Recent Eateries: Where to eat in or near the City

If you live in or near Philadelphia and like to eat this blog is for you. I have been eating well like I tend to do. The invitations to various restaurants and eateries are always coming in. I used to a blog for each event. However as much as I love giving you recommendations of where to go for date nights and more, I also don’t want it to consume my content.
In this blogpost I will cover a few places that I feel you should put on your radar, rate them, and give you the deets on whether it’s a good casual, date night, kid friendly or more.

Tataki Ramen

This is the most recent place that I have attended. Tataki Ramen is located at 3400 Lancaster Avenue. Parking is street parking however I found parking right in the front. If you go after 6:30 Monday-Friday, parking is free for 2 hours. I enjoyed not having to feed the meter. So that is a plus for me. Outside of that University City especially around the lunch time can be a bit congested. However, at the end of the day, Tataki Ramen is worth the parking wars to go to. First, I give this ramen a 10/10 for the following reasons:

• Customer service
• Delicious food
• Ramen cooked to perfection aka noodles not overcooked
• Clean and beautifully aesthetic

Is Tataki Good?

This is a great casual date or even first date if you and the person you are going like ramen. The food is good, there is great selections of appetizers and the drinks aka the lemonade tea is the best I have ever had especially if you aren’t a boba fan. I wouldn’t take a kid who aren’t a ramen fan.
However, if they do like my kids, I could take them here and the prices are great. It is also BYOB so if you want a little bubbly bring it with you. I highly suggest eating there for yourself. The place is beautiful and is great for taking photos and videos of your food and experience. There is plenty of seating too.

Attico Rooftop

This is one of the most aesthetic places to dine. I went for brunch. The food is good. Attico Rooftop is great for date day/night as they do serve lunch and dinner. The drinks are hands down great. Well balanced and for those doing Dry January you will not have an issue with a non-alcoholic drink. Brunch was great. The pear and apple French toast is absolutely to order. If you get nothing else, get it. The Crab Melt was so delicious that honestly, I would order it twice while I was there. Here are the reasons I give Attico a score of 8/10:

• Beautiful space
• Delicious food
• Drinks on point
• Customer service

If you love a great brunch spot that the lighting is beautiful this is your spot. Be aware that upon entry you will be scanned for weapons and your identification taken before you go upstairs. It is located inside of the Cambria Hotel on Broad Street. It is worth going for sure. They are closed Monday and Tuesdays. Brunch is for Saturday and Sunday, and it is highly recommended that you make a reservation.

Late Nights

Friday and Saturday evenings there is a DJ and is a $10 cover. So come and have a drink and dance a little bit too. This is a nice spot to celebrate birthdays or anniversaries too. However, leave the kids out of this spot. I wouldn’t bring my kids since the menu is a little elevated.

If you get the cinnamon roll, be aware that it is as big as the plate, rich, and delicious. You can eat this for a few days with your morning coffee or share at the table amongst those you are dining. Parking is street/meter and there are lots available nearby. I found 3-hour parking for Saturday brunch that was well in walking distance.

Chickie and Pete’s

Love a good sports bar with a restaurant appeal? Chickie & Pete’s is your spot. My husband and I went here in South Philadelphia for New Year’s Eve night. The food is good. There is always food and drinks specials. We spent. over $100, and I loved everything we had. There is plenty of parking.
If you need more of a restaurant feel do not come on a big game day/night. It will be crowded and less able to hear while there. For this alone this isn’t a date night spot unless you have been with your person for quite some time.

This is not a first date spot nor a place I would bring my kids unless I was comfortable with rowdy adults with drinks. While there, police were there too. Not sure if that was just for the New Year’s Eve or not. Shouldn’t be an issue for anyone there. I felt better with them there. There is plenty of parking and I loved that part too.

City Cruises also known as Spirit of Philadelphia

The experience of getting on a boat and see the city of Philadelphia and New Jersey is nice to see. The food is not bad. I would give the food about a 6/10. The experience, I give an8/10. This is a wonderful way to do something different to celebrate birthday, anniversaries, and more. I would say even a great date night or first date.

Pro tips: make sure that if you are going to purchase alcohol on board that you get the alcohol add on. Also, the VIP is worth the experience. I can’t see myself going any other way. They rolled out the red carpet. Once you purchase tickets you will be seated accordingly. Please wait until your table is called to eat. There is a camera person on board to take professional pictures that you can purchase too.

Here are my reasons for making the experience:

Char and Stave Coffee

If you love a great cup of coffee by day and drinks by night or even day this is your place to be. It is a coffee, whiskey, espresso bar that is served all day. There is no food served that I could see. However, it is a great spot to be to meet up with friends. The location that I went to was in Chestnut Hill. I visited while there for Stag and Doe Night. The drinks are phenomenal. I plan to visit soon.
I highly recommend taking someone who loves espressos and/or whiskey. Their whiskey is great and is available to purchase by the bottle to take home. The customer service was amazing.

I give this place a 10/10. Parking is street and a few lots available too. I personally would find parking and enjoy the time there. Plus, when you leave there are plenty of other spots to shop and eat too.

Almyra

This is a brand-new eatery. It is worth it. Out of all that I have shared, this is your must go to for Greek food that will blow your mind. When I attended the media night it was the most well-done event that I have ever been to EVER. There were hundreds of people there, but we were all treated as if only a handful of people were there. No one waited for prolonged periods of time for drinks. The food was hot. The type of hot, that you had to blow before you bit down. This is upscale, celebration, or even first date night vibe.

Dressed to Impress 

Come dressed to impress. Almyra is not the place to come with jeans. You will not match the aesthetics at all. Pro tip: if you want to know how you should come to a place check their aesthetics. Here is your dress up and come to be impressed.

I will be back with a few other places to highlight but that is all for now. None of the places is really kid friendly to an extent. My youngest kid is almost ten they are used to attended dressed up or upscale places I would take them if I needed to.

Some of these spots I will leave for my husband and I to have a little one on one time. So happy eating and drinking. You can catch most of these on my Instagram and TikTok for video context too.