"It can take a lot to get people to suffer through the chaos on I-76 just for a meal. But with The Landing Kitchen in Bala cooking up everything from shakshuka to a sausage, egg, and cheese topped with salsa verde, we suggest you make the trip. With the Schuylkill River within eyeshot, an old steel mill aesthetic, and garden games like cornhole on the patio, there’s no other place in Philly quite like this American spot. Plus, the menu makes it much more than a place with a great view and lots of activities (we love their fried chicken sandwich and smoked salmon toast)." - candis mclean, alison kessler
"This casual all-day cafe operated by the Lark team on the ground floor of the same Bala hotel is a must for great breakfast sandwiches, a casual lunch with friends, or a game of cornhole on the patio with the kids. Take your coffee outside to the Adirondack chairs and linger until lunch for their flavor-blasted grilled cheese, wagyu hotdog with furikake, and rosemary spritz." - jonathan deutsch
"Sure, it’s worth the trip to Bala for The Landing Kitchen’s shakshuka, fried chicken sandwich, and smoked salmon toast. But the riverside American restaurant also has a huge, contained patio full of garden games and room for kids to make chalk art only a parent could love." - alison kessler
"Room to run makes this suburban cafe from chef Nicholas Elmi and partner Fia Berisha (BE Hospitality) a go-to for families. At the Landing Kitchen’s riverside patio, kids can play and color with chalk while everyone enjoys the Top Chef winner’s all-day food and drink, from grilled cheese and barbecue fries to avocado toast and sparkling rosé for the parents." - Ernest Owens
"In 2021, Nick Elmi and Fia Berisha opened this suburban all-day cafe with a sunny patio overlooking the Schuylkill. The kitchen opens early to serve an array of eye-openers including hearty breakfast sandwiches, fresh-pressed juices, pours from Rival Bros Coffee, artfully topped toasts, and lunch options that run from a soba noodle bowl to a chicken wagyu hot dog." - Ernest Owens