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East Passyunk, the Avenue
One diagonal street, a fountain that plays music, and more good restaurants per block than anywhere else in South Philly.
East Passyunk Avenue cuts across the South Philly grid at an angle, which is the first clue it's older than everything around it. It starts at the Pat's and Geno's corner and runs southwest, lined with two and three story storefronts, red sauce joints that have been there forever, and newer spots that people cross the city to book.
Locals just call it the Avenue. It's the best date night strip in the city and a great place to wander with the munchies, because you can walk ten blocks and pass a pie shop, a taco counter, an Abruzzese trattoria and a gelato window. This guide covers East Passyunk Avenue restaurants plus what to do between plates.
The Avenue: vibe and a short history
Passyunk was a Lenape trade route long before it was a street, and the name comes from a Lenape word usually translated as "in the valley." Nobody agrees on how to say it. Most people land somewhere near "pash-unk." Say it with confidence and you're fine.
For most of the 1900s this was a straight-up Italian South Philly shopping street. A business improvement district started pushing hard on the corridor in the 2000s, and the restaurant wave followed. Today it's a mix: old guys on lawn chairs outside the social club, new parents with strollers, a line out the door at whatever opened last month. The rowhome blocks off the Avenue are still regular South Philly, which is why it never got too precious.
Things to do in East Passyunk
The Avenue is the attraction. Walk it slow, from the Pat's and Geno's end down toward Broad.
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East Passyunk Crossing
The Singing Fountain
E. Passyunk Ave. at Tasker and 11th Sts., Philadelphia, PAA concrete plaza where Tasker, 11th and the Avenue meet, with a fountain and a sound system that plays music. It opened in 2004, nearly went dry until a neighborhood fundraiser saved it in 2009, and got a tile and drainage restoration in 2024. There are benches and chess boards now.
It's the town square. Summer nights, half the neighborhood is here with ice cream.
TipGrab something from a takeout window and do your people-watching here.
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Bok Building
Bok Bar
800 Mifflin St., Philadelphia, PA 19148A seasonal rooftop bar on the 8th floor of the Bok Building, a 1936 vocational high school that's now studios, shops and small businesses. The skyline view is one of the best in the city, and the season brings chef residencies and free dance and drag nights.
It's first come, first served, 21+ after sunset, and runs roughly spring through fall.
TipGo at golden hour and stay until the city lights come on. There's no parking, so ride over.
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Passyunk Square
Pat's and Geno's
9th St. and Passyunk Ave., Philadelphia, PA 19147The north end of the Avenue starts at the most famous cheesesteak standoff in America. Pat's claims the cheesesteak from 1930, Geno's opened across the street in 1966. It's worth seeing at night when the neon is fully on. More on ordering in the eat guide.
TipStart your walk here and work south.
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East Passyunk
D'Emilio's Old World Ice Treats
1928 E. Passyunk Ave., Philadelphia, PA 19148Soft serve, gelato and sorbetto, right across from Le Virtù. Not a meal. Exactly what you want after one.
TipDessert stop on the way back to home base.
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East Passyunk
Shopping the Avenue
The storefronts between the restaurants are mostly small independent shops: South Fellini for Philly-joke T-shirts, Occasionette for gifts and cards, Philly Typewriter if you want to touch actual typewriters, Nice Things Handmade for local makers. It's great browsing when you're a little lifted and not in a hurry.
TipWeekend afternoons, everything's open and the sidewalks are busy in a good way.
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East Passyunk
Avenue events
The business district throws a winter restaurant week, Flavors on the Avenue in spring, and a tree lighting in December. Miracle on South 13th Street is one residential block that goes all-out with holiday lights, and it's a legendary slow walk.
TipCheck dates each year before you go.
Where to eat on East Passyunk Avenue
The best East Passyunk Avenue restaurants, most of them on the Avenue or a block off it. Book ahead for dinner on weekends.
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East Passyunk
Le Virtù
1927 E. Passyunk Ave., Philadelphia, PA 19148Cooking from Abruzzo, the mountain region of Italy, with handmade pasta, house-cured meats and lamb dishes. It's the place that made people take the Avenue seriously, and it still hosts La Panarda, a famously huge multi-course feast.
TipGet pasta and a lamb dish and share everything.
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East Passyunk
Stargazy
1838 E. Passyunk Ave., Philadelphia, PA 19148A British pie and mash shop, which is a sentence nobody expected on this street. Sausage rolls, meat pies, sticky toffee pudding, and eel and mash for the brave. Pastry plus gravy is peak munchie food.
TipOrder a sausage roll for the walk.
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Passyunk Square
El Chingón
1524 S. 10th St., Philadelphia, PA 19147Pueblan cooking, a block off the Avenue, with bread baked in house. The cemitas are the move: big sesame rolls stacked with milanesa, avocado and cheese. Choriqueso tacos are the other order.
TipOne cemita can feed two normal people or one stoned one.
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East Passyunk
Juana Tamale
1941 E. Passyunk Ave., Philadelphia, PA 19148Small Mexican spot with limited hours and a cult following for birria tacos and queso birria ramen. Dunk everything in the consommé.
TipCheck its hours first, it's not open every day.
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East Passyunk
River Twice
1601 E. Passyunk Ave., Philadelphia, PA 19148The nice-dinner option right on the fountain. It does a nightly tasting menu, and there's a burger for people who don't want the full production.
TipDo this one before the sesh, not after. You'll want to be paying attention.
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East Passyunk
CJ & D's Trenton Tomato Pie
1326 E. Passyunk Ave., Philadelphia, PA 19147Trenton-style tomato pie, where the cheese goes down first and the sauce goes on top. The white pie is the sleeper pick.
TipGet one of each and settle the argument yourself.
A perfect night on the Avenue
Start at home base, keep it light. Get dropped at 9th and Passyunk around sunset and look at the Pat's and Geno's neon without buying anything, you're saving room. Walk southwest down the Avenue, browse the shops that are still open, and end up at the Singing Fountain while it's playing. Dinner at Le Virtù or Stargazy depending on whether you want pasta or pie. Walk two more blocks for soft serve at D'Emilio's. If it's Bok Bar season and you've still got legs, cut over to Mifflin Street for the rooftop view. Rideshare home.
Neighborhoods next door
East Passyunk sits inside South Philly, so the Italian Market, Washington Avenue pho and John's Roast Pork are a short walk or ride. North of South Street is Center City. For the whole city's best food sorted by craving, use the eat guide, and if you want to see stuff after dinner, there's the see page.
Questions about East Passyunk
How do you pronounce Passyunk?
There's no settled answer, even among locals. The most common version sounds like "pash-unk," and some say "pash-yunk." Nobody will correct you if you sound sure.
What is East Passyunk known for?
Restaurants. The Avenue is one of the densest dining strips in Philadelphia, with old-school Italian spots and newer places side by side. It's also known for the Singing Fountain plaza and for having Pat's and Geno's at its north end.
Where is the Singing Fountain in Philadelphia?
On East Passyunk Avenue where it meets Tasker and 11th Streets. It opened in 2004 and plays music through a sound system, which is how it got the name.
Can you smoke at the Singing Fountain?
It's a public plaza, so smoking there falls under Philly's public smoking fine. People do the sesh at home before heading out. More on that at our where to smoke page.