Where To Have Your Birthday Dinner In Philly - Philadelphia - The Infatuation

"Royal Sushi & Izakaya has two distinct moods—and they both work for any kind of birthday celebration you want to have. In the izakaya section, you can sit in a booth and watch anime, pay as little as $4 for a beer, and eat things like chili beets covered in miso or pan-seared pork gyoza. But when you want to have a night where you're catered to like Oprah’s favorite spaniel, try their 17-piece omakase. It includes things like Washington state kumamoto oysters and their chutoro caviar—a mix of fatty Spanish bluefin and Osetra caviar. Each option works for different occasions, but they’ll both give you a memorable experience. Royal's sushi omakase is the single hardest reservation to book in Philadelphia. (At the end of the meal, diners can rebook for the following month, and many do—thus creating a defacto club of omakase regulars.) Open slots become available 30 days in advance, so we suggest setting an alarm or 10 and signing up for the waitlist notifications. It's rare, but not unheard of, to get a last-minute reservation. Alternatively, you could dine in the walk-in-only izakaya portion of the restaurant, get “lost” heading to the bathroom, and try to blend in with the Eagles player gulping toro." - candis mclean, alison kessler