PHLGuide
Philadelphia’s New Restaurant Openings
All the new restaurant openings in Philly you should know about.
If you tried to keep track of every brand new restaurant in Philly, your head might spin. So just read this list instead. These are the new restaurant openings that seem like they have the most potential—although keep in mind, for the ones we haven’t tried, we make no promises. Go forth and be a pioneer.
May
My Loup is another buzzy Rittenhouse spot from the team behind Her Place Supper Club. The modern French restaurant has an extensive wine list and casual dishes like cold roast beef au poivre with fries and lamb shoulder with favas and mint.
Illata is a small BYOB in Fitler Square focused on local seafood and seasonal produce. Menu highlights include marinated mussels with miso and chili oil and rigatoni amatriciana.
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Kichi Omakase is a Japanese restaurant in Midtown Village with a 14-course, $100 omakase. The menu will rotate, but you can expect things like fatty tuna topped with foie gras, tender wagyu beef, and bluefin tuna coated in truffle mushrooms.
photo credit: Bonfire Media
Darling Jack’s Tavern
Darling Jack’s is the newest Midtown Village restaurant from the team behind Barbuzzo, Bud & Marilyn’s and Little Nonna’s. The 75-seat American restaurant features tavern-style pizza, along with larger dishes like clams and spaghetti and short rib.
photo credit: James Johnson Jr.
Cloud Cups
Cloud Cups is a Black-owned gelato shop in Fishtown. The menu includes classic flavors like vanilla and strawberry, and more creative scoops in flavors like French toast stracciatella, Lucky Charms, honey lavender, and berry mascarpone.
April
Bolo is a bi-level Latin American and Caribbean fusion restaurant and bar that just popped up in Rittenhouse. Backed by the team behind MilkBoy, it has a menu full of grilled shrimp and chicken skewers, mashed plantains, mofongo, and arepas de coco. Pair it all with daiquiris, piña coladas, and other rum-heavy cocktails at the bar.
photo credit: Ryan Spillman
Dock Street Fishtown
Dock Street Brewery has opened a tasting room in Fishtown. They have eight beers on tap including a rye IPA, an amber ale, and a Russian imperial stout. There’s also a handful of cocktails, ciders, and wines, along with Mediterranean small plates like pita and tzatziki.
photo credit: Fringe Bar
Fringe Bar
Fringe Bar, located inside a historical pumping station on the Delaware Waterfront, offers a large industrial space to listen to everything from jazz ensembles and funk bands to cabaret while sipping on something bubbly. The pub menu includes small plates like wings, tuna crudo, and Chesapeake crab dip, plus entrees like steak and potatoes and creole smothered shrimp. There’s a handful of cocktails—including an espresso martini on draft—and a long wine and beer list.
Because Philly can never have enough sandwich spots, West Passyunk’s Nipotina is a welcome sight. From the P’unk Burger team, the hand-crafted sandwich shop offers breakfast sandwiches ‘til 11am, and a rotation of cheesesteaks, chicken cutlet, deli, and vegan sandwiches through dinner time.
March
Northern Liberties now has a place where you can grab a classic cocktail like an espresso martini, or something new, like a tequila, jalapeno, and strawberry. Bar 1010's food menu includes salads, small plates, and a long list of pizzas topped with things like caramelized onion puree, mozzarella, roasted potatoes, and Austrian gruyere.
Bar Lizette
The menu at Mt. Airy’s Bar Lizette is French, German, and Alsatian, and includes hearty dishes like croquettes with gruyere, chicken schnitzel, and beignets. There’s also a long list of French wines and cocktails featuring Dolin Blanc and Absentroux.
Equal parts sports bar and fine dining restaurant, Bankroll has opened in the historic Boyd Theater in Center City. There are 350 seats, lots of big screens to watch the Eagles, Sixers, and Phillies, and a long cocktail list in case you’re forced to watch the Flyers. When it comes to food, you can expect raw bar options like oysters and tuna tartare, mains like whole fish and a variety of steaks, and pastas.
Mawn is a Cambodian noodle house with shareable small and large plates like soft-shell shrimp, whole dorade topped with ginger and scallions, and pohok with cold cabbage and chili. The BYOB occupies the former Kalaya space in Bella Vista.
From the team behind the Good King Tavern and Le Caveau, this Rittenhouse wine bar offers 70+ choices of wine by the bottle and selections of rotating reds, whites, bubbly, and oranges by the glass. When it comes to food, you can expect small plates like beef tartare, tuna crudo, charred eggplant yogurt, and other dishes curated by the Good King Tavern head chef.
Gilda Café & Market
Gilda is a Portugese-inspired café and market located in Fishtown serving Elixr coffee and teas, hand-rolled pastéis de natas, small plates like salt cod fritters, and sandwiches.
February
Forîn is an all-day cafe and wine bar on Frankford Avenue in Kensington, just minutes from it's sister shop, Forîn Café (on Coral Street). They're serving everything from pastries and breakfast sandwiches in the morning to wine, cocktails, and European small plates at night.
photo credit: Kook Burger & Bar
Kook Burger & Bar
Kook Burger & Bar offers something from down the shore without having to hop on the Atlantic City Expressway to get it. The Brigantine, NJ shop has opened a sports bar on Market Street in Center City. There are over a dozen TV screens and a long bar to watch a game while biting into a burger on a pretzel bun and chili cheese fries.
Named after the Dutch word for “satisfying,” this East Passyunk BYOB from the chef/owner of The Dutch has a menu featuring crispy skin rainbow trout, rabbit rillette, and duck leg confit.
photo credit: Lexy Pierce Photography
The Hayes
Open seven days a week, this gastropub in Midtown Village comes from the team behind Oloroso and A Mano. Whether you’re there for lunch or dinner, you can expect classic pub options like wings and burgers, and larger choices like steak frites, grilled branzino with root vegetables, and gnocchi bolognese.
JANUARY
How many taco places does Philly need? The limit does not exist. Unlike the typical tacos covered in cheese and salsa, though, this new South Philly taqueria puts a Korean spin on Mexican staples. They’re serving things like Korean beef birria tacos, cheesesteaks, and burritos, gochujang fried chicken sandwiches topped with pickled cucumbers and soy, and watermelon agua frescas.
One of the best bagel shops in Philly now has a bialy spot at Reading Terminal Market in Center City. The bialys (essentially bagel's little brother) come in classic varieties like poppy seed and onion, but you can also get creative with the za’atar-dipped with an egg, pastrami and melted swiss, and pumpkin pie.
This pasta shop and deli is where you can get an Italian hoagie or cutlet sandwich for lunch and a family-sized crab ravioli platter for Sunday dinner. Head to the Queen Village shop when you’ve got an empty stomach and want to fill it with carbs and something cheesy.
photo credit: Dan Heinkel
Wokworks Fishtown
The casual counter-service spot opened its 10th location in Fishtown. They’re serving bento boxes, noodle stir fry and rice dishes, Chinese churro chips covered in cinnamon sugar, and vegan options like spicy orange tofu.
photo credit: Humble Parlor Brewing Company
Humble Parlor Brewing
This popular brewing company now has its own taproom in Fishtown. They have a dozen $7 draft pours, including oat pilsners, sour IPAs, and Irish-style red ales that you can sip on during quizzo on Wednesdays and Thursdays.
Passyunk Ave. has a new place for Vietnamese go-to's like bubble tea, pho, spring rolls, and BBQ pork bahn mi. Open at 8am, it’s a place where you can grab your morning coffee before heading to the office, or gyoza, beef yakitori, and a bowl of ramen for dinner.
photo credit: Emily J. Davis for Kura Sushi
Kura Sushi
Kura Revolving Sushi Bar is a Japanese spot serving dishes via conveyor belt just off Rittenhouse Square. The two-level, Tetris-themed chain restaurant circulates dishes like sushi rolls, nigiri, and dumplings to grab directly from the table, or you can order from the full menu via a tableside tablet.
