Philadelphia’s Italian Market is something of a misnomer. One of the oldest establishments of its kind in the country, it’s where locals go to stock up on pasta and Parmigiano-Reggiano—and, increasingly, to feast on such international delights as lamb barbacoa, pho, and freshly pressed corn tortillas straight from the steamy bag.
The market, located on and around 9th Street in South Philadelphia, is essentially a living museum chronicling the city’s demographic and culinary evolution. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, immigrants from Sicily and Abruzzo landed in this part of town. In the 1970s, the area drew Vietnamese refugees escaping war, while the mid- to late 1980s saw the arrival of thousands of Cambodians fleeing the Khmer Rouge. A decade or so later, the North American Free Trade Agreement brought waves of Mexican immigrants, largely from Puebla, many of whom still call South Philly home.
So, what started as an Italian market more than a century ago has become an all-out global feast. Growing up in Philly as a third-generation Italian American, I spent my childhood exploring those stalls. There was Isgro Pastries for cannoli, each delicate shell piped to order with chocolate chip-studded ricotta. Cacia’s Bakery and Sarcone’s Bakery satisfied my cravings for tangy, garlic-scented tomato pie, while Di Bruno Bros. was a perennial pitstop for wedges of Parmigiano shipped in from the Motherland. Ralph’s (the oldest Italian restaurant in America) was for celebrating birthdays and baptisms.
But the older I got, the more I came to appreciate Philly’s cosmopolitan food scene beyond the Italian mainstays. After all, Philadelphia is home to one of the country’s highest percentages of residents born abroad, primarily Latin America, East Asia, and West Africa. And with all that immigration has come some truly phenomenal food.
Since moving back to Philadelphia a decade ago, now with my own family in tow, I’ve introduced my husband and our three daughters to my childhood favorites—and to fragrant papaya salads, herb-marinated pork tacos, and bubbling bowls of hot pot. In the process of rediscovering my home city as an adult, I’ve become something of an expert on the international dining scene. Follow my recommendations, and you’ll be treated to a global taste tour—without setting foot outside the City of Brotherly Love.
Mexican at Blue Corn
Located on a stretch of 9th Street’s Italian Market between a near-century-old cheese shop and a store selling handmade ravioli, Blue Corn is a cornerstone of Philly’s Mexican restaurant landscape. Opened in 2014 by the Sandoval family from San Mateo Ozolco, a village in Puebla, the restaurant transforms fresh masa into tortillas, tacos, huaraches, and sopecitos. Order the excellent al pastor tacos or huitlacoche quesadillas filled with melted Chihuahua cheese, and pair it with a tamarind margarita, rimmed in Tajín salt and served in a goblet that requires two hands to lift. Cash only.
Shanghainese at Dim Sum Garden
Servers at Dim Sum Garden swoop in with fresh bamboo steamers the moment the last dumpling disappears. Chef Shizhou Da came to the U.S. in 2003 with her xiao long bao recipe and opened the restaurant with her daughter Sally Song in 2013, bringing Shanghai-style dim sum to Philadelphia’s Chinatown. In 2025, they more than doubled the space to a new 200-seat dining room, serving pork or crab-and-pork soup dumplings, pan-fried beef dumplings, and hand-pulled noodles. For a showstopping delight, get the XL soup dumpling—pierce the jiggly, water balloon–size purse with the accompanying boba straw to sip the fragrant broth swimming with spheres of ground pork. Afterward, head across the street to Hop Sing Laundromat. The speakeasy’s rules are famously strict (no shorts, no photos, cash only), but it’s well worth the effort to try some of the city’s best cocktails.
Ethiopian at Alif Brew
On a sunny corner of West Philly, Alif Brew is equal parts coffeehouse, mini mart, and Ethiopian lunch counter. Owner Hayat Ali, who hails from Addis Ababa, opened the Baltimore Avenue café in 2020 after being furloughed during the pandemic, creating a neighborhood gathering place built around her family recipes, coffee, and community. The lively space is stocked with berbere and pantry staples on one side; on the other, regulars linger over coffee and platters of beef tibs, spiced chicken, and vegan sides. The injera wrap—Ethiopia’s spongy, tangy teff flour flatbread stuffed with tibs or vegetables—warrants a special trip. So does the buna ceremony, held the first Sunday of each month, when green coffee beans are roasted right in front of you, then ground and brewed in a traditional clay jebena.
Filipino at Tabachoy
The smell of adobo hits first at this Bella Vista BYOB centered on chef-owner Chance Anies’s personal take on Filipino comfort food. Anies built a following selling Filipino-inflected rice bowls from a tiny cart outside Temple University before opening his first 28-seat restaurant in 2022. Start with classics like lumpia—crisp pork spring rolls served with chile gastrique for dipping—and sizzling pork sisig with lime, chiles, and a fried egg, plus tender adobo over rice. The creative riffs are just as good, especially the funky-bright Tabachoy Caesar with bagoong and cured duck yolk, and the South Philly Laing—traditional taro-leaf coconut braise reborn with broccoli rabe, a nod to the nearby Italian Market. Save room for pandan cheesecake or purple ube soft serve.
Thai at Kalaya
The 2026 James Beard Award winner for Outstanding Restaurant, Chutatip “Nok” Suntaranon’s ode to southern Thai cuisine opened in 2019 as a tiny BYOB in the Italian Market and now occupies a revamped warehouse in Fishtown. Palm trees grow under the lofty ceiling in the center of the dining room, where you might start the evening with a cocktail made with galangal and lemongrass. The fiery, complex curries are always revelatory, as are the platters of grilled freshwater prawns and sweet-and-tangy cabbage doused in pungent fish sauce. Consider bookending those mains with an appetizer of handmade dumplings, such as the bird-shaped kanom jeeb nok, and a dessert of shaved ice that arrives in a shimmering dome.
Cambodian at Mawn
According to the sign outside this lively BYOB restaurant, Mawn is a Cambodian “noodle house with no rules.” Peruse the menu, and you’ll see why: There are dishes chef Phila Lorn, the son of Cambodian immigrants, ate growing up, including cold noodles with oyster sauce and clam salaw machu in a tangy tamarind-lemongrass broth. But there are also unorthodox standouts, including a particularly phenomenal Thai khao soi, the schmaltz-enriched Mawn noodle soup (an ode to Lorn’s wife and partner, Rachel), and (occasionally on special at lunch) a Cambodian chili dog with Prahok and sport peppers. Make a reservation—the 28 seats book up weeks in advance—and don’t miss the couple’s newer spot: Sao is a Southeast Asian oyster bar with the same thrilling flavors, a seafood-centric menu, and a full bar.
Japanese at Royal Izakaya
There are two ways to nab a spot at Royal Izakaya, the ever-packed Japanese bar and sushi counter in the Queen Village neighborhood: Either book online for the coveted eight-seat counter exactly 30 days in advance, or try your luck at the walk-in-only front room, which serves more casual fare. At the eight-seat counter, watch James Beard-winning chef Jesse Ito skillfully prepare each bite of the exquisite 16-ish-courseomakase. Highlights may include charred New Zealand salmon belly sushi and kombu-cured Japanese scallops. If that sounds a bit extravagant, stick to the bar, where shrimp shumai and chile-glazed wings pair perfectly with pitchers of Kirin Ichiban.
Modern Italian at Fiore
Fiore is a fresh chapter in Philly’s long love affair with Italian cuisine that offers a lighter alternative to the usual red-gravy staples. The contemporary café in East Kensington has whitewashed walls and big windows that let in lots of natural light. Nearly everything on the menu is made from scratch. Breakfast centers around baked goods such as lemon olive oil cake, custard-filled bomboloni, and cornetti with pistachio cream, plus savories such as egg and ricotta sandwiches on focaccia. For lunch, there are slow-cooked pork panini and housemade pastas. No matter the time of day, save room for a scoop of gelato (I love the rainbow cookie and fresh fruit flavors), or get a pint to go. The restaurant usually closes after lunch but makes exceptions for the occasional pop-up dinner.
Afrocentric at Honeysuckle
Omar Tate and Cybille St. Aude-Tate opened Honeysuckle Provisions in West Philadelphia in 2022 as an Afrocentric café and market—a place for vegan black-eyed pea scrapple sandwiches, plantain snack cakes and, in the evenings, a singular tasting menu. In 2025, the couple traded that tiny storefront for a spacious full-service restaurant on North Broad Street, where the mission—celebrating the culture and foodways of the Black diaspora—has only grown more ambitious. The tasting menu unfolds as an immersive experience, with dishes that reference both history and personal memory. For a la carte options, sit at the bar, where highlights include roast chicken marinated in Haitian epis and the caviar-crowned “McDonald’s Money” burger.
Modern American at Illata
Philadelphia has long been a BYOB paradise, thanks to the state’s rigid and antiquated liquor laws. But in the wake of the pandemic, the once-booming genre seemed to be losing steam, with longstanding spots closing left and right. Then, Illata opened in 2023. At the intimate, 20-seat spot in Graduate Hospital, a table of four can (and should) order the whole succinct menu. The dishes change regularly, but a recent meal included plump mussels in miso and chile oil, vivid green caramelle pasta with mint and peas, and a salted brown butter tart I can’t stop thinking about. Insider tip: Pick up a bottle of wine at nearby Cork, or opt for something from the shop’s extensive zero proof section.
Mexican at El Chingon
Juan Carlos Aparicio started baking as a teenager after moving to the U.S. from Puebla, and in 2022, he finally opened his own place. Inside the colorful South Philly café or newer Fishtown outpost, you can taste the culmination of three decades of experience woven together with time-honored family recipes from Mexico. Cemitas are built atop his from-scratch rolls and stuffed with chorizo or herb-marinated pork, and tacos come on sourdough tortillas, made using a starter he’s kept since his baguette-baking days. Beyond the sandwiches and baked goods, the aguachiles stand out for their bright flavors and variety. Try the “tropical” ginger-spiked salmon topped with thin mango matchsticks, or the vegan version with hearts of palm.
Modern American at Friday Saturday Sunday
Have you ever heard of a cocktail made using the Fibonacci sequence? At this modern American restaurant in Rittenhouse Square, bartender Paul MacDonald uses the mathematical formula—in which each number is the sum of the two preceding ones—to strike the optimal balance of ingredients in cocktails such as the Assassin’s Handbook, with mulled wine shrub, Averna, Jamaican rum, and cognac. Start with a pre-dinner cocktail at the polished downstairs Lovers Bar. Afterward, head up to the dining room for chef Chad Williams’ tasting menu that features dishes such as pasta with Benton’s Country Ham and collard greens and jerk quail, which becomes fantastic finger food when tucked into the slightly sweet coco bread served alongside it.
Jewish American at Famous 4th Street Delicatessen
In a notoriously difficult industry, few restaurants make it to the century milestone, and those that do are usually tourist traps. But since 1923, Famous 4th Street Deli has been a Queen Village staple for gathering around heaping, perfectly executed hot pastrami or chopped liver sandwiches, bowls of matzo ball soup, and other Jewish delicatessen standards. The wooden tables, set amid deli cases of knishes and black and white cookies, are always overflowing with neighborhood families, well-dressed office workers, and everybody in between.
Italian at Saloon
Walking into Saloon feels like stepping back in time. The South Philly staple, part Italian restaurant, part steakhouse, opened in 1967 and still exudes that nostalgic charm with its wood-paneled walls, penny-tiled floors, and stained glass light fixtures. The bilevel restaurant fills up nightly, with waitstaff (sharply dressed in all black) buzzing around tables covered in plates of clams casino, veal piccata, and New York strip steaks. If you don’t have a reservation, you can usually find a seat at the upstairs bar. Wherever you land, start with an icy martini and end the meal with a treat—say, tiramisù or cannoli—from the old-school dessert tray.
Mediterranean at Mish Mish
Dinner at Mish Mish, the Mediterranean-ish restaurant on East Passyunk, feels like an intimate, effervescent party. The dishes change seasonally—fluke crudo with torn herbs and elderflower vinegar in the spring, perhaps, or braised pork with tamarind barbecue sauce in the fall. Natural wines are broken out by cheeky descriptors (“pink linen,” “hammocks,” “palm trees”), and it’s all set to a soundtrack that bops from Egyptian rap to aughties R&B. Speaking of cheeky, the giant apricot that hangs over the front door is a nod to the restaurant’s name: Mish Mish means apricot in Arabic. Go for Sunshine Hour, from 5 to 7 p.m., for $8 snacks and $11 spritzes on the sidewalk patio, or, for $99, a bottle of champagne and all-you-can-eat french fries.
Vietnamese at Gabriella’s Vietnam
In the wake of the Vietnam War, thousands of refugees settled in Philadelphia, resulting in a large, vibrant community. Along Washington Avenue and in pockets of South Philly, pho shops and Vietnamese bakeries specializing in bánh mì and bánh cam (sesame rice balls) abound. Complementing the tried-and-true classics, chef Thanh Nguyen, who grew up in Vietnam, opened Gabriella’s in 2021 to spotlight dishes that are popular in her home country right now: water fern dumplings, crisp savory crepes, and vermicelli platters served with a pungent kumquat-shrimp dipping sauce, to name a few. Early evening, the minimally adorned dining room fills with families, while later, it’s groups of friends feasting on chicken hot pot, sizzling catfish, and other shareable favorites.
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