278 Best Restaurants in Pennsylvania, USA

This old-school diner serves traditional breakfast and lunch fare that runs the gamut from overstuffed omelets to pancakes and French toast and burgers. Don't miss Sulimay's take on scrapple, the traditional Pennsylvania Dutch breakfast meat, which is showcased in the Eggs Bensington, a breakfast sandwich that features runny eggs, thick toast, scrapple, and cheddar cheese.

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.

Suya Suya's owner-chef Dera Nd-Ezuma was raised in Nigeria before moving to South Jersey as a teenager. His restaurant highlights Nigerian and West African dishes like its namesake suya (a spiced and grilled beef) and jollof rice (rice, tomatoes, onions, and spices) in a fast-casual environment—similar setup to a Chipotle or Sweetgreen—where guests can build their own bowls or enjoy suya and other proteins folded into tacos.

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.

A bustling bubble tea parlor with a young, cool clientele, Tea Do offers a wide-spanning selection of boba-laden beverages, including milk bubble tea, black- and green- tea-based drinks, and blended fruit smoothies. There are also light pan-Asian snacks, like onigiri, edamame, and shumai.

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. 

Churning out Italian pastries since 1921, this famed bakery is best known for its filled-to-order cannoli, but its counters are also packed with pizzelles (Italian waffle cookies), biscotti, cakes, and other traditional Italian sweet treats. It's the perfect spot to stop for some traditional edible souvenirs to bring home—think cookie trays and gift boxes—or ship to your favorite cousin in California.

An ornate ceiling, crystal chandeliers, and elaborate floral arrangements highlight this room in the Omni William Penn, which has been restored to its original 1916 appearance. You can enjoy seafood, steak, or prime rib. There's a weekend breakfast buffet from 6:30 am to 2 pm.

Part of the Terrain garden center and home furnishings store, this charming café, restaurant, and bar occupies a greenhouse space adorned with wooden beams, party lights, and, of course, leafy plants. It's the perfect match for a brunch/lunch or dinner of sophisticated, seasonal regional fare (much of it from local producers) such as artisanal cheeses, mushroom soup, vegetable-filled bowls, salads, and creative meat and fish options. Don't even try to resist desserts like a chocolate terrarium. This place can get busy with shoppers and locals, so make reservations.

This unassuming storefront on the main strip of Ephrata serves a variety of Khmer–Thai dishes. Prepare for the heat of the various curries and rice-noodle dishes, which aren't dumbed down for Western palates; there is pad Thai for those seeking something familiar and it's BYOB. Interesting beverage choices include Thai iced coffee, winter melon juice, and hot roasted coconut tea. 

A broad menu of savory breakfast, lunch, and dinner items—not to mention coffees—draws regulars and visitors to this wood-beamed, stone-walled café. Relax on one of the couches or sit at a table to eat your scrapple, egg, and cheese sandwich, cranberry-almond-chicken salad, or super-rich ice cream.

At breakfast and lunch, the stools fill up at the diner counter in the front room and the tables are taken in country-cozy rooms toward the back of this gingerbread Victorian house as it seems everyone loves Tomato Pie---the restaurant as well as its eponymous signature dish. Dishes like maple-spice French toast or curry chicken salad will also hit your hunger spot, topped off with a vanilla latte or strawberry smoothie. 

Shiny vats are the tip-off to what's happening at this large, convivial, bi-level brewpub with industrial-looking beams and ductwork, which is a bit off the main drag by the New Hope Railroad station. The varied menu lists hearty small plates, salads, mains, and sandwiches, and the food skews a bit more sophisticated than at most such places, with vegetarian options and global touches like bao buns and a mushroom shawarma sandwich. Typically seven craft beers are on tap, with seasonal specials. There's often live music on weekend nights.

It's possible you might need a break from chocolate, and if you do, you can rest assured that the Tröegs brewery will be the perfect antidote, with its creative menus and multiple draft beers (some you can only get here) available in 4oz., 10oz., and 16oz. sizes. Menu options, which sell out fast, include starters like the pickle plate and tabbouleh salad and mains like fluke crudo, crab lasagna rotolo, red lentil daal, and the meatloaf sandwich---yes, at a brewery. 

Stop here for delicious ice cream served in small, pricey scoops—including many nondairy options—and some indulgent sundae concoctions. The fun part is playing video games displayed on two screens mounted on a wall across a narrow alley, while inside, four joysticks allow up to four players to go head-to-head. In wintertime, you can enjoy homemade hot chocolate with a scoop of ice cream in it.

Exceptional Japanese cuisine and creative sushi attracts neighborhood foodies as well as visitors to owner and chef Kenneth Sze's Tuna Bar. Fresh specialties made from locally sourced seafood and other ingredients include favorites such as hand rolls, seaweed salad, and shrimp tempura, along with some unique house specialties that showcase a delectable mix of Japanese flavors and textures. Order one of the specialty combination plates—the "Big Tuna" or "Little Tuna"—and let the chef choose for you. The extensive sake and wine list is worth sampling, as are the craft cocktails. Sushi-making classes are also available (check the website for details). 

Specializing in Southern specialties cooked on a charcoal grill, this Headhouse Square restaurant's extensive menu offerings include fried chicken, barbecue smoked ribs, shrimp and grits, and grilled swordfish. This fun, lively hot spot also has a busy bar, including a robust wine list and American whiskey selection, with mixologists pouring craft cocktails. Live blues and jazz music is performed on most nights, so check the website for upcoming bands and musical artists. 

Aaron and Elizabeth Ultimo launched a specialty coffee chain in 2009, offering expert espresso, pour-over brewing, and single-origin beans well before these were staples. The couple has since added two more shops, a bakery, and a roastery to the roster, while their relaxed flagship shop in the Newbold neighborhood of South Philly keeps on keeping on, perhaps because of the comfortable space and friendly staff.

Uncle Bobbie's is the most literary-salonlike coffee shop in the city, with numerous author and reading events. Focused squarely on African American literature and history, intellectual studies, as well as mainstream biographies and such, the books, all new, are both for sale and displayed in a way that makes you wish you had a library of shiny books.

This Gotham ice cream superpower now has three locations in the City of Brotherly Love (there's also one in Rittenhouse Square and Fishtown). It's a great spot to satisfy your sweet tooth with classic ice cream flavors like cookies and cream and mint chip or more inventive options like Earl Grey and honeycomb; there are vegan flavors, too, as well as chocolate chip cookies, cookie sandwiches, sundaes, and milkshakes.

Less a restaurant than a roving dinner party spread among several rooms in a tony Center City brownstone, Vedge is a true celebration of vegetables, many of them sourced from nearby farms. This is not to say you won’t find tofu or seitan, but they’ll be starring as themselves, in landscapes of gorgeous produce touched by spices, smoke, and fermentation. The ethereal desserts are can’t-miss.

Philadelphia's foremost practitioner of Italian cooking, Marc Vetri, can still be found at his eponymous ristorante just off Broad Street. In this lovely, sepia-toned town house (the original home of the late Le Bec-Fin) you can expect exquisite but superexpensive custom-built tasting menus (no à la carte) that may involve freshly milled alt-grain pastas, quivering buffalo-milk mozzarella flown in from Campania, and long-standing classics like the golden onion crepe and roasted suckling goat. Don't try to eat here if you haven't made reservations. As an alternative, try booking one of Vetri's popular interactive classes or special dinners in the upstairs dining room.

Popular restaurateur Michael Schulson helms this romantic, Italian-inspired gem just off Rittenhouse Square. The menu features seasonally focused dishes, with a particular emphasis on handmade pasta like the signature doppio ravioli (two conjoined ravioli, one side filled with fig and the other with Gorgonzola). The service is attentive and nonintrusive, and the softly lit room is perfect for special occasions.

A rotating selection of more than 20 beers—ranging from lagers and ales to sours, Belgians, and stouts—is available in the two-story taproom and patio space. The pub menu has pub-fare apps like house-made pretzels, cheesesteak eggrolls, and fried pickles, as well as sandwiches (yes, burgers, roast pork, and cheesesteaks) and salads. There are weekly specials like Wednesday $1 wings and Sunday Funday ($2 off drafts and $3 off apps) and events like quiz nights and roof-top parties. 

The Phanthavong family has long served the soulful cuisine of its native Laos to the West Philly community, starting with a spartan street tent that blossomed into this homey, friendly BYOB restaurant. Don't miss the truly heartwarming Lao soups—the King's soup being a winner—or the house-made pork sausages and yellow curry fried rice. The Laotian scene has increased, especially in South Philly, but Vientiane infuses Thai flavors as well. Still cash-only, they also have a location in Kensington.

This Pakistani eatery specializes in lahore chargha, a fiery fried chicken dish, for which it is very popular because people in Philly seek out the fried and delicious. But that's not the only dish worth having—enjoy a tasty variety of flavorful halal meat skewers in the tandoor, curries, homemade and hot-from-the-oven naan and roti breads, and vegetarian offerings.

Taking up the ground floor of the FMC Tower, home to the AKA University City, Walnut Street Café serves a mix of new American cuisine, crispy pizzas, and specialty sandwiches in a light-flooded, art deco--inspired space. Open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, plus weekend brunch, the restaurant’s edible highlights include house-baked bread and pastries, raw seafood platters, and rotating handmade pasta. There's really nothing else around, except for World Cafe Live—which if you're seeing a show there (where the food is subpar), getting dinner at Walnut Street Café is a smart choice.

At this large café opposite Eastern State Penitentiary, the tall windows, high ceilings with exposed ductwork, and dozens of wooden tables create an airy, casual space for trying delicious La Colombe coffee with breakfast, lunch, or a snack. The students, visitors, and families who flock here appreciate the long list of coffee drinks (which can get pricey), all-day breakfasts, and a lunch menu with salads as well as hearty sandwiches. You order at the counter, but food is brought to you. Formerly OCF Coffee House, the café is run by the same people who run Urban Saloon down the street.   

A small sandwich shop and deli, Waterfront Gourmet has a variety of breakfast items, overstuffed sandwiches, salads, coffees, and more light bites for a quick meal. There are even vegan and vegetarian options available, like the veggie panini and avocado toast.

Across from Independence Hall, the world's largest Wawa convenience store (at over 11,000 square feet) is located inside an impressive historic structure and sells a grand assortment of satisfying quick bites all day long, including breakfast items and their famous made-to-order hoagie sandwiches. There's also pizza, wraps, and plenty of grab-and-go foods, such as pre-made fruit bowls and salads, along with aisles of packaged snacks. (Wawa's coffee is a local favorite, too).