7 Philadelphia restaurants and chefs named finalists for 2026 James Beard Awards in Chicago
Philadelphia's renowned restaurant scene has scored seven finalists for the 2026 James Beard Foundation Awards in Chicago.
Three bars and restaurants are up for Outstanding Restaurant, Best New Restaurant and Outstanding Bar, respectively, and three Philadelphia chefs are competing in the Best Chef, Mid-Atlantic category.
The Philadelphia-area finalists are:
Outstanding Bar
- Lovers Bar at Friday Saturday Sunday in Center City
Outstanding Restaurant
- Kalaya in Kensington
Best New Restaurant
- Emmett in Kensington
Best Chef, Mid-Atlantic
- Jesse Ito, Royal Sushi & Izakaya in Queen Village. Ito recently opened a second restaurant in Philly called dancerobot.
- Amanda Shulman, Her Place Supper Club in Center City. Her Place Supper Club earned one of the city's first Michelin stars.
- Omar Tate and Cybille St. Aude-Tate, Honeysuckle in North Philadelphia
The 2026 James Beard Foundation Awards will be held in Chicago through 2028, CBS Chicago reported Tuesday. Programming will take place over three days in June, with the restaurant and chef awards taking place on June 15.
In 2025, Phila Lorn, a chef at Mawn in South Philadelphia, took home a James Beard Award in the Emerging Chef category.
In 2024, Vietnam Restaurant was among the winners of the America's Classics Award.