Bastia offers a relaxed alternative to Philadelphia's more popular Italian restaurants

Located in the elegant Anna & Bel boutique hotel in Fishtown, the bar might easily go unnoticed. However, its ambiance is unpretentiously sophisticated: neutral and wood tones, a central fireplace, and inviting private areas.

The menu lives up to the ambiance, focusing on seafood and the flavors of Sardinia and Corsica. Options are available all day, featuring nuts, wheat, vegetables, and cuts of shellfish and crustaceans. The staff is attentive to allergies and explains any unfamiliar ingredients.

The brunch combines dishes from the lunch and dinner menus with a few egg options. Highlights include the semolina pancakes with honey labneh, lemon cream, sumac, and strawberries, sweet without being cloying and filling without being heavy ($22). For vegetarians, there are options like the Honeycrisp apple starter with endives, pecans, and ricotta ($21), or the grilled butternut squash with hearts of palm, white beans, and fennel ($30).

For dessert, try the nectarine tart, flaky and sweet, or the tasty seada sarda, with the three star cheeses (pecorino, mozzarella and ricotta) on homemade plum mustard.

There's no need to leave the hotel for an experimental cocktail: the lounge, Caletta, is just across the hall. There, you can order the Mainstay Tropical Spritz ($20), a blend of dry vermouth, genepy (an alpine herbal liqueur), bianco, and fruity flavors like kiwi, maraschino, pineapple, and lime. Bastia's bar also offers its own herbal spritz, named after the establishment ($18), and a bitter, citrusy mazzura aperitif.

The small armchairs for two people in front of the fireplace offer views of the hotel's elegant clientele, and the corridor connecting Bastia and Caletta allows you to see the atmosphere of both spaces.