PHLGuide

Philadelphia’s New Restaurant Openings

All the new restaurant openings in Philly you should know about.
This is a food spread from Amy's Pastelillos.

photo credit: Mike Prince

If you tried to keep track of every new restaurant and bar in Philly, your head might spin. So just read this list instead. These are the openings that seem like they have the most potential. Although, keep in mind, we make no promises about the places we haven't visited yet. Go forth and be a pioneer—or just keep up with our Hit List to see which new restaurants we checked out and loved.

March

photo credit: Mike Prince

This is a food spread from Amy's Pastelillos.

Amy's Pastelillos

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Amy’s Pastelillos brings Puerto Rican-style turnovers to Olde Richmond. They have options like ground pork chile, guava barbeque, and vegan choices like soy chorizo and potato. It’s only open from 11am-3pm, so plan ahead if you want to get your hands on a warm batch.   

La Sera Italiana

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La Sera Italiana is an Italian BYOB on South Street. They’re open for lunch and dinner, so you can get linguini primavera or gnocchi pesto on your day off, or when you’re “working.”

photo credit: Hey Yogurt

This is a picture are yogurt smoothies from Hey Yogurt.

Hey Yogurt

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Hey Yogurt has shops in NY, NJ, and now Philly. The Center City spot serves yogurt smoothies in flavors like oatmeal, purple rice, and strawberry mango. Cheesecakes are also on the menu if you prefer your sweets with a fork instead of a straw. 

Logan Square gets a new cheesesteak spot with Shay’s Steaks. Shay’s offers salads, deli sandwiches, and breakfast on the weekends, but the steaks on partially scooped rolls are the main event. Come in, pick your base—they offer prime rib, sirloin, NY strip, wagyu, or filet mignon—and load it up with cheese. 

photo credit: Nabrasa Brazilian Steakhouse

This is a meat spread at Nabrasa Brazilian Steakhouse.

Nabrasa Brazilian Steakhouse

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Once a solo location in Horsham, PA, this steakhouse now has an outpost in Center City. Like most Brazilian grills, it offers massive picanha, sirloin, and filet mignon skewers carved tableside. There’s a full bar inside and plenty of tables if your boss wants to take out the entire marketing department.

photo credit: NICOLE GUGLIELMO

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Bao Button

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The team behind Ninja Bao has opened Bao Button in Fishtown. They have the same dumplings and buns we love at Ninja, but here, there’s also a larger menu of ramen, katsu dishes, and boba tea. Plus, unlike Ninja Bao, they have lots of seats.

February

Cholula Mexican Grill

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This takeout-only Mexican spot in West Philly serves ham, egg, and refried bean tortas for breakfast and a selection of taquitos, tacos, and mains like carne asada for every other meal. Almost everything is under $20, so it’s a quick, wallet-friendly stop when you’re in the neighborhood. 

Smash burgers are the main event at Cousin’s Burger in Fairmount. It’s a Halal burger joint that serves the usual sidekicks like fries and chicken tenders. 

Formerly El Rancho Viejo, this Queen Village taqueria has a new name and owner. You’ll find a quick-service breakfast menu with Mexican omelets, chilaquiles, and tacos. Later in the day, they have pupusas, burritos, tortas, and other dishes like nachos al pastor. 

photo credit: The Brass Tap

This is the bar area at The Brass Tap.

The Brass Tap

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Manayunk gains another spot to drink a few beers and watch the game with The Brass Tap. There are around 30 beers on tap, plenty of TVs, and two Happy Hours (from 4-6pm and 9-10pm). When it comes to food, they have what’s important at a bar: wings, burgers, and baskets full of fried things.

photo credit: CANDIS R. MCLEAN

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South Street

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The chef from Nom Nom Ramen and Umami Steak & Sushi Bar has opened this Japanese restaurant in the old Serpico space on South Street. The BYOB has a large open kitchen and serves things like warm bowls of udon, ramen, and sea urchin wrapped in seaweed. 

We checked out Shiso Noodles and Sushi Bar. Here are our thoughts.

After selling Famous 4th Street Deli, the team has opened Radin’s Delicatessen in Cherry Hill. Head across the bridge for black-and-white cookies, chocolate babka, and a stacked pastrami on rye.     

This California-based chain is serving up pizza-and-Indian fusion in Logan Square. Expect pies that are topped with spicy curry sauce, tandoori chicken, and spiced ground lamb for around $30.  

If the name isn't a massive clue, Báhn Philly is a Vietnamese spot. And this Center City restaurant serves everything we look for in one: spring rolls, báhn mí, crispy wings, and a lengthy number of noodle soups. 

photo credit: EMILY SCHINDLER

This is a pizza from Pizzata.

Pizzata Pizzeria & Birreria

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Like a three-day weekend or a bonus episode of a show you binged, it's nice to get another hit of a good thing. The same logic applies to Pizzata's new South Philly location inside the old LaScala’s Birra on East Passyunk Ave. In addition to their thin, crunchy pies, the new Pizzata is serving meatballs and ricotta, stromboli, wings, and a few pastas. Plus, there’s a full bar. 

This Vietnamese restaurant in the old Sabrina's Cafe Bella Vista location has rice crêpes and cakes, a lineup of wontons and summer rolls, and almost as many phở options as there are days in the month (20, to be specific). It’s a BYOB, so it could be a useful new place to bring a bottle and have a broth marathon.

Dolsan Korean BBQ and Sushi Restaurant

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In case you’re across the bridge and looking for a new place to grill your own beef or seafood, the people behind Dolsot House in Cherry Hill just opened another KBBQ spot about 10 minutes away in Mount Laurel. Unlike the original restaurant, Dolsan also serves nigiri and maki.

There have been a few speakeasy-style spots opening up lately, maybe because we’re all hoping to revive $0.10 gas. Most of them feel gimmicky, but this jazz and cocktail lounge in Center City claims to have reached the "pinnacle of Philadelphia nightlife" with live music and multiple private rooms where you can sip tequila and ginger with a hibiscus salt rim. Or so says their website.

January

photo credit: Pizza Richmond

This is a pie from Pizza Richmond.

Pizza Richmond

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Pizza Richmond is an Olde Richmond BYOB that specializes in slices and whole pies—including tomato. It’s a small shop with only a handful of seats, where you can sit back and have a slice ‘za with basil cream, confit garlic, ricotta, fontina, and mozzarella. Or just grab multiple cups of 1-900-ICE-Cream soft serve—which they sell here as well—and avoid the line down the street. 

El Enano Mexican Restaurant

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If you’re in West Philly and craving elote, shrimp tacos, and a strawberry Jarrito to wash it all down, we’ve got a new place for you. El Enano offers a large menu of tacos, burritos (including vegetarian choices like walnut, sweet potato, and yuca), and large mains that are all under $15. 

photo credit: NICOLE GUGLIELMO

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1-900-ICE-CREAM Fishtown

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Raise your hand if you’ve been a part of or seen the line at 1-900-ICE-CREAM last summer. Well, the Rittenhouse ice cream shop has opened a new location in Fishtown. Stop by on a sizzling day for a peanut butter and espresso soft serve twist, a scoop of key lime sherbert, or both.

photo credit: NICOLE GUGLIELMO

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Asad's Hot Chicken

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After converting almost everyone in the Northeast to a hot chicken sandwich-a-day diet, Asad’s has opened another location in University City. You can expect the same lineup of spicy, crispy chicken sandwiches, tenders, seasoned fries, and fruit smoothies.

Menagerie Coffee took a little trip up I-95 and opened a second location in Northern Liberties. Like the Old City shop, they offer a classic morning starter pack: coffee, espresso, breakfast sandwiches, and pastries like almond apple buns. Early commuters, take note—the new Menagerie opens at 7am most days.

The first Black-owned brewery in Philadelphia now has a permanent location in University City. The taproom features 12 Two Locals beers, plus hoagies, tomato pie, and salads from Liberty Kitchen. There’s also Rival Brothers coffee if you want to drink something sans ABV. 

We checked out Two Locals and added it to our Hit List.

Avenida 7 is a casual, sit-down Cuban cafe serving empanadas, ham croquettes, and pork steak with black beans and rice on South Street. And since they open at 8am, you can stop by to start your day with smoothies, breakfast sandwiches on croissants, and espresso. 

Tamalex opened a new location in Headhouse Square. It's not identical to their all-day South Philly sister spot serving Honduran food, but there's still plenty of good-looking Mexican food on the menu. There's also live music, multiple TVs behind the bar, a pretty extensive tequila and mezcal list, and a Happy Hour that runs until 7pm.

We checked out Tamalex and added it to our Hit List.

photo credit: Michael Persico

This is the interior of Dizengoff.

Dizengoff

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Dizengoff packed up and moved next door into Abe Fisher’s old space. Their dinner menu includes all the usual suspects of a restaurant from the Zahav crew: hummus, pita, slow-roasted lamb, and za’atar roasted chicken. And, like other spots in this restaurant group, it'll probably join the running list of Philly’s toughest reservations

We checked out Dizengoff and added it to our Hit List.

photo credit: CANDIS R. MCLEAN

This is a spread at Phở Ha Saigon Cottman.

Phở Ha Saigon Cottman

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The Northeast just got a new Vietnamese cafe in Phở Ha Saigon. This all-day spot has an identical menu to the other locations in South Philly and near Temple, except they open 30 minutes later every day (at 9:30am). So you’ll have to wait just a little longer for warm bowls of beef and shrimp phở, summer rolls with peanut sauce, and bánh mì.

photo credit: KPOT Korean BBQ & Hot Pot

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KPOT Korean BBQ & Hot Pot

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This hot pot restaurant now has three locations in Philly, including a new one in the Northeast. Expect the familiar BBQ and hot pot combination tables where you can cook bulgogi beef, shrimp, and brisket in a miso broth or drop it all on the grill. And with TVs and a long bar, the space might also be an ideal place to catch a game that doesn’t involve wings. 

photo credit: Say No More

This is the interior of Say No More in Kensington.

Say No More

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Kensington's Say No More serves beer, $25 wine carafes, and a decent range of cocktails, as well as smash burgers and fried chicken sandwiches. The first and second floors have dedicated bar spaces, and then the third floor will eventually be used for events.

El Enano Mexican Restaurant

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A new year always brings shake-ups like resolutions or furniture shuffling, but our interest in tacos is a constant. The latest spot we’re keeping our eyes on is El Enano Mexican Restaurant in West Philly. They serve classics like shrimp burritos, birria tacos, and cheesy elote. There's also a breakfast menu, for those who understand that chilaquiles are as essential to mornings as coffee or an alarm.

December

We can never get enough of dim sum, specifically arriving as hungry as possible and swiping up everything in our paths. At Ding Feng Tang in Chinatown, you can do just that. The restaurant is open every day except for Tuesdays, serving Taiwanese dishes, Shanghainese soup dumplings, Beijing-style skewers, and a full bar. 

photo credit: Brooklyn Dumpling Shop

This is a dumpling spread at Brooklyn Dumpling Shop.

Brooklyn Dumpling Shop

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Brooklyn Dumpling Shop on South Street is essentially selling dumplings, potstickers in broth, and burgers the way The Jetsons promised. Here, you push a few buttons on a kiosk, stand in front of a locker, and your order eventually appears. Looks like the Philly location of this national chain (which is slated to open two more spots in the city) could work for a grab-and-go lunch or maybe a late-night meal while drunk couples argue outside near a trash can. It could also be a dystopian nightmare. We'll let you know.

photo credit: Satay Bistro

The exterior of Satay Bistro.

Satay Bistro

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There’s now an Indonesian restaurant mere feet from Spring Garden Station. This BYOB offers durian and avocado shaved ice drinks to pair with beef rendang, rice platters, and a skewer party of marinated chicken, lamb, and pork. 

In this life, Korean BBQ is the only enjoyable group project. So we appreciate any new attempts, including this new shop at 10th and Vine with grill-top tables and bubbling stews. The staff grills the meat for you, which means your friends don’t have a chance to f*ck up your galbi and pork belly.

photo credit: Barcade

This is the interior of Barcade.

Barcade

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This isn’t the first Barcade in the city, but it’s the first one in Center City. Like other locations, there are vintage video games, beer lists galore, and bar food classics like burgers, wings, and loaded tater tots. 

photo credit: GAB BONGHI

This is a spread of panzerotti, breakfast sandwiches, and pastries from Paffuto.

Paffuto

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There are quite a few Italian spots to pick up sandwiches in Philly, but we can't think of any place serving chicken cutlet and egg-and-cheese panzerotti and cream-filled bomboloni. Paffuto is that place. The all-day Bella Vista shop stays open from 8:30am to 2:30pm, and plans to expand to dinner service in the upcoming months. For now, they have Elixr coffee—in case you need something to wash it all down that’s not an extra helping of creamy vodka sauce.

We checked out Paffuto and added it to our Hit List.

photo credit: Aversa PR

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Bake'n Bacon

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For some people, there’s no such thing as too much of one thing—that guy ate a chicken for a month and Willy Wonka had a candy bathroom. The same logic applies to Bake'n Bacon. Once a pop-up, this new restaurant at 11th and Ellsworth has a menu of bacon-topped mac and cheese, bacon-topped BBQ, and even cocktails with a smoked bacon sea-salt rim. 

photo credit: Mike Prince

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Ogawa Sushi & Kappo

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Sushi omakase spots keep popping up these days. The latest is this Old City 12-seater that offers 23 courses for $200 per person. Picture crab with Hokkaido uni to start, 12 pieces of nigiri, and dessert. In the spring, they’ll open the 30-seat dining room upstairs. 

We checked out Ogawa. Read our thoughts here.

photo credit: Punch Media

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Oltremare

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Rittenhouse has a new Italian restaurant called Oltremare, a seafood-heavy spot from the team behind Townsend EPX, Oloroso, and A Mano. Expect the expected: a lineup of crudos, spaghetti al limone, and Dover sole.

photo credit: GAB BONGHI

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48 Record Bar

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48 Record Bar is a new listening bar above Old City’s Sassafras. In addition to serving cocktails, wine, and beer, they sell records, spin vinyl every night, and host DJ events. Tell your friend who's always sending you songs on Apple Music.

We checked out 48 Record Bar and added it to Most Fun Bars.

photo credit: GAB BONGHI

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Almyra

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The team behind Estia in Center City just opened another giant Greek restaurant near Rittenhouse Square. Expect spanakopita manti, smoked eggplant, lamb skewers, and probably a line outside the door.  We checked out Almyra. Read our thoughts here.

Miss Saigon Vietnamese Restaurant & Lounge

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This two-story Vietnamese restaurant on Walnut Street serves grilled river prawns, summer rolls, and mini bánh mì on Ba Le bread. It looks like it's trying to be a party spot—there's a daily Happy Hour from 4:30-6:30pm, a late-night lounge area with DJs, and a private karaoke room. We checked out Miss Saigon and added it to The Most Fun Dinner Spots In Philadelphia.

November

photo credit: NICOLE GUGLIELMO

This is the chicken enchilada at Rosy's Taco Bar.

Rosy's Taco Bar East

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This Center City taco spot expanded to Queen Village in a big corner space off South Street. Expect the same rotation of al pastor tacos, queso chihuahua-topped nachos, and margaritas—as well as Happy Hour from 4-6pm and brunch. What makes this location stand out is the late-night DJ sets on the weekends. 

Koreana @ Spring Garden

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The second Koreana location opened in Philly. This time in Spring Garden. Here you’ll find casual Korean dishes—bibimbap, fried and steamed dumplings, bulgogi beef—served from 11am-9pm. Plus bubble tea to wash it all down.

photo credit: Hi-Low Taco Co.

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Hi-Lo Taco Co.

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This former pop-up now has a permanent location on Walnut between 11th and 12th. The menu is pretty much BBQ-obsessed, with things like burnt-end breakfast burritos on their own flour tortillas, grilled chicken bowls, and smoked wings. Think QR code ordering, long tables for groups, and tequila and mezcal cocktails.

With its weird-ass name and cocktails called “Devine Damnation,” you may expect this Northern Liberties clubstaurant to have smoke machines, a bouncer, and pitchfork-shaped food. But SIN stands for Steakhouse, Italian, and Nightlife (obviously). So this place is all about cacio e pepe cheese wheel spectacles, rib-eyes topped with various creamy add-ons, and weekend DJs.

We checked out SIN. Read our thoughts here.

photo credit: NEAL SANTOS

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Bar Lesieur

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After a year of dry bialys and pastrami sandwiches that fell apart, Samuel’s on Sansom Street closed. Now Giuseppe & Sons has a new upstairs roommate in Bar Lesieur. Backed by the same Schulson team, this restaurant serves French wine and classics like foie gras on brioche, veal sweetbreads, and steak frites. We checked out Bar Lesieur. Read our thoughts here.

When we heard that Fiore in Queen Village was closing, we felt as empty as the first day after a vacation. But thankfully the Italian spot has relocated to Kensington with a smaller daytime cafe setup. Walk in and grab a pastry, some espresso, or a BEC on a sesame seed bun for breakfast. Then maybe leave with a braised brisket sandwich or eggplant parmigiana for later. 

We checked out Fiore and added it to our Hit List.

photo credit: Royal Tavern

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Royal Tavern

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Besides SEPTA merch, it feels like this highly anticipated bar reopening is all the city can talk about right now. We get it. The old Royal Tavern was beloved for staying open late. In Royal Tavern 2.0, the kitchen closes at 1am. So you can eat their burger with long hots and bacon, some wings, and catch up with friends after every other restaurant closes.

We checked out Royal Tavern and added it to our Hit List.

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