When chef Evan Snyder and business partner Julian van der Tak began searching for a home for Emmett a few years ago, they envisioned a restaurant that could do it all: an ambitious chef’s counter, hearth cooking, and a broad exploration of Mediterranean flavors. The Girard Avenue space they found wasn’t large enough. So when Emmett opened in early 2025, they focused on becoming a neighborhood restaurant first.
This fall, the partners plan to open Jean (pronounced “gene”), a 15-seat fireside tasting-menu restaurant above Emmett at 161 W. Girard Ave., the former home of destinations such as Modo Mio and Cadence. Rather than expand across town, they chose to build the missing piece just upstairs.
The team from Emmett (from left): managing partner Julian van der Tak, general manager Marissa Chirico, chef-partner Evan Snyder, and chef de cuisine Antonio Pizzo.
“We could have opened another restaurant somewhere else,” van der Tak said. “But the best part is, I can walk 12 steps and be in both restaurants.”
For nearly two years before opening Emmett, Snyder and van der Tak staged pop-ups while searching for a property that could accommodate both a neighborhood restaurant and a chef’s counter. They never found one.
“The original idea was always a larger restaurant that combined what upstairs will be with what downstairs became,” van der Tak said. “It was always meant to have a chef’s-counter feel and blend these cultures, but we simply couldn’t do it here because of the space.”
Rather than seeking a new location, they decided to finish the concept in the former apartment above the restaurant.
“In many ways, upstairs is the concept we originally imagined for Emmett,” Snyder said. “Downstairs became what it is because it was our first restaurant, because of the demands of the neighborhood, and because initially people didn’t yet trust us.”
Jean will center on a seven-foot wood-burning hearth, where Snyder and chef de cuisine Antonio Pizzo plan a 12-course tasting menu inspired by French North Africa — particularly coastal Morocco — and the southern Mediterranean. Emmett’s menu draws more heavily from the eastern Mediterranean and the Levant.
For van der Tak, who grew up in southern France, the menu reflects childhood memories shaped by the country’s colonizing of Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, and Lebanon.
“Especially in southern France, those influences are deeply ingrained in the food, the personalities, and the people,” he said. “It’s essentially become part of the southern French identity.”
A tagine that begins cooking as guests are seated, and roasts over the hearth throughout dinner, will be served family-style with Egyptian flatbread, dips, ferments, and pickles after a series of smaller courses.
Snyder believes customers are ready for something more ambitious. “We’ve earned that trust,” he said. “Now we’re asking guests to trust us a little more and let us present a more ambitious experience.”
Despite the tasting-menu format, the partners insist that Jean won’t feel formal. Inspired by Henri Matisse’s Moroccan paintings, the dining room is designed as a fireside parlor with custom ceramics by Lauren Rider and Megan Stover, glassware from Philadelphia’s Remark Glass, and artwork by local artist Jacob Des.
Wine director and general manager Marissa Chirico will oversee an Old World-focused wine program alongside a small selection of batched classic cocktails. Snyder expects the menu to start around $225, though pricing has not been set.
“I don’t want to be the guy who opens charging $300 just because everyone else does,” Snyder said. “We’re still a family-run, community-driven restaurant. I don’t want people to feel gouged. I want them to leave feeling they got value.”
Construction has continued without interrupting Emmett’s nightly service. Before Jean opens, Snyder plans to preview the concept through collaborative pop-ups in other cities.
“When people hear ‘tasting menu,’ they assume you’re chasing something,” van der Tak said. “That’s not what this is. The opportunity came along, financially it made sense, and what’s important to us is that the restaurant feels approachable and never stuffy.”
The name continues a family tradition. Emmett is named for Snyder’s son. Jean is the middle name of van der Tak’s son and also honors his maternal grandfather and paternal grandmother.
“It’s just a name with a lot of family history for me,” van der Tak said. “Continuing the theme from downstairs, it’s a very deeply personal project for us. We want to carry on our family legacy and do something that’s really important and close to home.”
How does Philly celebrate Philly’s food scene? With an awards show that includes a special category for condiments, an honor for the best neighborhood restaurant, and an after-party with an Italian Market-themed speakeasy.
Those were some of the highlights from the Tasties, the second edition of the Philly-based culinary awards for hospitality professionals. The party is thrown by the hosts of the Delicious City podcast (James Beard award-winning chef Eli Kulp, food influencer Dave Wez, and 93.3 WMMR radio host Marisa Magnatta). Chefs, bartenders, and dishwashers were among the more than 600 attendees at Sunday night’s event at South Philly’s Live! Casino.
Here are the Tasties’ 2026 winners, from Philly’s best new restaurant to city’s best hospitality experience, frozen dessert, and breakfast. Read on for more background on this now-annual awards ceremony.
Best New Restaurant & Craft Cocktail Excellence: La Jefa
It was a big night for La Jefa, the “Guadaladelphian” all-day cafe and cocktail bar from the Suro family that functions as the trendier sibling to the more distinguished Tequilas next door. The restaurant, which opened in May, took home two honors — for Best New Restaurant and Craft Cocktail experience — making it one of two restaurants to do so. La Jefa beat out Little Water, Emmett, and Amá in the Best New Restaurant category, as well as Kampar, Messina Social Club, and Next of Kin for craft cocktails.
By day, La Jefa is a destination brunch and coffee spot, with a menu that spans omelette-style chilaquiles, huevos verdes, conchas, and experimental lattes with flavors like burnt corn tortilla and guava caramel. At night, the space transforms into a sleek cocktail bar with light bites and easy-drinking cocktails, like tepache highballs, agua frescas spiked with aged El Dorado rum, and cilantro gimlets. Its back bar, La Jefa Milpa, is a more serious drinking experience, with a cocktail list designed in consultation with James Beard award-winning mixologist Danny Childs.
The Lovers Bar at Friday Saturday Sunday, which won Excellence in Hospitality at the The Tasties in 2026.
Friday Saturday Sunday won Excellence in Hospitality, an award that celebrates the front of the house, said Kulp. The Michelin-starred, James Beard award-winning restaurant helmed by Chad and Hanna Williams is notably unstuffy, with its downstairs walk-ins-only bar taking on a reputation of its own as the perfect place to fall in love or become a regular. Friday Saturday Sunday was up against Her Place Supper Club, Honeysuckle, and Kalaya.
Standout Bakery or Pastry Chef: Emily Riddell, Machine Shop
Machine Shop owner and pastry chef Emily Riddell took home the Tasties’ award for Standout Bakery or Pastry chef, adding to the South Philly bakery’s honors from Food & Wine magazine and the New York Times. Riddell, who honed her pastry skills at Le Bec-Fin, is known equally for her savory laminated pastries (think everything bagel croissants and shakshuka-esque danishes) as she is for her sweets, which include ginger-spiced cookies and lemon tarts topped with torched meringues. Riddell beat out Majdal Bakery’s Kenan Rabah, Baby Kusina’s McBryan Lesperance, and Provenance’s Abby Dahan.
Chef-partner at Emmett Evan Snyder grills a halibut over charcoal. Snyder won Breakout Chef at the 2026 Tasties awards.
Chef-owner Evan Snyder took home the Tasties’ Breakout Chef award for his work at Emmett, the Levantine-inspired restaurant he opened on Girard Avenue last January. Named after his toddler, Emmett is a forum for Snyder to revamp flavors of his childhood: His grandmother’s stuffed cabbage become malfoufs stuffed with foie gras, and traditional boreks are reimagined with braised short rib and melted comté cheese. It’s a menu that landed Emmett on Esquire’s best new restaurant’s list, plus praise from Inquirer critic Craig LaBan. Snyder has a knack for “artfully layering multiple components into a dish that eats like a journey,” LaBan wrote in April.
Others in the Breakout Chef category were Dane DeMarco of Gass & Main, Jacob Trinh of Little Fish, and Sam Henzy of Fork.
La Jefa didn’t steal all the thunder from its older sibling. Tequilas, the fine-dining Mexican restaurant from David Suro-Piñera, took home the night’s Icon Award. Suro-Piñera first opened Tequilas in 1986 to celebrate traditional Mexican cooking and agave spirits beyond its namesake alcohol. After a kitchen fire closed the Locust Street restaurant in 2023, Suro-Piñera and family spent two years rehabbing Tequilas (and creating La Jefa inside of its adjoining Latimer Street space). The original restaurant reopened last spring, with the same ornate decor and a menu that reaches far beyond Suro-Piñera’s native Guadalajara to other regions of Mexico. Tequilas “not only came back” Kulp said, “they came back bigger and better.”
Fork, Monk’s Cafe, and Oyster House were the other Philadelphia institutions vying for the Icon Award.
From left: The Banh Mi Xiu May, Bun Bo Hue Dac Biet, and the chicken curry at Cafe Nhan, which received the Best Neighborhood Gem award at the 2026 Tasties.
Vietnamese restaurant Cafe Nhan won the Neighborhood Gem award. Run by mother-son duo Nhan Vo and Andrew Dinh Vo, Cafe Nhan is a West Passyunk go-to for hearty bowls of soup and crispy fried chicken wings. The restaurant’s signature bún bò hue dac biet — a spicy lemongrass soup from Central Vietnam loaded with brisket and pig’s feet — and gluten-free pho — rank among the best in the city.
Other contestants for Neighborhood Gem included Cafe Nhan neighbor Stina, as well as Baby’s Kusina in Brewerytown and the Breakfast Den on South Street.
Restaurant and Chef of the Year: Phila Lorn & Mawn
The Mawn team, including chef-owner Phila Lorn, added another feather to their caps at the Tasties, taking home top honors for both Restaurant and Chef of the Year. According to Kulp, Lorn brought the entire staff of both Mawn and its sister oyster bar, Sao, to the Tasties Sunday night.
Mawn co-owner and executive chef Phila Lorn accepts the award for Chef of the Year at the 2026 Tasties.
Blue Corn, Her Place Supper Club, and Royal Sushi were also nominated for Restaurant of the Year. Royal Sushi owner Jessie Ito rounded out the Chef of the Year category alongside Thanh Nguyen of Gabriella’s Vietnam and Omar Tate and Cybille St.Aude-Tate of Honeysuckle.
Celebrating excellence in all matter of frozen desserts (ice cream, gelato, and water ice), the Brain Freeze Bestie people’s choice award went to Milk Jawn. Co-owned by Amy Wilson and Ryan Miller, the small-batch ice cream purveyor started as a hobby before spawning two storefronts in South Philly and Northern Liberties. Milk Jawn beat out Franklin Fountain, Coco’s Gelato, John’s Water Ice, Siddiq’s Water Ice, and Cuzzy’s Ice Cream.
The Migas breakfast taco from Taco Heart, which won the people’s choice Breakfast of Champions Award at the 2026 Tasties.
The Breakfast of Champions pitted breakfast sandwiches against tacos against diner plates. Austin-style taqueria Taco Heart and its flour-tortilla wrapped breakfast tacos ultimately won, beating out Fishtown diner Sulimays, and breakfast sandwiches from Fiore, Gilda, Paffuto, and Homegrown215.
The Sauce Boss is the Tasties’ people’s choice award for best condiment. Sea Isle City hot sauce brand Hank Sauce took home the prize, likely pushed over the edge by an Instagram endorsement from their new investor Jason Kelce, who called it the perfect condiment for “eggs without any f— flavor.” Other nominees included boutique mayo brand Jawndiments, Willow Grove’s Mammoth Sauce Co., Sunny Chili Oil, Kensington Food Co., and Chili Peppah Water from Inquirer food writer Kiki Aranita’s sauce brand Poi Dog.
Pho with steak, flank, fatty brisket, tendon, and tripe from South Philadelphia’s Pho 75, which received the people’s choice Supreme Slurp Award at the 2026 Tasties.
The Supreme Slurp is exactly what it sounds like: A people’s choice award for soup. Washington Avenue pho shop Pho 75 took home the prize, beating out potato soup from dive bar Cherry Street Tavern; French onion soup from Forsythia; matzo ball soup from Hershel’s East Side Deli; ramen from Terakawa; and the Souper Bowl from Sang Kee Peking Duck House.
Deliberations started in October, when a 14-member nomination committee of local food writers, content creators, and past winners whittled down a list of hundreds of restaurants. From there, a smaller panel of judges (including Inquirer food desk editors Margaret Eby and Jenn Ladd) rate the finalists. People’s choice voting occurs for sillier categories; more than 1,200 people cast ballots for the people’s choice awards this year, Kulp said.
From left: “Delicious City” podcast cohosts Dave Wez, Eli Kulp, and Marisa Magnatta post onstage at the Tasties culinary awards at Live! Hotel & Casino on Feb. 2, 2026.
The Tasties includes all the standard award show categories, as well as more bespoke accolades. At Sunday’s ceremony, Miriam Bautista of Vernick Fish won the Dish Wizard award, an honor bestowed upon the city’s best dishwasher. Sous chefs at La Croix, Little Water, and Pesto all took home Future Tastemaskers awards, which come with $1,000 grants for professional development.
At the Tasties, “there are no losers,” Kulp said. “It’s so cliche, but it’s really an award [show] where you can throw a dart to pick a winner and no one would argue.”
Emmett, the Kensington restaurant serving modern Levantine cuisine, has found itself on a coveted list: Esquire’s Best New Restaurants. It is the only Philadelphia establishment recognized on the list. The 30-seat restaurant is already perpetually busy, but since the list was announced Dec. 1, chef-owner Evan Snyder, 33, has seen an uptick in reservations on OpenTable.
He had been sitting on the news — or at least, some suspicion of it — for the last two weeks, since he received an invitation from Esquire for the list’s unveiling party in New York. The list was compiled by editor Jeff Gordinier and writers Joshua David Stein and Amethyst Ganaway; Stein was responsible for Emmett’s inclusion. He visited twice this past year and in Emmett’s segment of the article praised its rye tartlet filled with American wagyu tartare, sesame madeleine with baharat butter, corn agnolotti with tahina, and duck breast.
The rye-wagyu tartlet at Emmett, 161 W. Girard Ave., in Philadelphia, Pa., on Thursday, March 27, 2025.
Snyder was particularly delighted by Stein’s focus on these menu stalwarts. “The tartlet and madeleine are staples that will probably never come off the menu, as well as the dry-aged duck, which we age for 21 days, quite a bit longer than most people age ducks. The agnolotti with tahina is a set that changes micro-seasonally. These are all the things he enjoyed,” said Snyder.
Sesame Madeleines with Ras al Hanout butter at Emmett, 161 W. Girard Ave., in Philadelphia, Pa., on Thursday, March 27, 2025.
Emmett, named after Snyder’s 2-year-old son, opened Jan. 28, after he had run the concept as a pop-up for two years prior.
The outside of Emmett, 161 W. Girard Ave., in Philadelphia, Pa., on Thursday, March 27, 2025.
Snyder is most thrilled that the recognition gives his team “a shine.”
“It’s the most important thing to me that [my team] is proud of what they’re doing and where they work.”
