Diners' Choice: Lively restaurants in Philadelphia County

OpenTable

Updated April 05, 2025

Looking for restaurants that have the most vibrant bar scenes in Philadelphia County? You’re in the right place. Each month, OpenTable analyzes nearly 2 million global diner reviews from the past four months. We sort the results by location and category to help you discover new favorite restaurants. It's a great partnership: you reserve, eat, and review. We listen...and deliver the results for all to benefit. Enjoy!

La Llorona Cantina Mexicana

5.0

5 (207)

$30 and under

Mexican

South Philly

About the restaurant

We look forward to having you dine with us and enjoy a memorable time filled with authentic Mexican Cuisine and finely crafted Cocktails. Brunch is served Saturdays & Sundays 11am to 3pm. Happy Hour : Tuesday - Friday 4pm to 7pm

Top review

rhonda

Dined 3 days ago

My daughter has her 1 year wedding anniversary coming up. During my reservation requested I mentioned this. They were absolutely so wonderful to us. We had a table of five. They took extreme care, gave them a special desert with one candle (for the 1 year) and wrote on the plate. The food was wonderful & everyone was thrilled. Thank you again. Rhonda

Ad Lib Craft Kitchen and Bar

4.9

4.9 (412)

$30 and under

Contemporary American

Harrisburg

About the restaurant

Ad Lib
Craft Kitchen and Bar
A comfortable gathering place where people come together to celebrate, debate politics or simply spend time with friends and family, Ad Lib is a “new take” on a traditional American Tavern.
Food and Drink offerings are old favorites “turned on their side” and full of surprises. Our food and beverage chefs combine classic preparations with contemporary creativity. Ad lib specials, the “Ad Lib Lunch” and Ad lib social hours celebrate spontaneity. This is a place to share food and share stories. There’s no script, just a stage set for you to wing it!
This is food that is fun to cook, fun to eat, fun to share. And, you can try many dishes in one visit with the large offering of small plate options. Guests can choose from over 40 small plates, over 30 wines by the glass, over 60 selections of beer and an ever changing list of craft, barrel aged and edible cocktails.

Top review

KevinVIP

Dined 7 days ago

All good - food, service, setting - except an inexplicably loud noise level. When meals rolled out, everyone calmed down.

Cafe Fresco - Center City

4.8

4.8 (750)

$30 and under

Fusion / Eclectic

Harrisburg

About the restaurant

A pioneer of Harrisburg dining, Café Fresco Center City opened its doors in 2005. Located in the heart of Restaurant Row, the Feng Shui inspired ambiance offers comfortable and intimate dining spaces that pulse with an energy and excitement. From the moment you step inside, you become part of the Café Fresco experience. Whether you are joining us for an urban, café lunch or the upscale, metropolitan dining experience of our dinner service, our skilled, professional staff will strive to accommodate your every need. Our goal is to provide you with a metropolitan retreat nestled in the heart of a smaller city that will exceed every expectation – an experience that can only be provided by Café Fresco.

Top review

Matthew

Dined on Apr 5, 2025

Delicious as always. Great food, great service, great drinks! We will continue to keep coming back!

86 West

4.8

4.8 (1013)

$30 and under

American

Doylestown

About the restaurant

86 West is a Restaurant and Bar that offers a chic, downtown nightclub environment right here in Doylestown. In season, 86 West boasts Doylestown's best and largest outdoor dining experience with its lush landscaping and stone patios. Check out our feature on FOX 29's Kelly Drives! https://www.fox29.com/video/1494632

Top review

IsmaelVIP

Dined 6 days ago

In a town of great options, 86 West is as solid as it gets for the full package. The menu is as big as a diner's, but don't let that scare you off; it is all THAT good ! Cheers! We'll be back early and often.

Discover more

Happy Hour at 86 West

The Bellefonte Cafe

4.8

4.8 (265)

$30 and under

Fusion / Eclectic

Wilmington

About the restaurant

The Bellefonte Cafe: Great Food, Great Atmosphere, Great Music, since 2002!

Top review

RobinVIP

Dined on Apr 12, 2025

The band - ( Johnny Never and John Colgan-Davis) was great. Alyssa and Riley are wonderful servers, food delicious as always !

Botanery Barn Distillery & Restaurant

4.8

4.8 (329)

$30 and under

Farm-to-table

Reading

About the restaurant

Botanery Barn Distillery & Bistro, formerly Brandywine Branch Distillers, Founded by Don Avellino and Scott Avellino, is a new small batch micro-distillery located in Pennsylvania’s bucolic Chester County. Brandywine Branch Distillers inhabits a lovingly restored 130-year-old barn, located on an eight-acre property and exclusively produces everything on site utilizing handcrafted methods. The Revivalist Gins™, is an award winning portfolio of four unique and small-batch expressions: Equinox, Summertide, Harvest, and Solstice. Revivalist represents a year-round portfolio of gins that reflects different taste profiles and echoes the natural progression of the seasons, their scents, colors and flavors, in order to create something for every palate.

Top review

Janet

Dined 3 days ago

I love this place! Great food Great music! Great ambience!

Breaker Brewing Company

4.8

4.8 (509)

$30 and under

Brewery

Wilkes-Barre

About the restaurant

Welcome and thank you for your interest in Breaker Brewing Company. We are a Micro Brewery & Brew Pub in Northeast PA’s coal region that brews, serves and delivers handcrafted beer to local bars and pubs. Our small batch craft brews are dedicated to the hard-working people who have been and still are examples of our rich heritage.

Top review

Mike

Dined on Apr 12, 2025

A hidden gem in the Wilkes-Barre area. The beer selection was excellent. Highly recommend the flight, since all of the choices were delicious. Excellent service too. Food was very good as well. We’ll be back a lot more.

Moonshine Philly

4.7

4.7 (531)

$30 and under

Contemporary American

South Philly

About the restaurant

Moonshine is a craft beer restaurant located in the heart of the Pennsport section of South Philadelphia. We focus on a fresh menu and a friendly atmosphere. With over 10 crafts on draught, a wide variety of bottled and canned beer, multiple selections of wine, and a menu consisting of old classics with a twist and some unique creations, Moonshine is sure to please any palate.

Top review

Michael

Dined 4 days ago

Great place with great food, large outdoor seating area which is nice in time for summer

Home Grown Café

4.6

4.6 (514)

$30 and under

American

Newark

About the restaurant

Home Grown Cafe is an independently owned, award-winning, downtown Newark, DE staple, residing centrally on Main St. for over 23 years under founding owner, Sasha Aber. Matt McConnell leads an incredible staff and day to day operations. Award winning Executive Chef Andrew Thorne is the chef de cuisine who constantly pushes the envelope with locally made from scratch dishes of his own creations, as well as mentoring and showcasing our staff's talent. Home Grown has been named Best of Delaware Upstate for over two decades by Delaware Today readers including awarding the honor of Best Chef Upstate to Andrew Thorne (2022) Guests enjoy incredible service and made from scratch food for all dietary lifestyles, including carnivorous, vegan, vegetarian, and gluten-sensitive in a welcoming environment for all patrons. Colorful walls are adorned with local pop art. The bar features a large array of upscale spirits including house-crafted cocktails and mocktails, over 65 beers, and great wines.

Top review

DeniseVIP

Dined 3 days ago

Becca was our server, and she was wonderful! We had the nachos and they were delicious! I also ordered the BLT with vegan bacon, and it was really good.

Philadelphia Distilling

4.6

4.6 (281)

$31 to $50

American

Fishtown

About the restaurant

At Philadelphia Distilling, our distilling team combines craftsmanship, science and skill to create a unique portfolio of premium spirits that rely on the agricultural integrity of authentically sourced grains and botanicals and the finest heritage equipment.

Hand-hammered copper pot stills from the fifth-generation Forsyth family and wooden fermentation vessels from Hall-Woodford, an iconic Philadelphia-based family business, are key points of difference for us—both in their construction value as well as the integrity of the spirits they help us to produce. We continue our batch-by-batch process, creating spirits that celebrate big, bold flavor.

Top review

Anita

Dined 3 days ago

Justin was very knowledgeable of the drinks, very friendly staff. Drinks were very good. Will definitely go back and try a few others drinks and food

Explore Diners' Choice best of Philadelphia County

Explore more Diners' Choice lists