Latino-Owned Restaurants to Check Out in Philadelphia

Taking its name from a character in a famous Mexican ballad, this casual family-run BYO in South Philly’s Italian Market focuses on dishes from Mexico City and Puebla.

In addition to a packed menu of tacos, tortas and burritos, house specialties include fideo de mariscos (seafood pasta) and lamb barbacoa. Plus, don’t miss treating yourself to a (generously stuffed) cemita, filled with avocado, chipotle peppers, fresh summer cilantro, and meats like braised beef and chorizo. 

Drawing on influences from across the Latin-Caribbean islands and Mexico, Dominican chef and YouTuber Jose Luis serves an impressive menu that combines street food and composed plates in Hunting Park, both in a sit-down restaurant and a food truck.

From plates of pernil and fried fish to chicharron tacos and natural juices, this menu satisfies Latino taste buds.

Philadelphia is home to many veteran Mexican chefs who’ve broken out on their own to much success. One rising star is chef Frankie Ramirez, formerly of LMNO Fishtown, who opened his airy 4,000-square-foot Amá around the corner on Front Street.

Expect regional Mexican dishes prepared through live-fire cooking techniques, plus weekly aguachile del dias, seasonal tlayudas (crispy pizzas) and show-stopping entrees like whole char-grilled octopus.

Iron Chef Jose Garces’ original restaurant, Amada, splashed onto the Philly dining scene with Spanish cuisine first in Old City (where Bolo’s chef Yun Fuentes cut his teeth) back in 2005.

Now, Garces Group has expanded the tapas restaurant to sister locations on the Main Line and Atlantic City. With menus that encourage family-style eating, this is where to book the next group dinner and share traditional plates like gambas al ajillo, patatas bravas, ibérico a la plancha and paella valenciana.

Hispanic-owned pizzerias have existed in Philadelphia for decades, with a majority being a sort of Mexican-Italian fusion. But Colombian-owned Amigo’s leans into the Latin American spirit of North Philly.

Expect more than a dozen different pizzas, specialty plates like Colombian picadas and mashups like buffalo sauce salchipapas — fries and sausage tossed in Buffalo sauce, served with a side of cool ranch or blue cheese.

Amy Rivera Nassar’s Puerto Rican-style turnovers often sell out at pop-ups and inside her tiny corner eatery in Fishtown, the neighborhood where she calls home.

What began as cooking batches of picadillo pastelillos in her home kitchen turned into an award-winning takeout lunch spot — one of Esquire’s 2024 “Best New Restaurants in America” — with an expansive menu that includes criollo and vegan flavors, rice bowls and soups alongside rotating specials.

This all-day Italian Market spot is where you can find Venezuelan hand-held food, like arepas, tequeños (fried cheese) and cachapas (folded stuffed corn pancakes).

Each category offers several varieties — for both meat and veggie lovers — and ranges from appetizers like reina papiadas (creamy avocado chicken salad) to large plates like pabellon criollo (shredded beef, black beans, white rice, and fried sweet plantains).

This family-run Venezuelan food business is a pandemic success story, operating as a pop-up, takeout-and-delivery kitchen and event space.

In addition to its Best of Philly–winning stuffed arepas, the menu leans into refined coastal Venezuelan street food inspired by family dinner parties back home: sweet-savory plantain dishes, hearty family-style stews and rich, fried, Caribbean-flavored plates. Must-orders include the guava and cheese tequeños, empanaditas, sweet-tart Key lime pie, and refreshing papelon con limon juice.

Along the multicultural corridor of South 9th Street, Blue Corn is known for its daily blue corn tortillas, made with cornmeal from San Mateo Ozolco, in Puebla, Mexico, the owners’ hometown.

Weekend brunchers take to sidewalk seating under the terrazita during warm weather months, while inside can feel like a party fueled by happy hour and flavored margaritas. Besides its regular menu, food and drink specials are added daily. Plan ahead: Blue Corn is cash only (with an ATM on-site).

Chef Yun Fuentes’ Sansom Street casita, Bolo, opened in 2023 and earned him a nomination for Emerging Chef from the James Beard Awards.

The menu celebrates pan-Latin cuisine with locally sourced ingredients like sorullitos stuffed with Seven Sisters cheese and vaca frita made with Creekstone Farms skirt steak. Bolo’s showstopper, though, is a Puerto Rican tradition: A slow-roasted lechon dinner served with verduras, rice, gandules stew, maduros and mofongo.

Café y Chocolate has been a Snyder Avenue fixture for South Philly brunchers since 2007 — first on 20th Street and now across from the former Melrose Diner on 16th Street.

Inside the all-day restaurant, owners Arturo Lorenzo and Maricela Tellez serve hearty Oaxacan staples (come for the chilaquiles and enchiladas divorciadas) alongside smoothies, agua frescas, hard-to-find coffees and hot drinks, such as a cajetuccino, a cappuccino with cajeta, Mexican goat’s milk caramel. You can also catch Lorenzo on season two of Leguizamo Does America.

Colombian chef-partners Giselle Poveda and Daniela Garcia have made Cafe Tinto a North Philly fixture since 2008. Their new Fishtown location is a vibrant all-day hangout where guests shop for quintessential pantry items, coffee beans and fresh produce at the mercadito — or sit, eat and chat around wooden dining tables (just like home).

Panaderia and pasteleria staples range from cafe campesino with housemade syrup and breakfast sandwiches on pan sobao to Colombian hot dogs during happy hour (weekdays 3 to 6 p.m.), plus rotating chef specials. Bonus: Most items are naturally gluten-free.

Meyling Moreno joins South 9th Street’s growing multiethnic community as a Nicaraguan coffee farmer and roaster at Café Duskaia. Moreno runs a true crop-to-cup operation powered by eight sisters who produce coffee in San Juan del Río Coco.

The team grows and harvests its own Nicaraguan Arabica beans (partnering with neighboring women farmers), and then roasts the coffee on-site in South Philly. Traditional brews like cloth-strained café colado share the menu with a summertime coconut cold brew, plus all-day norteño breakfast plates and street foods that showcase the family’s roots.

Casa Borinqueña brings a new era of Puerto Rican food to Kensington’s historically Boricua community, led by chef-owner Lulu Márquez.

Opened in summer 2025, the vegan restaurant sources coffee and ingredients from Puerto Rico and reimagines pork-heavy classics as plant-based, kosher and gluten-free dishes. Start with a sampler plate — pinchos, alcapurrias or pasteles — which come with two skewers, arroz con gandules, maduros and salad.

New this year are Márquez’s signature mofongo, arroz con habichuelas and sancocho, a root-vegetable stew. Flags honoring queer, Black and Puerto Rican resistance signal Casa Borinqueña’s role as both a neighborhood hangout and a cultural education space.

Philly-born owner Evan Fong Jaroff celebrates “mixed-race, multicultural food” with chef Aya Iwatani (Honeysuckle alum) at Chibanos, a Cuban‑Chinese café in Washington Square West. The pop‑up turned all‑day sandwich shop bridges classic and contemporary flavors while emphasizing community‑minded hospitality.

Think: A “Chibano” with marinated pork and pickled mustard greens on a LeBus Bakery Cuban loaf inspired by Noche Buena dinners; the “Chickibano,” a chicken and Chinese broccoli riff on the Philly roast pork sandwich; the “Chino” breakfast sandwich with char siu-style sausage, egg and cheese on a Dodo Bakery pineapple bun; and Ensalada Fresca with cabbage, candied peanuts and citrus.

Consistently voted one of the best pizzerias in Philly, the family-run Chiquita’s serves up beloved Mexi-Italian pizzas and family-sized takeout combo specials.

The expansive menu covers just about everything to satisfy your cravings. Think garlic parmesan chicken tenders, cactus fries, carnitas cheesesteaks and al pastor pizza.

This Mexico City–inspired restaurant and rooftop bar draws locals and visitors for modern Mexican cooking and year‑round indoor-outdoor dining.

Tortillas start with heirloom corn and are nixtamalized — an ancient cooking process — by long-tenured in-house senior cooks, while herbs and chiles come from chef and co-owner Nick Kennedy’s mother’s Maryland garden, preserved into oils and salsas for the colder months.

Come for half‑priced mezcal Mondays, $6 taco Tuesdays (order the carnitas) and happy hour botanas at Condesa; Stay for El Techo’s Sunset Session parties with DJs, snacks, and rare agave spirits.

Chilean-born baker Cote Tapia-Marmugi leads a small, all-women crew at Copihue (koh-pee-weh) Bakehouse right off the SEPTA Regional Rail station, frequented by locals and fellow Chileans.

The Kampar alum spotlights traditional ingredients like dulce de leche and lucuma in pies, cakes (by the slice or special order), and pastries, plus immigrant-influenced treats like “Kuchen de Nuez,” a German-style walnut pie. Savory options stay mostly vegetarian, from cheese-stuffed empanadas to avocado and tomato toasts on homemade Irish soda bread — a nod to Chile’s first Irish president.

Arrive early: The case is baked once each morning and often sells out.

While South Philly Mexican cuisine tends to get all the attention, Don Barriga champions quintessential affordable Mexican dishes at its West Philly and Washington Square West locations.

The multigenerational restaurant, stemming from Mexican Grill La Guera in Upper Darby, is led by siblings Melina, Paulina and Carlos Barriga. On the menu are bar-and-grill classics like enchiladas, alambres, chilaquiles and tacos, which are all on offer for breakfast, lunch and dinner here.

A vibrant addition to Philly’s Mexican culinary scene, El Chingón offers refined takes on classic regional Mexican dishes, from seasonal aguachiles and housemade cemitas to spit-roasted tacos.

The former Parc bakery chef Juan Carlos Aparicio has become a household name, recognized by The Philadelphia Inquirer, the James Beard Awards, Michelin and more in recent years. Aparicio has since expanded his South Philly BYO into an indoor-outdoor Fishtown “agave” garden bar in collaboration with Phoenixville’s Bluebird Distilling.

El Fuerto De Loreto father-and-son duo Ascencion and Ricardo Sandoval fuse Mexican, American and Italian food at their Pennsport all-day BYO.

The cash-only spot serves brunch daily, which means you can enjoy huevos rancheros and churro pancakes until 4 p.m., while recently introduced specials — including a three-course prix fixe menu for $35 on Mondays — are an excuse to come back throughout the week.

Sofia Deleon’s pop-up and brick-and-mortar eatery, El Merkury, specializes in Central American street food, celebrating Mayan staple ingredients.

Corn, chiles, beans, squash and chocolate star in numerous El Merkury dishes, naturally lending to a largely plant-based and gluten-free menu. But the showstoppers are the elaborate, high-arching churros served in multiple flavors of ice cream and cake, which visitors often line up for inside the Reading Terminal Market stall.

Hear Deleon talk more about building community as a Guatemalan native in season 3, episode 8 of our Love + Grit podcast.

While Philadelphia boasts a plethora of Mexican restaurants, El Mezcal Cantina in Point Breeze stands out for its brick oven pizza, trompo tacos and flame-broiled steak.

On Sundays from spring through fall, El Mezcal Cantina serves a limited version of its menu at FDR Park’s Latino Market, across from the skatepark. (We recommend the steak and al pastor tacos.)

Chef-owner Chelo Manzanarez opened this small, cozy South Philly BYO to showcase the rich cuisine of his hometown, Acapulco, Guerrero.

Here, every dish has a story and an ofrenda. (Some plates are even named for specific ancestors.) Signature dishes like pescadillas tacos, chalupitas de Guerrero and mole Colorado are drawn from Chef Manzanarez’s mother’s and sister’s recipes, reimagined with his own technique and creativity.

Born as a friends-and-family venture in New York City, El Sazón R.D. (República Dominicana) built a cult following for its queso frito smash burgers. Co-owner Edwin Collado has brought those viral patties to Northern Liberties, filling a void of Latino comfort food in a nightlife-heavy neighborhood.

From its mostly takeout stall, El Sazón turns out ultra-crispy empanada tacos (get the ground beef “Chimi”) and loaded salchipapas, all under $15, pulling in daytime regulars and late-night crowds from Collado’s neighboring sports bar, SET NoLibs. Hydrate with a passion fruit juice or morrir soñando (orange juice, evaporated milk and sugar).

Owner Louis Quiles brings touches of his Puerto Rico-meets-Philly heritage through coffee, clothing and sneakers at his Fishtown shop, Encanto Kicks & Coffee.

The vibrant and colorful shop is where customers can linger over cafecitos and pastries, kick back at a table, or even play a game or two.

Chef Israel Romero serves 33 Mexican-American brunch classics in South Philly as an homage to his culinary training — and the best part is they’re available seven days a week.

Romero’s cafe-style menu caters to all sorts of cravings. Breakfast lovers can order from nearly 10 types of French toast, four Benedicts and five huevos dishes, while savory bites include paninis, sandwiches and salads. Look for specials posted on Instagram, too.

At her charming West Philly cafe, bakery and market, guests can eat and learn to cook Jezabel Careaga’s famous northern Argentine empanadas.

In the works is a Fitler Square full-service restaurant with food and drink inspired by Careaga’s family recipes as well as Argentina’s bodegón and fonda-style restaurants: pascualinas (a type of savory pie), steaks and Argentine wines.

Top Chef alum Jennifer Zavala has been synonymous with flavorful tacos and tamales, both now served at her East Passyunk eatery.

Her BYO has since grown from these cult favorites to an all-day menu full of flavor bombs like birria ramen, New York-inspired chopped cheese, protein-packed burrito bowls and other crowd-pleasing eats.

South Philadelphia welcomed its first Brazilian bakery in 2024 with the arrival of Kouklet (pronounced koo-clay) on Passyunk Avenue.

Inside the 800-square-foot space, chef Mardhory Santos-Cepeda’s bolo de rolos — a sweet cake roll — keeps customers coming back for more. Early morning visitors often find display cases filled with sourdough donuts, guava jam goiabinha cookies, bite-sized tapioca cheese bread and more.

La Baja, chef Dionicio Jiménez’s newest BYO in Ambler, draws cross‑cultural influences from Mexico’s borderlands and immigrant populations — from Africa to Asia — to reimagine Mexican classics.

On the dinner menu: A Sonora‑style pork chop, aged ribeye asada, Korean-Mexican bao and fried shishito peppers. Weekend brunch offers Mexican-American favorites like avocado toast and eggs Benedict with sopes and chorizo. 

Breakfast, lunch, fresh breads and pastries and a full-service deli make La Caleñita a can’t-miss eatery.

This North Philadelphia-based Colombian spot serves heaping plates of rice and beans, steak, eggs, and arepas, but the bakery treats are the real stars. Try almojában (cheese bread) or trenza (braided bread stuffed with fruit) alongside fresh juice or Colombian coffee.

A few blocks from South Philly’s Mifflin Square Park — a popular gathering place for families — is La Canasta Mexican Food, a no-frills spot serving up all the classics you’d expect.

Expect chiles rellenos, birria tacos, burritos and more — all priced at $20 or less. Plus, locals rave about the fresh and creamy guacamole, the flavorful enchiladas with mole sauce, and the crave-worthy Mexican street corn sprinkled with cotija cheese. 

This watering hole brings a lively energy to West Passyunk Avenue with craft cocktails showcasing an extensive tequila and mezcal program. In addition to stellar vibes, La Llorona has showstopper dishes like molcajete served in a heated cauldron, enchiladas verdes and pistachio tres leches.

Also on the back bar: the rarely found in-state L.A. Cetto wines from Guadalupe. Best of all: La Llorona is open for lunch and dinner every day, plus brunch on Sundays.

Former Tequilas executive chef, Carlos Molina, broke out on his own to open Las Bugambilias in 2007.

Since then, he’s moved the restaurant — named after the bright Latin American flower — from South Street to Old City, where he serves Veracruz seafood specialties such as enchiladas del mar, camarones al mojo de ajo and ceviche mixto.

Owned by Angel Jimenez Hernandez and Karina Sanchez Arellano, Los Cuatro Soles (which represents the four members of their family) in Point Breeze has been dishing out authentic Mexican food to customers since 2016.

Expect freshly made burritos, crispy tacos, guacamole, salsas and desserts to fill lunch and dinner plates.

One of the newest additions to Philly’s Latino nightlife scene, New York-based chain Mamajuana arrived in Fishtown in 2024 and has since become a go-to for groups who want to eat, party and be transported to the Caribbean — all under the same roof.

The 10,000-square-foot indoor-outdoor restaurant and lounge hosts live DJs and Sip and Salsa specials that set the vibe for Latin-Asian fusion dining. Expect surf-and-turf dishes alongside sushi combos — and don’t miss Mamajuana’s epic Sunday brunches and weekday happy hours.

Located across from FDR Park’s legendary skatepark and just around the corner from its famed neighbor, the Southeast Asian Market, is the must-visit Mercado Latino.

Open Sundays from April through October, the outdoor market hosts Central American, Caribbean and Latin American food vendors selling freshly made tacos, pupusas, empanadas and fresh fruit. Bring cash, a picnic blanket and a big appetite.

It’s no wonder Mi Pueblito — one of the O.G. birria taco trucks — has a cult following around Philly.

Find the truck on Tuesdays and weekends, parked under the I-95 bridge in South Philly, serving up birria tacos, birria ramen and elotes alongside homemade salsas.

Note that the spot is cash only (not that that has ever been a deterrent).

South 9th Street has long been referred to as “Puebladelphia” thanks to Mexican institutions like Mole Poblano.

The menu spans a variety of tacos (chorizo, el pastor, pollo), tortas (milanesa pollo, cubana, huevo con chorizo) and more, alongside full-fledged entrees like the enchiladas with mole poblano and the grilled lamb with cactus salad.

Equally pleasing: the nachos con queso, the quesabirra and pretty much everything else.

Gather Food Hall is home to vendors from around the world, including Brizna Rojas and Aldo Obando’s Mucho Perú. The former Peruvian bakers’ fast-casual stall sits just steps away from Amtrak’s 30th Street Station, and hones in on contemporary versions of traditional Peruvian plates.

Only open for lunch and dinner, Mucho Peru features a menu highlighting ceviche, lomo saltado bowls, arroz chaufa and more. Don’t leave without trying the Peruvian alfajores — smaller and thinner than the Argentine variety and dusted with powdered sugar.

La Roma’s sister restaurant, Nemi, features contemporary regional Mexican dishes by chef Jesús García, previously at Lucha Cartel and Cuba Libre.

Savor traditional house-made tortillas, salsas and guacamole alongside signature plates like salmon ceviche, charred avocado tacos, pork belly tacos, duck confit and mango trifle. A full tequila and mezcal bar (try their blood orange margarita) adds to the authenticity of this Port Richmond spot.

Husband and wife team Tracy Hardy and Jennifer Gomez-Hardy have expanded this North Philadelphia restaurant and lounge with a pescatarian-inspired menu and spacious outdoor area (called The Yard).

Platters include catfish nuggets, fried salmon stuffed with lump crab, seafood mac and cheese, and a salmon cheesesteak, plus finger foods and sandwiches for the kids.

The kitchen at this Callowhill eatery dishes out soul-stirring Dominican food — and plenty of it.

The oxtail, yellow rice, tostones and red snapper earn rave reviews among those who know Dominican food, along with the wallet-friendly mofongo and pastelitos. Look for the wooden deck and palm tree sign on the corner of Callowhill and 12th streets to know you’re at the right spot.

Juan Carlos Romero and Lluli Pilar’s Philly Tacos has grown from a popular Washington Avenue food truck to a Point Breeze restaurant and two Delaware River Waterfront seasonal outposts: Spruce Street Harbor Park and Independence Blue Cross RiverRink.

Expect Philly Tacos’ greatest hits at each location, including smoked pork tacos, birria burritos and quesadillas.

Small but mighty, this BYOB has customers heading to Queen Village and University City to order amazing Venezuelan street food like patacónes, empanadas and papelón con limón (house-made lemonade).

Bursting with personality and colorful decor, the casual shop also slings generously stuffed arepas, cult-favorite tequeños and fried plantain sandwiches — one of the shop’s signature creations.

Dominican and Salvadorian co-founder Edward Garcia expanded his South Street gaming footprint with a two-floor restaurant and several choose-your-play-rooms.

To keep the good times rolling, Queen & Rook offers wood-fired Neapolitan-style pizzas, a full craft cocktail bar, indoor and outdoor seating, and plenty of veggie- and family-friendly options.

Award-winning chef and activist Cristina Martínez started South Philly Barbacoa at home before making waves in the Italian Market.

She’s since expanded her food business to catering, cooking classes, and other experiences at a two-in-one restaurant concept: South Philly Barbacoa, which operates from the full-service Casa México (both located in the same South 9th Street space). Diners can also find a secondary South Philly Barbacoa outpost inside Triple Bottom Brewing in Callowhill.

Expect traditional items like mole verde and handmade tortillas alongside South Philly Barbacoa favorites like lamb barbacoa tacos and consommé.

For stellar Honduran-style tamales (fatter and heartier than their Mexican counterparts), this 7th Street corner BYOB is worth visiting.

Sweetening the deal: The Society Hill bar and grill leans into homestyle Mexican cooking and has a 15-seat bar with an impressive mezcal and tequila selection.

This family-run joint became a viral sensation in 2020 and has since won over the hearts and stomachs of Philadelphians with its homemade tortillas and $3 afternoon taco specials (Monday through Wednesday).

At Taqueria Morales, traditional Mexican plates include vegan options. Tacos dorados (rolled fried tortillas), enchiladas and sopes are all fantastic choices here.

For 40 years, the Suro family has pioneered avant-garde Mexican dining at Tequilas in Rittenhouse Square.

Inside this regal dining room, tradition meets innovation with dishes like crispy pork belly mole dulce, raw tuna marinated in mustard seeds and capers, and Swiss chard tamales topped with parmesan cheese — plus tortillas sourced from chef Cristina Martínez.

Tequilas’ newest iteration includes La Jefa, located at the back of the restaurant: a day-to-night spot featuring craft coffee and cocktails paired with classic Guadalajara dishes.

North Philly’s Tierra Colombiana is where guests can dine and party like Colombians would in Bogotá. Dishes here are piled high with meats (chicken or beef), rice, beans, and sides (arepas and empanadas) large enough to feed a group.

Must-orders include bandeja paisa, paellas, picada especial and broiled red snapper. Work off the meat sweats at the second-floor event space, where Latino DJs and musicians perform regularly.

Quality Mexican food isn’t just limited to the city. Chef-brothers Alberto and Efrain Sandoval run Tlali in Upper Darby, showcasing family cooking from San Mateo Osco, Puebla.

Standout dishes here highlight technique and tradition, from the 20-ingredient, scratch-made mole poblano and house-made tortillas crafted from nixtamalized corn — inspired by the chefs’ mother — to the hard-to-find michmole (fish mole) and trompo-style “tacos Don Guero” honoring the Sandovals’ paternal taquero roots.