The Philly 15: Philadelphia’s Best New Restaurants
Philly’s most exciting new restaurants, what to order when you go, and why you'll love them.
The wood-fired octopus at Amá / Photograph by Mike Prince
A dizzying number of restaurants have opened up in Philly over the last few months, and, as you may have read, some recent openings have been epic flops. But the nights that fall completely off the rails will never deter us from our mission: to sift through the mediocre so we can find you the rare bits of gold. Enter the Philly 15, our list dedicated to Philadelphia’s best new restaurants.
What does it take to qualify for this list? First, the restaurants below have opened within the past year, hence why they’re “new.” Second, this is a list of spots we’ve tried, loved, and avidly recommend to diners passionate about our dining scene.
Hopefully this list helps you impress your next date, shows your parents how much you’ve grown up, and gives you the confidence to make reservations on behalf of the friend group. We’ll be updating the Philly 15 regularly, so you can always come back here for fresh takes and up-to-date restaurant recommendations.
Got a place you think deserves to be on the Philly 15? Send an email to kpalmisano@phillymag.com.
Amá, Kensington
Best for: A large group so you can split the octopus.
Frankie Ramierz has been in the industry for a while — working in Parc, Morimoto, LMNO, and more — but Amá is the first time he’s really been able to stretch his wings. And he is soaring! As soon as you step into the restaurant, it feels like you’re being transported to Spanish mission with stained wood-bean ceilings and white plaster walls with shelves filled with hand-made pottery from Oaxaca. An open kitchen allows you to see their woodfire grill at work. The menu charts a course across Mexico’s nuanced cuisines, from salsas hailing from Baja to camarones zaradeados from Nayarit to whole striped bass covered in a spicy xnipec sauce from the Yucatán (Ramirez’s favorite region to explore). One of the most brilliant dishes is the milpa salad, an expression of an indigenous system of intercropping that’s been around for millennia served in a bowl. It’s got huitlacoche, cured nopal, heirloom beans, nixtamalized corn, roasted chapulines, pea shoots, purslane, and radishes mixed together in a cumin and roasted tomatillo dressing. The real headliner, however, is the stunning octopus. Served whole with salsa macha verde and meco sauce, it could easily feed a table of four (maybe even six). Everything is so thoughtful and well-crafted. Amá is an authentic expression of Ramierz’s culture and a beautiful tribute to the many nuanced cuisines of Mexico. 101 West Oxford Street.
Tequilas, Rittenhouse
Best for: Enjoying cocktails and molcajete at the bar.
This Rittenhouse stalwart may not be new, but we’d be remiss if we left the triumphant return of Tequilas off this list. After a fire closed it down two years, this institution has come back strong. Walking in feels like old times — the iconic mural of calacas still greet you at the door, the bar still has an extensive library of tequilas and mezcals, and many of the gilded flourishes still adorn the dining room. But in many ways, it’s been refreshed. Aside from La Jefa, the new cafe and agave bar in the back that transitions seamlessly from a daytime Mexican coffee shop with pastries to an evening cocktail lounge with its own vibrant bites, the menu at Tequilas is more focused than before with reimagined classics and new dishes inspired by the Suro family’s culinary research trips to Guadalajara and beyond. The molcajete, a bubbling lava-stone cauldron of spicy stewed meat topped with melted cheese and served with rice and beans, now comes with fresh tortillas so you can make your own tacos. In addition to ceviche, there’s an aguachile on the menu that packs a lot of citrusy heat. And the cocktails are just as artful as ever. The fragrant alma blanca, a smoked corn and hoja santa tequila cocktail with a layer of clarified milk foam on top, diverges in a playful way from what you’d expect from an agave drink. Tequilas has always been relevant, even after 30 years. But with its recent reinvention, it’s even more so now. 1602 Locust Street.
The McDonald’s Money burger at Honeysuckle Restaurant / Photograph by Kae Lani Palmisano
Honeysuckle Restaurant, Callowhill
Best for: Classy comforts shared with loved ones and the McDonald’s Money burger.
Just when you thought Honeysuckle couldn’t get any better, chefs Omar Tate and Cybille St. Aude-Tate grace Broad Street with their lofty, new reinterpretation of their restaurant. Fans of the original University City location may remember the UNTITLED dinner series, which was a test run for this concept where Black history, culture, and stories were served up in refined, imaginative dishes. At the new joint, the husband-and-wife duo have somehow improved upon an already brilliant tasting menu. We’re talking deviled eggs (a cookout classic) topped with crab with a little bit of citrusy heat from Scotch Bonnet peppers, Haitian spaghetti with crawfish and boudin pulled together with West African Xo, and a sweet and savory barbecue sweet potato. And the McDonald’s Money add-on — a decadent burger topped with Cooper Sharp, caviar, shavings of truffle, and gold leaf — is a reminder that the simpler pleasures can also be indulgent. Paired with elegant, inventive, and cleverly named cocktails (like “I Said What I Said”), all served up in space filled with art that celebrates the culture and reflects Omar’s and Cybille’s inspiring journey. 631 North Broad Street.
Megobari, Northeast Philly
Best for: Sharing Georgian food with friends in a retro dining room.
On any list of the world’s great comfort cuisines, Georgian has to be close to the top. This is a canon that consists basically of potatoes, beets, walnuts, cream sauces, potatoes, and cheese on bread. It is the place where the khinkali dumpling was born. Where khachapuri comes from. Where the word “pizza” doesn’t exist, but a dozen things like pizza absolutely do. And Megobari, way up in the Northeast, does some great Georgian food. From a small, strip mall space artfully designed like a combination swinging ‘70s bachelor pad and your weird uncle’s den, they serve amazing, flat Imeretian khachapuri (a thin, round loaf of bread stuffed with salty, stretchy Sulguni cheese), platters of fat, dripping khinkali, bowls of kharcho, and rich chicken satsivi in a cool walnut cream sauce. Trust us: Try it once and you’ll be a convert. Go twice and no normal pizza will ever look the same to you again. 13328 Philmont Avenue.
A few dishes from Emmett’s tasting menu. / Photograph by Mike Prince
Emmett, Kensington
Best for: When you’re craving Mediterranean but want to try something new and unexpected.
Time is the most valuable commodity that any of us have. We’re always rushing, always hurried, always under the gun. But here, in this long, narrow space, in the fading afternoon sunlight, it feels like there’s space to catch your breath. Part of it is the cool, unhurried service; the honest pleasure that the front-of-house team seems to take in walking guests through the menu. Part of it is chef Evan Snyder and his kitchen, who play with color and mood almost as much as they do with ingredients. There’s smoked whitefish with green garlic latkes, baskets of pale sesame madeleines with house blueberry jam, dry-aged duck with wild cherry terrine and cherry mostarda, and date cake with Turkish coffee caramel for dessert. Add to this a wildly inventive (and garden-focused) cocktail list, a tasting menu that comes off feeling (refreshingly) like neither a marathon or a sprint, but just a leisurely stroll through the kitchen’s take on a larger Mediterranean cuisine, and you begin to understand the draw of the place. Because there’s just something about Emmett that makes you feel like you have all the time in the world. 161 West Girard Avenue.
Supérette, East Passyunk
Best for: When you want to feel like you’re drinking wine in Paris.
This pastel-colored, subway-tiled former butcher shop is an almost impossible creature. It has the body of a Parisian street corner grocer, the soul of a French cafe, and the heart of a Millennial wine shop, all wrapped up in one single location that exists for supplying dreamy picnickers, feeding weekday adventurers looking to sink into a long, sunny lunch, and filling the place with weekend crowds of friends and neighbors all jockeying for counter seats, glasses of wine from the curated bottle list, summery salads dressed in espelette and honey vinaigrette, and rustic ham sandwiches topped with crushed potato chips and cornichon butter. There are very few places in Philly that are more fun to eat at right now than Supérette—and none that are equally good at sending you off with a French lunch to go. 1538 East Passyunk Avenue.
Dishes from Corio’s dinner menu / Photograph by Gab Bonghi
Corio, University City
Best for: Out-of-the-box pizzas.
Does Philadelphia need another pizza joint? The answer is yes when a trio of Vernick alums are slinging pies topped with hazelnut pesto and béchamel, spicy Bolognese with beef and pork sausage, and braised rabbit mingling with ricotta cheese. And though the pizzas are excellent it’s not all Corio does. There are plates of pastas and meaty mains that are rich and hearty enough to stand on their own. The spicy crab bucatini is a must-have this summer, and the pork Milanese is everything it should be — not too thin, lightly battered, and fried until golden. And the sharp and zesty endive and chicory salad with lemon vinaigrette served on the side cuts through the fat of the battered pork, similar to how champagne brightens any fried dish. Swing by for a casual after-work dinner over beer from the neighboring Two Locals brewery, or, if you’re a student, order takeout to fuel your next big study sesh. 3675 Market Street.
La Baja, Ambler
Best for: Exciting Mexican fusion.
At Cantina La Martina, chef Dionicio Jiménez created a menu of traditional Mexican cuisine touched with grace notes of international fusion that never intruded too much or pushed things too far. At La Baja, his new restaurant in Ambler, he went in a more biographical direction — letting the menu speak to his decades in the food world, leaning just as much on his boyhood in Mexico as it does on the Italian and Asian cuisines he later came to love. This translates to meals that pinball back and forth across borders — from Italian risotto topped with shortrib braised in Mexican chocolate to whole roasted duck bao with nopales and chile rellenos swimming in green Thai curry. It is a brilliant series of digressions, as delicious on the plate as they are soulful in their history and personal connections. 9 North Main Street.
The duck breast at Leo / Photograph by Kae Lani Palmisano
Leo, Center City
Best for: A dramatic meal whether you’re going to a performance at the Kimmel or not.
This restaurant isn’t just a preamble or finale to a night at the Kimmel. The unexpected presentation of Leo’s eclectic menu served up in this sleek dining room is a rousing performance all on its own. We’re talking thick-sliced hiramasa with briny olives and sweet cherries, smoky lamb merguez enveloped in a crêpe-like shell of crispy squid ink pasta, succulent duck lacquered in burnt honey and peach, and the pillowy, Parmesan-dusted gnocchi with grilled corn and peas. Meanwhile, the cocktails — aptly named for the parts of a play — follow the progression of the five-act structure and are an excellent accompaniment to the ensemble of dishes. The Prologue — a tequila and sherry cocktail with sherry, lime juice, agave syrup, and orange marmalade — is a lightly sweet and refreshing introduction to a bar program that crescendos into the Finale — a potent number made with gin, ruby port, pomegranate juice, beet shrub, and Peychaud’s bitters. Those two drinks are the perfect bookends for the night, but if you’re feeling like a third cocktail, the Encore, Leo’s take on the espresso martini, is a great closer. Though it is absolutely worth getting a meal before a show and drinks afterward, you don’t have wait for the new season at the Kimmel to begin to check this place out. Bonus: Keep your eye out for monthly themed wine tastings and events. 1414 Spruce Street.
TingTing’s, Chinatown
Best for: Late-night curry after a few too many drinks at the bar.
It’s a very specific set of circumstances that could cause a person to need five-spice chicken wings, beef satay, a plate of barbecued unagi over fluffy, yellow scrambled eggs and a bowl of clam chowder all at the same time, but when that kind of urge strikes you, TingTing’s — the new cafe from the team at EMei just around the corner — is exactly the spot you’re looking for. It’s small, crowded, BYO, and serves late breakfasts, lunches, dinners, and late-night bites from a sprawling menu inspired by the all-day cafes of Hong Kong where egg sandwiches, curried beef brisket, spaghetti and meatballs, and Portuguese custard tarts are all on offer. There is something for literally any appetite here, but if you’re looking for a couple solid winners, go for the soy-spiked unagi over eggs and rice or the pork char siu omelet sprinkled with diced scallions. You won’t regret it. 125 North 11th Street.
Oysters, caviar, and shrimp at Little Water / Photograph by Ted Nghiem
Little Water, Rittenhouse
Best for: A seafood-centric date-night.
Right at this moment, Randy and Amanda Rucker and their team at Little Water are serving the single most interesting menu in the entire city at their newest restaurant, Little Water. It is an intensely biographical collection of dishes, inspired by a lifetime spent cooking and living close to the water, informed by decades of thoughtful practice, and executed by a kitchen that, on their best nights, is close to flawless in their execution. With inspired riffs on everything from a simple halibut filet to a peekytoe crab salad crowned with uni and served on an architecturally perfect, golden-brown brick of hash browns, each plate is thoughtful, beautiful and stunningly delicious in equal measure — a rare trick of idealized balance that is hard for any kitchen to manage across an entire menu. Pair this with the easy service, a jam-band playlist, and the casual, coastal vibes in the dining room, and Little Water will quickly become one of your favorite haute comfort destinations in Philly. 261 South 20th Street.
Jaffa Bar, Kensington
Best for: Assembling the friend group for a night of oysters and martinis.
Michael Solomonov might’ve initially tested out this concept in Brooklyn, but it seems completely at home in this converted firehouse in Kensington, where a mile-long bar and acres of large tables make it perfect for large groups looking for a place to graze their way through the raw bar menu, knock back classic martinis or settle in behind a bowl of spicy mussels with chickpeas and toasted Moroccan frena bread. The downstairs bar is often loud, often crowded, and service can get spotty when the place fills up; but if you’re looking for a (slightly) more relaxed experience, the upstairs dining room trades a little bit of volume for a lot more calm, allowing you and a dozen of your closest friends to enjoy your shrimp cocktails, pastrami-spiced yellowtail, crab dip, and oyster shooters in peace. 1625 North Howard Street.
Heng Seng, Cherry Hill
Best for: Comforting noodle soups and a super pungent papaya salad.
If you enjoy Anthony Huong and Pouv Song’s original Heng Seng location in South Philly, you’ll love their three children’s venture out in Cherry Hill. Named for the restaurant they grew up in, the siblings are offering up comforting Cambodian noodle soups, congee, and stir-fries. For folks craving a funky, spicy papaya salad, this is the place to get it. They’re not timid with their use of chili peppers and fermented fish, crab, and shrimp paste. For more savory flavor, try their Phnom Penh-style noodle soup loaded up with sliced pork, pork liver, pork heart, ground pork, shrimp, squid, and fish tofu all swimming in a rich pork broth (you also have the option to get the noodles dry with the broth served on the side). If you’re in the mood for something sweet, grab the coconut juice (with generous chunks of coconut floating in the glass) and spring for the pandan foam. It drinks like a dessert but it’s an excellent palate cleanser between spicy and super umami bites. 1467 Brace Road, Unit C1B.
A spread of nostalgic Polish dishes at Little Walter’s. / Photograph by Gab Bonghi
Little Walter’s, Kensington
Best for: The pierogi ruskie and kielbasa.
While Little Walter’s might’ve started as nothing more than a tribute to chef Michael Brenfleck’s grandfather’s kielbasa and the comfort foods of his Polish American youth, he and his crew have taken the notion of a neighborhood bar and a biographical menu and turned it into so much more. From collaboration dinners and brunch service to pierogi tasting menus and seasonal cocktails, it is a place that never sits still and never rests on the good work it did last night or last week. The team throws their whole heart into every service, and whether you’re just stopping in for a ramp Gibson and a plate of pierogi ruskie or settling in behind plates of smoky kielbasa, pickled beets, dark rye bread smeared with lard, rotisserie pork basted with vinegar, and shots of the house cherry nalewka from behind the bar, there’s just always something new to love about Little Walter’s. 2049 East Hagert Street.
Bastia, Fishtown
Best for: Excellent food and romantic ambiance.
Tucked away in the incredibly sexy Hotel Anna & Bel, Bastia is serving up a part of the Mediterranean we hardly get to see in Philly. Every dish will transport you to the northern shores of Corsica, where French and Italian cuisines mingle. We’re talking grilled octopus with a kick of salsa verde, fregola tinged gold with saffron, and storzapretti ricotta dumplings, a dish native to the Corsican city of Bastia. The menu changes regularly — based on the seasons and the whims of chef Tyler Akin — but that’s all the more reason to keep going back. Nothing on this menu misses. 1401 East Susquehanna Avenue.
