The Resy Hit List: Where In Philadelphia You’ll Want to Eat Right Now

If Jesse Ito is involved, sign us up. The James Beard–nominated chef behind the nearly impossible-to-book Royal Sushi omakase counter just opened his second act: dancerobot. Created with longtime collaborator and Royal Izakaya chef Justin Bacharach, Dancerobot was years in the making — including an epic R&D trip to Japan — and delivers Japanese comfort food for dinner, brunch, and late night in a neon-dotted, Victorian-style bar. The chefs suggest ordering the kare pan (curry doughnut), omurice (creamy omelet over rice), konbini-style egg salad sandwich, katsu curry, hamburg steak, and Hokkaido milk soft serve. Reservations drop 30 days out at noon — and yes, they’re going fast. 

First, Alex Tewfik ate everywhere, as food editor at Philadelphia Magazine. Then he took what he loved most about his favorite restaurants and poured it into Mish Mish. The result remains as cozy and welcoming as ever, with a great playlist, dim lighting, a strong wine list, and shareable dishes that encourage lingering. Chef Zev Flores pairs local ingredients with Middle Eastern flavors in craveable dishes like fried sunchokes with Aleppo pepper glaze or smoked purple beets with grapes, tehina mustard, and dill oil. Fried string cheese is a must-order. You’ll find it under the giant apricot on East Passyunk Avenue, one of Philly’s most food-obsessed stretches.

One of the most exciting openings of 2026, Emilia marks celebrated restaurateur Greg Vernick’s first venture outside Center City. With chef de cuisine Meredith Medoway cooking over a charcoal- and oak wood-fired grill, the Italian restaurant is already booking weeks in advance. The menu draws on travels through Italy — from Vernick’s food tours with Jeff Michaud of Osteria to Medoway’s time living in Modena. Expect tortellini en brodo or rigatoni in chicken ragù bianco inspired by an R&D trip to Rome. Pastas are handmade, proteins and vegetables are fire-kissed, and spritzes flow in the 20-seat lounge, where walk-ins can sometimes snag a seat.

When it comes to chill places to drink and meet up with friends, Chris Fetfatzes and Heather Annechiarico are unmatched. The duo behind Grace & Proper and Sonny’s Cocktail Joint (and formerly neighborhood favorite Hawthornes), with their longtime business partner Susan Freeman, are experts at crafting new bars that feel like they’ve been there forever. Wine Dive — yes, a wine-focused dive bar — recently reopened in a new location. They’re calling it “Old Hollywood meets Atlantic City,” which feels fitting for a place lined with tufted banquettes, 20 top-notch wines by-the-glass, chicken cutlets, loaded baked potatoes, and cheeky soft serve flavors like “McDonald’s apple pie.” It’s walk-in only and open until 2 a.m. 

Find more info here.

Partners Sathish Varadhan and Balakrishnan Duraisamy are clearly on a growth track with Amma’s South Indian Cuisine. Named for the Tamil word for mother, Amma’s now counts a half-dozen locations across the city and suburbs. The new Chestnut Street outpost features a spacious dining room and bar, making it especially well-suited for groups. Start with crispy onion samosas, fritters, or shredded flatbread, then move on to ghee-roasted goat, tandoori chicken, fragrant biryanis, and crisp dosas, alongside plenty of vegetarian options. With such a broad menu, it’s the kind of place that rewards repeat visits.

Find more info here.

Something exciting has taken over the former Tio Flores space. Banshee comes from Ben Puchowitz and Shawn Darragh, the team behind influential (and much-missed) Cheu Noodle Bar, Bing Bing Dim Sum, and Nunu, along with brothers Kyle and Bryan Donovan, longtime members of those operations. Here, the group pushes its style in a new direction, drawing on Spanish, French, and American influences. The menu moves comfortably from tarte flambée with maitakes to mussels in harissa, roasted chicken with marcona almonds, and patatas bravas. Familiar Asian notes still tie it all together with ingredients like Kyoto carrots, Thai basil, togarashi, and koji butter.

After a fire and major renovation, David Suro’s long-running Tequilas reopened – as three concepts in one. The original Tequilas still anchors the front. In back, La Jefa and its Milpa Bar (with a separate Latimer Street entrance) cover it all starting at 8 a.m. — with coffee, breakfast, brunch, and lunch. Dinner runs Wednesday through Sunday. Expect black quesadillas with calamari, fried poblano tacos, and shrimp aguachile — everything with top-notch sauces and lots of vegetarian options. Each space has its own bar menu, but the standout is Milpa, co-created by award-winning bartender Danny Childs, with every drink intensely crafted and served in a different glass. We named it one of Philly’s best dining experiences last year.

Embrace Danish coziness during these chill months at this Philly bar-restaurant, named for the concept itself. It’s just as good to take visiting parents as it is for a first date or birthday celebration — an easy, come-as-you-are kind of place. Sample one of 10 house-brewed beers from Brewery Techne, or explore the substantial zero-proof menu, which includes nonalcoholic beer, sparkling wine, and cocktails like the Amateur Jazz, layered with cinchona bark, lemongrass, lemon verbena, sage, tarragon, rosemary, citrus, and spices. The food menu is built for sharing, with dishes served on boards — think cheese, pretzel bites, baby sweet potatoes, and chicken liver mousse toast.

In Collingswood, a small town with an outsized dining scene, Tony and Patricia Massoud opened Li Beirut as a tribute to loved ones in their Lebanese hometown. The welcoming restaurant is built for sharing. Start with dips — silky labneh, hummus, nutty muhammara, and baba ghanoush — then move on to grape leaves, warm garlicky white beans, and charred, tender filet kebab. For dessert, order pistachio baklava and Ghazal Beirut, a playful halva cotton candy. It’s also notably vegan-friendly and offers well-priced bottles of wine. Worth noting: This place is vegan-friendly and offers reasonably priced bottles of wine. 

Since opening in 2022 on East Passyunk, Carlos Aparicio’s El Chingón has been a go-to for top-tier Mexican sandwiches and tacos. Now, the former Vetri and Starr chef has brought the magic to Fishtown, taking over the old Heffe Tacos space with a bright, casual stand on a prime Frankford Avenue corner. The menu mirrors the South Philly original — cemitas, tacos, and all the hits — with seating at picnic tables or a street-facing counter. The twist? Jardin de Agave, a pop-up bar tucked around back in partnership with Bluebird Distilling, serving frozen margaritas in a string-lit, semi-enclosed space that feels miles from Philly. 

No reservations. Find more info here.

In a pioneering suburban effort, Brandon Beringer and Nora Wilson bring a delicious plant-based sensibility to bucolic West Chester, and it’s now available to book on Resy, so we’re psyched. Meals center around a $79 six-course tasting menu, which is built around the growing seasons of this corner of Chester County, and relies on close relationships with local farmers and producers. Dishes here are very much about being their own vegetable-focused thing, as with a charcoal-grilled white sweet potato glazed with habañada pepper, or ravioli filled with truffled potatoes and leeks. The full bar keeps a focused list of old and new world wines, local beers, cocktails, and zero-proof options.

Yehuda Sichel perfected house-baked milk buns at his sandwich destination, Huda, in Rittenhouse. There, the former Abe Fisher chef stacks uber-crunchy spicy chicken, fall-apart brisket, burgers, and grilled swordfish on the sweet, pillowy, Japanese-style buns. Now he’s doubling down on smash burgers with a new storefront in Fishtown, as one dows. At Huda Burger, crispy-edged smash burgers overflow from sesame-seeded milk buns, curly fries come with housemade dipping sauce, and soft serve ice cream means you can have a black-and-white milkshake with this classic meal. Avoiding gluten? Get your burger over a salad or fries.

Find more info here.

Chef George Sabatino is back in his own restaurant — which is reason to celebrate. Longtime Philly diners know him from Fork, Barbuzzo, Stateside, and his first solo spot, Aldine. He’s one of the most respected chefs in town, known for spotlighting seasonal, local ingredients to create elegant dishes. At Fleur’s, that translates to sea scallop gratin with green chile butter, cabbage a l’orange, and pork and pistachio terrine with plum preserves. Situated in a former Kensington furniture store, this 140-seat French restaurant has a central raw bar and chef’s counter in the main dining room. Co-owners Josh Mann (Starr, Defined Hospitality) and Graham Gernsheimer (Vetri, Loco Pez) bring serious hospitality and bartending chops to this big operation.

When Mana opened last year, social media lit up with photos of its “carrot bloom” dessert — carrot cake shaped like actual carrots set over chocolate “dirt” — and the “lychee bloom,” a bouquet-like arrangement that’s actually fried shrimp mousse. We appreciate a photogenic moment as much as anyone, but don’t overlook the rest of the menu. The BYOB from Tom Lau and chef Mana Shi is also drawing attention for sweet-and-sour braised pork ribs dusted with pistachios, rainbow soup dumplings, and deeply flavored curry duck.

Standing on its corner since 1933, Triangle Tavern reopened under new ownership about a decade ago and remains a casual, welcoming bar-restaurant. Yes, you’ll find the classics — mozzarella sticks, burgers, and seitan wings that won PETA’s award for best wings — but the Italian side of the menu is just as compelling. Think pizza, chicken Parm, mussels in red sauce over linguine, and crisp polenta fries. About half the menu is vegetarian or vegan, which is part of what makes Triangle such a neighborhood staple. Add a boozy “wooder ice” and you’ve got a meal that feels distinctly, delightfully Philly. 

Find more info here.

Mother-and-son duo Nhan Vo and Andrew Dinh Vo proudly describe their Vietnamese restaurant as a “hole in the wall.” Maybe so, but since 2014, it has gone big on flavor — and found a devoted following not only locally but beyond — in its signature bún bò Huế, Central Vietnam’s lemongrassy noodle soup that’s similar to phở, with more spice and funk. The pork blood cubes are a popular add-in. You can also get traditional phở here, plus a variety of banh mi, ultra-crunchy chicken wings (perfect for game day!), summer rolls stuffed with meat, veggies, and noodles, and marinated, grilled pork over rice. 

Find more info here.