One of my favorite things to do when traveling is to eat and a recent trip to Philadelphia did not disappoint. We had many tasty meals during a long weekend visit — and we didn’t even get around to Philly cheesesteaks. (See our 72-hour Philadelphia itinerary here).
In addition to deliciousness, another important factor for me these days when it comes to dining is outdoor space. As someone immunocompromised, I haven’t returned to indoor dining since the Covid-19 pandemic began, with the exception of a few times. I miss it so much! But whenever I think about whether getting (potentially very) sick would be worth a meal, the answer is no. (To be clear, you can also catch illnesses outside, especially if you’re dining close to someone who is contagious, but the risk goes down outside.)
Google’s filters for dining, annoyingly, don’t include outdoor dining. So here are five places I found. Not all of them had lovely outdoors spaces — sometimes it was just a few tables on the sidewalk, but hey, I’ll take what I can get. Of course, these outdoor tables probably won’t exist during colder months. But I hope this is helpful for anyone else who’s interested in eating outside.
Suraya
They ridiculously tasty muhamarra at Suraya, eaten in the spacious outdoor patio.
Suraya is a much-lauded Lebanese restaurant in Fishtown with beautiful tilework and spacious dining areas inside and out. It was our one upscale meal during our visit. The entry area has a pastry and coffee counter, as well as retail on shelves behind a long table. But past the host stand is a massive dining room. Beyond that is a large garden patio with a bar.
It was a bit buggy when we visited in September. We were seated at a table at the side near vegetation. While the waiter provided us with an essential oils wipe, mosquitos did take a few bites out of us. So, I recommend wearing long sleeves or applying mosquito repellent beforehand. I usually keep DEET insect repellent wipes in my bag during mosquito months just for this kind of scenario, but had forgotten to bring them.
We snagged a reservation to Suraya the day of. But I recommend doing it in advance and not last minute like us to have more time options. Also, note that for dinners on Fridays and Saturdays, there’s a required prix fixe at $75 per person.
OK, on to the food. Everything — from appetizer to cocktails to dessert — was great! But the appetizer and dessert were the most memorable. We started with the muhamarra, seasoned with chili, cumin, and pomegranate, which came with fresh-from-the-oven pita. It was ridiculously tasty. Our mains, djej meshwi (young chicken) and samke harra (grilled branzino), were moist and not overdone. For dessert, (pictured at the top of this post) we tried a tiramisu with a surprising play of flavors like pistachio and orange. Service was attentive and we left very happy with this meal.
Blue Corn Mexican Restaurant
Though there are not any vegetarian sopecitos on the menu, Blue Corn made them for us.
I learned about Blue Corn from Reddit, where Redditors recommended it. It’s also on Eater’s list of essential Philadelphia Mexican restaurants. Located in the South 9th Street Italian Market, this modestly-sized, family-run Mexican restaurant has multiple tables on the sidewalk, which are first come first served. Make sure to stop by an ATM before you come as it’s cash only.
The staff at Blue Corn accommodated modifications with grace. (I have a food allergy.) We started with the sopecitos. While the options for the sopecitos are all meat on the menu, they made vegetarian ones for us. For my entree, I ordered the blue tacos. I figured if the restaurant is named Blue Corn, I better try the blue corn tortillas, and they lived up to the hype. Everything was fresh. Another satisfying meal.
K-Far Cafe
K-Far Cafe was a quick walk from our hotel in City Center. Its interior is chic and magazine-photo-shoot-worthy with gold accented pink wallpaper, sputnik chandeliers, and arched shelves. We took our food to go as we were walking along the Schuylkill River Trail that morning, but I noticed they had a sizeable outdoor patio as well.
We tried the Jerusalem bagel sandwich with egg and cooper sharp cheese. Texture-wise, the crisp, thin bagel contrasts nicely with the melty, gooey cheese and egg on the interior.
As I write this now, I’m baffled as to why I didn’t try any pastries. They all looked amazing, and K’Far is known as an excellent bakery. Next time, I will not make this mistake!
Almaz Cafe
The vegetarian sampler at Almaz Cafe.
Almaz Cafe, near Rittenhouse Square, is a small spot with American dishes (sandwiches, soups, and salads) on half of the menu. But we came for the other half, which is Ethiopian. There were just two tables outside, if I recall correctly, on the sidewalk out front.
The vegetarian sampler was tasty, the injera plentiful, and the service friendly. If you’re from a place like Oakland, CA, which has several good Ethiopian restaurants, then this probably wouldn’t be a must-try spot. But we hadn’t had Ethiopian food since we moved from California three years ago, and this hit the spot for us.
Reading Terminal Market
With more than 80 vendors at Reading Terminal Market, you’re sure to find something you’ll want to eat. In fact, you might be sad that you don’t have multiple stomachs so you can eat more. We went twice and honestly, that was not enough.
Is this top foodie destination outdoor dining friendly, though? Not really. The dining areas are inside. However, there are a few high-top tables outside the building on Filbert Street. And they’re covered as they’re actually in a tunnel. (In the photo above, that’s Filbert Street on the right.) So that’s where we ate, standing at a table. Not ideal, but at least there was something.
We tried a pastrami sandwich from Hershel’s Eastside Deli, a simple turkey sandwich from The Original Turkey, and a chocolate walnut cookie from Famous 4th Street Cookie Company. All were solid and respectable. But my favorite — and the most unique — thing that we ate there was the Philly cheesesteak pretzel roll-up from Miller’s Twist.
I already have a list of other things to try the next time I’m there, like the pupusas from El Merkury and the chicken from Dienner’s Bar-B-Q. There was a long line at the latter and I intend to get in it next time.
All in all, Philly was a good food town. We didn’t have a single bad meal while there!
