5 Best Restaurants in Bucks County, Pennsylvania

The exterior resembles a diner, but don't be mislead: this BYO restaurant—helmed by former Marsha Brown executive chef Caleb Lentchner—serves not only breakfast and a variety of sandwiches and salads, but also locally-inspired New American fare at dinner in a country-village setting. Ladies who lunch come for the harvest chicken and "big" apple salad, avocado toast, fish tacos, or the signature burger.

If you come to this sweet D-town spot expecting familiar flavors, you'll be delightfully disappointed. Hip Honey is refreshingly different. The eating experience is all about sampling by way of a seasonally changing menu of small plates meant to be shared. "Black Velvet" oysters quiver beneath Guinness reduction and smoked steelhead roe. Kale salad benefits from puffed rice, five-spiced cashews, and shaved Asian pear. The appetizer-size portions might range from a $5 exotic olive plate to $32 foie-gras sliders. Order at least two plates per person and then see if you want more. Drinks include all-Pennsylvania beers, all-American wines, and all-unexpected specialty cocktails. Even the desserts can be hot and spicy.

If this place had been here in 1776, you can bet that George Washington and company would have stopped in for some lemon-chiffon pancakes, ice-cream treats, or tomato pie (a yummy thin-crust pizza native to the Trenton area) before heading off to stomp the Hessians. Don't let the drive-in facade fool you: there's more here than a good old-fashioned soda fountain, and the "little dive," as it calls itself, serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner. It's just a little north of the Washington Crossing bridge on the New Jersey side.

A casual hangout in the heart of New Hope, Karla's has been open since 1978, offering hearty American food (meat loaf, burgers, and sandwiches) enlivened with some interesting international ingredients. Dine on dishes like panko-crusted mac and cheese, Korean barbecue tacos, and short ribs in cozy rooms with an assemblage of mismatched tables under a corrugated-plastic ceiling, with plants in retro macramé hangers. Part indoors and part out, half restaurant and half bar, some shabby and some chic, Karla's feels like an old comfortable pair of jeans.

From the whisk-shaped door handles to the colander lamps to the sandwiches named after cartoon characters, Lilly's is full of fun. This busy downtown counter-service lunch spot also serves inventive salads and soups, which you can eat in the small, lively dining room or take with you. Try the Mr. Magoo wrap (marinated veggies, black bean salad, fresh mozzarella, spinach, and chipotle spread) or the Aquaman sandwich (blackened salmon, cucumber ribbons, sliced tomato, goat cheese, and balsamic vinegarette on multigrain bread). Make sure you read the blackboards, which list the specials. Beer and wine are available, and in the morning you can get a light breakfast of muffins, bagels, and fresh fruit.