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  • A dozen notable Philly-area restaurant openings you may have missed this summer

    A dozen notable Philly-area restaurant openings you may have missed this summer

    If you spent the summer out of town (or off the grid), you may have missed a busy few months on the restaurant scene. Philadelphia-area newcomers include a Milan-inspired aperitivo bar in Rittenhouse, Japanese barbecue on the Main Line, and two corner bars in Point Breeze.

    Here are 12 noteworthy restaurants that opened in the last few months.

    Academy Grill (424 S. Bethlehem Pike, Fort Washington): This white-tablecloth restaurant in the former Cantina Feliz near Germantown Academy serves house-made pastas, seafood, steaks, and contemporary American dishes in a polished, decidedly grown-up setting.

    Bánh xèo at Anh Em, 1252 S. 21st St.Michael Klein / Staff

    Anh Em (1252 S. 21st St.): Pho, bánh xèo, and 24 local beers meet at Anh Em, a Vietnamese bar-restaurant at 21st and Titan Streets in Point Breeze from Victor Nguyen and Anna Huynh. Nguyen draws on dishes the husband-and-wife team grew up eating, while the 20-seat bar gives the neighborhood spot an unusually deep commitment to locally brewed beer.

    Bar Cicci (1620 Sansom St.): Ellen Yin’s 30-seat, Milan-inspired spot starts with espresso and Italian pastries, moves into sandwiches at lunch, then shifts to spritzes, wine, cicchetti, and small plates at night. The Rittenhouse newcomer is High Street Hospitality’s take on northern Italy’s all-day aperitivo culture.

    Bluebird Distilling in Phoenixville.Photos courtesy of Ed Newton

    Bluebird Distilling & Dough House (100 Bridge St., Phoenixville): A $2.2 million investment turned Bluebird’s Bridge Street distillery into a full-fledged restaurant. Executive chef Devon Migeot, whose resumé includes Zahav and Laser Wolf, centers the expanded food program on naturally fermented neo-Neapolitan pizzas, house-baked breads, shareable plates, and, naturally, Bluebird cocktails.

    Silenia and John Rhoads, owners of the Buttery in Bryn Mawr.Allie Ippolito / For The Inquirer

    The Buttery (836 W. Lancaster Ave., Bryn Mawr): John and Silenia Rhoads’ third location is an 82-seat bakery-cafe on Lancaster Avenue, where the Malvern-incepted operation’s sourdough breads and house-made pastries share the menu with breakfast dishes, sandwiches, and seasonal fare from its all-day scratch kitchen.

    Known Associates at 10th and Spruce Streets.Allie Ippolito / For The Inquirer

    Known Associates ( 941 Spruce St.): Chef Christopher Kearse’s Washington Square West cocktail bar does not treat the food as an afterthought. The former Varga Bar at 10th and Spruce is a 40-seat room where cocktails accompany a concise, European-influenced menu of a dozen savory dishes.

    Lillian’s at 19th and Mifflin Streets.Monica Herndon / Staff Photographer

    Lillian’s (1900 S. 19th St.): Even the chef isn’t permanent at Sam Ahern’s parlorlike cocktail bar/bistro at 19th and Mifflin Streets, whose kitchen rotates among guest chefs. The residency model gives each cook a temporary restaurant within the restaurant — and gives this Point Breeze newcomer an ever-changing menu.

    Saif Manna works on a pavlova at Manna Bakery.Monica Herndon / Staff Photographer

    Manna Bakery (110 W. Berks St.): Five years and countless farmers market appearances later, Saif Manna’s Temple dorm room project has moved into the former Essen Bakery in Kensington. Manna draws on his Palestinian heritage for Levantine pastries and savory dishes in a comfy cafe setting.

    Mr. Edison in the Bellevue Hotel.Monica Herndon / Staff Photographer

    Mr. Edison (1400 Walnut St.): There’s a Ferris wheel carrying liquor behind the bar at Mr. Edison, which gives some idea of the production. Veteran restaurateur Jeffrey Chodorow’s Philadelphia debut is a theatrical Bellevue supper club where chef Matt Levin’s cooking shares a two-story room with live music, dramatic lighting, and plenty of visual spectacle.

    Ogyu Japanese BBQ in Ardmore.Jose F. Moreno / Staff Photographer

    Ogyu Japanese BBQ (60 Greenfield Ave., Ardmore): Sam Li turned Ardmore’s former Iron Hill Brewery into a sprawling yakiniku restaurant built around the grill at each table. Diners cook wagyu and other meats themselves — or enlist a server — choosing among fixed-price packages and à la carte options in a dramatically remodeled space with private dining rooms and a full bar.

    The latke, egg, and cheese sandwich at Schmaltz.Aidan T. Gallo / Staff Photographer

    Schmaltz (1300 S. 18th St.): This Jewish-inspired breakfast-and-lunch cafe serves latkes, cheese blintzes, egg sandwiches — and no bagels. Jeremy Asch and Abby Armstrong opened the Point Breeze corner spot with chef Sam Chertock, whose deliberately compact menu includes latke, egg, and cheese sandwiches on house-baked English muffins.

    Outdoor dining at Soufiane at the Morris.Elizabeth Robertson / Staff Photographer

    Soufiane at the Morris (225 S. Eighth St.): The 1787 Morris House provides a peaceful backdrop for Soufiane Boutliliss’ French-Moroccan cooking, served in a secluded stone courtyard shaded by magnolias and dogwoods in Washington Square West. This is the second restaurant from the Moroccan-raised Boutliliss and husband Christophe Mathon of Sofi Corner Cafe.

  • Saif Manna’s dorm-room cookie company rises into a bakery-cafe in Kensington

    Saif Manna’s dorm-room cookie company rises into a bakery-cafe in Kensington

    Before it became one of Philadelphia’s busiest bakery pop-ups, Manna Bakery operated out of a Temple University dorm room.

    Now, after five years of overnight baking sessions, sold-out farmers markets, and long lines for Levantine and Palestinian pastries, chef-owner Saif Manna is opening his first brick-and-mortar bakery in Kensington — a mile and a half from campus.

    Manna Bakery opens Thursday at 110 W. Berks St., the former Essen Bakery. This caps a whirlwind year for Manna, 27, who married his college girlfriend, Stefaniya Surikova, earlier this year. They’re expecting their first child.

    Manna’s rise has the familiar outline of a pandemic success story, although the traditions reach back generations. He said his grandfather’s family lived in Yafa (also known as Jaffa) but left in 1948 after their house was bombed during the Nakba, the mass displacement of Palestinians in the Arab-Israeli war, when hundreds of thousands fled or were expelled from areas that became part of Israel.

    His grandfather headed first to Cyprus and then to Lebanon, studied medicine in England, and made his way to Kuwait to practice.

    Manna was born in California and raised in Dubai before moving to the United States to attend Texas A&M University on a Division I tennis scholarship. After transferring to Temple, he began baking cookies during the pandemic while living in a dorm. Encouraged by Surikova — also on Temple’s tennis team — in 2021, he started selling them online before expanding into pop-ups and the Rittenhouse, Headhouse and Clark Park farmers markets.

    As demand grew, Manna baked overnight at nearby Char Pizza before outgrowing the space.

    Since Manna never lived in the Levant, he describes his business as a third-culture bakery. He said his shop’s logo, a dandelion flower, is a nod to a belief popular in China that equates Palestinians with dandelion seeds that can thrive anywhere they land.

    Manna has followed a path blazed by the recent crop of independent bakeries such as Kouklet, Second Daughter, Machine Shop, Copihue, and Majdal, growing from home kitchens, pop-ups, and farmers markets into storefronts. Manna said he would keep his farmers market stops.

    Stefaniya Surikova serves customers at Manna Bakery.Monica Herndon / Staff Photographer

    His new bakery’s roomy kitchen includes a window where customers can watch the bakers. Manna is still awaiting his chairs and tables for the 60-seat cafe.

    Weekday fare will feature many of Manna’s signatures, including manakeesh, chicken sumac buns, fatayer, cardamom buns, Basque cheesecake, seasonal cakes, and his pistachio chocolate chunk and extra-brown butter chocolate chunk cookies. Weekends will bring an even broader selection.

    The coffee program, featuring beans from Seekers Coffee in Princeton, includes drinks flavored with rose, cardamom, tahini, dates and saffron, along with Manna’s grandmother’s orange blossom lemonade.

    Jerusalem bagels (ka’ak al-quds) hang on hooks behind the counter at Manna Bakery.Monica Herndon / Staff Photographer

    The shop has been redesigned with warm stone finishes, a small souk stocked with Levantine spices and pantry goods, and a rear room intended for future baking workshops, classes and private events.

    For a soft opening last week, Manna and Surikova recreated their farmers market display, laying pastries across sheets of craft paper.

    How to have a perfect Philly day, according to Saif Manna

    Among them were savory offerings such as the open-faced herby cheese fatayer and the banadoura manakish — a tomato-topped Levantine flatbread. Ka’ak al-Quds, the oblong, sesame-seeded Jerusalem bagels, hung from hooks behind the counter.

    A smaller version of those bagels will eventually become Manna’s egg, cheese and za’atar breakfast sandwich. “That’s something I grew up eating,” Manna said. “My mom used to make me that before school.”

    Dillon Assfalg, a line cook at Char who watched Manna’s overnight baking sessions firsthand, said the quality of his pastries stood out from the beginning. He describes himself as a cheesecake fan and ranks Manna’s lemon-and-orange-blossom Basque cheesecake among his favorites.

    Saif Manna working on a pavlova for a customer at Manna Bakery.Monica Herndon / Staff Photographer

    “Whenever he’d leave fillings at Char after his middle-of-the-night baking sessions, I’d eat them all the time,” Assfalg said. “They were always super good.”

    Manna isn’t rushing to turn it into a full-service café. He hopes to add options such as slow-roasted lamb sandwiches for brunch, followed by baking workshops, cooking classes and supper clubs before introducing several nights of dinner featuring the Palestinian dishes he grew up with. But those plans can wait until the bakery is firmly established.

    “Long term, I definitely have aspirations. I love cooking as much as baking, so I think people will see more of that from me,” Manna said. “Would I like to have a restaurant one day? Absolutely. But right now my focus is making this bakery the best it can be and continuing to deliver the quality people expect. We’ll go from there.”

    Manna Bakery, 110 W. Berks St. Hours: 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Thursday to Sunday.

    Manna Bakery is about a half-block from the Berks Station of the Market-Frankford Line.Monica Herndon / Staff Photographer

    Manna’s tip for home bread bakers

    Saif Manna shared one of his favorite tips for home bread bakers: use an autolyse. The technique calls for mixing only the flour and water for about a minute, then letting the shaggy dough rest for an hour or two before adding the remaining ingredients.

    “When you come back, it’ll almost look like someone kneaded it for you,” he said. “It’s like magic. During that rest, the flour hydrates and the gluten begins to develop naturally.”

    Only then does he add the salt, yeast, sugar and, if needed, oil before kneading. “You’ll end up with a much smoother, more beautiful dough, and you’ll never want to skip that step again,” he said.

    The method also reduces mixing time. “People ask, ‘Why do you do it if you have these beautiful mixers?’” Manna said. “If you mix dough too long in a machine, you can overwork it. Bakers sometimes call it ‘bleaching’ the dough. We let it rest through the autolyse, then add the rest of the ingredients and finish the mixing in the machine. Because the gluten has already started developing, we can reduce the machine mixing time and preserve more of the flavor.”

  • Our favorite restaurant sundaes | Let’s Eat

    Our favorite restaurant sundaes | Let’s Eat

    We know how to truly cap off a restaurant meal: a decadent ice cream sundae. Here are seven we love.

    Also in this edition:

    • Home cooks make the menu: Your first look at Recipe Philly, a $3.8 million restaurant with a novel concept opening in Center City.
    • Craig LaBan review: Terra Grill in Northern Liberties.
    • News: Read on for word of new restaurants in Queen Village and Kensington, and word of a Michelin-recommended restaurant’s expansion.

    — Mike Klein

    If someone forwarded you this email, sign up for free here.

    Our favorite restaurant sundaes

    What caps a meal better than a cool and creamy ice cream sundae? Hira Qureshi shares seven of these decadent treats found on restaurant menus.

    🍧 Two Philadelphia water ice makers locked down the top prizes at a water-ice festival at the Jersey Shore.

    A new restaurant where home cooks set the menu

    Here’s your first look at Recipe Philly, where home cooks — not pro chefs — contribute the recipes to create the menu. It’s also the basis for a reality series, filming now in advance of the restaurant’s mid-August opening.

    Why is Tattooed Mom not allowed to host live shows?

    Tattooed Mom has hosted countless drag shows and burlesque performances since it opened on South Street in 1997. But the city has shut down those events (but not the bar itself) over a missing assembly license. Getting one could take six months, its owner tells Beatrice Forman.

    River Twice is expanding

    River Twice on East Passyunk is expanding next door, and that means a real bar, more seating, and new opportunities to eat one of our favorite burgers.

    Craig LaBan reviews Terra Grill

    Critic Craig LaBan visits Terra Grill, a newcomer from globetrotting chef Laurent Tourondel in Northern Liberties’ Piazza Alta, where he found “a textbook chophouse vibe” and a “something for everyone” menu. Read on for his review.

    The best things we ate last week

    The food team caught up with a tasty chicken biscuit sandwich in Plymouth Meeting, hot dogs in Bella Vista, loaded fries in Northern Liberties, and a winning bowl of gyu-don from a food truck.

    Scoops

    Eggcetera Haus will replace the shuttered Redcrest Kitchen at Sixth and Bainbridge Streets, likely in the next few weeks. Husband-and-wife team Rey Tamaka and Vina Kencana will operate the all-day bar-restaurant. Tamaka, who spent the last six years as head chef at an Old City brunch restaurant, will oversee a modern American menu spanning breakfast, lunch, and dinner, while Kencana will manage operations. Breakfast will feature specialty coffee from Philadelphia’s Vibrant Coffee Roasters, with dinner service adding pasta, steaks, cocktails, and comfort food. Hours will be 8 a.m.-9 p.m. daily. Queen Village/Bella Vista will get another all-day option next spring when Sabrina’s Cafe opens at Fifth and Bainbridge, down the block from mainstay Famous 4th Street.

    Sabrina’s Cafe — speaking of which — is behind a new venture aimed at the late-night crowd. Spence De Abreu, the 21-year-old son of Sabrina’s founders Robert and Raquel De Abreu, is hoping for a late-July opening of Big Spence’s, a sandwich operation at 1816 Callowhill St., a few doors from the Art Museum-area Sabrina’s. It will run via delivery services and pickup (no seating), offering six sandwiches at launch, with additional menu items expected over time. Initial hours will vary, with service planned as late as 2 a.m. during the fall, when college students are back. Opening is tentatively scheduled for July 29.

    Scampi, chef Liz Grothe’s Queen Village Italian-ish restaurant, has added a beverage program in partnership with Northeast Philly winemaker Camuna Cellars. The tie-in allows spirits and beer options from Pennsylvania producers, including Fell to Earth vermouthery. BYOB is OK, with a $15-per-bottle corkage fee. Scampi also has collabs planned for August: Percy (at Percy) on Aug. 21; Habibi Supper Club (at Scampi) on Aug. 23; and an Italian American pasta night with chef Wyatt Piazza at Kiddo on Aug. 30.

    Chimney Rustic Ales closed its brewery in Hammonton, N.J., in June 2025, in anticipation of opening in Philadelphia. Brewmaster/owner Dan Borrelli is seeing light at the end of a city-permitting tunnel, so he’s looking at a late-2026 opening at 2153 E. Lehigh Ave. in Kensington. Borrelli said this location will have a full kitchen and a chef (to be named later) serving what he calls “elevated bar food, with some seafood mixed in.” Borrelli had a seafood truck called Minnow Seafood Co. “We’re not trying to earn a Michelin star,” he said. “We just want to serve food that’s a little more upscale than you’d typically find at a brewery or neighborhood bar.” He specializes in lagers but also offers IPAs — because “they make up about 60% of the market, so you kind of have to have them.”

    Restaurant report

    Schmaltz, a new arrival in Point Breeze, is drawing long lines with latkes, blintzes, and a craveable breakfast sandwich.

    Chibanos has opened at the former Effie’s in Washington Square West, and Delco-raised owner Evan Fong Jaroff expresses his Chinese-Cuban background through pressed sandwiches, fried yuca, flan, and croquetas. Beatrice Forman tells a fascinating story of food and culture.

    Call Your Mother, the D.C. bagel-sandwich chain, has signed a third Philly lease before the first shop even schmeared its first bagel.

    EMei’s Dan Tsao is taking over a fourth landmark restaurant location — the home of Old Original Bookbinder’s — as part of the Sichuan restaurant’s ambitious expansion.

    Briefly noted

    Townsend on East Passyunk Avenue has been closed since early May after extensive water damage from a fire next door. Chef/owner Tod Wentz has swung part of the French menu to Oltremare, his Mediterranean seafooder at 2121 Walnut St. “Townsend at Oltremare” offers a hybrid menu from Townsend executive chef Alex Nissley through at least the end of the summer.

    Baby’s Kusina & Market in Brewerytown returns Thursday, two weeks after a plumbing issue caused a flood. One change: Dinner service has been paused for the foreseeable future. Meanwhile, Baby’s will do a popup at 11 a.m. Monday at Farina Di Vita (250 Catharine St.) with a roast pork adobo sandwich.

    Hop Sing Laundromat (1029 Race St.) is pricing all cocktails at $12 for the summer, discounted from $17-$21; it’s open from 5 p.m. Thursday-Saturday.

    ❓Pop quiz

    Local bartenders have been foraging recently for what prized ingredient to make amaro?

    A) black walnuts

    B) wormwood

    C) rhubarb root

    D) truffles

    Find out if you know the answer.

    🚗 Winners! Last week’s quiz asked you to guess how many miles Craig LaBan put on his car while scouting restaurants for his Jersey Shore dining package. We had a tie — the total was 1,034 and two readers guessed 1,000, so I ordered a runoff. Jan D. of Norristown submitted “1,005” (29 miles under) while Ed H. of Philadelphia offered “1,066” (32 miles over). What’s 3 miles among friends? I’m sending Inquirer swag to both, along with my sincere thanks for reading.

    📖 Catch up with Craig’s Shore favorites here.

    Ask Mike anything

    Please update us on a couple of bakeries, like Manna near Norris Square and Del Buono’s, where McMillan’s was in South Jersey. — Scot T.

    Saif Manna, adding a brick-and-mortar location at 110 W. Berks St. in Kensington, is aiming for a soft-opening of Manna Bakery tomorrow, followed by a grand opening on July 30. Meanwhile, the PR machine is revving up for the opening of Del Buono’s, in a partnership with Al DiBartolo’s custom-cake studio DiBartolo’s Kakery, at 15 Haddon Ave. in Haddon Township’s Westmont section. Soft opening is planned for mid-August, with an Aug. 29 grand opening tied to Haddon Township Summer Music Festival.

    📮 Have a question about food in Philly? Email your questions to me at mklein@inquirer.com for a chance to be featured in my newsletter.

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