Best of Philly

Best BYOB Restaurant

2023 Best New BYOB

Tabachoy

The best BYOBs take advantage of the comparatively affordable start-up costs to do something exciting. Tabachoy is a model example, offering an experience that feels fresh and personal, with a menu ranging from classic Filipino dishes, like the lumpia Shanghai stuffed with pork, to an only-at-Tabachoy Caesar salad so crunchy with napa cabbage and mustard greens and savory with fried scallions and cured duck yolk that it gives the ukoy, a gigantic fritter of shrimp, sweet potato and carrot, a run for its money. Read More »

932 South 10th Street, Philadelphia, PA Website

2019 Best New BYOB

Sarvida

Chicharron with crumbled kesong puti cheese goes best with a cold lager. Pancit is perfect with a crisp white, and the lechon pork belly pairs nicely with a fruity red. Good thing you can bring all three to this homey BYO in Fishtown, a spot that helped birth Philly’s Filipino food boom. Read More »

300 East Girard Avenue, Philadelphia, PA | 267-273-1234 | Website

2018 Best BYOB

Hearthside

When the floor-to-ceiling windows are pushed all the way open, and the hearth is roaring in the kitchen, and the roasted chicken that’s dropped in front of you smells like a campfire, you could close your eyes and be at any of the best restaurants in any of the greatest cities. So all the better that you’re in the sweet little town of Collings-wood. Read More »

801 Haddon Ave, Collingswood, NJ | 856-240-1164 | Website

2017 Best BYOB, City

Jaxon

Owner Tony Schiro gets what we want out of a cheffy BYOB. You’ll see proof every night as he seats guests, relays specials and buses tables—this place is all heart and soul. His chef, Matthew Gansert, elevates the whole experience with a not-too-froufrou menu of seasonal eats. Read More »

701 North 3rd Street, Philadelphia, PA | 215-922-2621 | Website

2017 Best BYOB, ’Burbs

L’Angolo West

Don’t show up toting a bottle with a kangaroo on the label. The well-heeled clientele brings the good stuff; it’s what the excellent veal ravioli, braised duck with pappardelle and pan-seared smoked mozzarella deserve. Read More »

26 East Eagle Road, Havertown, PA | 610-446-8400 | Website

2016 Best New BYO

Saté Kampar

This cool, new and very popular addition to the East Passyunk restaurant scene offers excellent Malaysian food and a killer coffee service. The one thing it doesn't have? A bar. So the pro move here is to bring a bottle of vodka, ask for a tall glass of ice and a shot of Ribena (a black-currant cordial that, when drunk straight, tastes like the decorative soaps in your grandmother's bathroom), and then just thank us later. Because nothing goes better with a plate of goat satay and some coconut-sweet chicken kurma than this DIY cocktail. Read More »

1837 East Passyunk Avenue, East Passyunk, Philadelphia, PA | 267-324-3860 | Website

2015 Best New BYO

Helm

Forget too many cooks in the kitchen. Dual chefs Kevin D'Egidio and Michael Griffiths have hit the exacta: idea-crammed cooking that's in lockstep with the foraged-and-fermented zeitgeist, in an atmosphere as relaxed as your living room. Read More »

1303 North 5th Street, Philadelphia, PA | 215-309-2211 | Website

2014 Best BYOB

Will

Chef-owner Chris Kearse seamlessly melds modern cuisine and classic French technique in an almost flawless display of culinary smarts. Add in the Tuesday Tasting menus, the Sunday prix-fixe dinners and the fact that it's a BYOB, and Will suddenly becomes the kind of place that could only exist in Philly. Read More »

1911 East Passyunk Avenue, Philadelphia, PA | 215-271-7683 | Website

2013 Best Italian BYO Restaurant

Mercato

Readers' Choice: Perennially full, cash only, tons of cured meats and a bolognese to dream about; Mercato is exactly everything that Philadelphians want in their Italian BYOs. And they're finally taking reservations. Read More »

1216 Spruce Street, Philadelphia, PA | 215-985-2962 | Website