As you ride down Bethlehem Pike,  there is a small sign by the side of the road for The Drafting Room. The website and full name of the place (The Drafting Room Restaurant and Tap Room) is a bit misleading. I was expecting to come upon a small bar that served food. What I found was an awesome bar and similarly great restaurant.

You see, in Philadelphia, when a place is called a Taproom you are talking about a place that seats about 10 retiree's at the bar, there's the prerequisite mini-pool table (under a tacky Budweiser fluorescent light) and usually a video poker machine that may or may not pay out real money (wink-wink). Thankfully The Drafting Room is the total opposite of that!

First off, this place is huge. There is a large carport that you can pull up to if you prefer to take advantage of the valet parking. You enter through double doors into a lobby area. From here you can either turn right and go into the bar area or head straight ahead into the dining area. Regardless of which way you go, The Drafting Room will not disappoint. 

Since The Drafting Room has plenty of room to work with, they made the bar area nice and big.  The marble bar (yes, I said marble) can seat about 15 people. There are 20 beers on tap, 8 of which are always available (Newcastle, Guinness, Harp, Bass, Amstel Lite, Sam Adams and Black Dog Honey Raspberry - ehh?). The remaining drafts feature concoctions from the local talent like Manayunk Brewing Company, Dock Street, Victory, Independence and Yuengling. This room doesn't end with the marble bar. There are about 20 tables in this room where you can either chill out with your brew, order some grub or just watch the game on one of their many TV's scattered about the room. (Watch all of your NFL games here, they've got NFL Sunday Ticket.) There are about 4 tables located just outside the bar area where you can enjoy your pint al fresco.

You won't make a mistake if you decide to pass on the bar and head right for the Dining Room of The Drafting Room. Their menu ranges from Wings and Tri-colored Nachos to Farm Raised Ostrich Steak. I can't remember the last taproom that I visited offering ostrich on the menu. I sampled their wings and something called Rock Shrimp and Roasted Corn Fritters with a Spicy Scotch Bonnet Aioli. The wings were the crunchy variety with bits of hot peppers and other veggies adhering to the meat. The shrimp dish consisted of whole shrimp surrounded by corn fritters with this hot scotch sauce drizzled on top. Everything was delicious, obviously made from scratch. The menu was inventive and affordable. Each appetizer dish listed above was in the $6 range, while the ostrich steak goes for $18.95 and is only the 2nd most expensive thing on the menu.

The Drafting Room prides itself in their selection of single malt scotch originating from all regions of Scotland. They pour 65 different malts. If you enjoy a good scotch, try their scotch flight which enables you to affordably sample from their collection.

While dining at The Drafting Room,  I was about to pan the place for not offering live music. But just as my cappuccino was served, a duo, sporting acoustic guitars took to the riser in the bar area and began playing.

It is obvious that the owners of The Drafting Room put a lot of thought into making their establishment a first rate taproom. Their attention to detail extends beyond the menu and the marble bar, ensuring that the clientele plan a return visit. 

TDR has a website: www.draftingroom.com that provides all the reconnaissance information you'll need to learn more about this fine establishment.