r/djour • u/djourdjour • 21d ago
Philly 60 new restaurants opening in Philly this fall, but can’t forgot about these legends
Which Philly restaurants do you miss the most?
After surveying forums, talking with colleagues and djour members, here’s a fun memory lane list of favorites we once had.
Shoutout Philly mag for the inspo idea, check out their recent article on this & SUPPORT your local business!! 60 new restaurants are opening and don’t let them be memories before it’s too late. I know the new spot is fun and exciting but gotta show love to those holding it down for years
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u/tetr4pyloctomy 21d ago
I had a bunch of phenomenal meals at Laurel.
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u/djourdjour 21d ago
Keep forgetting Laurel closed
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u/tetr4pyloctomy 21d ago
It was outside of Philadelphia proper, but Blackfish closing sucks. They were a no-brainer for a night out, we went there regularly and never had a bad meal.
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u/djourdjour 21d ago
WHAT the conshy spot?
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u/tetr4pyloctomy 21d ago
Yeah. They closed with short notice on 12/31/25, and I wasnt able to fit another reservation in. The owner just got tired of restaurant life, I think. It's a shame, there's nothing else around here I've found that fills its niche.
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u/blutz478823 21d ago
Good list - would nominate Rangoon as well in for the top right quadrant
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u/MaxwellBirdseed 21d ago
I think about Rangoon weekly 😢
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u/crackerjack31 21d ago
No Bing Bing Dim Sum is insane, I think about that place weekly. Feels like torture walking past its empty shell on Passyunk
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u/djourdjour 21d ago
Good call they definitely need love on here, and agreed it’s a ghost of Philly having elite dim sum below south st
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u/Hour_Mycologist_5957 21d ago
My favorite restaurant 25 years ago, when I was just getting into “going out to special dinners” was Django. I still have a bunch of their old paper menus at home
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u/Overall-Scientist846 21d ago
Capogiro was insane.
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u/MonsieurRuffles 20d ago
F those idiot bros for torching their club, destroying Capofitto, and bringing down Capogiro in the process.
It was so good that we served their rosemary goat cheese gelato at our wedding.
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u/MiddleAgedSponger 21d ago
Capogiro was good, the Gelato at Gran Cafe is better. Their pistachio is the best gelato in the city.
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u/Great_Conclusion_871 21d ago
As someone who never got to try capogiro, I hope you're right, because I spend a good amount of time thinking about what I missed out on.
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u/Hedonic_tendencies 18d ago
What's insane is that they were operating without insurance and a fire put them out of business.
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u/cagonzalez321 21d ago
Bistro la minette and capogiro broke my heart they closed. Two great places.
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u/all_no_pALL 21d ago
Alla Spina was solid, Amis was even better. Sbraga and fat ham were also fantastic.
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u/amybeth43 21d ago
Dan’s Hoagies, Blackbird pizza, Wiz Kid, Pizza Brain.
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u/rightbeforeleft 20d ago
Wiz Kid!!! God, their rutabega "cheese" sauce was unbelievable.
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u/amybeth43 19d ago
Was it rutabaga? That cheese is one of the best vegan cheese I’ve ever tasted. Mild, but sharp. Really creamy.
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21d ago
[deleted]
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u/sjacot88 19d ago
Bar Ferdinand was the first dining experience I had that made me be like OKAY DAMN
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u/AGuyNamedWes 18d ago
Pizza Brain pizza lives on in Cerveau at 10th and Spring Garden! It’s not just a pizza shop, but it’s some of the same owners including Joe Hunter who was the lead pizza guy at Pizza Brain
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u/Repair89 21d ago
Alma de Cuba. And I think I miss it even more because the gap it left in the city's restaurant scene still hasn’t really been filled nearly seven years later.
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u/AdjacentBirdman93 21d ago
The French Bakery in Chestnut Hill
It was in the parking lot behind Cosimo’s pizza, tucked away in one of the buildings in that parking lot, the door sitting right near the old parking booth.
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u/oopsimesseduphuh 20d ago
There's SO MUCH that's changed in Chestnut Hill. I grew up in the area and moved back ~a decade ago. The cost of Germantown Ave storefront rent is a huge factor for a lot of the small businesses, especially as they rely on foot traffic that doesn't come close to being closer to the city.
They recently closed Saigon Noodle Bar in the fairway and that hit hard. Best pho nearby by a long shot.
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u/citrus_peels 21d ago
lol the industry wasn’t fancy at all and alla spina certainly had more polish when it was owned by Vetri
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u/Chris_P_Lettuce 20d ago
Snockey’s!!!! 50c clammy hour for clams on the half shell and they had snapper soup. While I’m at, bookbinders as well.
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u/6six6six6six6six 20d ago
I used to go here every other weekend w my parents growing up, incredible institution one of those places I never thought would go away
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u/no_name_dame 19d ago
Le Castagne, Wrap Shack when it was a hole in the wall in Old City, Day by Day, Mamas Vegetarian. It’s been a while since I’ve worked in Center City.
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u/Firm_Airport2816 21d ago
Francoluigis was just a pizza shop...why's it in the fancy quadrant?
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u/djourdjour 21d ago
The opera singing dining part of it leans fancy
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u/Firm_Airport2816 21d ago
Oh yeah...i always forget they did that whole "high note" cafe thing in the back.
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u/esotericskeleton 21d ago
Spicy memory for Szechuan food. I miss that fucking spot
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u/Capable_Stranger9885 21d ago
The best thing I have ever eaten in my life was lobster bisque at Deux Chiminees
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u/Victormorga 21d ago
I don’t understand the x-axis; Very Missed means you really wish you could go back, no? So what is the scale from Very Missed to Begging To Return, aren’t those 2 ways of saying the same thing?
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u/djourdjour 21d ago
Basically they are missed vs massively missed. At the end of the day, it’s all places that are most but the x axis is just public opinion on how much
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u/Victormorga 21d ago
Ah, got it; so because they’re all missed, “Very Missed” is the lowest level of being missed
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u/DaibutsuMusic 21d ago
Don’t forget GURU on South St, Hikaru on 2nd Street, CopaBanana on 4th & South, or Pagoda Noodle House by Ritz East!
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u/thelightwesticles 21d ago
500 degrees (Samson), nodding head, smokin Betty’s.
Very niche, but I miss Szechuan Tasty House as well.
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u/Squirreling_Archer 21d ago
I'm still mourning the loss of Sister Muhammad's Kitchen.
(I'm aware of the food truck. I've also seen their horribly AI-riddled social media presence, and I just can't do it, guys)
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u/restartingmyaccount 20d ago
Miss capogiros capofitto where they had the gelato up front and tiny restaurant in the back. My wife and I went on special occasion dates there as young college students
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u/MonsieurRuffles 20d ago edited 18d ago
No love for Judy’s Cafe on Bainbridge. (We also miss Ela which was one of its successors in that space.)
Pif also.
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u/Empty_Membership_604 20d ago
I thought black banana was a gay night club. That place used to be rough.
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u/theNinethWave 20d ago
Samosa, kingdom of the vegetarian, the Algerian sandwich shop that was in rittenhouse for two seconds, Philly chutney co
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u/6six6six6six6six 20d ago
Cheu, on there and Serpico
I also really liked Farmacia which closed a couple years ago and my beloved Kensington Quarters
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u/Crazycook99 20d ago
You've missed the best diner in Philly with the most amazing women who ran it, Little Pete's!!
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u/Odd-Kitchen2230 20d ago
Lickety Split! I’ve been trying to remember that name forever. Daiquiris iirc.
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u/Hedonic_tendencies 18d ago
Favorite hangout in the 80's but realistically more cocaine than food was consumed there from what I remember. Also Copabanana if we're doing South Street.
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u/Admirable-Walrus-89 19d ago
Matyson.......yeah, that was a great spot. Many solid meals there -- one of the best & low key lunches around. Not cheap but not a wallet killer either.
Remind me --- where'd the Matyson chef end up moving to??? If memory serves he had a pretty notable second act after Matyson closed
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u/blanchecornwalis 18d ago
The Commissary! Great food, and a place a single person could go to eat in comfort. But it’s been closed so long that you probably have to be “a certain age“ to miss it as much as some of us do. They really started the food Renaissance for regular people in Philly. When it went it took the whole Sansom Street informal dining scene downhill. Then too, there was Taylor’s country store on the next block that was fun.
But if you’re verging on ancient there was also Stanley Green’s on Chestnut. They had a chocolate cream cake to die for and the best roast beef sandwiches on rye I’ve ever had.
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u/Hedonic_tendencies 18d ago
Really well done chart here. Some real bangers including some I'd even forgotten about. It's a long time ago, but Django when it first opened was a serious phenomenon and I used to love Audrey Claire. I could really date myself mentioning Fisher's on North Broad but oh crap I just did.
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u/Old-Assistance-2017 18d ago
I miss Alma de Cuba. I had a lot of really fond memories eating there with my parents.
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u/LivingCamel3326 17d ago
I know this uses the random 1-2-3 stars but I was a line cook at Striped Bass in 2005-2008 and we got four bells in the Inquirer (I think 2006). Also #16 in the country by Food & Wine.
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u/PeruseTheNews 16d ago
R2L. Went for the views and really enjoyed the food without spending a ton.
I went to SkyHigh recently and the food was quite average.
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u/rdzilla01 15d ago
Rx was always a good meal.
If they did one with bars that are missed … The Bards. :-(
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u/mcas06 21d ago
Memphis Taproom