The Resy Hit List: Where In Philadelphia You’ll Want to Eat Right Now
There’s no question we hear more often: Where should I go eat? And while we at Resy know it’s an honor to be the friend who everyone asks for restaurant advice, we also know it’s a complicated task. That’s where the Resy Hit List comes in.
We’ve designed it to be your essential resource for dining in Philadelphia: a monthly-updated (and expanded!) guide to the restaurants you won’t want to miss — tonight or any night.
Four Things In Philadelphia Not to Miss This Month
- Feast of the Seven Fishes: Philly is all over the Feast of the Seven Fishes, with spins. Irwin’s Seven Fishes dinner offers two seatings on December 11 for $215 (call 215-693-6206 for info), Cantina’s 7 Moles dinner is a once-a-year-blowout on December 20, Sushi Hatsu in Ambler will serve free premium Japanese sake and prosecco with its $250 seven fishes-themed omakase on December 23, and on Christmas Eve, Cry Baby Pasta and Elma each have their own version of this classic meal. And find lots more to do on our Resy Events page.
- Holiday Brunch: On December 25, Lacroix will serve a Christmas Day brunch that kicks its classic Sunday brunch up a notch with wintery decor and holiday-inspired entrées. You can also count on Lacroix for your indulgent New Year’s Day brunch.
- Toast to the New Year: On New Year’s Eve, some of the city’s best offerings include an early evening $60 Greek prix-fixe dinner (or $75 that comes with a sparkling wine toast and DJ after 9 p.m.) at Almyra in Rittenhouse, a $75 five-course prix fixe at Kiddo in Washington Square West, a three-course Southern dinner at South for $95 or $110, a Rio de Janeiro carnival-themed party at El Techo with an open bar for $200, and a five-course Italian dinner for $151.20 at Po Le Cucina in Spring House.
- Christmas Village Food Tour: If you’ve ever gone hungry to Center City’s Christmas Village market at City Hall and Love Park, you know the challenge. What’s the best food option? How long are the lines? Where do I get that melty cheese dish I saw online? City Food Tours solves that problem with a new food tour of the village. You’ll skip the lines, sample German food including spätzle, raclette, and bratwurst, and even get to do a wine tasting.
New to the Hit List (Dec. 2024)
Bloomsday, Hi-Lo Taco, Jaffa Bar, Little Walter’s.
1. Friday Saturday Sunday Rittenhouse Square
The whole country has been talking about Chad and Hanna Williams’ restaurant. FSS beat every competitor in the country in 2023 to win the James Beard award for Outstanding Restaurant, and we agree it pretty well defines dining in Philadelphia right now. Which is why we celebrate how perfect their fresh take on fine dining is: The bar, the service, the soundtrack, the lighting, and most of all, the fun and refined eight-course tasting menu that’s never been better. It’s also never been a tougher table to reserve: The books open on Resy on the first of every month at 10 a.m.
2. Alice South Philadelphia
One of the newest restaurants in town has quickly earned a spot among the best. It makes sense. Alice’s owner Dave Conn spent his career with the likes of Jose Garces and Stephen Starr. His debut restaurant on a prominent Italian Market corner offers a tour of international dishes from naan to latkes to pasta to rib eye. The best way to experience it is through the $110 chef’s tasting which delivers a generous amount of food — the greatest hits, with some flexibility to swap a dish or two for something you’re jazzed about. With a fairly large menu, you’ll want to go back to try more. Trust us.
3. Angelo’s Italian Market
The best cheesesteaks in the city. Convince us we’re wrong. Danny DiGiampietro makes the rolls fresh every morning. Is there any other cheesesteak joint in town doing that? Angelo’s is also the first place that we can remember employing Philly’s own Cooper Sharp cheese. DiGiampietro is obsessed with making perfect sandwiches and pizza, and this small Italian Market shop always has a line down the block, but it’s a line of happy people — the kind who will offer your toddler a slice as you walk to the playground; which is a random, totally made-up example, we assure you.
Find more info here.
4. Bloomsday Headhouse Square
Bloomsday, which recently welcomed a sister cafe down the block called Loretta’s, has settled into a great rhythm. It’s a neighborhood staple for lunch and dinner, plus brunch on the weekend and a lovely bar to sit around. You can come in for a platter of fancy tinned fishes or a full meal of steak frites. The team is always up to something fun. High tea events spotlight a local bakery and frequent wine events. Around the holidays, you can sign up to decorate gingerbread houses. An on-site wine shop specializes in natural wine with a huge bottle list that seamlessly hops from the Lehigh Valley to the Canary Islands to Slovakia.
5. Little Walter’s East Kensington
Polish food is having a moment, in large part thanks to Little Walter’s. Michael Brenfleck, who previously ran things at , takes traditional, comfort food-esque specialties like pierogies and kielbasa, and gives them the chef treatment. He made Philly proud by snagging a spot on The New York Times’ best restaurants list this year. The advice for eating here is to mix bright and pickled things with rich, carb-heavy dishes, but realistically, when there are cheesy pierogi, vegan pierogi, and even chocolate pierogi, just wear comfortable pants. Don’t forget to try cocktails made with Polish spirits or one of the drinks on the generous zero-proof menu.
6. Kalaya Fishtown
Much has already been said about Kalaya. But if Nok Suntaranon’s southern Thai restaurant has been delighting diners since its humble start in the Italian Market, it has found a proper spot in its much larger Fishtown digs, with a liquor license that helped create a vital bar scene. Book early and often; you’ll be rewarded with deeply flavored curries, adorably shaped dumplings, and a signature grilled freshwater river prawn that’s mixed tableside with its tomalley and jasmine rice.
7. Yanaga Kappo-Izakaya Northern Liberties
Wherever Kevin Yanaga is making sushi, we’ll go. Known as the Sushi Whisperer, Yanaga has worked everywhere: Double Knot, Pod, Morimoto, Zama, and most recently, as an owner-operator. At Yanaga Kappo-Izakaya, he combines dive bar vibes with the master-level raw fish creations he’s known for, like a toro scallion roll or a kani ponzu butter roll. Rumor has it that a secret omakase room is on the way. Cult favorite 1-900-Ice-Cream is for dessert.
8. Caribou Cafe Center City
This Center City brasserie has long been a standby for French fare in an art deco space, but now Caribou Cafe is part of Townsend Wentz’s excellent collection of restaurants. Wentz — known for his eponymous French destination, Spanish restaurant Oloroso, and Italian BYOB A Mano — has brought Townsend’s one-time chef Eric Starkman to lead Caribou. He’s cooking the classics — steak frites, escargot, Niçoise salad — with fine technique, plus monthly specials. In November, look for braised short rib with poached foie gras, truffle, carrots, and turnip. In December, it’s a classic pike quenelle.
9. Jaffa Bar Philly Olde Kensington
In a busy year for the restaurant group behind Zahav, this new opening takes the Middle Eastern cooking that Michael Solomonov’s team has earned acclaim for in a seaside direction. The new oyster bar is named for the coastal city of Jaffa in Israel. It comes with a raw bar that serves seafood towers, oyster shooters, and creative takes like yellowtail done pastrami-style. Hot dishes offer a mix of seafood — Yemenite style bone-in monkfish or Moroccan salmon — and other options, like a burger with green chiles and a vegetable-based sandwich with special sauce. Look for the orange wedge logo on the restored 19th century firehouse building.
10. HIROKI Philadelphia Fishtown
One of the most luxurious omakase experiences in town just got a little more accessible. Chef Hiroki Fujiyama sources exceptional fish for his 20-course seasonal omakase that comes with expertly prepared nigiri and a few cooked dishes for $185. Now, you can experience the sushi-only part for just $115, and it comes with soup and dessert. Alternatively, you can order just à la carte dishes, like cold noodles with sweet soy vinegar sauce and carefully prepared toppings, snapper carpaccio, or katsudon, a crispy pork cutlet. Whichever way you go, ask your server for a sake pairing — the selection here is rare and fun.
11. Black Dragon Takeout West Philly
We’ve been waiting on this one for a while. Kurt Evans has worked at some of the city’s top restaurants and earned extra respect through his End Mass Incarceration dinner series. Now, Evans has hung his own shingle with Black Dragon Takeout, which evokes his memories of Chinese takeout restaurants in mostly Black neighborhoods, like the West Philly one he grew up in. His menu combines both cultures with dishes like collard green egg rolls, oxtail rangoon, macaroni and cheese dumplings, and sweet potato sour chicken.
Find more info here.
12. Irwin’s South Philadelphia
Chef Michael Vincent Fererri has been cooking top-notch Silician food for most of his career in Philly. He’s known for family recipes and fresh spins on classic Italian dishes — and for his spectacular hand with pasta, whether it’s hand-rolled gnocchi sardi with eggplant, or spaghetti with clams. The view from here on top of Bok Building, a former public high school, is a stunner — and adds to what’s always a special time. And if you want to plus-up that specialness even more, you can book Salvatore’s Counter, named after Fererri’s late father; it’s an intimate four-seat experience with a never-repeated 10-course menu, every other Sunday.
13. Breezy’s Point Breeze
Chef Chad Durkin has been making the most craveable roast pork sandwiches in town at Porco’s for a few years now. Earlier this year, he got into the grocery business with Breezy’s, where you can snag meticulously-prepared hoagies on seeded Sarcone’s rolls, plus smoothies, with your weekly shopping haul. The Tush Push offers a spicy, cheesy roast beef, while the Beer Jesus features house-smoked turkey BLT with Gruyère cheese and Cooper Sharp. You can also create your own. And they deliver within a few miles of the Point Breeze shop.
No reservations. Find more info here.
14. Royal Sushi Omakase Queen Village
Philly’s only Beard Award finalist remains one of the hardest reservations in town to snag. It’s worth the effort to experience Jesse Ito’s high-skill omakase at Royal Sushi. The fish here is carefully sourced, intensively prepared, and delivered bite by perfect bite at an intimate counter in a back room of Royal Izakaya, a busy Japanese bar/restaurant. Royal Izakaya is walk-in only; Royal Sushi you can book below.
P.S. Here are a few tips on getting into Royal Sushi Omakase.
15. Doro Bet West Philly
Mebruka Kane is known for her three Ethiopian casual restaurants in West Philly and Germantown: Alif Brew, Salam Cafe, and Doro Bet. At Doro Bet, she and her sister Hayat Ali came up with the idea to fry the crunchiest chicken in town using a special ingredient. Teff flour, the grain that many people know from the sour, spongy injera bread used to gather up Ethiopian stews, subs for regular flour here. This not only makes the fried chicken gluten-free, but boosts the crunch factor. You can get it mild and lemony or nice and spicy.
No reservations. More info here.
16. My Loup Rittenhouse
Far from their first time on this list, My Loup chef-owners Amanda Shulman and Alex Kemp continue to stack up the awards. She was named one of Food & Wine’s Best New Chefs and he was on the cover of Bon Appetit’s 2024 new restaurants issue. This dynamic duo’s cooking is confident, balanced, and fun — just like the vibe in their restaurants (including Her Place and the pop-up Amourette). Here, Shulman and Kemp pay tribute to the modern French cuisine they enjoyed while working and dating in Montreal. The menu changes daily, but if you can get the cold roast beef au poivre with fries, don’t miss it (and don’t be afraid to eat it with your hands).
17. La Baja Ambler
Dionicio Jiménez, known for Cantina La Martina in Kensington, has a new opening in the charming small town of Ambler. Unlike his inaugural restaurant, which leans casual with absolutely delicious tacos and a full bar, this venture is taking on the form of a classic BYOB with white tablecloths and upscale dishes inspired by Mexico’s borders. Don’t miss: Burrata over a rich black mole made with 15 ingredients, elote-style corn with walnut cream, and a whole duck with plantains and bao buns. Jiménez’s unique sauces star throughout this menu.
18. Hi-Lo Taco Center City
Jeff Newman ran Hi-Lo as a pop-up for a few years before opening a brick and mortar right in Center City. His Tex-Mex tacos on freshly made flour tortillas come in satisfying combos like pineapple pulled pork and chicken bacon ranch. They are topped with housemade salsas and sauces. Even the chips are fancy here: Fresh fried heirloom corn tortilla chips coming in hot and fresh all day. The menu is also very vegan-friendly with options for cauliflower and mushrooms to sub in for several tacos. Hi-Lo is open for breakfast, happy hour, and late night until 11 p.m. on weekends. There’s a full bar. Fun fact: Newman, who has worked on both coasts, was part of the opening team for the first Eataly in the states.
Find more info here.
19. Puyero Venezuelan Flavor South Street
The husband-and-wife team team at Puyero has been holding it down, just off of busy South Street, since 2017. The menu here, which happens to be almost entirely gluten-free, features tender meats and white cheese sandwiched between crunchy fried plantains or stuffed into soft arepas. Worth noting: This Venezuelan spot just added brunch on Saturdays and Sundays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Expect takes on their popular sandwiches, but with eggs, as well as Venezuelan sticky buns, coffee, and tres leches cake, if you’re still hungry.
Find more info here.
20. Rex at the Royal Graduate Hospital
Southern food is delicious, and yet Philly doesn’t have much to offer. Hence, Rex at the Royal remains your best option for cornbread, okra, and shrimp and grits. What’s especially cool right now? They’re working with Samuels & Son to combat blue catfish — an invasive species that’s heading our way from the Chesapeake Bay — by cooking it. It’s mild, flaky, and tastes like striped bass. Look out for catfish and waffles and, coming soon, catfish tenders.
Discover More
How to Get Into Vita in Philadelphia
How Oloroso Celebrates Modern-Day Tapas, in Six Dishes
The Philly Restaurants We Loved in September
How to Get Into Amourette
The Resy Guide to Italian Pasta in Philadelphia
Now on Resy: Paffuto, Ralph’s Italian Restaurant, Jezabel’s, and More Local Favorites
Philadelphia’s Newest Restaurant Openings, Now on Resy
How Bolo Brings the Diasporican Experience to the Table, in Six Dishes
Chefs Nok Suntaranon and Jesse Ito on Making Food Your Own
Portraits of Philly: Chef Michael Vincent Ferreri of Irwin’s
Portraits of Philly: Kalaya’s Nok Suntaranon
Portraits of Philly: Friday Saturday Sunday’s Chad & Hanna Williams
Portraits of Philly: Mish Mish’s Alex Tewfik
Portraits of Philly: Musi BYOB’s Ari Miller
Stephen Satterfield's Corner Table