Where to Eat in East Passyunk
The next time you're near the Singing Fountain, these are the restaurants to memorize for burgers, tamales, mie komplit, and more.
A cemita with chicken Milanese, quesillo cheese, avocado and chipotle peppers at El Chingon / / Photography by Casey Robinson
Whether you’re new to East Passyunk, you’ve been around the area forever or you’re stopping through for the night, getting your bearings — especially when it comes to one of the most concentrated restaurant areas in the city — takes a lot of work. This guide is here to help. Looking for a great deli? We’ve got details on where to go. A casual taco spot where you’ll be in and out with perfect carnitas in under 10 minutes? It’s here. A cozy breakfast spot for a lazy weekend morning? Of course, you have come to the right place.
For our purposes, we’re defining East Passyunk as everything south of Washington from Broad to 6th Street. Sure, sure East Passyunk technically ends at Snyder Avenue. But for the sake of editorializing and giving restaurant recommendations, that’s how we’re breaking up this particular section of the city. We can quibble online about the exact boundaries of Philadelphia neighborhoods later.
For a more zoomed-out look at our absolute favorite spots south of Washington, check out our South Philly guide, which has all the hits, from east to west — the kinds of spots that we’d send people to from all over the city.
El Chingon
Philly has plenty of Mexican restaurants and delis serving cemitas, dripping tacos, and sweet breads. What’s less common, perhaps, is a Mexican restaurant making every bread product — the chewy tortillas, the crusty rolls, the sugar-crowned conchas — from scratch. El Chingon pulls off such a feat in a BYOB environment with ample counter seating, a handful of tables, and friendly service. Bring a friend who appreciates choriqueso tacos, chicken milanesa, and the vast universe of Mexican baking techniques. They’ll freak. 1524 South 10th Street.
Laurel
When Nicholas Elmi opened Laurel in 2013, he was trying to make fine dining fun after working at Le Bec-Fin. But over the years, the place became serious. Then, in the spring of 2023, he took on two new partners (front-of-house manager Jane Fryer and chef Kevin McWilliams) and transformed Laurel into an a la carte restaurant serving coconut fat-washed Negronis, clams topped with creamy vin jaune sauce and pops of trout roe, and a new lease on life. It’s way more fun this way. 1617 East Passyunk Avenue.
Le Virtù
At this point, Le Virtù is almost more like a museum dedicated to the cataloging and preservation of Abruzzese cuisine than it is a restaurant. But, you know, a museum where you can still have a couple drinks and eat all the displays. Think rustic, meaty sauces on handmade pasta, house-cured charcuterie, plus heart meat and fish mains. 1927 East Passyunk Avenue.
Gabriella’s Vietnam
After you have it once, you’ll start every meal at this Vietnamese restaurant with the sizzling bánh xèo filled with pork and shrimp that makes for a savory-sweet-funky, lettuce-wrapped bite. Then you’ll be ready to move onto the main dishes, like the shaken beef — caramelized with fish sauce and so tender that you can bite directly through each rectangular hunk of filet mignon — or crispy soft-shell crab. 1837 Passyunk Avenue.
Irwin’s
If you’re lucky enough to live in the same neighborhood as Irwin’s, you’re pretty lucky generally. At this Sicilian spot on the top floor of the Bok Building, Michael Ferreri and his team of talented cooks, bartenders and servers present plates of gnocchi sardi in a velvety eggplant-tomato sauce buzzing with chilis, cocktails like a dirty martini garnished with a plump caper berry, and a half chicken smothered in agrodolce. Go with a date, take your mom when she’s in town, or sneak in late for a solo dinner at the bar. 800 Mifflin Street.
Cosmi’s Deli
It’s impossible to live in Philadelphia and avoid falling in love with hoagies — especially in South Philly. You’ll learn that, every couple of blocks, there’s a deli where they slice imported prosciutto, mortadella and salami to order, stack the meats on a freshly baked roll, amp the whole thing up with the toppings of your choice and pass it over a counter, often for under $10. Cosmi’s is one of the all-time great neighborhood delis, and worth visiting again even if you’ve been a hundred times before.1501 South 8th Street.
Fountain Porter
Fountain Porter is almost always full of cool people drinking beer and natural wine, and scarfing down a $6 burger with a thick patty. If you like wine and cheap burgers, you’ll probably go there a lot, and you’ll probably make friends with all the other like-minded customers, too. 1601 South 10th Street.
Tamalex
Tamale does Mexican, Honduran, and Salvadoran food, but they’re best known for tamales that often sell out before 10 a.m. on Saturdays. Take this as a sign that they’re that good, and motivation to wake up early on a weekend morning.1163 South 7th Street.
Photograph courtesy of Ba Le Bakery
Ba Le Bakery
Ba Le Bakery feels like a microcosm of what makes our city great. You’ll see what we mean when you order a bánh mì stacked with pork pate, pork belly and plenty of crunchy herbs and vegetables. While you wait for your number to be called, browse the wide selection of Vietnamese ingredients and pre-cooked meals. 606 Washington Avenue.
Sky Cafe
Philly is incredibly lucky to have a handful of Indonesian restaurants in South Philly, each one distinct from the next. For the uninitiated to gado-gado and satay, Sky Cafe works as a great starting point, partially because the menu has a lot of photos, which can help you decide what to order, and partially because the food will make you want to keep ordering more things to try — like the fried chicken is crisp and tender and the mie komplit made with homemade egg noodles. If you want a one-stop-shop type of experience, order the nasi padang that comes with the restaurant’s greatest hits: beef rendang, curry chicken, potato patties, curried collard greens, and more. 1122 Washington Avenue.
Pho 75
If you live in South Philly, you’ll go to Pho 75 when you want the simple pleasure of a bowl of pho, served hot and fast with little pomp and circumstance for under $10. That’s pretty much a given. 1122 Washington Avenue.
Nam Phuong Restaurant
Nam Phuong is located in the same plaza as Pho 75 and highlights a near-endless list of family-style Vietnamese plates. Richly caramelized clay pot fish, shaking beef, and build-your-own-bite ba vi platters with shrimp, beef and meatballs are among the offerings, but it could take years to get through everything on the menu. The savory, grilled shaking beef is always a good place to start, though. 1100 Washington Avenue.
Photograph courtesy of Comfort and Floyd
Comfort and Floyd
Comfort is the name of the game at Comfort and Floyd — quite literally. Open for breakfast and lunch, they do diner-y American classics like pancakes, eggs your way, cheeseburgers, tuna melts, plus some very good breakfast sandwiches (all of which are served with home fries). 1301 South 11th Street.
Messina Social Club
Eddie Konrad’s tasting menu — energetically American in its break from cuisine conventions, cheffy in its technical fundamentals — demands snarfing, with each dish becoming more thrilling as you eat. You’ll wonder, “Does this scallop have roommates in the form of walnuts, shiso, celery root and mustard oil, and how did the kitchen think of that?” or “Is that chocolate underneath the venison?” By the time you find answers (yes, we don’t know, yes), you’ll be left with an empty plate and wishing it was full again. 1533 South 10th Street.
South Philly Barbacoa
Realistically speaking, if you live near South Philly Barbacoa, the lines keep you from going often. But it’s also probably true that, every time you eat the life-affirming consommé, tender tacos, and pillowy, sweet tamales, you’re reminded that the hype is worth it, and you’ll promise yourself to come again soon. South Philly Barbacoa is only open on weekends. 1140 South 9th Street.
Spread at Mish Mish / Photograph by Michael Persico
Mish Mish
Mish Mish is run by former Foobooz editor Alex Tewfik, but we wouldn’t put this restaurant on the list if we didn’t love it. It’s the cute, broadly Mediterranean spot on Passyunk with a huge apricot hanging outside — the kind of place that’s great for a lengthy catch-up with friends over plates of fried Armenian string cheese or some squishy-charred baby octopus that’s sweet and nutty with muhammara. Come for a third-date, but only if you actually like the person enough to share food with them that you’d happily take down alone. 1046 Tasker Street.
