BYOBs (Bring-Your-Own-Bottle)
No longer Philadelphia's best kept dining secret
A Philadelphia diner’s favorite four letters: BYOB. That’s short for “Bring your own bottle” and that’s exactly what diners are doing throughout the region. Today’s BYOB landscape includes cozy mom-and-pop places, authentic ethnic eateries and four-star caliber finds.
Among the most honored is Society Hill’s Django, an innovative European/New American bistro focusing on food from local farms. Following in Django’s footsteps are Center City’s stylish Matyson and South Street’s trendy Next.
Spanning from Center City into South Philly is the ever-popular Italian BYOB, with styles ranging from elegant (the first-come-first-served Melograno near Rittenhouse Square) to the new old-school (the authentic Caffe Valentino and Trattoria Lucca in South Philly) to recent pre-theater favorites (Branzino and Sushi on the Square), plus dozens of neighborhood favorites in between. BYOBs are booming outside the city as well, with New American newcomers Fayette Street Grill in Conshohocken, Kennett Square’s The Orchard and Alison at Blue Bell, owned by Striped Bass alum Alison Barshak.