74 Best Restaurants in Pennsylvania, USA

The sheer volume of Mexican restaurants on South 9th Street can be daunting—many are excellent, but how do you pick? The family-run Blue Corn consistently delivers, serving Pueblan cuisine with personality like tacos al pastor (taco made with spit-grilled pork) and queso fundido (hot melted cheese with spicy chorizo) alongside harder-to-find specialties like huaraches (crispy masa–pinto bean flatbreads) or whole fish stuffed with the corn truffle huitlacoche. Warm service and killer cocktails round out the experience. Note that it is cash only.

A casual, fun eatery with a friendly ambience, Craftsman Row features elevated homemade bar food, including cheesesteaks, hoagies, burgers, chicken, fries, and salads. Throughout the year, the restaurant goes big on seasonal decorations filling the entire space with abundant festive decor, even creating seasonal menu items and cocktails to match.

This comfortable, elegant eatery is one of Old City’s most respected and longest-running dinner destinations. For more than 25 years, this award-winning kitchen has been known for its innovative pastas, delectable dishes, in-house fermentation, incredible homemade breads, and the celebration of local meats and produce.

Well traveled and well trained, award-winning chef Christopher Kearse presents his unique take on French cuisine at the modern Forsythia. Start with shareable canapés, like fresh local oysters and pickled deviled eggs, before digging into small plates, pastas, and shareable mains (try the trout grenobloise or rabbit with foie gras for two) that split the difference between edgy and accessible. The space is decorated with a sophisticated, somewhat tropical feel; the long, narrow barroom, which leads to the intimate dining room and open kitchen in the rear, is an excellent stop-in for a quick cocktail or snack.

Chef-partners Omar Tate and Cybille St.Aude-Tate present this buzzy new incarnation of their Afro-centric Honeysuckle Projects in an elegant but accessible space that complements the stellar four-course prix-fixe menu, shaping the wood-lined room into a bar, a lounge section with sofas, bookcases, and the chefs' thoughtful art, and a good-size dining area with an industrial look. Music (jazz, soul, and more) adds to the ambience as diners make their choices for each course from a seasonally changing menu that highlights the global culinary influences of the Black American diaspora in dishes such as a Daily Harvest starter with black-eyed pea spread and vegetables and an epis (a Haitian seasoning base) roasted chicken with grilled collards; one limited-quantity special item attracting attention is a $65 burger, complete with caviar, gold flakes, and truffles. It's hard to go wrong with any choices here, but oysters (broiled or however presented) are a don't-miss when they're on the menu. The knowledgeable servers can answer questions about ingredients and flavors: this is a place to learn and be nourished while enjoying food that delights the eye and palate.     

Of the Four Seasons Philadelphia's three restaurants, JG Skyhigh is the most approachable; it's the place to go for a drink while you take in the stunning city views from the 60th floor. The dinner menu includes modernized versions of hotel restaurant standards like a good burger, black truffle–topped pizza, and pumpkin-seed crusted salmon as well as a selection of high-end caviar. The waitstaff is as attentive and helpful as you'd expect from the Four Seasons brand.

At this waterfront spot in historic Wrightsville, across the Susquehanna River from Columbia, you can enjoy a breathtaking view of the river while seated outdoors eating wood-fired pizzas topped with ingredients grown on-site. The popular bar and restaurant (reservations strongly suggested) also has a glass-walled dining room to take in the scenery year-round. Several menus are offered, from lunch (cream of crab soup) and dinner (house sausage platter) to a mammoth fixed-price Sunday brunch buffet complete with a prime rib carving station, omelets made to order, and a make-your-own Bloody Mary bar. Look for weekly dinner specials and seasonally inspired favorites.

Part of James Beard award–winning chef Michael Solomonov's CookNSolo group, K'Far is an ode to the all-day bakeries that populate Israeli mornings with traditional baked goods, coffee, and Jerusalem bagel sandwiches; lunch also features grain bowls and salads. There are so many options, you could easily visit multiple times a day to try them all.

Located inside the posh Rittenhouse Hotel, this elegant dining space has a view overlooking Rittenhouse Square park. Afternoon tea is available in the Mary Cassatt Tea Room, and there's an à la carte menu that features dishes like aged duck, Berkshire pork, and King crab, but if you really want to indulge, try the Carte Blanche, a full tasting menu (wine pairings possible) that includes dishes like risotto of new potatoes with caviar, smoked king salmon, and bluefin tuna carpaccio. The wine list is also lengthy and impressive, with a broad range of impressive bottles from around the world.

A Spruce Hill staple, Manakeesh specializes in the Lebanese flatbreads of the same name. Served warm from the oven, the puffy, round loaves come with both traditional toppings (za’atar, kafta) and nontraditional ones (turkey bacon–egg–cheese, cheesesteak), which speak to the diverse crowd that fills the café-style space. Encased behind glass along the front counter, fresh-baked Lebanese pastries are some of your best bets. Stop in for a snack or a full sit-down, share-many-dishes-style meal.

Brass rails, silvered mirrors, claret-hued banquettes, and oak wainscoting reclaimed from now-shuttered Parisian restaurants imbue patina—while small touches like newspapers on wooden poles create extra realism—in the meticulous stage set placed on Philadelphia's most desirable corner by restaurateur Stephen Starr. Similarly, standard menu items (roast chicken, trout amandine) hold their own, but the little things—desserts and salads, fresh-baked goods (including house-made macarons), and excellent onion soup—stand out. Ask for an indoor-outdoor table overlooking the park: you'll get generous views and the pleasant din of the 150 diners behind you without the deafening buzz that is the restaurant's one true downside.

Farm-to-table dining is the focus of this restaurant in Hawley. Seasonal breakfast (brunch on weekends) and dinner menus focus on locally sourced produce, some of which is pulled from the inn’s own on-site herb garden. The dinner menu is divided into elements—earth, wind, water, and fire—designating vegetarian, poultry, fish, or red meat dishes. It includes a locally raised buffalo bolognese served with handcut tagliatelli, and grilled quail with cranberry walnut compote. The restaurant takes the farm-to-table concept seriously, and is fully transparent with where it gets its ingredients; it even goes so far as to list the produce farms, cheese makers, and butchers it uses right on the menu.

Championing craft beer well before it was cool, this laid-back Newbold tavern set the bar for Philly’s gastropub boom way back in 2003. SPTR’s ever-rotating 14 tap selections, plus cask ales and a nice bottle selection, hit local, national, and international notes that nicely accompany a menu that reaches well beyond the expected pub grub with creative snacks, sandwiches, and seasonal specials conceived to celebrate local and organic products and produce. The kitchen pays ample mind to vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free guests, too; it’s this accommodating spirit that makes a neighborhood bar.

Fishtown’s official transformation into a foodie haven came in the form of Suraya, a Levant all-day café with an interior that sends design buffs spinning. The 12,000-square-foot expanse is composed of a coffee shop slinging Lebanese chai tea topped with crushed pistachios and rose petals, drip coffee, pastries, and more; a sit-down area for lunch, dinner, and brunch; a bar overlooking the buzzing kitchen; and a picturesque outdoor garden. By night, the chefs and bartenders show off their chops with grilled meats and fish slathered in hard-to-ever-forget sauces and rubs, cold and hot meze options, and a drinks list featuring Levantine spirits, as well as wine and beer from around the world. Those who want to try a little of everything should opt for the four-course dinner tasting menu or the meze plate during lunch and brunch.

Aimee Olexy's Talula's Table in Kennett Square was an unlikely phenomenon; the little country market had a months-long backlog of reservations for its lone farmhouse table. Olexy's urban extension of that runaway success is a sprawling, high-ceilinged space decorated with quotes by Alice Waters printed on the walls, a courtyard with a garden that glows under twinkly lights, and an elegant seasonal menu. The knowledgeable servers do a great job explaining interesting cheese boards with names like "The Master Class."

When the Reading Company opened its train shed in 1892, it was the only one in the country with a market tucked away in its cellar. The trains are long gone, but the food remains. And while disagreeing over the best cheesesteak is a popular pastime in Philly, pretty much everyone can agree on pancakes at the Dutch Eating Place, the roast pork sandwich at DiNic's, whoopie pies at the Flying Monkey, and double chocolate-chip cookies at Famous 4th Street. Recent years have seen worthy newcomers to the entrenched mix: German deli Wursthaus Schmitz, Valley Shepherd Creamery's grilled cheese counter, and La Divisa Meats, for example. Get here early to beat the lunch rush. Seventy-five-minute tours every Wednesday and Saturday highlight the market's history and offerings (call 215/545–8007 to make a reservation).

A photo-ready interior invites guests to La Colombe's world headquarters, a sprawling space covered in artsy graffiti and crusty brick walls, that offers food, drinks, and ample space for hanging out. Communal tables stream down the center of the space, so grab your spot before you order at the counter: savory scones, sandwiches on excellent baguettes, sweet pastries, and coffee, of course. Ask for a Black & Tan (half Pure Black cold-brew, half nitro-draught latte) and no one will know you’re not a local.

The opening of this hip, industrial-chic trattoria by chef Marc Vetri rendered his talents more accessible to those who don't have the foresight to make reservations months in advance at his celebrated eponymous restaurant nearby. The small plates of Roman comfort food by longtime chef Brad Spence feature interesting elevated takes on Roman classics like tonarelli cacio e pepe, trippa alla Romana, and rigatoni all'amatriciana. Try to grab one of the six first-come, first-served stools at the chef's counter to watch the James Beard–award-winning action.

Far below the Ritz-Carlton's 140-foot-tall rotunda sits this Latin-inspired grill by chef Richard Sandoval, who creates meals that match the grandeur and excitement of the historic building. Many visit Aqimero for its wood-fired meats and fish, as well as its endless Champagne weekend brunch.

Southern Italian gems like arancini (risotto balls), osso buco (braised lamb shank), and spinach and artichoke canneloni (crepes) are expertly prepared at this spacious, modern trattoria. Relatively new on the scene, Beccafico delivers fine dining without frills or fuss and a reasonably priced wine list with a dozen choices by the glass. 

A relatively new addition to the Manayunk dining scene offers what may be best described as American pleasure food—shrimp and grits, short ribs, fried chicken and biscuits, and bar/bistro food standards—all prepared with inventive flourishes. Rare for the area, big windows and high ceilings provide an expansiveness and style that is both throwback and modern. The atmosphere is more party than intimate, so it's best for when you're in the mood for a lively night out, not a marriage proposal. Their brunch is also recommended.

Located along Philly's legendary Headhouse Square, Bloomsday’s modern, eclectic menu features a wide assortment of large and small plates suitable for sharing, as well as hearty, seasonal, and farm-to-table specialties like baba ghanoush, sweet-and-spicy wings, fish-and-chips, and beef stew. Fans keep returning to this friendly, stylish restaurant for the Bloomsday dry-aged burger and an array of tinned fish plates, which include sardines, tuna, mussels, and octopus. The food here is accompanied by a robust wine list, so be sure to wander into the on-site bottle shop for some lesser-known vintages.

Take a table in the tavern-like dining room or a stool at the bar for a menu of English and American classics. Welsh rarebit, fish-and-chips, or chicken-and-leek pie will power you up for an afternoon of shopping or an evening of trivia competition, or you can stick with the burger and a cask ale. There's outdoor seating in warm weather.

Housed inside a former greenhouse, Cake is a refined setting for breakfast and lunch, where light streams in through the greenhouse glass and a fountain occupies the center of the room. The menu offers a number of tasty, fresh salads to complement the atmosphere, yet also serves a Philly cheesesteak marsala and a croque monsieur brushed with apricot mustard for those who want heartier fare. The sweets and pastries are still a highlight at this former bakery. 

A colorful mural of freewheeling Day of the Dead skeletons gives this cheerful Fairmount cantina its name, but the polished, updated antojitos (snacks), tacos (including a taco tasting menu option), and enchiladas are what will really make you happy. A deep tequila library informs the bar and cocktail list; choose from a list of margaritas in flavors like chili, adding a guacamole sampler. Weekend brunch includes hearty options like huevos rancheros and brisket enchiladas.

This converted 1902 Catholic church offers a variety of brewed-on-site ales and lagers (the brewing equipment sits front-and-center, on what was once the altar) and a satisfying menu. The original stained-glass windows are still in place. Buffalo-and-wild-mushroom meat loaf, wood-fired pizzas, black pepper glazed pork chops, and pierogies are on the menu. The wide central aisle and kid-friendly menu make it a good place to come with children.

Spend a morning tucking into pancakes, breakfast sandwiches, and bottomless coffee at this little neighborhood spot and you'll find yourself ready to move to South Philly. Those in the know line up to wait for an outside table, but the wait is worth it for the hot, buttery pancakes, fluffy eggs, and the Pennsylvania delicacy known as scrapple (somewhere between a breakfast sausage and a hash) that help nurse your hangover or feed your kids.

People who have been to Havana swear this place is a dead ringer; in any event, it's lovely, with balconies and fancy streetlights and even a leaded-glass window on the interior. An entire drinks menu is devoted to rum from everywhere in the Caribbean and Central and South America, including Cuba Libre's own brand, and, of course, the mojitos are excellent. The appetizers, like Cienfuegos-style beef empanadas and malanga fritters, are authentic. Rice and black beans are served with classic entrées like vaca frita and ropa vieja.

This Stephen Starr–helmed pub is as close to an English pub as you'll get stateside—there's a snarling bear head mounted on one wall; an assortment of mismatched divans and armchairs; and toasties, fish-and-chips, and puddings on the menu. While the entrées are solid, the apps and desserts shine brightest at this sprawling, cozy venue. Anglophiles will rejoice over the afternoon tea service and locals love the after-work happy hour.

Named for the Delmonico Brothers, early pioneers in the establishment of fine dining in the United States, this elegant hotel restaurant serves breakfast, dinner, and weekend brunch throughout the year. The classic interiors are characterized by molded windows, high ceilings, dark-wood furnishings, and ivory tablecloths. Dinner is served as a four-course fixed-price menu with optional wine pairing; two additional courses can be added on upon request. Breakfast (brunch on Sunday) is served à la carte, and features interesting takes on morning fare, such as blue-crab Benedict and quail eggs with bacon and toast.