The List: Private Dining Rooms in and Around Philadelphia

White Dog in Wayne

Sometimes cooking at home just isn’t an option, and what you need is a restaurant equipped to handle large parties with some degree of privacy. Lucky for you, we’ve got a list …

Fork
306 Market Street, Old City, 215-625-9425
Fork is already among the best restaurants in the city, but did you know they have a private dining room that can seat up to 45? They do, and the kitchen will be at your disposal for putting together one of the coolest dinner parties of the season.

Distrito
3945 Chestnut Street, West Philly, 215-222-1657
If you’ve got a big group and are wondering where to take them on the fly, Distrito is a solid choice — the staff is accustomed to handling large parties, and that big bar full of tequila is just made for social lubrication. But if you have some time to plan ahead, basically any part of the restaurant (from the small, secret karaoke room to the entire first or second floor) is available to rent out for parties of varying size.

Amada
217-219 Chestnut Street, Society Hill, 215-625-2450
The back room at Amada is very cool. It’ll only handle groups of up to 24, but even before the food hits the table (go with the whole-pig cochinillo asado), it’s already one of the most elegant party options in the city.

White Dog
200 West Lancaster Avenue, Wayne, 610-225-3700
Three different rooms can be reserved for private dining — each with its own style and charms. The Garden Room is small and sunny, the Library is full of dark wood and banquettes, and the Kitchen (pictured) is the largest, with a 55-seat capacity. Better still, White Dog’s kitchen has seasonal menus already designed for different-sized groups.

Osteria
640 North Broad Street, Center City, 215-763-0920
You’ve got two excellent choices here for smaller groups. First, there’s the Wine Room, which seats about 30 and has a view into the restaurant’s wine cellar. And then there’s the Kitchen Table, which seats eight to 14 and is, you know, in the kitchen at Osteria. Both spaces offer family-style service from the Osteria crew, which ain’t no small potatoes.

Originally published in the December, 2014 issue of Philadelphia magazine.