2 Eastern PA Eateries Named As ‘Restaurants Of The Year’

Two Eastern Pennsylvania restaurants have been selected by food and dining writers from across the USA Today network as some of the best in the country to try out this year.

To create USA Today’s 2025 Restaurants of the Year, food writers were tasked with choosing establishments that stood out as surprising and delightful, and ones they’d return to and recommend to out-of-town visitors. It's the second year for the list; USA Today debuted the list in 2024.

The publication said the final selections aren’t just an inventory of local hot spots with months-long waits in major metropolitan areas but rather “a celebration of local flavors and stories, curated by reporters from across the country who know that a meal of Italian cuisine in Mamaroneck (New York) can be just as rewarding as one in Manhattan.”

The 45 restaurants on the list are found in 27 states.

The two that made the list in Pennsylvania include Philadelphia eatery Poison Heart and Bucks County's Dharma Bums.

POISON HEART

Poison Heart is located on Spring Garden Street in Philadelphia. The menu boasts a variety of seafood and sandwiches as well as signature cocktails, wine and beer. It has a 4.8 Google rating, with reviews that rave about the food and drinks at fair prices.

"It’s harder and harder to find a good cocktail for under $20 in a big city. Poison Heart gives you excellent cocktails, great small bites, and an unpretentious environment in spades," one Google review said.

DHARMA BUMS

Dharma Bums, located on picturesque River Road in New Hope, features vegetarian fare in a unique atmosphere. "Our special spot rests on the bank of the Delaware River Canal, just a short walk from the Tohickon creek valley and High Rocks Vista. Our 19th century building has a storied past as a hotel, a gathering place for the Black Cat Motorcycle Club, and even the watering hole for revolutionary patron Abbie Hoffman, whose famed Dump the Pump meetings took place within these very walls," the eatery explains on its website.

Menu options include: Seitan Cheesesteak (made out of shitake mushrooms), lettuce wraps, pot pies, Kimchi Mac n Cheese Balls and more. The restaurant has a 4.7 rating on Google.

MORE

If you’re planning to travel, here’s the full list (read more about each on USA Today):

Alabama

• Lannie’s Bar-B-Q Spot, Selma

Arizona

• Ta’Carbon, Glendale
• Course, Scottsdale

California

• Rooster and the Pig, Palm Springs

Colorado

• The Taco Stop, Fort Collins

Delaware

• Bardea Food & Drink, Wilmington

Florida

• Bicyclette Cookshop, Naples
• Pearl & Horn, Pensacola
• Swordfish Grill, Cortez

Georgia

• Wexford, Savannah

Iowa

• Oak Park, Des Moines

Indiana

• Bodhi, Indianapolis
• Roots Eatery and Pub, Wolcott

Kentucky

• Decade, Louisville

Louisiana

• Quebedeaux's Cajun Cafe, Pineville

Massachusetts

• The Rooftop at Pelham House Resort, Dennis Port
• Wusong Tiki Bar, Cambridge
• Bocado Tapas Wine Bar, Worcester

Michigan

• Mabel Gray, Hazel Park
• Tomato Brothers Howell

Nevada

• Middlegate Station, Fallon

New Jersey

• Aarzu Modern Indian Bistro, Freehold Borough
• Steve’s Burgers, Garfield
• Canal House Station, Milford

New York

• Augustine’s Salumeria, Mamaroneck
• Rocky’s Restaurant, Rochester

North Carolina

• Olivera, Wilmington
• Restaurants of Western North Carolina

Oklahoma

• The Crown, Oklahoma City

Ohio

• The Aperture, Cincinnati
• Agni, Columbus
• Social at the Stone House, Massillon

Oregon

• Hayward, McMinnville
• Akadi, Portland

Rhode Island

• Matunuck Oyster Bar, South Kingstown

South Carolina

• Comal 864, Greenville

South Dakota

• Sanaa’s Gourmet Mediterranean, Sioux Falls

Tennessee

• A Dopo, Knoxville
• Bad Idea, Nashville

Texas

• Dai Due, Austin
• Jimenez y Friends Barbecue y Taqueria, Lubbock

Wisconsin

• Three Brothers, Milwaukee
• BroKogi Korean Fusion Restaurant, Stevens Point