Here Are Philly’s 14 James Beard Award Semifinalists For 2025
Philly is named in 10 categories for the 2025 James Beard Foundation's Restaurant and Chef Awards.

2023 Restaurant and Chef Awards / Photograph by Nikki Allen Creative
Today was the announcement of the semifinalists list for the 2025 James Beard Foundation’s Restaurant and Chef Awards, and Philly notched an impressive showing — appearing across 10 categories (everything from Outstanding Chef to Best New Bar) and hanging 14 names on the big board (15 if you count Antimo DiMeo of Bardea down in Wilmington, who is named as a semifinalist in the Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic category).
And while yes, these are only the semi-finalists (a division in which our fair city has done remarkably well over the past several years), it is still a wickedly competitive list and absolutely an achievement to be named to it. There will, of course, be further winnowing. And Philly’s representation among the best in the nation will narrow. But for now, it is a huge day for more than a dozen of Philly’s best chefs, bakers, bartenders and restaurateurs, so let’s see where we stand…
Philly’s 2025 James Beard Award Semi-Finalists
Outstanding Chef: Greg Vernick, Vernick Fish
Outstanding Restaurant: Kalaya
Emerging Chef: Phila Lorn, Mawn
Outstanding Bakery: Machine Shop
Outstanding Pastry Chef or Baker: Abigail Dahan, Provenance
Outstanding Hospitality: Little Fish
Outstanding Wine and Other Beverage Program: Càphê Roasters
Outstanding Bar: The Lovers Bar at Friday Saturday Sunday
Best New Bar: Kampar Kongsi
Best Chef Mid-Atlantic:
Juan Calos Aparicio, El Chingon
Yun Fuentes, Bolo
Jesse Ito, Royal Sushi & Izakaya
Amanda Schulman, Her Place Supper Club
As always, there are some unusual picks here. And as always, some absolutely mystifying exclusions. Do I love the fact that, according to the James Beard Foundation, Philly has precisely zero Best New Restaurant semifinalists? In a year when we saw Provenance, Bastia, Kampar, Amy’s, Little Walter’s and so many others? No, I do not. But the JBF gonna JBF and there’s just no accounting for taste, I guess. Honestly, I wouldn’t actually be happy unless the entire list was made up of 75 percent Philly operations, then a handful of spots in New York City, Chicago, and Los Angeles for us to embarrass when we win, but that’s just me. I will always believe that we deserve more love than we get. It’s what keeps me mean and hungry. And that ain’t a bad thing.
But regardless, 14 local restaurants and chefs in the semis is a respectable showing. And every single name that got called should be just ridiculously proud to have been singled out as the best among the eleventy-billion restaurants currently operating in and around Philly. For those of you who are interested, the full list can be found here.
Finalists for the 2025 James Beard Restaurant and Chef Awards will be announced in April. Winners will be named in June. So yeah, there’s a long way to go yet. But we’ll be here, keeping an eye on it all for you.
In the meantime, we can celebrate our semifinalists in the best possible way. Let’s go eat.