Philadelphia for foodies

Best restaurants

Philadelphia eats on a tight grid. The twelve places below sit inside roughly a dozen blocks of Center City, between Chestnut, Walnut, Sansom, Filbert, and the cross-streets that thread them together — the 19102, 19103, and 19107 postal codes do most of the work. The mix is deliberately wide: two American steakhouses on Chestnut Street, a Brazilian churrascaria a few doors east, Sichuan cooking and a counter slice on 16th, a South Indian dining room, a late-night burger bar, an Italian café that stays open past midnight, a Mediterranean kitchen on 13th, and a Middle Eastern grill on Walnut. The chains are here because they earn their footprint downtown, not because the list defaults to them; the independents are here because they hold their own block against the rent. This is a list for the visitor who has one or two dinners in Center City and wants to spend them well — and for the local who is tired of the same four blocks. Service hours are spelled out so you can plan a late lunch, an early dinner, or a 01:00 burger without guessing.