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Restaurants & Food · Philadelphia metro

Restaurants & Food across the Philadelphia metro

Inclusive and diverse-owned restaurants & food businesses across the Philadelphia metro, not just the city itself.

58 listings28 Latino-owned20 Family-owned15 Black-owned11 Asian-owned

Philadelphia eating is neighborhood by neighborhood, from the Ninth Street market and the Vietnamese and Cambodian kitchens along Washington Avenue to West African and Ethiopian cooking on Baltimore Avenue and the rooms in Fishtown and Northern Liberties. The listings mix dining rooms, counters, trucks and caterers. Many of the small rooms are BYOB, which is worth checking before you plan the night around a wine list.

Featured

2Top placement
El Merkury
Featured

Restaurants & Food

El Merkury

Philadelphia, PA

We are El Merkury, a Central American street food staple in the Philadelphia foodie scene. Our story starts with our founder, Sofia Deleon, a Guatemalan immigrant who came to the United States in 2012 to study and later stayed to chase a dream. After years working the corporate side of the food industry, in 2017 she decided to quit her job and follow her heart, opening a business that would share the flavors she grew up with and celebrate the food and people of Central America. What began as a series of pop-ups and a virtual kitchen found its permanent home on May 5th, 2018, at 2104 Chestnut Street near Rittenhouse Square. Today we also serve our neighbors from a stall inside Philadelphia's historic Reading Terminal Market. We are proud to be a Latina and immigrant-owned business, and prouder still to bring our community together through food. Our menu blends the flavors of Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras, the countries that shaped our table. Everything is made from scratch. We hand-press pupusas, roll crispy taquitos, and build loaded tostadas piled with fresh toppings. And then there are the churros, our pride and joy: foot-long, fried to order, dusted in cinnamon sugar, and stuffed or dipped in fillings like our Mayan chocolate. Whether it is a quick handheld snack or a churro sundae you did not know you needed, we want every bite to taste like home. Mornings start early with us, because good food should not have to wait. Stop in for breakfast, grab lunch on the go, or order a combo of a pupusa, a tostada, and two sides when you want the full experience. We also cater, ship coffee, and craft churrobouquets and churrograms for the moments worth celebrating. More than a restaurant, El Merkury is a love letter to Central America and to the city that welcomed us. We are here to show Philadelphia that our street food deserves a seat at the table, one pupusa and one churro at a time. Come hungry, come curious, and leave part of our familia.

Latino-owned
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Kalaya
Featured

Restaurants & Food

Kalaya

Philadelphia, PA

Kalaya is our love letter to Trang, the province in Southern Thailand where chef and owner Chutatip "Nok" Suntaranon grew up watching her mother cook. We named the restaurant for her, and everything we plate carries that lineage forward: fragrant curries pounded from fresh paste, herb-driven salads, delicate dumplings, and dishes built to be shared around a full table. We opened in 2019 as a small BYOB in South Philadelphia, a 32-seat room where Nok cooked the food she had missed for years. Word traveled fast. In 2022 we moved to a larger home in Fishtown so more guests could gather, and the heart of the kitchen never changed. Nok, a woman-owned and immigrant-owned business, cooks the Southern Thai food of her memory without softening it. The flavors are bold and fragrant, layered with the chilies, herbs, and seafood that define the region, and we make no apology for their intensity. Along the way Nok has been honored as a James Beard Award winner, named to the TIME100, and recognized on the Forbes 50 Over 50 list. Her story reached wider audiences through Netflix's Chef's Table, and her cookbook drew praise from The New York Times and Bon Appetit. Those honors matter to us, but they are not the point. The point is the plate in front of you and the person who cooked it. Dining at Kalaya is meant to feel generous. We encourage ordering across the menu, passing plates, and letting the meal build in waves the way a Thai table should. Curries arrive perfumed and deep. Salads land bright and sharp. Whole fish and slow-simmered braises reward a long, unhurried evening. We cook this way because it is honest to where Nok comes from and to the woman who raised her. Every dish is an attempt to carry Trang across an ocean and set it down, steaming, in a Philadelphia dining room. Come hungry, come curious, and come ready to share. We saved you a seat.

Asian-owned
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Enhanced

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Where they are across the Philadelphia metro

Each listing sits at its street address when the owner has shared one, otherwise at its ZIP or town.

58 listings, scroll for more

All 58 listings on the mapZIP code area or town, not the streetSeveral listings, tap to see them

Businesses on the map of Philadelphia

Restaurants & Food

Eating out in Philadelphia? Start with these.

Short guides to finding a table worth the trip, from neighborhood counters to the farmers market, and how a good review helps the kitchen you liked.

Start with: Diverse-Owned Restaurants in Philadelphia to Try in 20267 min read

Restaurants & Food in Philadelphia: questions people ask

How many restaurants are listed across the Philadelphia metro?

58 right now, in Philadelphia. The list grows as businesses are recommended, checked and added.

What makes a business inclusive on Inclusivity.org?

Every listing shows why it is here, with a source you can check: the owner's own statement, a public listing such as a chamber directory, or a recognized certification. Some are owned by the communities they serve and some are allies who welcome everyone. We never list someone's identity without a source.

Do restaurants in Philadelphia take reservations?

Many do, and plenty are walk-in only. Some kitchens here are takeout, catering or food-truck operations with no dining room, so check how each one takes orders before you go.

How can I ask about allergies or dietary needs?

Call ahead rather than asking at the table, and ask how the kitchen handles cross-contact, not just whether a dish contains an ingredient. Small kitchens are often very accommodating when they know in advance.

Is it free to be listed?

Yes. A basic listing is free, and owners can claim and update theirs at any time. Featured and Enhanced listings get more room on the page, and being listed never depends on them.

How do I suggest a restaurant that is missing?

Use Recommend a business at the bottom of this page. We research every suggestion, and nothing goes live until it has been checked.

Know a restaurant we're missing?

Tell us who they are and we'll do the research. Nothing goes live until we've checked it, and we never list someone's identity without a source.