Two Philly restaurants named among the best in America by the New York Times

Philadelphia’s dining scene just got another national nod: Two of the city’s standouts, Mawn and Meetinghouse, have landed on the New York Times’ annual list of the best restaurants in the country.

The Times praised both restaurants not just for what comes out of their kitchens, but for how each captures a distinct part of Philly’s dining culture: the intimacy and creativity of its BYOBs and the soul of its taverns.

At Mawn, chef Phila Lorn leans into the Cambodian cooking he grew up with in South Philadelphia while stretching into a broader Southeast Asian palate. The Times highlighted dishes like wild boar prahak and the banh chow crepe salad, calling the menu “a tour through the whole roster of bright, salty-sour salads, curries and hot and cold noodles” that feels like “Southeast Asian cuisine as fenceless terrain.”

Lorn has quickly become one of the city’s most talked-about talents. In June, he won the James Beard Award for Emerging Chef and just was named to Food & Wine’s Best New Chefs list for 2025. He runs Mawn with his wife and business partner, Rachel, in a snug Ninth Street storefront once home to Kalaya. The couple recently expanded with Sao, a nearby oyster and crudo bar.

Reservations at Mawn are nearly impossible to snag — the 1,300 dinner seats released each month disappear in minutes — and the Times’ endorsement is unlikely to slow demand. At lunchtime, lines now stretch down the block as walk-ins try their luck. But the paper noted that the BYOB’s charm lies in how “walking in with a bottle or two under your arm underscores how much the dining room ... feels like a domestic space.”

Kensington’s Meetinghouse, which opened in August 2023, earned its praise for elevating the humble tavern experience. “Nothing is basic” at Meetinghouse, wrote the Times’ Nikita Richardson, pointing to the roast beef sandwich, pork and beans, and especially the towering green salad that has become a sleeper hit.

The restaurant, from chef Drew DiTomo and partners Colin McFadden, Marty West, and Keith Shore, took over the former Memphis Taproom space. Inquirer restaurant critic Craig LaBan lauded it for its “commitment to craft that elevates the mundane to the memorable,” calling out everything from its broiled clams to its balanced house beers brewed to spec by Tonewood in Oaklyn.

This isn’t the first time Meetinghouse has attracted national attention. Last fall, Bon Appétit named it one of the best new restaurants in America, praising it as the “ideal neighborhood joint” with “unassumingly excellent pub fare approached with fine dining fastidiousness.”

With its polished nostalgia, approachable menu, and thoughtful beers, Meetinghouse represents what the Times described as the kind of tavern “you might have fantasized about while reading historical fiction as a kid, where even the simplest dishes taste divine.”

The recognition puts both restaurants in the company of just 50 nationwide. It also affirms Philadelphia’s place as a dining city that prizes both innovation and heart, whether in a tight BYOB dining room on Ninth Street or a reimagined corner bar in Kensington.

For Lorn, the James Beard winner who once said his mission was to prove that “assumptions” don’t define a chef or his food, the Times’ accolade is another reminder that Philly’s culinary talent is undeniable. And for Meetinghouse, it’s proof that in a city built on taverns, there’s still room to surprise diners with the classics.

📍764 S 9th St, Philadelphia, Pa. 19147, 🌐 mawnphilly.com, 📷 @mawnphilly, ✍️ Reserve on Open Table

📍2331 E Cumberland St., Philadelphia, Pa. 1912, 🌐 meetinghousebeer.com, 📷 @meetinghousebeer, ✍️ Reserve on Resy