Philly’s Finest: A Guide to the City’s Best Tasting Menus
Skip the à la carte menu and fork over control to the chef with these ambitious chef-driven tastings.
A few dishes from Emmett’s tasting menu. / Photograph by Mike Prince
At its heart, a tasting menu is a chef’s canvas — a platform to showcase their creativity, technical prowess, and the seasonal ingredients inspiring them in that moment. And in Philly, where our dining scene is a vibrant tapestry of truly immersive culinary experiences, these crafted menus are more than just meals; they’re stories told through flavor, texture, and presentation.
If you’re a diner who is up for anything and loves exploring boundary-pushing cuisine, tasting menus offer a chance to slow down, savor each bite, and engage with the artistry of food in a new way. This guide doesn’t include omakase, which are inherently chef-driven tastings. We have a separate guide just for Philly’s best omakase experiences right here. This guide focuses on restaurants where we’re fine with leaving the fate of dinner in the chef’s hands. So, pull up a chair and trust the process as these ambitious chefs they take you on an unforgettable journey.
Emmett, Fishtown
Chef Even Snyder is not afraid of layering bold flavors into every dish, and his big culinary swings have made Emmett one of the strongest restaurant openings of 2025 so far. Even though Snyder takes some really ambitious culinary risks with his Levantine-inspired food, you really can’t go wrong with anything off the à la carte menu — it is home run after home run. So if you want the ultimate Emmett experience, spring for the tasting menu. It’s a playlist of Snyder’s greatest hits like the chicken-fried oyster with ranch tzatziki, the carrots mangal with harissa yogurt, the lamb merguez over Castle Valley grits, and the smoked short rib with broccoli baba ganoush. And if you’re wondering if you should get the duck add-on for an extra $30 per person, the answer is an emphatic YES. 161 West Girard Avenue.
Price: $105 per person (plus a three-percent fee added to the final check)
Vetri, Washington Square West
Vetri is Philadelphia’s most classic fine dining option — dining there includes white tablecloths, elegant wine service, and eating your way through course after course of beloved Italian dishes like their sweet onion crêpe, plus handmade pastas, and more. Go here if you want to be transported to Milan. 1312 Spruce Street.
Price: $215 per person with optional $150 wine pairing
Friday Saturday Sunday, Rittenhouse
Accolades have been rained down upon Hannah and Chad Williams’s high-end tasting menu — which takes inspiration from American and Caribbean flavors — and for good reason. You’ll start with a selection of raw dishes, like scallop crudo with smoked coconut and fermented long hot, then eat your way through seven additional courses like pork shoulder tortellini and a seriously tender grilled short rib. Service is thoughtful and friendly, and you can always top off your evening with a drink at their downstairs bar. 261 South 21st Street.
Price: $165 per person with optional $115 wine pairing
Scallop xo on chawanmushi toast with Maine uni. / Photograph by Mike Prince
River Twice, East Passyunk
River Twice’s tasting menu is fairly priced, with inspiration pulled from chef Randy Rucker’s southern upbringing. Dishes are subtle and lean on pristine seafood and produce (think scallops served with guajillo, sea beans and shellfish butter, and early spring white asparagus), plus the restaurant’s pantry of fermented ingredients. You’ll likely want to order a handful of the menu’s add-ons, so factor that in when you consider price. 1601 East Passyunk Avenue.
Price: $75 per person
Heavy Metal Sausage, South Philly
Heavy Metal is a butcher shop by day and a low-key, intimate restaurant by night. You’ll taste Patrick Alfiero’s charcuterie program, as well as his handmade pasta, bread, and more. Everything is sourced locally and seasonally, and the menu is ever-changing. Sign up for their newsletter to get first access to reservations, which fill up fast. 1527 West Porter Street.
Price: $125 per person
Foie gras with fig and candied pine nut at Provenance. / Photograph by Kae Lani Palmisano
Provenance, Society Hill
From a kitchen full stocked with state-of-the-art equipment to a team made up of some of the city’s most talented culinary minds, everything about chef Nich Bazik’s new restaurant is ambitious. And it shows in a tasting menu of a whopping 20 to 25 dishes that reads like a grocery list of the best possible ingredients any single restaurant can source. Bazik is building a temple to French technique and haute cuisine — a place where chefs from around the world will make a pilgrimage to. And though Provenance is still early in its journey to becoming one of the finest restaurants in town (perhaps the country, or hell, even the world) it is worth checking out Philly’s attempt at becoming an international dining destination. 408 South 2nd Street.
Price: $225 per person plus a 20-percent service fee; optional beverage pairings available for an additional fee
Zahav, Society Hill
Zahav transitioned to an all-tasting-menu concept a few years ago, which is the best way to experience the restaurant’s Israeli cooking, anyway. You’ll taste their salatim, fresh hummus, and fire-baked pita, a selection of grilled dishes, and their legendary roasted lamb, shellacked in pomegranate molasses. Reservations are tough, but you can often slip into the bar where they also offer an à la carte menu if that’s more your speed. 237 St. James Place.
Price: $90 per person, optional $45 beverage pairing
Broken Arrow Ranch venison with a sweet potato and black trumpet mushroom terrine (left), and Ambra’s oyster course. / Photographs by Kae Lani Palmisano
Ambra, Queen Village
Book the dining room at Ambra if you prefer privacy, but book the chef’s counter if you want a front-row view into the restaurant’s kitchen, where chef Chris D’Ambro will hang out with you as he prepares each dish. The included wine pairing is thoughtfully curated by Jamie Harrison Rubin, the restaurant’s sommelier, and the staff will share stories with you from the winemakers as you sip. 705 South 4th Street.
Price: $350 per person at the chef’s counter or $300 in the main dining room. (Both include a beverage pairing.)
Her Place Supper Club, Rittenhouse
Her Place takes the dinner-party approach to a tasting menu, serving some of the dishes family-style. The food is French-ish, Italian-ish, and Jewish-y, but generally delicious, seasonal, and generously portioned. The menus change constantly, but no matter what you’re eating, it’s always a pleasure to spend an evening at Her Place. 1740 Sansom Street.
Price: $95 per person
June BYOB, Collingswood
There are three ways to get a taste of chef Richard Cusack’s impeccable French cuisine. The first is the chef’s tasting menu offered during the week, where you can get five courses featuring June BYOB favorites like the beef Wellington, shepherd’s pie, and a plate of escargot, recipe courtesy of chef Pierre Calmels whom Cusack worked for at Bibou. The second is the Sunday tasting menu where you get four courses of Cusack’s greatest hits. And the third, the carnard à la presse voyage, is one of the most spectacular tableside presentations you’ll encounter in the region. It’s an elaborate display involving a whole roasted duck carved tableside, and an antique duck press which extracts the duck’s natural juices that are then flambéed with herbs and cognac to make a sauce. It’s an unforgettable meal that turns heads every single time the antique duck press gets wheeled out. 690 Haddon Avenue.
Prices: $100 per person during the week, $55 per person for the Sunday tasting menu, and $220 for the tableside carnard à la presse voyage
Bardea Steak’s tomato pie and pineapple barbecue pork rib / Photographs by Kae Lani Palmisano
Bardea Steak, Wilmington
Chef Antimo Dimeo’s tasting menu, which pushes the boundaries of what you’d expect from a steakhouse, is worth the trek to Wilmington. The menu changes often, but you’ll likely get a taste the fanciest caviar-topped tomato pie you’ll ever encounter as well as pineapple barbecue pork rib and a savory muscovy duck with morels and foie gras. The entire experience is elevated but still approachable, and most importantly, fun. 608 North Market Street.
Price: Varies due to seasonal changes and ingredient availability
Perla, East Passyunk
If you’re looking for a more casual experience, head to Perla for their kamayan communal tasting menu. The staff will lay your table with banana leaves, then pile it high with Filipino favorites like garlic rice, fried pork chunks, pork-filled lumpia, a whole fried fish, and plenty of vegetables like long beans and eggplant. It’s great for kids (eating with your hands!) and also makes for an affordable celebratory dinner. 1535 South 11th Street.
Price: $50 per person
Messina Social Club, East Passyunk
Where other social clubs have menus that rarely change, Messina’s menu regularly evolves based on what’s available, serving up seasonal dishes inspired by southern Italy. You can order à la carte, sure, but they also do a tasting menu that’s fairly priced and includes a generous portion of the best of the menu. 1533 South 10th Street.
Price: $95 per person
