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 eight years 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. 

4 West Palmer Street
(215) 545-2535

Opened in 2019 as a tiny BYOB in the Italian Market, Chutatip “Nok” Suntaranon’s ode to southern Thai cuisine 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.

764 South 9th Street

According to the sign outside this small, lively 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 (at lunch) a Cambodian chili dog with Prahok and sport peppers. Make a reservation, since the 28 seats book up weeks in advance.

780 South 2nd Street
(267) 909-9002

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 counter, watch chef Jesse Ito (trained by his father and co-owner, sushi chef Masaharu Ito) skillfully prepare each bite of the exquisite 16-course, $300 omakase with highlights including 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 wonderfully with pitchers of Kirin Ichiban. 

2413 Frankford Avenue
(215) 339-0509

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 Fishtown has whitewashed walls and big windows that let in lots of natural light, and 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.

310 South 48th Street
(215) 307-3316

Omar Tate and Cybille St. Aude-Tate opened Honeysuckle Provisions in West Philadelphia in 2022 as a way to bring fresh produce and healthier prepared foods to a neighborhood that was lacking both. The project began with the Afrocentric café and market on site, where you’ll find plantain snack cakes (inspired by St. Aude-Tate’s Haitian heritage) and breakfast sandwiches with vegan black-eyed pea scrapple. Earlier this year, the couple unveiled Untitled, an ever-changing tasting menu served in an eight-seat room that speaks to the couple’s memories and to Black culture and history as a whole. The experience starts with a handwritten menu and unfolds with highlights including sorghum tea and deviled eggs from their compost-fed chickens topped with lump crabmeat and caviar—served on ceramic dinnerware that Tate, an artist and chef, made himself. 

2241 Grays Ferry Avenue

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 an eclectic bottle of wine (or non-alcoholic beverage) at nearby Cork. 

1524 South 10th Street
(267) 239-2131

Juan Carlos Aparicio started baking at age 16 after moving to the U.S. from Puebla, and in 2022, he finally opened his own place. Inside this colorful South Philly café, 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.

261 South 21st Street
(215) 546-4232

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 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 make fantastic finger food when tucked into the slightly sweet coco bread that comes alongside it. 

700 South 4th Street
(215) 922-3274

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. 

750 South 7th Street
(215) 627-1811

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.  

1046 Tasker Street
(267) 761-9750

Dinner at Mish Mish, the Mediterranean-ish restaurant on East Passyunk, feels like an intimate, effervescent dinner 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. Deal hounds shouldn’t miss Sunshine Hour, from 5 to 7 p.m., for $8 snacks (think “lil hunks of marinated feta”) on the sidewalk patio.

1837 East Passyunk Avenue
(272) 888-3298

In the wake of the Vietnam War, thousands of refugees settled in Philadelphia, resulting in a large, vibrant Vietnamese 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.