November 03, 2026
Michaela Althouse/PhillyVoice
Mi Casa, a new Mexican restaurant from group behind Mi Vida, opens Friday in University City.
Six months after opening Mi Vida in Market East, KNEAD Hospitality + Design is rolling out another Mexican restaurant — Mi Casa — in University City on Friday.
The restaurant, at 3151 Market St., serves Tex-Mex classics like guacamole, nachos and tacos, plus more atypical dishes such as mezcal meatloaf and adobo lasagna. The plates are a mix of "spice, smoke and soul" that merge American Southwest and Northern Mexico flavors and recipes, KNEAD says. It also has a full-service bar with more than 100 tequilas and mezcals.
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Mi Casa offers brunch, lunch and dinner. It has 138 seats and an outdoor patio that can be rented for private events.
The menu is led by KNEAD's corporate chef Jonathan Dearden, a Northern Virginia native who was a top four finalist on Bravo's "Top Chef" in Season 23. He competed against his twin brother, Brandon Dearden.
KNEAD, based in Washington, was founded by Jason Berry, a University of Pennsylvania alum, and Michael Reginbogin, who spent a year working at Washington Square, the former Stephen Starr restaurant that was transformed into Talulah's Garden.
"As a Wharton alum, University City holds a special place for me, and it felt like the perfect neighborhood to introduce this new concept," Berry said in a statement. "We look forward to continuing to be part of the Philadelphia community and welcoming guests from across the entire city to our restaurant."
KNEAD's restaurant portfolio includes 10 concepts, and many of them have multiple locations. Mi Vida was KNEAD's first Philadelphia endeavor, though the restaurant also has locations in Washington and Virginia Beach.
In 2023, the restaurant group was named a semifinalist for the James Beard Award for outstanding restauranteurs, a category it ultimately lost to Philly's Ellen Yin, the force behind Fork, a.kitchen + bar and High Street.
Mi Casa is open 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Fridays, 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Saturdays, and 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Sundays.
