Eater Names Philly as One of the "Best Food Cities to Travel to" in 2024

Philly’s journey to becoming an international culinary capital was less of a renaissance and more of an evolution, one that has attracted the attention of trusted publications the world over — and shows no signs of slowing.

Want receipts? The City of Brotherly Love just snagged a place on Eater’s list of “The Best Food Cities to Travel to” in the world. Alongside international destinations like Busan, South Korea; Seychelles and Cairo, Egypt, Philly is just one of 3 U.S. cities to make the cut.

Eater points to Philly’s record showing at the 2023 James Beard Awards and the winning restaurants and restaurateurs — Rittenhouse Square’s Friday Saturday Sunday, High Street Hospitality Group’s Ellen Yin and Kalaya’s Chutatip “Nok” Suntaranon — as examples of institutions that have reimagined themselves and brought their fans along for the evolution.

In a testament to the whole Philly food community, the Eater team also applauds how this type of growth and elevation is not limited to a single restaurant, block or neighborhood: “The making of the modern food scene has been an intentional, city-wide effort.”

The outlet goes on to highlight the next class of outstanding Philly restaurants including:

• My Loup, Rittenhouse Square’s French-inspired collaboration between 2024 James Beard Award semifinalist for Outstanding Restaurant Amanda Shulman and fiance Alex Kemp
• Honeysuckle Provisions, the West Philly grocery and cafe helmed by 2024 James Beard semifinalists for Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic, Cybille St. Aude-Tate and Omar Tate
• Down North Pizza, North Philly’s go-to for “pizza with a purpose,” serving up Detroit-style pizza and heart by exclusively employing formerly incarcerated individuals, and
• Kiddo, an innovative veggie-forward neighborhood restaurant in Washington Square West led by couple Elizabeth Drake and Wyatt Piazza.

The pub also shouts out how restaurateurs take lemons (the notoriously difficult Pennsylvania liquor license process) and make lemonade (BYOBs!) by highlighting a few bring-your-own favorites:

• Northern Liberties’ Apricot Stone
• East Passyunk’s Gabriella’s Vietnam
• Fairmount’s A Mano
• Northern Liberty’s Petramala
• West Philly’s Buna Cafe

Oh, but there’s more…

The excitement continues as My Loup and Honeysuckle Provisions are joined by eight other area restaurants and chefs as semifinalists for the James Beard Awards including:

• Ellen Yin’s a.kitchen+bar for Outstanding Wine and Other Beverages Program
• Isgro Pastries for Outstanding Bakery
• Cantina La Martina’s Dionicio Jiménez for Outstanding Chef
• Bolo’s Yun Fuentes for Emerging Chef, and
• El Chingon’s Carlos Aparicio, Royal Sushi & Izakaya’s Jesse Ito, and River Twice’s Randy Rucker for Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic.