Emmett named one of Esquire’s Best New Restaurants

Emmett, the Kensington restaurant serving modern Levantine cuisine, has found itself on a coveted list: Esquire’s Best New Restaurants. It is the only Philadelphia establishment recognized on the list. The 30-seat restaurant is already perpetually busy, but since the list was announced yesterday, chef-owner Evan Snyder, 33, has seen an uptick in reservations on OpenTable.

He had been sitting on the news — or at least, some suspicion of it — for the last two weeks, since he received an invitation from Esquire for the list’s unveiling party in New York. The list was compiled by editor Jeff Gordinier and writers Joshua David Stein and Amethyst Ganaway; Stein was responsible for Emmett’s inclusion. He visited twice this past year and in Emmett’s segment of the article praised their rye tartlet filled with American wagyu tartare, sesame madeleine with baharat butter, corn agnolotti with tahina, and duck breast.

Snyder was particularly delighted by Stein’s focus on these menu stalwarts. “The tartlet and madeleine are staples that will probably never come off the menu, as well as the dry-aged duck, which we age for 21 days, quite a bit longer than most people age ducks. The agnolotti with tahina is a set that changes micro-seasonally. These are all the things he enjoyed,” said Snyder.

Emmett, named after Snyder’s 2-year-old son, opened on Jan. 28., after he had run the concept as a pop-up for two years prior.

Snyder is most thrilled that the recognition gives his team “a shine.”

“It’s the most important thing to me that [my team] is proud of what they’re doing and where they work.”

Emmett, 161 W. Girard Ave., 215-207-0161, emmettphilly.com