Cheap Eats in Philadelphia

Sarcone's Bakery ★ 4.8

Sarcone's Bakery in Philadelphia is the 1918 brick-oven Italian Market bakery on South 9th, fifth-generation Sicilian-American with tomato pie and seeded.

La Colombe Fishtown ★ 4.8

La Colombe Fishtown in Philadelphia is the flagship Fishtown cafe and roasting facility at 1335 Frankford, with a tasting room, a working roaster.

John's Roast Pork ★ 4.8

John's Roast Pork in Philadelphia is the 1930 South Philly counter at Snyder and Weccacoe, James Beard America's Classic 2006 with the city's defining roast.

OrderRoast pork sandwich, cheesesteak

Tommy DiNic's ★ 4.8

Tommy DiNic's in Philadelphia is the Reading Terminal Market counter that won America's best sandwich in 2013, a roast pork with rabe and sharp provolone.

OrderRoast pork sandwich

Lost Bread Co. ★ 4.7

Lost Bread Co. in Philadelphia is the Kensington bakery on Howard Street that stone-mills its own flour from regional grains, a weekend-only counter.

ReAnimator Coffee Kensington (roastery) ★ 4.7

ReAnimator Kensington in Philadelphia is the roastery cafe in a former elevator factory on Master Street, the base of operations and the room.

K'Far ★ 4.7

K'Far in Philadelphia is Michael Solomonov's all-day Israeli bakery cafe at 19th near Rittenhouse, a morning room of borekas, babkas and za'atar toast.

Tommy DiNic's ★ 4.7

Tommy DiNic's in Philadelphia is the 1980 Reading Terminal Market counter that won Travel Channel's Best Sandwich in America 2013 with its roast pork.

OrderRoast pork sandwich

Sarcone's Bakery ★ 4.7

Sarcone's Bakery in Philadelphia is the 1918 Italian Market brick-oven bakery on South 9th, with tomato pie by the square for 4 dollars and a queue.

OrderTomato pie by the square

Termini Brothers Bakery ★ 4.6

Termini Brothers Bakery in Philadelphia is the 1921 South Philly Sicilian-American bakery at 8th and Tasker, with cannoli filled to order and a sugar-dust.

Bloomsday Cafe ★ 4.6

Bloomsday in Philadelphia is the Headhouse Square cafe by day and natural wine bar by night at 414 South 2nd, with espresso through 14:00 and grower wines.

Tony Luke's ★ 4.6

Tony Luke's in Philadelphia is the 1992 South Philly counter on East Oregon, the canonical roast-pork-with-broccoli-rabe-and-sharp-provolone Italian sandwich.

OrderRoast pork sandwich

Tony Luke's ★ 4.6

Tony Luke's in Philadelphia is the 1992 South Philly counter on Oregon Ave with a 12-dollar roast pork Italian, the locals' answer to the cheesesteak tourist.

OrderRoast pork Italian

Beiler's Doughnuts ★ 4.5

Beiler's Doughnuts in Philadelphia is the Pennsylvania Dutch family-run Reading Terminal Market bakery since 1984, with hand-cut yeasted doughnuts.

Elixr Coffee ★ 4.5

Elixr Coffee in Philadelphia is the Sydenham Street roaster cafe a block off Walnut near Rittenhouse, a third-wave room with two-bar espresso and a quiet.

Pat's King of Steaks ★ 4.5

Pat's King of Steaks in Philadelphia is the 1930 founder of the cheesesteak at 9th and Passyunk, where Pat Olivieri ladled chopped steak onto a hot-dog roll.

OrderPhilly cheesesteak

Pho 75 ★ 4.5

Pho 75 in Philadelphia is the Washington Avenue Vietnamese counter, a no-frills South Philly Little Saigon room with the city's most-named single bowl.

OrderBeef pho

Beiler's Doughnuts ★ 4.5

Beiler's Doughnuts in Philadelphia is the Pennsylvania Dutch Reading Terminal Market bakery since 1984, with hand-cut yeasted doughnuts for 3 dollars.

OrderHand-cut yeasted doughnut

Machine Shop ★ 4.4

Machine Shop in Philadelphia is the South Philly boulangerie on 9th and Dudley from Emily Riddell, sourcing fruit, grain and dairy from a tight Mid-Atlantic.

ReAnimator Coffee Fishtown ★ 4.4

ReAnimator Coffee in Philadelphia is the original Fishtown cafe at Susquehanna and Cedar since 2013, with seasonal single-origin filters and a small front.

Ultimo Coffee ★ 4.4

Ultimo Coffee in Philadelphia is the South Philly cafe at 15th and Mifflin, a Counter Culture wholesale account turned roaster with the city's careful.

Geno's Steaks ★ 4.4

Geno's Steaks in Philadelphia is the 1966 Joe Vento cheesesteak corner across Passyunk from Pat's, the orange-and-neon South Philly rival half.

OrderPhilly cheesesteak

Jim's Steaks South Street ★ 4.4

Jim's Steaks South Street in Philadelphia is the 1976 South Street counter that reopened May 2024 after the 2022 fire, expanded into the next-door Eyes.

OrderPhilly cheesesteak

Center City Pretzel Co. ★ 4.4

Center City Pretzel Co. in Philadelphia is the South Philly wholesale pretzel bakery on Washington Avenue, baking the city's hand-twisted figure-eight.

OrderPhiladelphia soft pretzel

Pat's King of Steaks ★ 4.4

Pat's King of Steaks in Philadelphia is the 1930 founder of the cheesesteak at 9th and Passyunk, an 11-dollar sandwich and one of the cheapest big-city food.

OrderPhilly cheesesteak

Pho 75 ★ 4.4

Pho 75 in Philadelphia is the Washington Avenue Vietnamese counter where a full bowl of beef pho with bean sprouts, basil and lime lands for under 13 dollars.

OrderBeef pho

K'Far ★ 4.3

K'Far in Philadelphia is Michael Solomonov's Israeli bakery cafe on 19th near Rittenhouse, with borekas, rugelach and pistachio babka pulled straight.

La Colombe Rittenhouse ★ 4.3

La Colombe Rittenhouse in Philadelphia is the 19th Street cafe near Rittenhouse Square, the founding 1994 location and the room where the draft latte.

By George ★ 4.3

By George in Philadelphia is the Reading Terminal Market brick-oven counter from George and Kim Mickel since 1990, winner of Philadelphia Cheesesteak Madness.

OrderCheesesteak

Banh Mi Cali ★ 4.3

Banh Mi Cali in Philadelphia is the Chinatown banh mi counter at 9th and Arch, with grilled pork, meatball and lemongrass chicken sandwiches under five.

OrderBanh mi

Dim Sum Garden ★ 4.3

Dim Sum Garden in Philadelphia is chef Shizhou Da's Chinatown soup-dumpling room on Race Street, with a basket of xiao long bao for 8 dollars and noodle.

OrderXiao long bao

Iannelli's Bakery ★ 4.2

Iannelli's Bakery in Philadelphia is the East Passyunk Italian Market bakery, a brick-oven holdout next to the cheesesteak corner with the city's second-best.

OX Coffee ★ 4.2

OX Coffee in Philadelphia is the South 3rd cafe in Queen Village from Lucky Coffee owners, a counter-only pour-over room with no laptops and a quiet pace.

Kabobeesh ★ 4.2

Kabobeesh in Philadelphia is the University City halal Pakistani-Indian counter on Chestnut, with charcoal kebabs and biryani plates for 12 dollars.

OrderChicken biryani

Mighty Bread Grab & Go ★ 4.1

Mighty Bread Grab & Go in Philadelphia is the Rittenhouse Pine Street counter from baker Bryan Eberly, naturally leavened country sourdough with shatter.

Old City Coffee ★ 4.1

Old City Coffee in Philadelphia is the Church Street cafe and roaster off 2nd in Old City since 1985, the city's longest-running small-batch roaster.

Good Karma Cafe ★ 4.1

Good Karma Cafe in Philadelphia is the Pine Street independent cafe west of Washington Square, a long-running study room serving Counter Culture beans.

Center City Pretzel Co. ★ 4.1

Center City Pretzel Co. Order the soft pretzel with mustard. Open year-round, weather permitting. A reliable choice for first-time visitors.

OrderSoft pretzel with mustard

Isgro Pastries ★ 4.0

Isgro Pastries in Philadelphia is the 1904 Italian Market pastry counter on Christian Street, with cannoli filled to order and rainbow cookies the size.

Menagerie Coffee ★ 4.0

Menagerie Coffee in Philadelphia is the 3rd Street cafe in Old City, a small front room with multi-roaster espresso and Sunday baked-goods pop-ups.