Fancy seafood places are often reserved for birthdays, retirements, or an anniversary with the only person we trust with the aux cord in the car. But East Passyunk’s Gabriella’s Vietnam is the kind of restaurant that gets us so excited that we might just make up a random holiday on a Wednesday in order to come back. And apparently, everyone in the city agrees because it’s always packed (make a reservation or prepare for a Titanic it’s-been-84-years level wait).

Whole fish is the specialty here, and whether you get the branzino (grilled and juicy) or red snapper (crunchy and deep-fried), consider packaging everything on the table with rice paper wraps so you can have something else to dunk into the homemade garlic sauce.