Restaurant Details

More than a decade in, a.kitchen remains one of the best restaurants in the city where you can always find a seat, and the most dynamic of Ellen Yin’s High Street Hospitality Group. The French-leaning cooking is both forward-thinking and approachable — always seasonal, as in dishes like soft shell crab with an heirloom tomato and cucumber salad; often surprising, with its house charcuterie program; and unfailingly reliable, with mainstays like the a.burger, one of the city’s greatest. Its nationally recognized wine program, with hundreds of labels and a progressive bent (i.e., natural, offbeat, and local), is another Philly best. Better even than a table is the bar (not nearby a.bar, though it is also excellent), staffed by 11-year veteran Paul Pavelka, who charms regulars and newcomers alike on a nightly basis.