Dining Alone Restaurants

Meritage Restaurant and Wine Bar, located in Rittenhouse Square, offers a contemporary, seasonally-driven fusion menu that incorporates traditional French techniques and Asian flavors. Specializing in small plates, the restaurant allows diners to share and enjoy a variety of dishes. Don’t be fooled by the food— Owners Michele DiPietro and Irene Landy are similarly committed to providing an award-winning selection of wines at affordable prices. Local vegetables and produce are hand-picked from Lancaster and Chester County Farms for diners to enjoy while taking in the sophisticated décor and savoring the flavor of truly fresh ingredients.

Modern, stylish, delicious. Penne Restaurant and Wine Bar serves up the finest regional Italian cuisine with the elegance and flair of modern culinary trends. Executive chef Eileen Watkin handcrafts unique and innovative creations daily in a setting that's warm and whimsical. The colorful interior creates a mood and setting that is fresh and upbeat, and when paired with one of their regional Italian wines from their extensive bar menu, guests can relax with ease and enjoy the simple pleasures of Italian cuisine. Located inside the Hilton Inn, Penne Restaurant and Wine Bar is a trip worth making.

Located in Pennsport, Ruby Buffet has a great selection of tasty lunch and dinner options in an all-you-can-eat restaurant set-up. This seafood, Chinese, Japanese, and sushi buffet has an assortment of different dishes that you can try for just one low rate. Favorites include their hand-rolled sushi, snow crabs, shrimp cocktail, and coconut chicken. Their large, spacious interior can give way to large parties, and the buffet space is always serving up fresh new dishes. With quality, cleanliness, service, and selection, Ruby Buffet has a great variety of dishes that can satisfy whatever you’re craving.

This New York import was the tenth Palm to open nationwide and has since become a popular destination for diners including local celebrities. Located in the ornamented Bellevue Hotel building, the chic dining room walls are filled with portraits of local and national personalities. The menu consists of their infamous cheesecake, prime beef, jumbo lobsters, and authentic Italian entrees. At a restaurant that treats all guests like family, the Palm thrives on providing excellent meals at exceptional standards. Using traditional ingredients and simple recipes, this restaurant avoids culinary fads to bring its patrons an honest and satisfying dining experience.

Located in Rittenhouse Square, Tinto is a cozy restaurant, reminiscent of a rustic wine cellar. The dishes are inspired by cuisine that can be found in Basque country, the coastal and mountainous regions that surround both the Spanish and French border. Try such dishes as the Shortrib Sandwich with braised shortribs, bacon, asparagus, and celery root aioli or the Pork Belly with Berkshire pork belly, honey lacquer, and shaved apples. Whether you’re out for a quick bite or want to relax and enjoy a luxurious evening out, Tinto’s is the place.

The setting is 1964, the décor sleek and retro-futuristic, and the patrons trendy and chic. This is the place to go for a martini (or two), with a raved-about selection of signature drinks ranging from the classic to the innovative. An excellent array of international tapas complements the flavorful cocktails, with such popular treats as the Lobster Mashed Potatoes and Seared Tuna with Mushroom Risotto. Whether it’s happy hour, Sunday brunch, or another night on the town, Continental is a place to see and be seen.

Exuding Zen-like swank and sunny swagger, Buddakan beckons foodies and scene-seekers alike. In 1998, Buddakan added drama and daring dining to Philly's historical district in Old City. Today, this cosmopolitan small-plate emporium is a major player in the scene – a de rigeur stop for celebrities, savvy tourists, and local devotees. The glamorous digs with the iconic 10-foot high gilded Buddha statue, silky walls, soaring ceilings, glamorous décor, and flowing water wall whirls with an irrepressible kinetic vibe, an Asian-centric slate of irresistible dishes, and one of the city's hippest staff of servers.

As Philadelphia’s original authentic Spanish tapas bar and restaurant, Amada offers specialty food in a sultry setting. The tapas come courtesy of chef and owner Jose Garces, Philadelphia’s most ambitious new restaurateur. Feast on cured meats and cheeses as well as Spanish specialties like Tortilla Espanola, Lobster Paella, and the king of the table: a Whole Roasted Suckling Pig (which must be pre-ordered). Amada’s sexy flamenco performances are as inspiring as its food, and are surely not to be missed. With its fantastic cuisine, attentive service, and trendy ambiance, Amada is truly Old City's “loved one.”

Sit in cozy avocado-colored booths or in the pleather swivel chairs of yesteryear, with a background of cherry wood, framing stacked stone brick walls reminiscent of the Brady Bunch. Enjoy a tasty soda pop or order a “cool” cocktail such as Proud Mary, Hound Dog, or Cloud Nine. Choose from comfort foods like Baked Mac and Cheese, Thanksgiving Dinner, Meatloaf, or a Vegetarian Shepherd’s Pie. Have smaller fare such as Tomato Soup with grilled cheese or a Tuna Melt on rye. Step back in time to the 1970s, near Independence Mall, where the history of the 1770s abounds. Book over …

Restaurateur Stephen Starr’s vision of the future burns bright in the University City section of Philadelphia where Pod dishes out Asian fusion cuisine in an atmosphere that is a playful cross between Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey and The Jetsons. Fresh sushi, dim sum, and full entrees are served in Pod’s sleek, high-tech dining space. The restaurant’s glossy, pure white interior, accentuated by concentric circles of blue, orange, and purple lighting and flooded with the pulse of ambient music, boldly transports patrons to a culinary destination that is truly ahead of its time.

Bliss is a new and exciting restaurant and bar which features a menu that reflects a world of culinary inspiration. Bliss offers contemporary American dishes like a Pan Seared Sirloin with Potato Puree Gratin and Shallot Merlot Glaze as well as Asian-inspired food, like Sweet and Sour Crispy Red Snapper and Stir-Fried Red Chili Prawns. Just a stone’s throw from the Kimmel Center, Bliss sports lots of mahogany wood, high ceilings, a cozy bar and a tranquil blue wall decoration. With its serene atmosphere and delightful menu, the restaurant welcomes guests for lunch, dinner, and late night.

With its kitschy theme park decor and its hip Latin beats, Old City’s Cuba Libre is all about the ambiance. The elaborately designed space – with its tall palms and wrought-iron balconies – was built to resemble an outdoor café in Cuba circa 1940. The restaurant’s menu combines “Nuevo Cubano” dishes alongside traditional Cuban cuisine. From the tasty mango butter spread accompanying the bread to the juicy Guava BBQ Rib entrée, this Latin feast will be an experience all its own. The endless variety of Cuban rums and a tasty selection of mojitos, Cuba Libre’s specialty drinks, won’t disappoint either!

Dining in Philadelphia has finally become both elegant and romantic since the addition of “M”, the restaurant at the Morris House Hotel. With such fine dining available both indoors and outdoors in the magnificent center city garden, “M” is a pure gem right in the heart of the historic district of downtown Philadelphia. The menu is designed by internationally trained chef David Katz, who offers daily entrees with extraordinary originality, making “M” a destination for superb dining at it’s best. M offers a modern menu of tantalizing dishes and indulgences to guests and local patrons alike.

Pumpkin, coined from the pet name of husband and wife co-owners Ian Moroney and Hillary Bor, offers an adventurous menu that changes daily – dishes can include snails, cardoon, and homemade banana gelato. The intimate 28-seat restaurant in the city’s Graduate Hospital area also serves up the sort of comfortable charm that comes of candle lighting, small tables, and attentive service from employees that include members of Moroney’s family. This neighborhood restaurant is well suited for a second date, a second anniversary or a couple of hours catching up with old friends. With an ever changing menu that boasts farm-to-table …

Just five weeks after Ralph’s opened its doors, Teddy Roosevelt sat down for a classic Italian meal in a burgeoning South Philadelphia Italian neighborhood; that was in 1900. Today, Ralph’s still caters to a host of notable diners and delivers the same simple, homey but high quality Italian fare as always. It’s a spaghetti and meatball parlor where red tomato sauce is king, queen, and heir to the thrown. Ralph’s is the oldest family owned Italian restaurant in America. The trattoria’s no fuss consistent approach to Southern Italian cuisine and elegant but non-stuffy atmosphere have made it a favorite among …

Although Tír na nÓg is well-known around Philadelphia for keeping the Irish tradition of drinking and good times alive, it is also recognized for its sophisticated, yet casual, dining atmosphere and great food. The chefs at Tír na nÓg have created a unique menu of new American cuisine with a Celtic influence. Traditional Irish food and local favorites are available for lunch and dinner, as well as the chef's daily specials. Enjoy a pint and order one of Ireland's most popular dishes.

Restaurant Alba prides itself on offering, “contemporary wholesome cuisine in a sophisticated yet comfortable setting,” but it is the smell of the wood-burning grill that will captivate your initial interest. Diners are greeted by this compelling aroma before they even pull into Restaurant Alba’s parking lot. Husband and wife owners Sean and Kelly Weinberg persistently create simple yet elegant dishes that are cooked over this state-of-the-art grill. With minimalistic décor and a unique rural approach to cooking, Restaurant Alba has been described as “rustic chic.” It may be the wafting scent that brings you in, but it is the fresh, …

While Blue Bell Inn’s rich history shapes it to this day (Blue Bell itself was named for it), it is by no means stuck in the past. Owner/Executive Chef John Lamprecht Jr. regularly offers internationally-influenced specials (Crab Cake with Wasabi Cream) to compliment his largely classical menu. A sleek bar featuring live music and large-screen plasma televisions offers a buoyant, but refined retreat for professionals looking to unwind, and the small dining rooms’ colonial design creates an intimate atmosphere without being stuffy. Anyone looking for time-tested fine dining with modern sensibilities need look no further than Blue Bell Inn.

Located just south of the hustle of South Street in Queen's Village, the Famous 4th Street Deli is a quaint Jewish-American restaurant featuring hospitable service and enormous sandwiches. Named after the streets in New York City, some of the sandwiches stand over six inches tall and come with a choice of sides like potato pancakes and fresh fruit. Traditional Jewish American delicacies, including monsterous bowls of matzah ball soup, can be ordered as appetizers. The attached bakery freshly bakes a motley of pastries available for desert or take out daily.

Rivaling neighboring Pat’s, Genos is Philly’s other notorious 24-hour cheesesteak stop. As has been the case since Joe Vento opened in 1966, sandwiches come heaping with thinly sliced steak and a choice of American, Provolone, or cheese wiz melted across the top. The menu is simple, the ordering straightforward, and the meal a decadent version of the best sandwich Philadelphia has to offer. If the glowing storefront doesn’t lure you in, the unmistakable scent of grilled steak certainly will.