Where to Eat in Philadelphia Right Now
10 places to eat and drink something great if you're in town for the Michelin Awards this week (or not)
This Tuesday, November 18, Philly hosts the 2025 Michelin Guide Northeast Cities awards ceremony, marking the first time the guide includes Philadelphia and Boston. It’s a big deal, and I couldn’t be more excited to help celebrate some of the people who make our restaurant scene so extraordinary. (I’m still sussing out what to wear—it’s hard to top the glittery gold muumuu I wore to this year’s James Beard Awards, part Studio 54, part Golden Girls.)
But for every Philly restaurant that earns a star, a Bib Gourmand, or a spot in the guide, there are dozens and dozens more that make this city such a joy to eat in—mom-and-pop Italian restaurants, neighborhood wine bars, award-winning taco shops, and exquisite tasting-menus.
Whether you’re in town for the Michelin ceremony or just looking for something great to eat and drink right now, here are ten (mostly new-ish) places that show off the range of what Philly does best. (For more, check out my Saltete guide with 100 places for Where to Eat + Drink in Philadelphia, which I update often!)
From the team behind Royal Sushi & Izakaya, Dancerobot brings playful Japanese comfort food and konbini-inspired late-night snacks to a buzzing Rittenhouse dining room. I love the katsu curry, thinly-cut wagyu roast beef, and cabbage bao. The bar serves excellent sake and nostalgic cocktails, and dessert is Hokkaido milk soft serve with a choice of toppings. (Lemon-filled taiyaki is the obvious choice.)
Meetinghouse is the place everyone wishes existed in their own neighborhood. It’s got a short and perfect menu of updated classics like the ideal roast beef sandwich and a statuesque green salad with herbs and dijon vinaigrette I dream about. Kids in tow? They might like the shrimp cocktail, breaded turkey cutlets and a big plate of fries. Desserts are thoughtful and theatrical (a coupe of ice cream doused with Crème de menthe at the table.) They have a trio of house beers brewed by local Tonewood Brewing, and wines by the glass, and in nice weather you should sit outside on the enclosed side patio.
From James Beard Award–winning chef Phila Lorn and wife/partner Rachel Lorn—the same couple behind Mawn, is a Southeast Asian oyster and crudo bar on East Passyunk. Cambodian-leaning seafood—like scallop crudo, oysters, and rich crab gravy are all on offer, alongside inventive cocktails. Order a Jabroni Negroni and omg a Hoe Cake—corn and dashi batter cake soaked in honey butter and topped with a baseball of smoked trout salad and (if you’re fancy and/or smart) trout roe. Reservations get snatched up quickly, but a few bar and counter seats stay open for walk-ins.
Amá brings modern Mexican cooking to the Fishtown–Kensington border, with Mexico City–born chef Frankie Ramirez turning out wood-fired dishes that spotlight heirloom corn, bright salsas, and seasonal vegetables. The airy, industrial dining room and long, lively bar make it a destination for agave-based cocktails and plates like tlayudas and grilled octopus. Order the salsa and chips to start—unlike any you’ve had before.
The menu at Omar Tate and Cybille St. Aude-Tate’s North Broad restaurant honors Black foodways with a soulful and absolutely delicious pre-fixe dinner. Inside the warm and polished dining room — arranged with a mix of tables and low slung sofa seating surrounded by wood-paneled walls — choose your own adventure with dishes like oysters, Haitian spaghetti with XO sauce, fritters topped with a delicate little scoop of scallop ceviche. The couple also employs a fermentation director who will bring out samples of whatever mind blowing thing he’s working on, like sake made with Carolina Gold rice.
La Jefa is an all-day Mexican café, restaurant, and agave bar just off Rittenhouse Square, from the team behind the beloved Tequilas. By day, it’s a sunny spot for coffee, conchas, and Mexican-inspired breakfast and brunch. At night, Jefa Milpa in the back shifts into a moodier room for inventive agave cocktails and shareable plates that are a perfect blend Guadalajara and Philly.
Named “Most Outstanding Restaurant” (in the country!) by the Beard Foundation in 2023, Chad and Hanna Williams’ Rittenhouse mainstay is a beloved Philly restaurant. Book a table upstairs for the tasting menu of thoughtful and perfectly-executed dishes (it changes, but I loved the quail with coco bread) or show up a little before 5pm for a seat at the downstairs Lovers Bar, where you can order octopus and beans (in the pantheon of Philly’s best dishes) and one of the most mind-bendingly good cocktails of your life. Barman Paul MacDonald created a carousel you can spin for a drink made using the mathematical Fibonacci Sequence. As it turns out, I love math?
Chloé Grigri’s French-leaning neighborhood market, bottle shop, and wine bar on East Passyunk. Browse shelves of tinned fish, charcuterie, and “Frenchie” snacks, then settle in for thoughtfully-sourced wines, raclette sandwiches, and other sip-and-snack plates in the cozy corner space that blurs the line between wine bar, café, épicerie, and all-day hangout.
Oh how I love this small, sister-run bakery inside the Bok building, which sells the world’s best brownie, sprinkled with thick flakes of sea salt, as well as a host of other treats. (The chocolate chip cookies and fruit-filled hand pies are otherworldly, too!) Order ahead for pick up, or find them at the weekly Rittenhouse Farmers Market on (what luck!) Tuesdays.
There are plenty of places to get a great cheesesteak in Philly, obviously. (See: Angelo’s, Jim’s, Cosmi’s, Taste Cheesesteak Bar for its Epis-marinated oxtail version.) Another stand-out is from Sahbyy Foods. The Cambodian street-food stall built a cult following at the Southeast Asian Market in FDR Park with its lemongrass cheesesteak—tender beef or chicken, bright papaya salad, cheddar sauce, and pepper chips on a toasted roll. Sadly, SEA Market is closed for the season, but happily, Sahbyy has expanded to a stall at University City’s new Gather Food Hall.