203 Best Restaurants in Pennsylvania, USA

The restaurant in this elegantly revamped 1823 building serves classic and creative American dishes such as saffron-pea risotto and pan-seared salmon. Evoking the age of luxury rail travel, the main dining room is furnished with intimate booths and tables, while the rear room has a fine-dining feel. Downstairs, brick-floored, wood-beamed Perry Street Cellar vibes rustic tavern (good burgers); upstairs are 10 bright guest rooms.

Owned and operated by the fourth and fifth generation of the Dispigno/Rubino family, Ralph's is in the running for one of the country's oldest Italian restaurants. You can expect Italian-American favorites like sausage and peppers, osso buco, and braciole, as well as house specialties like lasagna and fettuccini Alfredo; just don't forget to bring cash.

This modern corner restaurant is situated off the lobby of Hotel Monaco and features a rustic, contemporary design, with a long bar and a mezzanine with tables overlooking the main restaurant. Steps from all the major historical sites in Old City, Red Owl is open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, with a menu that offers something for everyone and plenty of solid, tasty food choices.

The restaurant at Milford’s River Rock Inn is a popular go-to spot for diners looking for no-frills, quality American cuisine. Dinner entrées include pork, veal, and lamb chops, filet mignon, and a selection of pastas and Mediterranean chicken dishes; lunch is a bit simpler, with burgers, sandwiches, sliders, and panini. The River Rock Inn and its restaurant featured on Gordon Ramsey’s Hotel Hell a couple of years ago, and while the celebrity chef was certainly harsh with his review of the restaurant, Ramsey’s revamp has helped the hotel gain popularity with locals and regular visitors to the Poconos.

Chef Randy Rucker does seasonal, elevated food inspired by many things, including his southern heritage, love of Philadelphia, and interest in Japanese cooking. Go here for modern dishes like swordfish with housemade yuzu kosho (a Japanese condiment made from fresh citrus), carrot tartare with black truffles, very fresh oysters, and the Mother Rucker, a burger that's available as an add-on to the tasting menu.

A collaboration between the owners of local favorites Royal Tavern and Khyber Pass Pub, Royal Boucherie is a polished operation set in a moody and intimate bi-level space. A classic brasserie in approach, it specializes in luscious raw-bar selections, house-made charcuterie, and rib-sticking plates like steak au poivre, pork schnitzel, and handwrought pastas. Seating is split between the boisterous, cocktail-slinging barroom, upper and lower dining rooms, and a charming semi-enclosed garden patio that’s one of the city’s lushest alfresco areas. Happy hour specials are offered at the bar during the week. 

Naturally leavened sourdough pizza is the star of the show at Sally, where crisp crusts carry an ever-changing selection of toppings, from classic cheese to bacon and sunchoke. Start your meal with a couple of vegetable-forward starters, a platter of oysters, and a glass of natural wine; if you find a wine you like, visit the wine store to take a bottle home with you.

One of the city's busiest happy hour spots, Sampan serves up delicious small plates like cheesesteak bao buns and crispy tuna rice crackers, Asian-inspired cocktails, and a clubby environment. Dinner service also sees a lot of action, so book ahead, especially on the weekend.

An offshoot of Jose Pistola’s in Center City, brother Sancho brought a bigger kitchen for more varied and ambitious dishes. Staples of the menu include ultratraditional inky black bean soup seasoned with avocado leaf and zesty ceviche, while other plates (Korean rib tacos, spicy tuna guacamole) mash up Mexican heritage with a global hipster aesthetic. The fresh-fruit margaritas flow late into the night.

Open since 1980, this Chinatown barbecue stalwart hasn’t missed a beat dishing up delicious plates based around its famously flavorful duck. Egg or rice noodles come in different styles and are simmered with duck, pork, or beef brisket; if you wish, you can customize your soup with both noodles and fat, tender wontons. Other traditional menu picks, besides the house specialty fowl, include scallion pancakes, dumplings, and hearty congees. There is a full liquor license.

Chef Chris Cho grew up around his family's Korean restaurant of the same name, still a staple restaurant in the North Philly neighborhood of Olney. In 2018, he opened his own spot on Spruce Street, where the menu is a mix of classic Korean foods like bibimbap, budae jigae (a rich spicy stew), and japchae (springy, stir-fried sweet potato noodles), and more new-school items inspired by his childhood in Philadelphia's Korean community like General CHO chicken, a play on that Chinese-American staple, General Tso's chicken. Seorabol uses Korean gochujang (a spicy red chili paste) to add a spicy kick to the dish. There's also a full bar serving beer, wine, and cocktails.

The menu at this Mt. Washington eatery includes chicken and lobster tart, lump crab cakes, apple butter–glazed pork chop, and steaks. There is a deck for outdoor seating (but unfortunately, no citywide view). Valet parking is available on the weekends.

Mark Bee, the local restaurateur behind favorite gastropub North Third, bought the Silk City Diner in 2006, polished off its grease-coated, 1950s-era pink Formica counter, and started serving updated comfort food. Menu items include a fierce plate of buttermilk fried chicken, deep-fried veggie wings, a very good bowl of mac and cheese (baked with a garlic-bread crust), and some lighter fare (salads and roasted veggies) should you want to go next door to the bar and lounge and dance 'til dawn beneath the disco ball.

This chic restaurant has three dining levels. The main bar is on the first floor, there's a small dining area on the mezzanine, and glass sculptures adorn the two dining rooms on level three. The top floor also has a small bar and an enclosed deck. The pan-Asian menu includes sushi, tuna tartare, and seaweed salad appetizers. Entrees include seared rare tuna with ginger fried rice and kimchi, and filet mignon with chili-garlic mashed potatoes.

It doesn't enjoy the same notoriety as other shops, but connoisseurs know the friendly Sonny's slings a mean version of the iconic cheesesteak. This small shop has a limited menu, but they also serve burgers, grilled cheese, and chicken sandwiches. 

Italian music greets diners at chef-owners Joe and Angela Cicala's palate-enticing pizzeria in the Divine Lorraine building (their high-end Italian restaurant, Cicala, is also in the building), where exposed brick walls, colorful art, big windows, and white metal chairs and wood tables provide a relaxed setting for aperitivi and pizza master Joe's creative, fun, Neapolitan-style pies. Even a straightforward Margherita pizza, with its puffy-edged, char-spotted crust and San Marzano tomatoes, may inspire, and the seasonal menu offers inventions like the Bronte, with pistachio pesto, mortadella, and burrata, and the Porchetta e patate, with long hots and rosemary-roasted potatoes. Desserts like sorbet and gelato (with changing options like as lemon cannoli gelato) are worth saving room for—if you can.           

The first thing you'll see is the large rotisserie, trumpeting the ubiquitous gyro—tasty slices of meat are stuffed inside a large fresh pita, with tangy yogurt and some exemplary fresh veggies. Other Greek specialties, such as stuffed grape leaves, moussaka, and, of course, souvlaki, round out the menu. No pomp and circumstance here, just casual taverna fare and service that's often indifferent. But they must be doing something right—Souvlaki has been going strong since 1977, definitely a record on this mercurial street. A new, slightly upscale bistro recently debuted upstairs.

A few blocks from Central Market, this one-time farmers' market built in 1888 has been repurposed as a food hall. Whether you're in the mood for sushi or bratwurst or just a cup of coffee, you'll find a wide variety of global cuisines at the 12 stands. Order at the stations of your choice and bring your food out to one of the tables or the central bar. A pizza place operates off one end of the hall.

If you're looking for a more relaxed scene, head a couple of blocks south of Rittenhouse Square to find local beers and approachable cocktails paired with Korean-inspired bar food like a Seoul hot chicken sandwich, dolsot bibimbap, and crispy Brussels sprouts. Friday and Saturday nights are busy, so it's best to call ahead or make a reservation and, if possible, take advantage of the outdoor seating in nice weather.

Co-owners Chris D'Ambro and Marina de Oliveira run this beloved neighborhood restaurant that has one of the city's best bars. The menu features seasonal produce prepared using Italian techniques; the house-made pastas are always a good bet, and their burger is among the best in the city. The intimate bar is as romantic as it is comfortable. On Monday, their sommelier takes over for a wine-focused bar night and there's a limited food-menu and a by-the-glass menu featuring reserve bottles.

Chef Nick Farrell transforms local and organic seasonal ingredients into satisfying meals in a rustic-chic space (think exposed brick, open kitchen, wood, a large aluminum-topped bar, and modern fixtures) 2 miles north of downtown Kennett Square in a shopping center. The cuisine mixes contemporary American choices with French, Italian, and Mediterranean fare, including sophisticated pastas, wood-fired pizzas, meat and seafood, and creative sandwiches and salads at lunch (vegetarian and vegan options are ample). Take time to study the good-size list of cocktails, wines, and after-dinner drinks. The space can get a bit noisy at night.  

Chic and BYO, this well-regarded vegan restaurant known for fresh, sophisticated fare attracts plenty of nonvegetarians to its space off the Main Street scene in Union Square, a converted-warehouse-meets-new-construction complex. The menu is relatively short—an assortment of small plates and salads, and a handful of sandwiches and large-plate dinner options such as a cauliflower-cashew mac and Moroccan grilled mushroom skewers—but offers interesting dishes with complex global flavors, often made with ingredients from local farms. There's a short menu section for kids, too. 

Springhouse Tavern is an informal wood-beamed cellar beneath the fine-dining Dobbin House Tavern. Diners gather around tables with mismatched Colonial chairs to enjoy steaks, burgers, sandwiches, and local craft brews. Pull up a stool at the old wooden bar and enjoy a Yuengling lager or Philadelphia Fishhouse Punch.

This neighborhood gastropub is a Northern Liberties fixture, popular with the young professionals who populate this neighborhood, and for good reason. The frequently changing menu, presented unpretentiously on a chalkboard, is much more ambitious—and much tastier—than you'd expect from average bar food, and since you're in a bar, you can wash down the shellfish, terrines, local-veggie-forward salads, and wild game with one of the local microbrews on tap. Sunday brunch (think Bloody Marys and fresh oysters) is always busy.

In the same building as the Ghost Light Inn, this sophisticated 120-seat modern American restaurant helmed by Keith Bernstein has expansive Delaware River views from its indoor and outdoor seating, enhancing the relaxed charm of the sleek, high-ceilinged space with wood-topped tables, a fireplace, and a bar. It's a stunning setting for seasonal menus that use the best ingredients from local farms and artisan producers in dishes such as wild mushroom dumplings and roasted local chicken with white miso and sake glaze. The honey cheesecake mousse is one of a short list of indulgent desserts, and the wine list is well curated and intriguing.

A newer addition to East Passyunk's array of restaurants, this hybrid French wine bar and bottle shop has a food menu that's perfect for nearly any time of day, and a small market selection for takeaway. Sip a glass of biodynamic French wine while you nibble a jambon beurre sandwich, or snag an outdoor table and a martini for some people-watching along the Avenue. The space has lots of seating and though it does get busy in the evenings, if you loiter a little with your glass of wine, a table is sure to open up.

This jumping joint satisfies the margarita-and-nachos crowd as well as those seeking more authentic Mexican flavors. A lively spot with colorfully painted walls as well as sidewalk seating, it's most fun to share the smaller bites—braised brisket tacos, mushroom quesadilla, tortilla soup—but the enchiladas are also excellent.

David and Annette Suro opened Tequila's way back in 1986, when the local culinary consciousness wasn't quite as familiar with mole poblano and chiles rellenos as it is now. Fortunately, the space was evocative enough (painted Day of the Dead figures, a long hardwood bar, Mexican glassware, colorful ceramics) to get the curious and unfamiliar in the door. The restaurant recently underwent a full renovation, and the menu and space have been updated to stay at the forefront of the city's restaurant scene. In the back, find La Jefa, an all-day café and bar with an excellent cocktail program.