Philly’s Latest Restaurant and Bar Openings
Everything you need to know about what’s new and what’s next in Philadelphia's dining and drinking scene.
Almyra / Photograph by Gab Bonghi
Keeping track of all the new restaurants in Philadelphia is like herding cats: As soon as you think you’ve got them all accounted for, more will appear out of nowhere, some will have changed their concepts, and others will have debuted entirely new menus. All that to say calculating the true number of new bars and restaurants in this town is a constantly moving target.
So if you’re an avid diner who has a life and doesn’t have the capacity to track down every new spot that opened up in the past few months, we’ve got you covered. This is an ever-evolving list of everything that’s new and notable happening in our dining scene. Use this as a running checklist of all the new bars and restaurants in our region and refer to it whenever you want to break up the monotony of going to your usual spots. As new places pop up, we’ll add them to the radar. But fair warning: just because something is on this list doesn’t mean we’ve tried it for ourselves yet! If you’re looking for what restaurants are the best right now, check out our 50 Best Restaurants list.
Know about a new spot we didn’t mention? Did you have a dining experience you desperately want us to know about? Email us at foobooz@phillymag.com.
Almyra, Rittenhouse
Always wanted to visit Mykonos but some youthful indiscretions put you on the no-fly list? Well now all you have to do is get down to 17th and Chancellor where the Estia team have opened a massive new restaurant called Almyra that’s doing short rib with feta mashed potatoes and tiropita wontons with Greek hot honey for dinner, and pitching itself as a beach-party hot-spot on the weekends with lights, DJs and a state-of-the-art sound system that can make Rittenhouse feel like Corfu on a Saturday night. 1636 Chancellor Street
Honeysuckle Provisions UNTITLED, University City
We’ve been looking forward to this for a long time. University City’s beloved daytime cafe and market has expanded their offerings to an eight-course tasting menu that explores the African diaspora. If you love their BLACKEYEDPEA scrapple and their ham, brie and pikliz-stuffed Haitian sandwiches, then give UNTITLED a try. Seatings are at 5 p.m. and you can make a reservation through Open Table. 310 S 48th Street
Amy’s Pastelillos, Fishtown
Amaryllis Rivera Nassar proves that if you can dream it, you can put it in a pastelillo. Her perfectly crispy Puerto Rican turnovers have been drawing crowds to events and popups for years, but soon she’ll be upgrading to a new brick-and-mortar space where folks can order sweet and savory guava pork and soy chorizo with potato pastelillos to go. (It’ll be takeout only.)
Oltremare, Center City
Octopus Bolognese. Ravioli stuffed with lobster mouselline. Dorade with escarole. Chef-owner Townsend Wentz is giving the city what they want with this fish-forward ode to coastal Italian cuisine. There are lemons in the spaghetti, figs and saffron in the antipasti, and nothing on this menu that doesn’t feel relaxed, sun-drenched and beautiful all at the same time. 2121 Walnut Street
Bake’n Bacon / Photograph by Morgan Burns Photography
Bake’n Bacon, East Passyunk
Philly’s first and only bacon-centric restaurant takes breakfast’s favorite meat to new heights. For real, have you seen the Hang’n Bacon, five strips of the sexiest bacon you’ve ever seen suspended over cornbread? Aside from the bacon burnt ends, bacon stuffed sandwiches, and chocolate covered bacon, there are some non-bacon items on the menu. There’s an entire section dedicated to different variations of mac-and-cheese as well as a breakfast menu loaded with sweet and savory options. 1148 South 11th Street
Tulip Pasta & Wine Bar, Fishtown
A smart partnership between chef Alexander Beninato and the winemakers at Wayvine Vineyards, Tulip serves a locally-focused menu centering on handmade pastas, and serves Wayvine wine to pair. The space is cozy and dimly lit, great for date nights and catching up with friends. Like the food, the alcohol is all Pennsylvania-made, and any stuffed pasta is a must-order. 2302 East Norris Street
Kiddo, Midtown Village
Kiddo isn’t an entirely vegan or vegetarian restaurant, but the veggies do get a lot of love on this menu. Since every dish is “vegetable-forward,” most of what they serve is seasonal, but you can always expect some kind of pasta dish, a bunch of roasted root vegetables, and whole lot of mushrooms from Kennett Square. 1138 Pine Street
The bar at High Street. / Photograph by Jason Varney
High Street, Washington Square West
The beloved High Street didn’t just move to a new location – they’ve refreshed their style with a warmer, loftier dining room, and have added new dishes to the menu. A lot of the favorites are still around, like the pasta and their exceptional bread program, but now you can enjoy a well-crafted hoagie from their hoagie shop for lunch, seasonally inspired pizzas and a steak tartare over cocktails after work, and grilled steak for dinner. 101 South 9th Street, door 1
Mr. Rabbit
From the same team that brought us Sally, the pizza and natural wine restaurant, comes Mr. Rabbit, a coffee shop located just across the street. It’s a chill spot, perfect for opening up your laptop and fueling for your remote work day with gratuitous amounts of coffee and pastries. 2301 Spruce Street
Ding Feng Tang, Chinatown
Taiwanese noodles, Chinese skewers, soup dumplings, shumai, a glassed-in dumpling demonstration kitchen AND a full bar? Seriously, what are you doing still sitting there reading? Go to DFT right now and check the place out for yourself. 1021 Arch Street, floor 1
Paffuto chef-owners Jake Loeffler, Daniel Griffiths, and Sam Kalku. / Photograph by Mike Prince
Paffuto, Bella Vista
What do you get when three friends, all with incredible culinary backgrounds, band together to open up a casual Italian-inspired restaurant? You get Paffuto! What was once a roving pop-up is now a brick-and-mortar serving up the high-quality versions of comforting Italian American specialties! You’ve got your classic Italian hoagie and chicken Milanese, but the crowning glory of the menu is the panzerotti, a South Jersey staple of a cheese and tomato sauce blend encased in a pocket of fried dough. 1009 South 8th Street
Fiore, Kensington
In this new space, Fiore is leaning into the things that made it great in the first place. For breakfast, it has retained old favorites like their BEC and Saltie, a mountain of soft scrambled eggs on tender focaccia, and the lunch menu has been expanded to include housemade pastas. The pastry program combines familiar offerings like a pistachio-filled cornetti, with lesser-known Italian pastries inspired by a lengthy trip owners Justine MacNeil and Ed Crochet took to Italy. They even have fresh-spun gelato sold by the pint. The space has a handful of tables good for soaking up the sun, sipping a cortado and enjoying a slow morning of leisure or an afternoon of laptop work. 2413 Frankford Avenue
Post Haste, Kensington
We wrote at length about Post Haste’s approach to local cocktails, and while they’re still finding their footing, the menu here is different than anything else in the city right now. This spacious bar and restaurant serves food, but the real draw is the cocktail program which utilizes spirits from up and down the east coast. They’ve got a broad selection of house drinks, but can also do classics if you require a straight-up martini or negroni. 2519 Frankford Avenue
Ogawa Sushi & Kappo / Photograph by Mike Prince
Ogawa Sushi & Kappo, Old City
If you love fish and have a spare $200 laying around then here’s some VERY good news for you. Beloved D.C. sushi chef (and Wagyu enthusiast) Minoru Ogawa recently got talked into opening a Philadelphia outpost, staffing it with trusted lieutenants, and is now offering a 23-course sushi omakase for two bills plus tip. Is it worth it? Totally. Omakase experiences are almost always cool, absolutely memorable, and after decades spent honing his craft, Ogawa certainly knows his way around a piece of toro. Good luck getting a reservation, though. There are only 12 chairs at the sushi counter and two seatings a night. 310 Market Street
Pizzata Pizzeria & Birreria, East Passyunk
In the constellation of Philly pizza restaurants, Pizzata is truly a star, and their new Pizzata Pizzeria & Birreria makes the whole star cluster shine brighter. The new East Passyunk spot is bigger and has a larger menu than their original Rittenhouse location. In addition to their pizzas, they’ve got other dishes including mussels, pasta, and hefty Italian sandwiches. It’s all part of their mission to be a restaurant for everyone and “not just for pizza lovers.” 1700 E Passyunk Avenue
Miss Saigon Vietnamese Restaurant & Lounge, Midtown Village
By day they’re serving up Vietnamese street food and by night they’re serving up beats. If you’re in the neighborhood, this is the place to get a cozy bowl of pho for lunch and shaking beef for dinner, but after 10 p.m. Miss Saigon transforms into a cocktail lounge complete with a live DJ. 1316 Walnut Street
Roasted squash salad at Diezengoff. / Photograph by Michael Persico
Dizengoff, Rittenhouse
Remember when Dizengoff was just this little hummusiya with crazy-good daily hummus specials, boozy lemonana on hot days and one whole side open to Sansom Street? Yeah, well things are different now. Following a months-long shutdown, Diz has completely absorbed Abe Fisher (which used to live next door) and emerged as a full-on, sit-down, lunch-and-dinner restaurant that now combines the DNA from both operations. That means there’s still humus and homemade pita on the board at lunch, smokoed cabbage, chicken schnitzel and Yemenite braised beef at dinner and, of course, lemonana whenever you need it. It’s a BIG change for the little hummus stand that could, but it doesn’t look like growing up has slowed Diz down at all. 1625 Sansom Street
Bar Lesieur, Center City
Michael Schulson knows how to set a mood and at his new Bar Lesieur the tone is fancy but fun. Kick off your meal with a crudo and the irresistibly rich foie gras with fig and cocoa and don’t skip the dry-aged duck. If you’re looking for a little razzle dazzle, go for the salmon served up in a glass dome of smoke that permeates the entire fillet with the taste of hickory. This is where you go when you want to impress someone. 1523 Sansom Street
American Grammar, Kensington
This sunny space on Front Street is dedicated to coffee, books and art. Browse a curated selection of titles or join one of their book swaps or other events. The cafe also has plenty of tables for reading or working, and hosts a rotating selection of artwork. 2046 North Front Street
The bar at Meetinghouse. / Kae Lani Palmisano / Photography by Kae Lani Palmisano
Meetinghouse, Kensington
Meetinghouse reimagines the old Memphis Taproom space as a neighborhood bar and restaurant with warmer hospitality and better food. The drink menu is pared back to feature a couple of beers brewed with Tonewood Brewing, a tight menu of excellent cocktails and a mystery wine-by-the-glass that is revealed on Instagram each week. The food includes what is possibly the single best green salad in the city, a juicy turkey cutlet and a turkey club sandwich, roast beef that drips as you eat it, and a tender pork steak. 2331 East Cumberland Street
Forîn, Kensington
Forîn is many things: It’s a cafe, bar, retail space and restaurant. Their newer space on Frankford avenue is open from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. as a cafe, then shifts to a bar and restaurant in the evening, regularly hosting special events, pop-ups and even residencies, like the ongoing one they have right now with Liz Grothe of Couch Cafe. 2525 Frankford Avenue
Shiso Noodles and Sushi Bar, Bella Vista
You may remember chef Alan Su from Nom Nom Ramen and Umami Steak & Sushi Bar. He’s recently taken over Serpico’s old spot on South Street to open Shiso where he and executive sushi chef Yonten Gyamtso are serving up sushi and heaping helpings of ramen. 604 South Street
Insomnia Cookies, Center City
What more could you ask for from a cookie company that’ll deliver massive, warm, gooey cookies straight to your door? How about a Willy Wonka-esque flagship where you can create your own cookie, choosing from a variety of spreads, toppings and drizzles, as well as try new flavors before they hit their stores’ menus. (Their HQ is here, so flavors are in “Research and Dough-velopment” here first.) Pair your cookies with one of their coffee drinks or an over-the-top milkshake. 1 South Broad Street
Toska Restaurant & Brewery, Mount Airy
In the former Earth Bread & Brewery space, three Albanian brothers have opened their own bar and restaurant featuring house-brined fried chicken, wood-fired pizza topped with Albanian sausage and fig glaze, a half-dozen house beers, qebapa, sujuk and a killer burger with slab bacon, comeback sauce and house-made Whiz. Toska is everything, all at once, and the kinda miraculous thing is that they do it all really well. 7136 Germantown Avenue
New in The Burbs
9 Prime, West Chester
This is the steakhouse that every steakhouse dreams it could be. For starters, it’s in a 19th century neoclassical bank with 25,000 square feet of space. The dining room has “towering ceilings”, “resplendent chandeliers” and a marble horseshoe bar with an international wine and cocktail programs. The menu, which is developed in collaboration with Italian TV chef Fabio Viviani, has all the steakhouse classics from dry-aged bone-in Kansas City strip to a massive tomahawk ribeye. 9 N High Street
Gass & Main, Haddonfield
Chef Dane DeMarco has always been bold in their culinary endeavors. They were mostly known for their imaginative takes on burgers and hot dogs, but now they’re channeling that same creativity into a more refined dining experience. Gass & Main celebrates nostalgic American classics by adding their own surprising, fun twists to each dish. Housemade chips come with a French onion dip with smoked salmon roe, a cheese-covered toast topped with beef tenderloin and pickles, and the fanciest version of pork and beans you’ll ever encounter. And of course there’s a hot dog on the menu, for old time’s sake. 7 Kings Court
Reunion Hall, Haddon Township
This is more than a restaurant. This is a massive indoor/outdoor bar dining extravaganza with three different restaurant concepts (Chicken Joint, Local Standards, and Poppy Taco) and a bar that has 56 craft beers on tap. 206 Haddon Avenue
Coming Soon
Kampar / Photograph by Neal Santos
Kampar, Bella Vista
It was tragic when Ange Branca closed Sate Kampar on East Passyunk during the pandemic. To say that Philly has been eagerly awaiting the Malaysian restaurant’s return is an understatement. Finally, after four years, it’s coming back! Kampar, as it is now called, is opening in a larger space with even more exciting things on the menu than before, including a bar program. 611 S 7th Street
Rhythm & Spirits, Center City
A taste of Atlantic City is coming to Philadelphia’s Suburban Station. Rhythm & Spirits bills itself as “Italian-American with a twist” – the twist being chicken parm made with Southern-fried chicken and glazing bacon with limoncello. Oh yeah, and there will be bean-to-bar chocolates and specialty cocktails. Who knew chicken parm and chocolate would make a great pair? Suburban Station, One Penn Center, 1617 John F Kennedy Blvd.
Sorellina, Poplar
Joe Cicala is a pizza maestro. He studies pizza, researches pizza, travels to Italy to eat pizza and wins awards for his pizza. He even built his own custom pizza oven in his backyard to experiment with pizza, has hosted pop-ups and opened restaurants focused on pizza. So we’re not surprised that his next venture (which will be just across the lobby in the Divine Lorraine from his eponymous Italian restaurant, Cicala) is going to be a pizza restaurant. Sorellina will start serving Neapolitan-style pies in late March. 699 N Broad Street
Little Water, Rittenhouse
No one really knows exactly what chef Randy Rucker and his wife Amanda have in mind for one of the most storied restaurant addresses in town: the former home of Twenty Manning on South 20th Street. But they’ve done marvelous things at their East Passyunk spot, River Twice — creating a space that is both contemplative and collaborative and a menu that all comfort with a modernist chaser. So when the Ruckers say that they’re looking at lunch and dinner services “celebrating the ecological diversity of life by the sea,” that probably means seafood and things that live close to seafood, prepped and served with a French-y Asian inspiration and a native Texas accent. Spring 2024 can’t come soon enough. 261 S 20th Street
Borromini, Rittenhouse
We’ve been talking about this one for a long time: Stephen Starr is taking over the old Barnes & Noble located on Rittenhouse Square and turning it into an Italian restaurant. The working name is Borromini and it’s going to be massive two-story restaurant. If you thought Parc was the optimal place for people watching, wait until 2025 when you can watch over the entire park from the second-floor balcony, all while enjoying a glass of wine. 1805-09 Walnut Street
Amina Ocean, University City
Need something to look forward to? Then how about a 150-seat southern seafood fusion spot from Felicia Wilson, slated to hit the scene sometime later this year. Amina Ocean is promising everything from raw bar delicacies to live jazz and blues and a menu giving a “Tulum-meets-Morocco feel.” 4101 Market Street
Essen North, Kensington
After more than half a decade of blockbuster success in South Philly, Tova Du Plessis is taking her classic Jewish pastries to a second location just outside Fishtown’s technical borders. She’ll do the classics: challah, bagels, rugelach. But at the new spot, there will also be space to sit down, and lots of sandwiches and salads for the lunchtime crowd. Oh, and guess what else? They’re developing a special coffee blend in collaboration with Elixr that’ll be served at the new location. 110 W Berks Street
Baby’s Kusina + Market, Brewerytown
Husband and wife duo Tam Dang and Raquel Villanueva Dang are first-generation Asian-American who are opening up a new Filipino restaurant and market in Brewerytown. They’ve been teasing their menu on Instagram and the sight of ube-tinged drinks and pastries and saucy wings sprinkled with chilis has us intrigued! 2816 W Girard Avenue
La Sera Italiana, Graduate Hospital
Do we need more Italian restaurants in Philadelphia? Maybe. We’ll see what La Sera Italian has to bring to the table. 1608 South Street
