I’ve tried has been excellent for non-​Chinatown Chinese in Philly.
The Sushi is not 5 stars, unfortunately. But given that there aren’t many other options in the area and its decent I’m not about to complain.
And to top it off, the place has take-​out beer, another amenity lacking in the neighborhood. The selection is decent, but nothing special. It offers a bit more than just the typical stuff. It also has a nice tall can and 40 oz selection for the unemployed population.
I can’t speak to the dining in experience, but it doesn’t look all that appealing. The staff is friendly enough.
The best option here is to order the Chinese, grab some beers for yourself and a friend and eat it at home.
TLDR: Capital beer has worthy Chinese food, average sushi and reasonably priced takeout beer. I’m all for it.

Outside of Chinatown, this is probably one of the better Chinese options in this area. While my fellow Asians may disagree with my 4-​star rating, I base it on the following reasons:
1. the food isn’t unnecessarily extra greasy 2. the ease of parking
3. they take credit card
4. (the more obvious reason) there’s an enormous selection of beer that you can order or purchase as carryout
Having Capital in the neighborhood satisfies my every so often craving for Chinese food and my boyfriend’s thirst for yummy craft beer without the hassle of crazy Chinatown parking/​drivers

**This review is for their beer only.**
I stopped in on my way to a BYO dinner to grab some beers and was instantly impressed by their vast beer selection. They carried a good variety of Asian and domestic name brand beers, but they also had some local brewery selections as well. Most importantly, they had my favorite Lindemans Framboise lambic beer (happy dance) which I rarely find in a small beer shop if this sort. But having said that, the variety doesn’t come without a cost – their prices are definitely a bit high. If ever I’m in a pinch for time and needed to pick up some beers, I think I would still come here again. Their convenient location near me and variety warrant that at least.

I was pleasantly surprised when I walked in… greeted with a HUGE selection of take out beer and GLUTEN FREE OPTIONS at a great price, and I do mean great price. The look and location made me skeptical but overall everything was delicious with great service and I can take beer home with me… which is pretty awesome.
GLUTEN FREE options — Redbridge, Woodchuck Cider, Stella Cider, and Angry Orchard Cider. Their stock does change so the seasonal ciders will rotate. And you can ask for the to-​go soy sauce for a gluten free soy sauce (it only has corn product, no wheat). And I just asked for my dish to be steamed with white rice.
They serve Chinese, Sushi, and Some American options. We had a sushi roll, Orange Chicken, Chicken Chow Mein, Fried Rice, an Eggroll, Egg Drop and Wonton Soup and Fried Rice. Everything was very fresh and tasty — no one in our group had any complaints and almost ate everything, which means it was good.
If your in the mood for some Chinese and Sushi and you want to have both and take out some beer when your done, this is definitely a good place to go.

I’m currently on the quest to eat sushi at every sushi place in Philadelphia. I live in the neighborhood however and have never tried Capital Beer. Honestly, I just assumed it would be bad. Its a place where the dope heads in Port Richmond can buy a Four Loko, not somewhere you expect the food to be good.
After hearing from a friend the sushi was awesome I decided to give it a try. I was so wrong for assuming from neon signs and the neighborhood it would be bad. Everything was top notch. From our friendly server, to our ridiculously awesome soup, to our tasty sushi. I will be back and honestly I feel stupid for assuming from the other reviews that this place was anything other than a great restaurant. As a restaurant manager this is what peeves me off about Unilocal

I feel like I’m in the Twilight Zone reading all of these positive reviews. What is going on here? I just finished my meal and can’t even wait until tomorrow morning to write the review! This is definitely not the answer to our lack of Chinese and sushi restaurants.
All of the food here was absolutely flavorless, served in heaping portions, and mushy.
The egg roll was seriously filled with kimchi. The inside was pink and tasted like vinegar. When I asked my husband what he thought of it he couldn’t put his finger on the weird flavor. When I suggested it tasted like kimchi he was like YES!
The beef with broccoli and the lo mein both tasted like MSG and nothingness. My husband referred to the lo mein as «brown noodles.»
The wonton soup was the only marginally edible thing here, but you don’t get much in your order, so there’s that.
The sushi was worse than grocery store sushi. The seaweed wrap was in edible in that you couldn’t chew it! It wouldn’t break up in my mouth. It just basically un-​rolled itself while I was chewing.
The water (yes I’m about to talk about tap water) tasted like plastic. Maybe it was the glass (which wasn’t made of glass)? Who knows.
The waitress was very nice and said «thank you» after every sentence, but she messed up my order and brought me house lo mein instead of just pork. Also, the credit card system is very odd and we didn’t get a receipt.
This joint would be great for beer and convenience store offerings. Please, don’t make the mistake we did and eat here. I can’t fault them for trying to cover the need, but it’s just not good.

Beer to go, Chinese food, sushi, and a whole lot more all under one roof. Capital Beer has something for everyone which is why I really hope it succeeds. From Olde English 40’s, PBR, and domestics to micro brews and yuppie hipster beers. Dutch master cigars to Newports. Skittles to M&Ms. Burgers, fried chicken, and french fries to General Tso’s to sushi. The only thing missing was ½″ Plexiglas.
There has been a lot of buzz about a place with such an eclectic mix of offerings and the recently opened restaurant, sushi bar, bottle shop was pretty busy when I went for dinner last night. They have a decent amount of seating inside and a small sushi bar. Beer is in display cases behind the counter which is a pain but, well, necessary. They have a good selection, though not as large as Bottle Bar East or the Foodery, and the prices were pretty good.
The food is probably more like 3 stars, nothing horrible and nothing extraordinary. I was surprised by the sushi, I expected the worst but was pleasantly surprised. The Chinese food was the typical take out menu. My lo mein was a little greasy but it’s take out Chinese.
Service was decent especially for being so busy. It did take a while to pay the check. But they do use iPads to take orders and square to accept credit cards which is nice. The inside looks to be completely redone and is nice, clean, and updated. They also have a TV displaying the feeds from about as many cameras as the big brother house, which I’m going to say is a good thing.
Like I said, food wise it’s more of a 3 star joint, which isn’t a bad thing, but given their wide range of offerings and ability to serve multiple needs for townie and hipster alike, I really hope this place does well.