The blaze broke out around 3:45 a.m. on Friday on the 4200 block of Whitaker Avenue.
Flames could be seen shooting through the roof before most of the restaurant burned to the ground.
Firefighters had to work as quickly as possible to prevent the fire from impacting the gas station next door.
"Just like a typical row home in the middle of Philadelphia, we don't want it to spread to the left or to the right," said Philadelphia Fire Department Executive Chief Daniel McCarty.
They also faced major challenges with strong winds with a wind chill of 10, which created dangerous conditions for first responders on scene.
Crews salted the roads to help reduce the amount of ice that developed as trucks moved in and out.
The below-freezing temperatures also made matters more difficult inside the burning building.
"As we're hitting this with water, again it's freezing out here, so that water then turns to ice and it starts to become heavy on this restaurant, which gives in," said McCarty.
The Bella Vista restaurant is advertised to remain open until 2:30 a.m., but firefighters believe it closed earlier than that last night.
No one was inside when the flames broke out, and there are no reports of any injuries.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation.