The Resy Hit List: Where In Philadelphia You’ll Want to Eat in June 2025

At Apricot Stone, chef Fimy Ishkhanian cooks up Armenian, Syrian, and Middle Eastern dishes, using inspiration from her family’s home in Aleppo, Syria. First-timers should go with a $100 dinner for two that comes with an absolute feast: three dips, grape leaves, cheese-filled pastry, spanakopita, falafel, a large salad, rice pilaf, a couple of meats on sticks, and a dessert. We recommend the shredded phyllo treat called Khataif. If you’re going a la carte, make sure to order a few things from the monthly specials menu, which nicely reflect the season with appetizers, entrees, and dessert options.

The best cheesesteaks in the city — enough that it’s more or less outgrown its space, and sprouted a Bradley Cooper-driven offshoot in NYC. Convince us we’re wrong. Danny DiGiampietro makes the rolls fresh every morning. And 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 (which, see below), and this small Italian Market shop always has that line down the block, although it’s a line of the eager and devoted — the kind of people who will offer your toddler a slice as you walk to the playground; which is a random, totally made-up example, we assure you.

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Passyunk’s chef-driven Ember & Ash recently made a change to its format, to lean more into New American gastropub fare. Don’t worry: chef-ower Scott Calhoun’s new menu is still cooked over an open fire and remains creative, with plenty of Asian influences. Take, for example, cured-and-seared swordfish belly slices over a hot sunchoke hash brown with a citrus slice (whatever is ripe from New Jersey’s Bhumi Growers) and bonito aioli. It’s fun. it’s fancy. Crowd-pleasers, like charred steak frites, baked rigatoni Bolognese, and a grilled gem Caesar, make E&A the kind of place that you can come to for a casual weekday meal or a celebration, especially with a group. Or grab a seat at the popular bar for playfully named, well-made cocktails like a Banana-hattan (a smoky banana-infused Manhattan).

Following the success of her adorable Vietnamese buncherie, TBD The Breakfast Den, Huyen Thai Dinh has opened a second spot. You’re in for indulgent, comforting breakfast food like crispy fried rice with tofu and a sunny side up egg, lemongrass shrimp and grits with Gouda, and build-your-own summer rolls with meat, vegetarian, and vegan options as the base. We’re especially excited about the shaken beef and eggs banh mi. On weekdays, bring your laptop and settle in for a few hours. You’ll also find plenty of tea and coffee here.

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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.

This long-running and popular destination for fare, inspired by the rugged Italian region of Abruzzo, also has one of the city’s prettiest garden seating areas. And now, after nearly two decades, it’s back on top thanks to the addition of chef Andrew Wood (whom food lovers will remember from his charming BYOB, Russet). This E. Passyunk spot is known for its maccheroni alla mugnaia, a six-foot strand of pasta served in rotating sauces. Try that, but also sample some of Wood’s house-made salumi and ceppe alla Vittoria: long, hollow noodles with pumpkin puree, guanciale, and saffron. The Italian wines here are well-sourced and the amaro selection, including some made on the premises, can’t be beat.

Meetinghouse feels like it’s been there forever. Well, technically the space, most recently Memphis Taproom, has been a neighborhood bar since 1935. The new owners have kept things simple, but delicious. Chef and co-owner Drew DiTomo’s experience cooking in some of Philly’s top kitchens means you’re in for casual food made really, really well. His roast beef sandwich with a side of horseradish has quickly become a signature dish. We also recommend the turkey cutlet, giant green salad, and baked pineapple. The  narrow bar-restaurant also makes three of its own beers, in collaboration with Tonewood Brewing, in easy-to-follow styles: hoppy, pale, and dark.

From the team behind the three über-hip Forîn cafes around town comes this new neighborhood restaurant with midcentury vibes. Percy is a one-stop shop for coffee, brunch, lunch, dinner, and fancy drinks. Chef Jack Smith’s menu is familiar, but dotted with local and seasonal ingredients. Think ricotta pancakes with cinnamon sugar whipped compound butter at breakfast and crispy barramundi in a cilantro and charred onion curry for dinner. Everything at the bar — wine, beer, liquor — comes from our fair state. We’re into a cocktail called Surfin that combines rum, amaro, caramelized banana syrup, honey wine, and lime. We’re even more into Percy’s swanky, music-oriented lounge, with swivel chairs and a fireplace.

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.

Sometimes popular spots fly a bit under the radar; that’s the case for Washington Avenue’s Plaza Garibaldi Mezcaleria, which has been around for more than 20 years. Those in the know go here to cure taco and burrito cravings, while sipping margaritas from the full bar. Regulars like the beef cheek (cabeza), slow cooked brisket, and al pastor tacos on corn tortillas, plus tomahawk steaks, and homemade horchata. Pro tip: Stop here for lunch during a day of Italian Market shopping when your energy starts to wane. Fuel up on Mexican food and get back out there.

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Philly’s seven-time Beard Award nominee 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 and 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.

As soon as we heard that the team behind Bloomsday, the cozy Headhouse Square neighborhood staple, had plans to open a cafe down the street, we couldn’t wait. Now, Loretta’s is open. With a focus on fresh-baked goods, she’s serving breakfast and lunch, plus coffee, tea, juice, and pastries until 2 p.m. daily. We’re excited about the cinnamon rolls, mahogany laminated pie dough pop-tarts, poofy glazed doughnuts, bagels — and yes, sandwiches too. For a savory bite, try The Shirley with Lebanon bologna, mortadella, serrano ham, and burrata. For something sweet, The Barbara Special packs a croissant with peanut butter, banana, honey-roasted peanuts, and apple cider.

Find more info here.

My Loup chef-owners Amanda Shulman and Alex Kemp continue to stack up the awards, and continue to hold a place of Hit List pride. 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).

We love a vegetable-forward restaurant, especially one where the ingredients are coming from Philly area farms. At Kiddo, you’re in for unexpected dishes like adorable little hasselback sunchokes with parsnip cream, pickled carrots, and arugula pistou. Produce finds its way into fresh pastas too, like a mac-and-cheese-esque cavatappi with a squash mornay sauce, smoked mushrooms, crunchy sourdough breadcrumbs, and pickled shallots. Happy hour buzzes away here from 4-6 p.m. on weekdays with $10-12 pasta dishes and drinks for $10 or less. At all times, you’ll find a bar menu with fruit-infused cocktails and mocktails, a quality wine list, and beers on tap.

This cafe punches well above its weight, as evidenced by a recent James Beard Award nomination. Thu Pham sources coffee from small arabica producers in the central highlands of Vietnam, known for its volcanic mountain soil, and roasts it in Philly. The Olney-native’s sunny Kensington cafe is open for breakfast and lunch six days a week. Get there early to catch specials like strawberry shortcake soft serve on a strawberry cone or a Korean sweet potato and espresso einspänner (a Viennese coffee drink similar to a latte). On the regular menu, find an array of banh mi and other sandwiches, plus sweet and sour tamarind fries.

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French technique meets Pennsylvania grain and fruit at this boulangerie and patisserie located on the ground floor of Bok Building. Head here for flakey layered delights — from double chocolate croissants, to kouign-amann, to a pastry with jammy eggs, hot pepper, and feta. There is a decent amount of seating in the bakery, and a coffee bar just outside. We like to take home a fresh-baked roasted potato cheddar loaf or a crusty baguette. And we’re not alone in our stanning: Machine Shop is on the boards again with a second James Beard nomination.

Find more info here.