What's a good restaurant in Center City?

Question

Looking for something new/different, beyond Striped Bass and Steven Starr.

Answer 1

Believe it or not, Lacroix is actually stronger for Sunday Brunch than for dinner, although dinner is still quite good.

As for the question at hand: once again, it helps to state what kind of price range / dining experience you're looking for, because one of the things that makes Philadelphia great is that we offer exceptional restaurants at all price ranges.

If you want to go really cheap and delicious, I'm a huge fan of Nan Zhou Hand-Pulled Noodle House in Chinatown. They mainly serve giant bowls of noodle soup, but the neat thing is that the noodles are made fresh with every order. It's a real treat to watch the chef there knead and stretch and thwack the dough into strands of pasta.

More expensive than noodle soup but still very reasonable: I never get tired of recommending Tria (http://www.triacafe.com/), at 18th and Sansom. The food is meant to be shared, and their selection of wines by the glass is both unusual and accessible (i.e. you won't see your generic Turning Leaf, but you will see a tasty wine you've never heard of from Argentina).

But if you're looking to go a high-end, I totally recommend Amada (http://www.amadarestaurant.com/). Phenomenal, Spanish tapas-style food served in a sleek yet cozy environment. Plus, flamenco dancing on the weekends!

Django used to be my very favorite restaurant in the entire world (no lie), but the departure of Brian Sikora and Amy Olexy, the founders, definitely had an impact on the place. The food is still terrific, but it does lack that marvelous home-grown and passionate feel that made Django extraordinary.

Now, having said that, if you're willing to go a little beyond Center City, Brian Sikora is now cooking at Sovana out in Kennet Square (http://www.sovanabistro.com/). It's a million times easier to get a reservation there than it was at Django, and there are a couple of items on the menu that he brought over from his old restaurant -- like the goat cheese gnocci, which are out of this world. Since Brian and Aimee aren't running the place, it does feel noticeably more "corporate" than Django did in its heyday, but the food is still outstanding, and well worth the drive.

Lastly, if you really want to get into the city's dining scene, a wonderful resource for information about both new and reliable restaurants in Philly is the Pennsylvania-specifc forum at EGullet.com (http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showforum=6). While the forum is technically dedicated to Pennsylvania as a whole, discussions on Philly-centric topics definitely dominate the board. It's a great place to hear all the news and gossip of the Philadelphia dining scene.

Bon Appetit!

Answer 2

Pastoral Korean Restaurant
205 S 13th St, Philadelphia, PA
0.3 mi SE - [phone]
Messy and Picky Blog Archiv...
... food. Pastoral Korean Restaurant 205 S. 13th Street 215-545-8511 Mon - Sat: 11.30am - 10pm Sun: Closed.


The food is wonderful. The service is excellent.

Try the sea food pancake or the be bim bop.

Very afforable too.

Answer 3

Striped Bass
1500 walnut street
Philadelphia Pa

Best Lobster dinner in the city

Answer 4

I liked Cuba Libre. Cuban food, knowledgeable wait staff. High prices, though. It's on the web, but I don't have a phone number handy. Sabor at 3rd & Chestnut, I think, is good Caribbean food, mostly Puerto Rican. It's tight and not too fancy and the prices are a bit high, but not as high as the others. Ruth Chris Steak House and Morgan's are good for steak. I went to the Meltin Pot in Manyunk, too. The prices are high and there is a lot of instructions, but it's lots of fun and the food is very good.

Answer 5

The best restaurant is South Street Souvlaski, without a doubt. Try the sampler platter which gives you a variety of everything you cannot go wrong, It has been a favorite of ours for years. We come all the way from south jersey just to eat there on many occasions. But now they have gone fishing until Aug. 8, 2006. We will be there on the 8th. believe me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The best thumbs up all around. Every one we have referred there says it is great. nice lil romantic setting dimly lit but can order out to go. dine- in and enjoy the experience. Very friendly.

Answer 6

It's been a while since I've been to some of these, so I'm not sure if they'll still around -

Aden (small intimate atmosphere)
Swanky Bubbles (Asian Fusion with lots of champagne drinks)
City Tavern (historic colonial dining, but can be touristy)
tangerine
Bookbinders
the Plough & the Stars

Answer 7

Zanzibar Blue is a really nice place for lunch and dinner but I prefer the Sunday Brunch it features Jazz music from WJJZ 106.1. I hope you enjoy!

Answer 8

Try Audrey Claire.

Answer 9

Best to try this during the holiday season; great food, great view.

Answer 10

The Melting Pot 16th & filbert.
Its expensive, but if you like fondue, you'll like this place.