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South Philly, fed
Rowhomes, folding chairs on the sidewalk, and the best sandwich density in America. Come hungry, leave heavier.
South Philly is the part of the city everybody thinks they know from movies, and it's still mostly true. Long blocks of brick rowhomes, a Wawa cup on every stoop, somebody's uncle yelling about the Eagles in October. It's also way more than red gravy now. Mexican families run half of 9th Street, Washington Avenue is a pho strip, and there's Indonesian, Cambodian and Filipino cooking all over the place.
For a stoner this is the most efficient neighborhood in Philly. Everything worth eating is close together, the streets are a grid, and you can walk from a cheesesteak to a cannoli to a bowl of pho without ever needing a plan. This page is the South Philly food guide plus the stuff to do between meals.
What South Philly feels like, plus a little history
South Philly runs from South Street down to the stadiums, river to river, and it's dense. The Italian immigrant story is the backbone. The 9th Street market started in the late 1800s around a boarding house for new arrivals, the shops moved off pushcarts into storefronts around 1904, and the city chartered the market district in 1915. That's the same strip people still walk every Saturday.
The other piece is the Mummers. The New Year's Day parade began in South Philadelphia in 1901, and the clubs that build those sequin suits and feathered backpieces are still neighborhood institutions. You'll hear string band practice through a clubhouse wall if you walk 2nd Street at the right time of year.
Today the block culture is the same and the faces are more mixed. Vietnamese, Mexican, Cambodian and Indonesian families are a huge reason the food beats almost anywhere else in the city.
Things to do in South Philadelphia
Most of this is walkable from the Italian Market. The stadiums are the exception, ride the Broad Street Line down.
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Bella Vista / Italian Market
The Italian Market
9th St. between Fitzwater and Wharton Sts., Philadelphia, PA 19147It calls itself the nation's oldest outdoor market, and it looks the part: metal awnings, crates of produce on the sidewalk, fish on ice, cheese shops with wheels stacked to the ceiling. The east side was historically fish and produce, the west side cheese, bakeries and restaurants, and that pattern still mostly holds.
It isn't just Italian anymore. Mexican taquerias and groceries sit between the old butchers, which is the best thing that ever happened to this street.
TipGo Saturday morning for the full show, and bring cash for the stands.
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Passyunk Square
Pat's and Geno's
9th St. and Passyunk Ave., Philadelphia, PA 19147Two cheesesteak rivals staring each other down across one triangle of asphalt. Pat's claims the invention, from a 1930 hot dog stand on this corner. Geno's opened across the street in 1966 and has more neon than Atlantic City.
Is either one the best steak in the city? Debatable. Is standing on this corner at night, a little lifted, holding a whiz wit under the lights, a Philly rite? Yes. Our eat guide covers how to order.
TipOrder fast, step aside, eat standing up. That's the whole experience.
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Pennsport
Mummers Museum
1100 S. 2nd St., Philadelphia, PA 19147One of the small museums the city built for the 1976 Bicentennial. Inside: old costumes, instruments, parade footage on a big screen, and the history of the Comics, the String Bands and the Fancy Brigades.
You can learn the Mummers Strut and push buttons to build your own string band medley. That is exactly as fun as it sounds when you're baked.
TipCheck its site before you go, hours are limited.
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Stadium District
The South Philly sports complex
Three venues in one parking lot at the bottom of Broad Street: Lincoln Financial Field for the Eagles, Citizens Bank Park for the Phillies, and the arena for the Sixers, Flyers and concerts. The arena is Xfinity Mobile Arena now, formerly the Wells Fargo Center. People will call it the Wells Fargo Center for at least a decade.
Tailgating here is a sport on its own. Parking lot grills, cornhole, everyone in green.
TipTake the Broad Street Line down and let the train deal with the traffic.
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South Street
Philadelphia's Magic Gardens
1020 South St., Philadelphia, PA 19147A nonprofit art space that's basically a half block of Isaiah Zagar mosaic: mirrors, bottles, bike wheels and broken tile built into walls and alleys you can walk through. Zagar started working on South Street in the 1960s and covered hundreds of walls around here.
He died in 2026 at 86. Walking the maze now hits a little heavier, in a good way.
TipLook up and look down. Some of the best pieces are in the floors.
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Washington Ave
Washington Avenue's food strip
The stretch of Washington Avenue between the Italian Market and Broad is a long row of Vietnamese shopping plazas, bakeries and pho houses. It's not pretty. It's car dealers and warehouses and strip malls. It's also where the comedown soup is.
TipBa Le Bakery at 606 Washington Ave. is the banh mi stop.
Where to eat in South Philly
This is where the South Philly food guide earns its name. Skip the urge to only do cheesesteaks. The neighborhood's best sandwich is roast pork, and some of its best cooking isn't Italian at all.
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Pennsport
John's Roast Pork
14 E. Snyder Ave., Philadelphia, PA 19148A sandwich shack by the train tracks that's been open since 1930 and is run by the third generation of the Bucci family. The James Beard Foundation named it an America's Classic in 2006.
Roast pork, sharp provolone, greens on a seeded roll. The steak is great too, but you came for the pork.
TipDaytime only. Plan your munchies around it, not the other way around.
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Washington Ave
Pho 75
1122 Washington Ave., Philadelphia, PA 19147Plain room, quick service, no small talk, very good soup. It's been the baseline Philly pho for years and nothing about it has gotten fancy.
TipLoad it with basil, sprouts and hot sauce and don't talk until you're done.
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Italian Market
Taqueria La Prima
1104 S. 9th St., Philadelphia, PA 19147A late-night taco counter right in the market. Every order comes with pickled nopales, grilled scallions and roasted jalapeños, which turns a few tacos into a full plate. The pork rind tacos are the thing people come back for.
TipThis is the after-dark answer on 9th Street when the steak line is too long.
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South Philly
Cosmi's Deli
1501 S. 8th St., Philadelphia, PA 19147Corner deli, big hoagies, imported meats sliced to order. A real South Philly Italian hoagie with prosciutto or mortadella is a two-meal situation.
TipGet a whole, eat half, save half for the 1am fridge raid.
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Point Breeze
Hardena
1754 S. Hicks St., Philadelphia, PA 19145Indonesian, run out of a small rowhome storefront, with a menu that changes daily. The beef rendang is the one to get. It's takeout-friendly, which makes it perfect for home base.
TipPoint at what looks good in the case. That's the system.
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South Philly
Federal Donuts & Chicken
22 Wolf St., Philadelphia, PADonuts, twice-fried chicken and coffee. The flagship started in Pennsport in 2011 and now lives on Wolf Street. A menu that only makes sense to stoned people and geniuses.
TipChicken and a hot fresh donut in one order. Do not overthink it.
A perfect South Philly day
Wake up late, then do the Italian Market on foot: walk 9th Street from Fitzwater south, poke into the cheese shops, grab tacos at La Prima if it's lunchtime. Keep going down to Pat's and Geno's just to look at the neon, then cut over to Washington Avenue for banh mi at Ba Le or a bowl at Pho 75. Afternoon, head back to home base for a sesh and a nap. Evening, grab a ride to the stadiums if there's a game, or head up to South Street for the Magic Gardens before close and a slice after. End with water ice on the walk home if it's summer. Let somebody else drive, always.
Neighborhoods next door
East Passyunk is technically inside South Philly and it's the sit-down restaurant row, the Avenue runs right off the Pat's and Geno's corner. Head north past South Street and you're in Center City. Cross the Schuylkill west and you hit West Philly. For more food across the whole city, the eat guide has you.
Questions about South Philly
What is South Philly known for?
Food first: the 9th Street Italian Market, the Pat's and Geno's cheesesteak rivalry, roast pork sandwiches and a long strip of Vietnamese restaurants on Washington Avenue. It's also home to the Mummers and to all of Philly's pro sports venues, which sit together at the bottom of Broad Street.
Is Pat's or Geno's better?
Neither wins on taste for most locals, they're more about the corner and the history. Pat's claims it invented the cheesesteak in 1930, and Geno's opened across the street in 1966. Go once for the experience, then try the rest of the eat guide.
How old is the Italian Market in Philadelphia?
The market grew up in the late 1800s around a boarding house for Italian immigrants on 9th Street. Merchants started moving into storefronts around 1904, and the city chartered the district in 1915.
What is the Wells Fargo Center called now?
Xfinity Mobile Arena. It used to be the Wells Fargo Center, and it's still the home of the Sixers and Flyers at the South Philly sports complex.
Can you smoke weed on your stoop in South Philly?
A stoop faces a public sidewalk, so lighting up there can count as smoking in public, which is a civil fine in Philly. Most people keep it inside or in the back yard. The full rundown is on our where to smoke page.