50 Best Restaurants in Philadelphia

Our highly opinionated guide to the restaurants taking ambitious leaps and unexpected risks, and redefining what it means to dine in Philadelphia

There’s a reason eyes around the nation are intently watching Philadelphia’s dining scene. We’re no longer darlings, upstarts content to just be mentioned alongside New York or L.A. We’re the scene now, and that’s because of the visionary chefs and owners pushing Philly diners beyond what we’d come to expect. This year, we’re celebrating the culinary minds charting that ascent, the folks reviving neighborhood bars to their former glory, reimagining haute cuisine with playful menus (caviar and Banquet beer, anyone?), and reinventing the fine dining experience, one tasting menu at a time. Because now? Right now? There’s no better place to eat in America

23. Bolo

The signature sidewalk bar. The evocative interiors. The ebullient music trumpeting onto Sansom Street. Maybe it’s just the frozen Don Q Gold piña colada talking, but Bolo feels like a restaurant from a time when restaurants were not so serious — but with food that is deadly so when it comes to flavor and execution. From the crackliest fried chicken­ in town to Cuban-Sichuan crossover dumplings with black beans and chili crunch to fantastic mofongo in garlicky coconut sauce, Yun Fuentes has claimed Center City’s Nuevo Latino inheritance with exuberance and pride. 

BEST OF THE BEST: At the center of Bolo’s Lechonera Sundays tasting menu is a succulent whole roasted pig that will end the weekend on such a high note it’ll stave off the Sunday scaries. 

Rittenhouse | Latin American
2025 Sansom Street
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