Grandma’s Philly

Grandma’s Philly gives Chef Locket’s family cooking a place in Center City. The chef describes her food as rooted in her grandmother’s recipes and the dishes of her Thai childhood. The restaurant’s idea of Thai tapas translates that background into small and shared plates, allowing a table to build a meal gradually. Its menu moves between soups, herb-driven salads, curries and noodles, with enough range to accommodate diners who want familiar preparations and others who are ready to try a different combination.

Small plates provide an especially useful starting point. Curry puffs combine chicken, potato and onion within pastry; sai ua brings Northern Thai pork sausage, herbs and spice to the table. Crisp chive cakes or satay skewers add another texture without forcing the meal immediately toward a large main course. The salads take the order in a brighter direction: larb ped combines minced duck, Thai herbs, toasted rice powder, chili and lime. Choosing a salad alongside a richer fried or grilled preparation helps give the shared meal variation, rather than accumulating dishes with similar weight and seasoning.

The larger plates extend well beyond the idea of appetizers. Khao soi uses soft egg noodles in a coconut curry soup, with crisp noodles, pickled mustard greens, shallots and lime. Pad kee mao offers a stir-fried route, while curries allow the table to make rice the center of the meal instead. The cocktail list also draws on Thai ingredients through pandan, mango and tea. Grandma’s Philly suits diners who want an approachable shared dinner with a personal culinary story behind it. The restaurant’s appeal is in moving between recognizable dishes and less familiar plates, with the table deciding how far that exploration should go.

Sources: Grandma’s Philly: chef Locket, cooking, contact and hours · Grandma’s Philly: dine-in menu linked from its main page · Grandma’s Philly: official drinks menu · Grandma’s Philly: Google Maps listing