Restaurants in Ardmore

Executive chef Mohan, who has commanded Lovash Restaurant’s kitchen for 12 years and been in in the restaurant business for 30 years, infuses an equal blend of color and flavor into his Indian recipes. He tosses chicken into bright-red sun-dried-tomato sauce, marinates tender lamb in coconut milk, and sprinkles spices across wilted spinach and yellow cheese cubes. The colorful dishes mimic the stained-glass chandeliers that hang overhead to illuminate portraits hanging from the exposed-brick walls. The BYOB eatery also has a private dining room to host family gatherings and laid-back jury deliberations.

Wok Chinese Seafood Restaurant fills its vast menu with an atlas of eats, drawing inspiration from China’s Hunan and Szechuan provinces as well as the capital city of Beijing. The kitchen prepares traditional favorites, whipping together hot and spicy shrimp and steamed sea bass in a scallion-ginger sauce alongside beef with broccoli and chicken lo mein. The menu also includes house specialties such as the Dragon and Phoenix, whose chicken breasts, lobster meat, and snow peas are not formally recognized by zoologists as either dragon or phoenix. Red lanterns hang above the dining room, where a mural of a woman flying through swirling clouds is complemented by the whimsy of each table’s pink-cloth napkins.

The chefs at Gigi Restaurant & Lounge draw upon the culinary traditions of America, Spain and Thailand. For example, the eatery’s empanadas—traditional Spanish stuffed pastries—burst open to reveal the shredded beef, mushrooms, peppers, and cheddar of a Philly cheesesteak. Stir-fry coated with a sweet chili teriyaki glaze hails from Asia, and seafood paella crafted with shrimp, calamari, and mussels pays further tribute to the dishes of Spain. Meals unfold in an expansive al fresco dining area or an indoor dining room where the latest sports flicker across flat-screen televisions every day until 2 a.m. Along with game nights, Gigi entertains patrons with karaoke, live music, Sunday brunch, and VIP tasting events, where visitors might finally have a chance to steal a lock of hair from an alderman.

Many things have changed since Snockey’s Oyster and Crab House first opened in 1912—the menu now serves scallops, mussels, and Maine lobster thanks to third-generation owners Ken and Skip Snock. However, the restaurant’s insistence on using fresh, local seafood and some of its original recipes, including Mrs. Snockey’s original oyster stew, have remained unchanged, like a stubborn Precambrian fossil.

In the wake of Snockey’s 100th anniversary, Phillyburbs.com called the restaurant a “seafood staple for locals and visitors alike,” lavishing particular praise on the variety of oysters available at the raw bar. Oysters come from as far away as the west coast, but most originate in nearby waterways such as Delaware Bay and Cape Cod. There’s also a large selection of cooked seafood including fried shrimp, broiled Atlantic flounder, and steamed littleneck clams.

Growing up in South Philadelphia, Angelo Lutz spent hours looking on as his Italian grandmother handcrafted meals for their family. Now, as the head chef at The Kitchen Consigliere Café, Lutz tries to stay true to both Philadelphia and Italy by sourcing ingredients from local merchants and markets to craft time-tested Italian dishes. He molds gnocchi and meatballs in the kitchen and presses panini sandwiches, all the while remembering family recipes and the dangers of getting a chef hat tangled in a ceiling fan.