'Buzziest' Restaurants Of 2022 Including Numerous Lower Merion Spots

LOWER MERION TOWNSHIP, PA — The Main Line is littered with notable restaurants, among them some of the most lauded in the region, as Philadelphia-based chefs and restaurateurs expand to the suburbs.

In 2022, the Lower Merion area had some of the hottest spots to eat, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer.

Food writer Michael Klein wrapped up 2022 with a list of the "buzziest" restaurants of 2022.

Among them were several spots in Ardmore and Bryn Mawr.

Check out the local restaurants Klein said were the buzziest of the year below.

Autana — 4 Station Road, Ardmore

Here's what Klein said:

Chef Levi Hernández (a Four Seasons alum) and his daughter María José offer three menus at their Venezuelan BYOB: coffee and lunch (with tequeños, empanadas, and arepas), and reservation-only dinner Thursday to Sunday with entrees such as costillitas, salmon skewers, and patacon.

Char & Stave — 21 Rittenhouse Place, Ardmore,

Jared Adkins of Phoenixville’s Bluebird Distilling celebrates coffee and cocktails in his comfy, morning-till-late-night room in downtown Ardmore. There’s a pop-up shop now in Chestnut Hill that will be made permanent in spring 2023.

Dua Mediterranean Kitchen — 1000 W. Lancaster Ave. Bryn Mawr

Chef Bledar Istrefi of Mount Airy’s Trattoria Moma has gone to the Main Line for a second BYOB, in the former Tin Lizard Brewing Co.

Fiore Rosso — 915 W. Lancaster Ave., Bryn Mawr

Marc Vetri and Jeff Benjamin (Vetri Cucina, Fiorella) have gone to the Main Line with a high-style, high-ceilinged, high-decibel Italian steakhouse, featuring high-end art and a stylish bar. Tabs are, as you’d imagine, on the high side. Pastas and side plates complement the shareable cuts.

Osushi — 36 Greenfield Ave., Ardmore

Sam Li has extended his sushi empire from Marlton (which opened in 2016) to the former Mount Fuji in Ardmore. The new spot is stylish and moodily lit.

The Pullman — 39 Morris Rd., Bryn Mawr

Mother-daughter restaurateurs Roni and Jennifer Hammer have upgraded the former Tango at the Bryn Mawr train station into a chic but expansive rail-theme bar-restaurant with a traditional menu, cozy dining nooks, live music, and a stunning bar.

Twenty One Pips — 24 Cricket Ave., Ardmore

Matt Hendricks has taken his board-game/bar concept (Thirsty Dice in the city’s Francisville section) out to a big, new space in Ardmore. There are 170 seats and 600 low-tech games plus two vintage Skee-Ball machines and a 3D Pong table. Menu includes locally sourced cheeses, charcuterie, and crudité, plus pub-style dishes and a bar full of cocktails, wines, and beers.

Veekoo — 761 W. Lancaster Ave., Bryn Mawr

Tony and Shelly Li’s stylish BYOBs, which started in Royersford (2003) and added a second location in Berwyn (2014), arrived in Bryn Mawr with pan-Asian menus that hit the basics of Chinese, Thai, and Japanese cuisine.

See the full list online here.