Listen to article \u2022\u00a00:00 min<\/p>\n
Food magazine Bon App\u00e9tit released its annual best new restaurants list<\/a> yesterday, and it includes two Philadelphia restaurants. <\/p>\n Honeysuckle<\/a>, Omar Tate and Cybille St.Aude-Tate\u2019s fine-dining restaurant in North Philadelphia<\/a>, and Sao<\/a>, Phila and Rachel Lorn\u2019s East Passyunk<\/a> oyster bar, were among the 19 establishments that made the cut. They joined restaurants in New York City, San Francisco, Chicago, Seattle, Nashville, and Birmingham, Ala., and more.<\/p>\n The unranked list defines new restaurants as those that opened between March 2025 and March 2026. Scouts visited restaurants in 43 U.S. cities and rated them according to seven criteria<\/a>: flavor, technique, hospitality, ambiance, cultural significance, innovation, and sense of place.<\/p>\n To be considered the best, \u201ca restaurant must serve dishes and drinks that are complete in terms of flavor and technique, from the pre-meal cocktails to dessert, like an album with no skips,\u201d wrote Bon App\u00e9tit editor-in-chief<\/a> (and former Inquirer food editor<\/a>) Jamila Robinson.<\/p>\n Tate and St.Aude-Tate opened Honeysuckle at 611 N. Broad St. in April 2025<\/a>. The restaurant\u2019s five-course tasting menu evolved from the couple\u2019s beloved West Philly caf\u00e9-market,<\/a> Honeysuckle Provisions<\/a>, which closed in 2024. The couple uses the menu to weave a dynamic and complex narrative about how the Black diaspora has shaped American food culture. <\/p>\n Inquirer critic Craig LaBan called the new Honeysuckle \u201cjoyful [and] irreverent<\/a>\u201d with a \u201cvibrant\u201d flow of new ideas, from the caviar-topped and gold-flecked McDonald\u2019s Money burger to a a cocktail inspired by Haiti\u2019s national drink of clairin and lime<\/a>. The restaurant landed a spot on the 2025 edition of The 76<\/a> last year, while Tate and St.Aude-Tate were first-time semifinalists<\/a> for Best Chef, Mid-Atlantic at the 2026 James Beard Awards. Honeysuckle is also recommended by the Michelin Guide<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cChefs Omar Tate and Cybille St.Aude-Tate deliver a showstopping walk through nostalgia, pop culture, Philadelphia, and Black American history through dishes that spark new reflection and conversation,\u201d Robinson wrote<\/a> of Honeysuckle. <\/p>\n Chef Phila Lorn and his wife, Rachel, opened Sao at 1710 Passyunk Ave. in September 2025<\/a> as a follow-up to their acclaimed Cambodian noodle house, Mawn, where Lorn earned a Beard Award for Emerging Chef in 2025<\/a> alongside commendations from Food & Wine<\/a>, the New York Times<\/a>, and The Inquirer<\/a>.<\/p>\n While Mawn is notorious for being one of the toughest reservations in town<\/a>, Sao isn\u2019t far behind. The 33-seat oyster bar combines favorites from the noodle bar \u2014 like the papaya salad crab and beef skewers \u2014 with dishes that meld Phila\u2019s Cambodian heritage with South Philly\u2019s Italian American ethos<\/a>, such as the ultra-thin Mawn chicken cutlet coated in a fish sauce caramel and a rendition of crab gravy made with coconut curries.<\/p>\n Sao serves dishes \u201cthat hit like uppercuts,\u201d Bon App\u00e9tit food director Chris Morroco wrote<\/a>. \u201cEnjoy letting your taste buds get knocked around when you least expect it.\u201d<\/p>\n