Philadelphia's Best New Restaurants for Summer 2025

After leading the kitchens at some of Philly’s most popular restaurants, including LMNO and Parc, chef Frankie Ramierez — with wife Veronica Ramirez — strikes out on his own.

The chef’s Fishtown restaurant Amá channels his native Mexico City with digs inspired by traditional Mexican kitchens (think: white textured plaster walls, warm wooden beams and terracotta accents) and recipes taken from the Ramirezes’ mothers (Amá being short for “mamá”).

Mostly meant to be shared, the menu represents the six culinary regions of Mexico with tacos served on hand-pressed tortillas; octopus cooked over a coal- and wood-fired grill; carne asada; tequila and mezcal-infused cocktails; wine; beer; and more.

This sophisticated addition to Old City’s upscale offerings, The Avery, steals the hearts and imaginations of Philly foodies.

Helmed by chefs Montana Houston and Ja’mir Wimberly-Cole, formerly of Restaurant Aleksandar, the sleek and modern restaurant serves up an impeccable, R&B-infused atmosphere with luxe green booths and chairs, marble tabletops, and greenery-draped walls.

The menu of contemporary American bites keeps the elevated vibes flowing, with flavorful dishes like the shellfish noodles topped with lobster (an instant favorite) and jerk spice chicken, handcrafted cocktails like the Haiku, and creative desserts like the caramelized honey cheesecake.

It’s hapeninggggg … After years of hard work, chef Raquel Villanueva Dang’s beloved supper club has opened its very own brick-and-mortar space.

A collaboration with her husband Tam Dang, Baby’s Kusina + Market — which takes inspiration from Dang’s Filipino roots and Filipino American upbringing — is named after her mother, Emmie, or as loved ones know her, Tita (the Tagalog word for “aunt”) Baby.

On the menu: house-made pastries like calamansi doughnuts and ube hand pies and savory options for breakfast and lunch, like the lechon sisig bowl (a crispy pork belly dish served over rice). Local products and Southeast Asian staples are also available in the market.

Marc Grika isn’t new to Philly’s food scene or the East Passyunk neighborhood for that matter, having helmed Flannel, the charming restaurant known for its down-home Southern cooking, for the last six years.

After traversing (and eating his way) through Rome, the chef conceptualized a brand-new adventure for himself — one that involved transforming his country kitchen into a fine dining restaurant serving Italian-Asian fusion cuisine, or itameshi. The creative menu features fun takes on traditional Italian, Korean and Japanese dishes like octopus bao buns, cacio e pepe e miso pasta and aran-sushi, a nigiri-like bite that swaps out the traditional rice for crispy arancini.

Marilyn Monroe, Goku and Ben Franklin walk into a restaurant … No, this is not the build-up to a corny punchline; it’s the setup for your next great meal.

Tiled versions of pop culture icons, cartoon characters and Philly legends — that’s right, Marilyn, Goku and our boy Ben — welcome you to this family-friendly, Mayfair shop.

Kelly Guerrero and Amarildo Bojko — the duo behind popular food truck and catering company Byzantium Empire — dish out hearty comfort food platters of rotisserie chicken, pernil, beef stew and fish; sandwiches; tacos; and empanadas, with alcoholic beverages on the way.

The Renaissance Philadelphia Downtown is getting a fresh new addition. The brainchild of entrepreneur Felicia Wilson and chef-partner Darryl Harmon, First Daughter Oyster Co. — tucked just inside the Renaissance — is a new seafood spot, and the pair’s fifth restaurant in three years (!).

The eatery features all-day brunch and dinner, with menu items including East Coast and West Coast oysters, lobster rolls, surf & turf cheesesteaks, and a grand seafood tower. Get a taste of Wilson and Harmon’s other flavors at Amina, BlackHen, Fia and AVANA.

Founded in 2017, Germantown Espresso Bar quickly became a fixture in the community, serving piping hot coffee daily, hosting open mics monthly and regularly providing a welcoming neighborhood gathering space. So when the community coffeehouse — then located in Maplewood Mall — closed in 2022, espresso lovers and neighbors alike felt the loss.

Alas, Germantown Espresso Bar is back just a mile down the road, crafting cortados, lattes, and more from the shop’s own brand of coffee beans, Many Hands Coffee Co., and serving them alongside pastries from nearby favorites like Merzbacher’s and Young American Hard Cider.

A fusion between Indonesian home cooking and classic American staples, Griddle & Rice gives you the perfect reason to hop out of bed at the crack of dawn (or whenever, to each their own).

Open all day, this casual counter-service spot in South Philly dishes out American-style breakfast sandwiches, pancakes and French toast and signature dishes inspired by owners Yeni Lie and Mohammad Holil’s native Madura, like bubur ayam abang (chicken congee) and nasi uduk (a breakfast rice platter).

The menu also features a great list of coffees, matchas, smoothies and specialty drinks like es kopi gula aren, an iced coffee made with Indonesian palm sugar.

Step off the beaten path for your next brunch outing at the newly opened Hannah K Cafe in South Philly.

The latest breakfast and lunch spot by restaurateur Huyen Thai Dinh (of The Breakfast Den), Hannah K Cafe — named lovingly after her niece — dishes out Vietnamese-American comfort foods with all the specialties you’d expect — and several that you wouldn’t. On the menu: fluffy pancakes, mushroom cheesesteaks, housemade boba teas and pastries, various banh mis, build-your-own summer rolls (which even include popular breakfast fillings like bacon, egg and cheese), and much more.

As Philly’s first Yemeni coffee shop, this elegantly decorated Middle Eastern cafe — part of the nationwide Haraz Coffee brand — offers freshly brewed organic beans straight from Yemen, along with goods from local artisan bakeries and chefs, and plenty of culturally inspired bites.

Couple and 2024 James Beard Award semifinalists Cybille St. Aude-Tate and Omar Tate’s West Philly cafe has moved uptown to North Broad.

With a new focus on fine-dining dinner service, Honeysuckle continues to pay homage to the flavors and cultures of the Black diaspora with a $95 ($135 with drinks and dessert) tasting menu. Menu items include Akra (a plantain, cassava and shrimp dish) and $PAY4HAITI (a Haitian-style spaghetti).

The drink program is just as bold, with house-fermented ingredients, natural and biodynamic wines from women and people of color producers, and spirited creations like the Black Cake cocktail, named for the Caribbean fruitcake.

Spice is the star of the show at this West Passyunk eatery.

Helmed by seasoned chef Benny Pangalila, Indo Spice serves traditional Indonesian flavors and plates, from hearty staples like satay, rendang and whole fish rice platters to flavorful tofu and oxtail soups to sweet treats like palm sugar pandan cakes, or ongol-ongol, and banana tapioca cake, or nagasari.

Dressed in earth tones and adorned with beautiful landscape paintings and other artwork, the simple and chic dining room creates the perfect backdrop to your culinary excursion.

I’m screaming, you’re screaming, we’re all screaming … because Philly has a new small-batch scoopshop.

Popular Cherry Street Pier ice cream trolley, Irv’s, now has a permanent location a few miles down the road. Named for chef Ilissa Shapiro’s grandfather, the ice creamery churns out classic and globally inspired scoops with flavors like horchata, coquito and banana chocolate tahini swirl in a retro-themed storefront.

Pro tip: Non-GMO, gluten-free baked treats are also up for grabs with just the press of a button (and swipe of a card) from the on-site Flakely’s pastry ATM.

Spring is the perfect time for new beginnings, no? Chef Albert Zheng, of the recently closed Fairmount sushi spot Enigmono, returns to his old stomping grounds.

Javelin dishes out authentic Japanese cuisine, including a premium selection of sushi, sashimi and maki. Also on the menu: hot entrees like seared Japanese A5 wagyu and miso sea bass with salmon roe, and a drink menu curated by Richie Tray of the Library Bar.

All eyes are on the cocktails and comida at Tequilas’ (see below) more casual sibling.

This Mexican-inspired all-day cafe and cocktail bar from the Suros is named in honor of the family’s matriarch, Annette Cipolloni, affectionately known as la jefa or boss, and brings the (literal and figurative) spirit and flavors of Guadalajara to Philadelphia.

The menu features an all-star selection of natural wines and agave-focused cocktails and a daily brunch with dishes like huevos verdes and a chilaquiles omelet, 100% Mexican coffee, and pastries. A full dinner menu is also on the way.

The former Chinatown hotspot Ding Feng Tang has swapped out dumpling-making for live DJs with its reintroduction as Lion Sports Bar. Run by the same owners and decked out with 35 HDTVs, Lion will still carry popular bites from its predecessor’s menu (soup dumplings, anyone?) but now with all the American pub grub you’d expect.

No, you’re not seeing double. Chinatown gained a new spot for dumplings, noodz and other Asian favorites in New Dim Sum Kingdom (not to be confused with Dim Sum House right next door).

The simple and charming eatery boasts a supersized menu of traditional dim sum, satisfying noodle dishes, delicious hot pots and decadent Peking duck, plus a variety of refreshing fruit smoothies.

The team behind local favorite cafe FORÎN is back with their next venture: a modern all-day dining destination called Percy.

A blend between a cafe, restaurant, bar and “sound lounge” (with an outdoor patio), you could literally spend your whole day in the spot’s spacious and sophisticatedly minimalist digs.

With a menu ranging from fresh pastries to burgers on house-made brioche buns, you can stop by for brunch, settle in for a caffeine-powered work seshes, swing by for dinner, and close out your day with tunes and a nightcap.

The Fishtown cafe started off with brunch service on Friday, but dinner service is set to roll out beginning May 22, 2025, with the lounge following a week later on May 29, 2025.

The Home of the Pancake Donut has arrived.

Ringo Coffee & Donuts in Point Breeze — from the breakfasty minds at Spread Bagelry — doles out the sweet stuff with fun doughnut twists. The shop offers honey cornbread doughnuts, syrup-drizzled buttermilk pancake doughnuts and a monster breakfast sandwich dubbed “The G’Ringo” (featuring doughnut buns, of course).

Born-and-bred South Philly native and opinionated co-host of the popular podcast The Skinny with Joey Merlino gets in the cheesesteak game with a steak shop just a stone’s throw away from the South Philly stadiums.

Priding itself on exclusively using top-of-the-line ingredients, Skinny Joey’s Cheetsteaks boasts a very traditional Philly menu with steak sandwiches — available in both ribeye and chicken varieties — as its centerpiece. Roast pork sandos and sides like fries, wings and stromboli-like “inside-outs” are also up for grabs.

Formerly Primal Market, the East Passyunk butcher shop has transformed into a retro, distinctly French-y and welcoming wine bar, bottle shop and market. The newest venture from couple Chloe Grigri and Vincent Stipo (Good King Tavern, Le Caveau and Superfolie) takes inspiration from French épiceries, or grocery stores.

Giant windows soak the long bar and tables in sunlight, while bottles and bottles of vino line the shelves. The counter carries your standard wine accompaniments, plus less familiar accountremonts, like cassis jam and French chips. The delightful niche also offers non-vino options like beer, cocktails and zero-proof bevvies, and a food menu of charcuterie platters, sandwiches and entrées.

Center City tourists, nine-to-fivers and nightlife revelers, rejoice! Philly has added another spot to its collection of day-to-late-night eateries.

The Mexican-inspired fast-casual restaurant, Tacoteca Mexican Grill, uses hand-certified halal meats in its lineup of quesadillas, burritos, bowls, tacos and nachos. You can mix and match your proteins (traditional grilled beef, flavorful honey chipotle chicken, pescatarian-friendly shrimp, fajita veggies and more are all available) and customize your order however you like with a guac, salsa and other toppings. The eat-in or take-out eatery even offers a kids’ menu for the little ones.

Two years after a fire caused its tragic closure, Tequilas is back in Rittenhouse Square — reborn and reimagined. The beloved restaurant — first opened in 1986 by James Beard Award winner David Suro and his late business partner/ex-wife Annette — offers authentic Mexican cuisine with a contemporary flair.

The reinvented Tequilas continues its tradition of celebrating the flavors of Mexico, but now with an expanded menu of showstopping entrees like beef tenderloin molcajete and crab enchiladas in a creamy tomatillo sauce; a Make Your Taco menu with options like pork shoulder marinated in Mayan spices and vegan tinga poblana hailing from Puebla; and a brand-new dessert menu featuring silky flan with coffee crumble, sweet Mexican bread with avocado whipped cream and more.

Philly’s restaurants, hotels and attractions get a lot of attention from national and international media. We’re talking Travel + Leisure, Esquire, Condé Nast, Bon Appétit and more. See which eateries made headlines in our roundup of awards and accolades for Philly spots in 2024.

Philadelphia is home to some of the best restaurants, chefs and bar programs in the country — and many of those establishments have been recognized over the years by the James Beard Foundation. Iconic spots like Zahav and Vedge are multi-time honorees; High Street Hospitality and some of its critically acclaimed holdings have been recognized; and more recently honored restaurants like My Loup, Cantina La Martina and Royal Sushi & Izakaya show off the amazing flavor and incredible value that Philly’s new class of restaurants are brining to the city. For more, check out our guide highlighting the restaurants and chefs that have been honored in the foundation’s annual long list of semifinalists, nominees and winners.

Why go home after dinner? Book the Visit Philly Overnight Package and get free hotel parking and choose-your-own-adventure perks, including two tickets to the Philadelphia Museum of Art and the Rodin Museum, two tickets to the National Constitution Center and the Museum of the American Revolution, two tickets Body Worlds: Vital and The Franklin Institute, or a $30 voucher to The Parkway Visitor Center and Rocky Shop.

Now that you’ve got your dining plans settled, pair a stellar meal with one of the region’s best museums and attractions or a street festival or big event. For more things to do in Philly (and there are always more things to do), click here.