While there may not be a great preponderance of Tibetan restaurants in Philadelphia, as long as there’s White Yak in Roxborough, co-owned by husband-and-wife pair Tsering Parshingtsang and Treley Parshingtsang, we can be thankful. The Ridge Ave. restaurant, which opened in 2019, serves a warming mix of hearty, chewy momos — available in meat, chicken, and vegetarian varieties — and Tibetan-style curries, soups, and sauteed dishes. The chilled mung bean noodles are a cooling element to pair with chili chicken, and the thenthuk, a classic Tibetan soup with hand-pulled noodles, is nourishing and delicious.

By now, you’ve likely heard word of the Detroit-style square pies, spicy chicken wings, and flavored lemonades at Down North Pizza in Strawberry Mansion. That’s because the admirable mission of the place — to hire formerly incarcerated workers at fair wages — goes hand in hand with deliciously crispy, delightfully cheesy pizzas to make something special. Whether you end up there to support the mission, or to get a taste of their signature “Norf Sauce,” you’re going to leave satisfied either way.

Philly is a pizza town — you can’t throw a rock in this city without hitting a dozen delicious pizza places. But if you’re looking for a thoughtful menu of seasonal wood-fired sourdough pies, a list of interesting and well-curated natural wines, and a beautifully designed space, Eeva is definitely the spot. Chef Greg Dunn’s pizza dough is tangy, chewy, and airy, and side dishes like gem lettuces and fresh ricotta served with house-made focaccia are worthy pie complements. Don’t miss the sourdough loaves to-go and bagels on the weekends.

If you’re visiting Philly (or a longtime resident, for that matter), you can’t leave without tasting water ice. Rita’s will do the trick, and John’s is a bit more central, but Siddiq’s in Cobb’s Creek is worth the trip west for its essential taste of the region. Siddiq Moore would know — he’s been doing it since 1995. Made with real fruit in flavors like white grape, mango, and cantaloupe, Siddiq’s serves perfect cool-off options for Philly’s brutally hot summer months. Funnel cake is a fun addition on the side. The location in Chester has lunch options, too.

For its pandemic pivot, Dim Sum Garden started selling its handmade dumplings in frozen packages to keep customers’ freezers full. Reliable orders of steaming hot soup dumplings, handmade noodles in pork sauce, and perfectly cooked Chinese greens can be augmented with twenty or forty frozen dumplings. Dumpling lovers in the suburbs will be delighted to know there’s also long-distance deliveries for larger orders on Thursdays.

Judy Ni’s fast-casual Taiwanese spot serves up its namesake steamy, meat and vegetable-filled bao buns, but there’s also a wide menu of bento boxes (bian dangs), burrito-like ruen bings, excellent handmade potstickers, and so much more, all made with local ingredients. For a little help feeding your family, order from their meal delivery menu, which includes a Hainanese chicken rice package for four to six, and many of its regular menu items are scaled up to keep customers satisfied all week.

A stalwart of Ethiopian cuisine in the city, Abyssinia has long comforted Philadelphians with its array of hearty dishes from the west African country. Diners scoop up dishes of spiced chicken and lamb — including several vegetarian and vegan options — with perfectly thin, spongy, slightly sour injera bread. Takeout and delivery are also available, but the cozy dining room provides a lovely atmosphere for date night or otherwise.

Thousand-layer bread, a flaky, crunchy, chewy flatbread dipped in chicken or potato curry, gets all the love at Rangoon, but its menu of Burmese salads is not to be missed. Start with the classic tea leaf variety, and work your way through a lengthy list of spicy fried rice, noodle, and specialty dishes.

After leaving Center City restaurant Abe Fisher, chef Yehuda Sichel turned his attention to sandwiches with this gourmet sandwich shop in Rittenhouse serving creative combinations on house-baked sourdough bread and fluffy milk buns. It has been an instant favorite, partially for its brisket and partially for its vegetarian crispy maitake mushrooms. But don’t take sides: no matter what you get, it’ll be a damn good sandwich.

Sonam Parikh and Kate Egghart’s coffee shop opened at the beginning of the pandemic, so the sunny indoor space at Mina’s World hardly got a chance to be appreciated before indoor service was halted. No matter: the pair soldiered on and have made the coffee shop not only a go-to for a variety of ever-changing specialty drinks (think: turmeric elixirs and tahini mochas), vegan baked goods, and excellent samosas, but a mission-driven community hub as well. With a community free fridge out front and a market of radical zines, ceramics, and more (available to order online), Mina’s World is much more than a coffee shop. Orders can be placed online for pickup or walk up to the counter to order, Tuesday through Sunday.

Philadelphians no longer have to head into New Jersey for South Indian fare now that Amma’s is here with aloo bonda served with cooling coconut chutney, idli dipped into sambar, masala dosa, and lamb chettinad (a long-cooked lamb dish spiced with coconut and ginger). The Couple’s Combo, which includes chicken and mutton biryani, parotta, chicken korma, chicken chukka, dessert, and raita, is an excellent and very affordable introduction to the restaurant.

The versatile High Street on Market in Old City was one of Philly’s first notable all-day cafes — now relocated on 9th Street and rebranded as High Street Philly, it’s still very much worth the visit. Stop by in the morning for a cup of coffee and a breakfast sandwich on some of the city’s best bread, or bring out-of-towners for a dinner of seasonal new American pastas, salads and pizzas that will explain why everyone started paying attention to Philadelphia’s restaurant scene.

Chad and Hanna Williams’s fine dining restaurant has been offering an indulgent indoor eight-course tasting menu since February of this year, and for diners looking for a restaurant experience that is focused on both hospitality and whimsy, Friday Saturday Sunday is the place to go. The ever-changing menu features highlights like a whole crispy pig’s head, a perfect two-patty cheeseburger with preserved green tomato served on a coco roll (called the WAPPER), and some of the best cocktails in town, courtesy of bartender Paul Macdonald. Reservations are necessary, but takeout is also available.

Philadelphia’s love of sandwiches may be confusing to outsiders, but everyone loves Middle Child. Order a So Long Sal, the platonic ideal of an Italian hoagie (think salami, prosciutto cotto, and sharp provolone), or try the Phoagie, a “vegan by chance” banh mi-ish hoagie that will more than fill you up. Preorders — no call-ins — must be made online. Look for a second, bigger restaurant by the Middle Child folks this summer.

At Seorabol in Center City, chef Chris Cho offers Korean food that you’ll never forget: a variety of bibimbaps, jjigae soups, rice cakes, and Korean barbecue are all made with care and craft. Don’t forget to follow chef Cho on TikTok, where he takes his 1.8 million followers through the intricacies of Korean cookery. Seorabol takeout travels extremely well, and indoor dining reservations are available here.

Zahav, the 2019 James Beard Award winner for best restaurant in the country, first introduced Philly to the delights of Israeli cuisine and its myriad of influences more than a decade ago and continues to set the standard with its menu of laffa, mezze, and grilled meats and vegetables. In addition to the stellar service, which continues to be extremely friendly, attentive and enjoyable, the real showstopper at Michael Solomonov and Steve Cook’s restaurant is the pomegranate molasses–braised lamb shoulder, but even something as simple and now-ubiquitous as hummus is genuinely eye-opening here. Outdoor and indoor dining by reservation only.

Last summer, when many restaurants in Philadelphia were flipping into seafood shacks, Little Fish was executing perfectly. The scallop toast, a slice of sourdough drizzled in soy-chili vinaigrette and crowned with rounds of raw scallop, has become a must-eat item, and the rotating menu of seafood-focused offerings is crave-inducing every single weekend. Outdoor dining is available for walk-ups only, and reservations can be made a month in advance online.

Be prepared for a lot of spice at this critical darling of a Thai restaurant, where Chef Chutatip “Nok” Suntaranon is uncompromising in her commitment to serving up southern Thai specialties. Standard dishes like chicken curry and laab take on a whole new meaning in Suntaranon’s kitchen, but her introduction of her own creations like flower-shaped, deep purple shaw muang dumplings are the reason we keep going back. Also check out Kalaya Thai Market, where Suntaranon sells quick-serve versions of her food and offers specialty Thai ingredients. Takeout and delivery are available, and the Kitchen has indoor dining by reservation.

Fudena, a pop-up fast casual restaurant run by Ruth Nakaar, who is Ghanaian-American, may be fast and casual, but compared to wilted desk salads and corporate burritos, it’s in a lane all its own. That’s because Nakaar cooks up West African cuisine that travels well and actually fills you up. The dishes are sold as bowls, with staples like jollof rice, curried goat, and waakye, or rice and black-eyed peas. Get the plantain donuts on the side. Fudena is a roving pop-up for now, so check social media for updates, but a brick-and-mortar is coming this fall.

Jesse Ito has managed to translate his omakase into a high-end takeout experience, featuring 11-, 44- and sometimes 100-piece nigiri platters starting at $65, and even a whole tray of uni from Hokkaido, Japan for $95. The platters can be a pricey endeavor but the menu also features more affordable chirashi bowls, maki rolls, and other Japanese treats, all of which are made to Ito’s exacting standards with the highest-quality ingredients. Takeout and delivery only while the restaurant completes renovations.

Philly is lucky to be full of excellent pho spots, but Pho 75 is one of the best. They offer a small, excellent menu of flavorful, perfectly rich and balanced soup broth with any number of add-ins: tender, fatty brisket, chewy tripe, thinly sliced flank steak, and more. Enjoy an outdoor or indoor table, or order soup to go (call directly) — either way, it’ll be hot, fast, and absolutely comforting.

Thanks to Netflix shows Chef’s Table and Ugly Delicious spotlighting the casual counter-service Mexican eatery, a line is pretty much guaranteed at Cristina Martinez’s cult-favorite takeout spot. Outdoor and indoor dining is available, but the barbacoa, especially when purchased by the half kilo with housemade tortillas, consomme, and all the fixings, also travels extremely well. No delivery, cash only, and it’s open Saturday and Sundays from 5 a.m. until they sell out.

In its first year of operation in East Passyunk, Randy and Amanda Rucker’s River Twice has quickly become one of the most exciting New American restaurants in the city. Go for the Mother Rucker burger or sample some of Randy’s Japanese- and Southern-influenced dishes, which are heavy on flavor, personality, and creativity. Reservations can be made here.

Ben Puchowitz and Shawn Darragh’s Bing Bing Dim Sum is an overtly Americanized interpretation of dim sum classics: crispy-bottomed cheesesteak bao, matzo turnip cakes, and sticky caterpillar bread are mainstays on their never too-serious menu. Delivery, takeout, and indoor and outdoor dining are all available.

It’s best to call ahead to reserve meat at Mike’s BBQ. Michael Strauss’s casual counter-service barbecue destination in South Philly opens at noon Thursday to Sunday and stays open until it sells out — which is a daily occurrence. The ribs are known to disappear first, but any smoked meat aficionado will be more than satisfied with the brisket, available on its own, in a sandwich, or as a cheesesteak with onions and Cooper Sharp whiz. Takeout and delivery and some outdoor seating is available.

Musi gets the neighborhood BYOB vibe just right, which, in the pandemic, means chef Ari Miller has been using his small Pennsport restaurant to play host to a variety of pop-ups. Frizwit serves his reimagined Philly cheesesteak with grass-fed beef, locally made cheese, and a whole lot more TLC than you’ll find at Pat’s or Geno’s. Takeout and delivery only.

Much to the dismay of Philadelphians, chef Ange Branca of Malaysian food destination Saté Kampar had to close her restaurant last May due to fallout from the pandemic but it didn’t stop Branca from keeping the spirit of the place alive. Kampar Kitchen — a collaborative pop-up hotspot featuring chefs from all around the city making a range of cuisines — now operates out of Bok Building and it’s a model for what the future of dining could look like. For in-the-know diners, five nights a week you can order to-go meal kits from a different chef: from chef Jacob Trinh’s Vietnamese chilled silken tofu to chef Chris Paul’s Haitian snapper to Branca’s own Malaysian roti canai served with dhal and curry. it’s the hottest non-restaurant in town. Preorders for weeknight meals can be made online.

Restaurateurs Arturo Lorenzo and Maricela Tellez opened La Llorona against all odds, in the middle of a pandemic this summer, but their exceptionally kind service, excellent mezcal and tequila cocktails, and menu of Mexican treats for all occasions, from chilaquiles to aguachiles and everything in between, has made this place a go-to spot.