This place is amazing! Every single thing I had was truly phenomenal. I highly recommend the ravioli! Every part of the night was enjoyable, and the service was great. Nothing is better than a place with not only good food but also good drinks and a good environment. I highly highly highly recommend this place! read more

Bellini - Italian Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

My friends and I came here for Restaurant Week last fall. The food was great - but I was very put off by the hostess telling us we had exactly 1 hour and 15 minutes before we had to leave. I get that it's restaurant week and you're busy, but that kind of set me off a bit. Aside from that, the atmosphere was great, and the food was delicious. I'm not sure what the prices would be like outside of restaurant week, but I would go back and give it another shot. Also love that it's a BYOB which is great for a girls night out! read more

Bellini - creme brulee for desert - delicious! - Italian Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Wonderful food, nice ambiance, attentive wait staff, whether you are in a group or a solo female diner.

This is always a great option for restaurant week because you get a starter, a pasta course, and an entree - aka I always have leftovers. This year I went with the bruschetta, the gnocchi in tomato sauce, and finished with the veal parmesan. Their gnocchi isn't super soft, which I prefer because it holds up in the sauce and has a better texture in the mouth. The bruschetta has a nice ratio of cheese to tomato and isn't too heavy. Nothing to rave about in the veal Parmesan - it's a classic dish that's executed well but has nothing exciting about it. read more

See all

So surprised that Bellini's rating aren't higher. Their food is superb and the wait staff friendly and attentive. We've been here three times in recent weeks and we'll totally come again. This is the kind of deeply layered Italian food I grew up eating from the grandparents who came from Italy. The creativity and seasonings are dead on. We keep cleaning our plates to the point that it looks like they came out of the cabinets. That's how good their sauces are, you don't want to miss a drop. They also have an extensive wine collection of Italian wines you don't find elsewhere. There's always something to perfectly compliment your meal. Dessert is equally amazing. So many choices but the gelatto trio among the favorites read more

Went for my birthday last year. The godiva martini was the highlight, the food though... I can make something better at home.

I cannot stress enough the thrill of dining at this restaurant. The service had to be outside, but added to the ambiance. The service was not only 5 star attention but also the staff treated us like we were special guests (which we were!). Chef visited our table to disclose how sincerely appreciative he was that we were there. The food was exceptional and made to order. Can't wait to return. read more

It was my first night coming here and I had a great experience. The food was very good! Juan was our server he made our visit that more amazing. He was very attentive, funny, nice , engaging and accommodating for my picky meal picking haha. It's a great place for a date night. I will be returning. read more

Good service, specials were great, as was the standard menu food. My wife got a gluten free substitution and was very happy.

We enjoyed a truly delicious Restaurant Week Sunday evening dinner here. The service was a little too slow to get a 5 star and the Bruschetta wasn't superb; other than that we loved it. Server was pleasant we just would have liked things to move a little quicker. Gnocchi was soooo good. And the Veal Parmigiana was delectable! read more

Really wonderful dinner. Loved the opera music. The food was just what this tired soul needed. Everyone looked to be having a great evening. Caitlin was a great waitress, giving suggestions that scored big. Can't wait to come back read more

No. I've never been so condescended to. Went for restaurant week. The bread was ROCK hard. For our 3rd course, the waiter literally interrupted our conversation to command our attention so that he could "serve our dinner" For a fine dining establishment, you would think that the tables would have seat numbers so that dishes could be served without interrupting everyone. They also served the 3rd course before everyone had even finished their 2nd course. They literally pushed their 2nd course dishes aside as they were eating to serve the other dishes. Also, when the waiter was clearing our dishes, instead of clearing my bread dish, he motioned me to hand it to him. Finally, they didn't include dessert in the restaurant week menu. It was advertised online as including dessert and the manager came over and told us that he wouldn't honour it even after we showed him the menu online showing dessert included. The food overall was decent, but I'm beyond disappointed in the service and deception. I'll never be going back. They also added 20% tip that they DID NOT deserve and they wouldn't validate our parking. read more

I came here with a group of 10 for restaurant week. It took over 2 hours for us to be served. The food was average. The wait staff was very nice and pleasant. However, given the extremely slow service and average food; I will likely not return. read more

I recently went here for a friends birthday party and was happy to find they were able to carve out space for 10 of us in their restaurant. I had the gnocchi di spinach, which was very flavorful although the portion size seems a bit small for the price. It was a birthday part so we got desserts as well!! The cannoli was the best part of the night. It actually tasted as good if not better than the few I had in the Italian market. We also had the chocolate mousse which was just the right amount of sweet. The service was great although it did get slower towards the end of our meal and we had to flag down staff for the check, but I guess that's better than being rushed out haha read more

This restaurant deserves a better rating. I had a small group dinner here. The food was delicious and the service was excellent. They were super accommodating and attentive. I had the bruschetta, the duck ragu fettuccine, and tiramisu and everything was great. I will definitely be returning! read more

As visitors to Philadelphia we were VERY favorably impressed with the food, service and ambiance of Bellini. Full sized portions of delicious food at what (compared to the SF Bay Area) are very reasonable prices. read more

Everything was dining excellence! My fiance is usually never satisfied, but he had not one issue with this place. From getting seated to leaving, the staff was personable, friendly, and professional. Juan took great care of us with great support from Mike and Victor. He had the owner, Jimmy, come over to introduce us. He's been there 19 years and you can tell the pride and passion behind what he does, which shows in the staff, food, and drinks. Food was amazing and they were able to modify a plate for my fiance. Gnocchi was the best I've ever had and I pretty much only get gnocchi while out. I would give this place 10 stars and we were texting people real time recommending the restaurant. Please go show som love and support to this establishment. They deserve it. read more

I stopped in here once years ago, but that visit wasn't so memorable. After this visit, on Sunday I know why I never went back. The lovely wife and I had just left a matinee performance of Tancredi, right around the corner at the Academy of Music. It was a little after 5:40 PM, and we were hungry, so why not follow up an Italian opera with an Italian meal? The service was slow to start off with. It took forever to even find out who was our waiter was. Right off the bat, I was disappointed by the fact that she spilled drops of wine on our table while pouring the first glasses and didn't bother to clean the spilled wine. I had to clean it myself using the cloth napkin from the bread basket. BTW, the bread they give you to start the meal sucks, and it comes with those little plastic butter containers. Like in a cheap diner. The menu reads very well, but the execution in the kitchen is dismal. The gnocchi do not taste homemade. My guess is they buy it from the supermarket with their bread. The Gorgonzola sauce tastes like it's from a supermarket jar too. We didn't bother finishing the gnocchi. Not worth the calories when it's that awful. Next for me came this black risotto. Disgusting is all I can say, get this; To save money, it appears they slice a single scallop into three rounds. At their price point, that is a pure rip off. Of course, I didn't finish that rubbish either. I tasted my wife's entree, a special of linguini and seafood, and I wasn't the least bit impressed with that either. (Same trick with her over-salted scallop as well.) I'm kicking myself that I didn't just collect my car from the garage after the opera and take a little ride down to Panorama down in Olde City. I think it may be more expensive, but it's worth it if you appreciate good food. read more

Outstanding food and service! Mike was especially fantastic and really made our dinner a pleasure!! Will definitely return!

ALL DINERS ARE NOT CREATED EQUAL! Just left Bellini Grill and was so disappointed. Let me start by saying we have been to the same restaurant many times and brought several if our friends here. During all of these visits we have never had a bad experience at this restaurant -- until tonight. While the evening started off well it quickly went downhill. Let me explain. We arrived for our reservation early but our table was not ready. No problem right? They invited us to wait at the bar. After the bartender offered to make us a drink he apologized for our table (by this time the table was late) and offered to pay for our drinks. Thought that was pretty cool and very customer focused right? It stopped there. Please note we did not ask him to comp our drinks nor did we make a fuss about the table being late. When we got to our table we both ordered an appetizer and an entree. It took them forever to clear the table after our first course. In fact when they brought our entree the dirty dishes from our appetizers we're still on the table. They just moved the dishes around to get our food on the table. Then it took them forever to remove our entree dishes which need wrapping. Did I mention that we were a table of two? Right next door was a table of five who arrived after us. They received their meal about the same time as we did but honestly I wasn't paying attention to how quickly their table was cleared. The server asked them if they wanted dessert and they declined. The server then brought them a round of home made grappa and made a big deal about the fact that it was made in house and that it was on the house. In our previous visits to this restaurant they offered complimentary limoncello at the end of the meal. So when the server asked us about dessert we said no thanks we will just have some of that homemade grappa. His response was "well we can't just throw that around ". So I asked him "so it's ok for that table but not for us" and his response was "well I gave you two drinks already". Then he came back a few minutes later with two glasses of grappa and told us "he said it was ok". Who is he? We were very disappointed with this whole situation in addition to the rest of our experience during the evening. So when we got the bill we left a 10% tip and just so it was clear that we were not just poor tippers, we put a note on the bill "service was disappointing". So beware if you are a table of two in a sea of larger tables. Your service may not be the same even though your money spends the same way. read more

Well this is interesting. Sign on the door says open at 4. Happy hour sign on the street 4:30 happy hour. Walking in at 5:06 pm and told not open yet come back later. No thanks. read more

Bellini - Italian Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

The food was OK but this place gets a 1-star for horrific service. We had a reservation for 5 and were aligned at a table in a straight line on one side. Given we had a group, the wait staff rearranged the table to a more conducive 3-2 format, which was great. The short, ill-tempered owner (Jimmy Daku) came over and literally grabbed the chairs out of our hands and berated members of our dining party. We asked if we could move to another open 5 person table to which the owner raised his voice and failed to demonstrate the slightest resemblance of hospitality or decency to his patrons. Jimmy Daku caused a bit of a scene as the rest of the patrons clearly took notice. It was quite an embarrassing ordeal for this owner. Our group considered leaving, and we probably would have had we been more familiar with the area. It's a shame because the food was OK (3-star) but the service and the maltreatment really hampered the experience. I would not return, and I WOULD NEVER RECOMMEND that any of my friends dine there. There are much better Italian BYOBs in the Philly with better service. DO NOT GO HERE. read more

Terrible experience and apparently as I read through the reviews I wasn't the only one. The manager/hostess have some serious customer service issues here. First of all they told my friend on the phone (30 yr old) that this wasn't a place for your friends to sit and drink all night long. For heavens sake it was her 30th birthday. She wanted a few more than 6 people there and they were already giving a bad attitude. Well anyways she didn't care and wanted to eat there. So when we got there a few people were late. They had a problem sitting our almost complete party. Instead they rather let the door and hallway get crowded. Then as we hassled to get them to seat us the manage had some nerve to tell us we had to be out by 7:30. Correct me if I am wrong, but aren't paying customers allowed to enjoy themselves and not feel rushed? After all we did spend over $500 dollars. Well anyways, that's not all, one of our friends accidentally let out a semi loud laugh. It was only one laugh and the hostess had the nerve to come and tell her to be quite because people are complaining. Meanwhile it was only a minute after she laughed. So I don't know but I think the hostess complained and blamed it on the customers. Anyways, I felt rushed I felt stressed and even though the food was good I was very annoyed and pissed off. The manager and hostess ruined this experience. And because of that I wouldn't recommend this place to anyone. The only good thing I can say is that our waiter was very nice to us. I was sure to thank him on my way out and then have my words with the manager. I don't normally write bad reviews so trust me and avoid this place. read more

The owner is a liar, inappropriate, and unfair. Do not ever eat here with a big party of people. I went with my friends for new years eve. We made our reservation well in advance, we even changed it to accommodate the restaurant, and when we got there, he literally put a time limit on the length of our dinner. He told us we had 1.5 hours to eat with our party of 12! He consistently talked rudely about us to other patrons in the restaurant. Furthermore, the food was almost shoved in our faces. I have never seen food served so quickly, not to mention some dishes were cold. I suggest that you never go here. The food was decent and the waiter was very nice, but the owner is unreasonable and does not deserve our business read more

Customer service? What a joke. We were planning on going here for NYE dinner. We had a group of 10 and made reservations via OpenTable. Like OpenTable does, they asked for a credit card due to it being a large reservation and just a few days away. We confirmed with our group by looking at their menu and decided to go through with it. HUGE mistake. Come Monday (Monday NYE morning 12/31/18), a member of our group mentioned that they updated their website with a prefixed menu at $70pp. Let me remind you that there was NO information posted on Friday (12/29/18) about a prefixed menu for NYE. We contacted the restaurant to let them know that we would like to cancel our reservation for this specific reason. They would not allow us to do so and mentioned it would be a $700.00 fee for cancelling. I asked to speak to a manager, Mr. Jimmy "wouldn't provide us a last name." Jimmy continuously would hang up on me every single time I would prove a point to which he had no response. He just continued to illiterately speak to me, say he's going to charge my card, that he is losing out on business, and hanging up. Well, if you cannot replace one party of 10 on NYE, then you must not have a very good business, and it showed with the HORRENDOUS customer service and lack of communication skills from their "so called" manager "Jimmy." I will be writing this review on every possible website because people need to know what kind of establishment you are giving your business and money to. I will never step foot in this establishment and will be sure to share this with every single person I know who visits or lives in this city to never go. PS: I work in the hospitality industry and have a very large customer base and people that travel all over the world. Nobody I know will ever come here and I urge you not to either, unless you would like to give your money to an establishment that has no sense of what customer service is all about. Extremely unprofessional. read more

6 men out on a Friday Night out for dinner - If it was just me I may not be writing this but all of us agreed and trust me we never agree as a group on anything. It was a first and last for all of us. Cute decor and it stops there. Food was basic to say the least. Now to the point - Tasteless - Nothing Special- Bland - Boring. The waiter tried but he tried to hard - Was just a little over the top and I have to say just annoying. It was a little pricy which is not an issue for us but there was no return on this investment. read more

I chose this restaurant based off of it's great location and my love of authentic Italian cuisine. I was celebrating my 23rd birthday and was very anxious to try out Bellinis. To say the very least the entire meal from entree size and taste to service were an absolute let down. They claim they are BYOB, but STILL charge a corkage fee of $25 per bottle ( what's the point ?). I ended up spending a ridiculous amount of money for a forgettable birthday dinner. The best part was when we were preparing to leave, the maitre'd came over to tell us to leave because they had other patrons waiting to have a seat. Overall: overpriced food, mediocre service, non-existent hospitality. CHEERS! If you love Italian food and culture I would recommend Olive Garden over Bellinis Grill in Rittenhouse. read more

We had made reservations a week in advance and confirmed the morning of the scheduled date. Everything seemed 'good to go.' As we arrived (on time) at the restaurant, the host assured us that our table would be ready in fifteen minutes. He even graciously offered to hold our wine bottles while we waited outside. However, after thirty minutes of waiting, we were growing a bit anxious. We inquired with the host about the hold up and he assured us it would be just another minute or two. At that point, we had already waited 30 minutes, what was an extra couple? At the 45 minute mark, we had asked for our bottles of wine back, and the host had the gall to "politely" refuse and said they were setting up the table. After 50 minutes of waiting, I begrudgingly agreed to my friends' request to dine at the restaurant as their hunger-dom had overwhelmed them. Being a party of four, I was appalled to see that we were seated at a make-shift bistro table designed for two people. To make matters worse, one of the seats was positioned in front of the shelf that held all the dishes and napkins and utensils. The staff constantly excused themselves to reach around the chair to get napkins--who does that? The food was good (nothing spectacular but good nonetheless). The chef even came out and asked if we enjoyed our meal. After dinner, as soon as our plates were cleared, the staff and host began to rush the smaller parties out the door as there was a group of 18 coming. It was a terrible experience. In short: good food but not worth the hassle with the staff. read more

I'm still not used to this whole "byob" thing, which is completely my problem but also really annoying. Especially when you go to a place like Bellini, which freakin shares a name with a delicious alcoholic drink...wtf. Or ...for when you go to a place like Bellini, whose food is so boring that you really need that bottle of wine. :( The service was good, the waitress was very sweet and made thoughtful suggestions. Admittedly, the food of my dining companions was better than mine, but in my book there are always points for consistency. They also had a TV playing "food network" in plain sight which was not in keeping with the mood of the restaurant. weird. read more

I came here for a friends surprise birthday on a Thursday night. The place was completely empty. The portion sizes are perfect and the price was great too ($15-$20) for an entrée. In the beginning before we ordered, the chef came out to talk to us because there was no one else in the restaurant, which was nice. He told us that all the pasta is made fresh every morning there and that he couldn't wait to cook for us! Everyone liked their meals - I got the cheese gnocchi and asked for some grated parm on top and the waiter said, "Um I don't recommend that." Initially I was thinking, 'UMM excuse me sir, I love cheese and I'll have all the cheese I want!' It turns out, he was so right. The gnocchi was super cheesy all on its own. He saved me from a tummy ache. Overall good experience for a slow night read more

I was here for Restaurant Week and it was an overall pleasant experience with pretty decent Italian food. Would I come here again? Probably not, when there are so many other options for more authentic and cheaper Italian cuisine in the city. For one: the place, though cute in that tzotchke fake Italian mural-painted, gold-plated, red velvet curtain way, is wayyyy too packed in. I understand trying to maintain that on-top-of-each-other city vibe as a way to make it look more crowded than it actually is, but I couldn't even pull my seat out or take my coat off or reach for my purse without nearly bumping elbows or shoulders with someone else- and those poor waiters spent most of the night tiptoeing around the floor so as to not bump into something and spill their trays. Maybe it was like this cause it was Restaurant Week, but I still think a redesign of the space could work (i.e. taking out those gaudy fake Roman pillars). It's BYOB, which I don't have a problem with. The menu was super varied for Restaurant Week- almost too varied. It was very hard to decide. I landed on an escargot appetizer having just had amazing escargot at Sbraga. Unfortunately, it was pretty gross. It was laden with a heavy sauce and way too many peppers. My soup was fine. There was plenty of bread on the table which is good. For an entrée, I got some sort of creamy shrimp pasta dish and it was really delicious. The other guests I were with loved their entrees as well. Not like super amazing authentic Italian, but still tasty enough to not make it feel cheap. The cheesecake dessert was delicious and decorated adorably in the strawberry gel writing. Nothing I couldn't have gotten anywhere else, though. My main problem was the rush factor. The waiter straight up told us once we sat down that there was a max of 1 1/2 hours to dine, which okay I get it, it's super busy cause of Restaurant Week, but it doesn't leave a good taste in my mouth knowing I gotta wrap up super quick and can't digest and drink wine for a little. It sounds like a lot of time but with a group of people on a Friday night (each with a bottle of wine), it's really not. In fact, we thought 'screw that' cause we really weren't done with our wine so we stayed and chatted for a bit, but I can see and feel the hostess and waiters seething at us from the corner. It felt a little unprofessional. Overall, if you want a night out in the city and don't feel like whiny kids at Olive Garden or stuffy rich old couples at some high-end place, this is one of those good in-betweener restaurants. read more

It took me 4 years to return to Bellini Grill, and I must say that at the Beginning of our evening I had my faith restored, briefly. A good friend and I enjoyed our meal here but the super-high notes that started our evening gradually sunk lower and lower. Firstly, the restaurant was very slow - maybe 3 or 4 tables - when we arrived at 6 or 6:15 PM on a Friday. We were greeted and our coats were taken. I immediately noticed that the place looks much differently (and better!) than it did 4 years ago. Most notable were the painted murals on the ceiling and walls - complete with a "Caesar-like" portrait of the owner on the wall. One of the specials that night was a shrimp appetizer ($14.95 - ouch!) that fortunately, seemed to justify the high price. It was outstanding. I ordered the Caprese Salad with much trepidation. Winter tomatoes usually disappoint. Luckily, this Caprese was Excellent - and lightly drizzled with an olive-oil/balsamic/pesto that was bread-dippin' worthy. The special fishes that night were Branzino and Sole - so just for kicks I asked - and (as expected) the price was super-high - $41! I could not order it. Both of us ordered veal dishes which both had flaws - but luckily - delicious thinly-pounded tender veal. My dish came with 2 tiny lumps of succulent crabmeat. (So after giving one to my friend - I basically got one bite of crabmeat. Oh well.) My dish was also drowning in a heavy butter and lemon sauce - that almost seemed like "Knorr" Hollandaise from a packet. I nearly ordered the dish "Light on the sauce" and now, I wish I had. My friend's Veal Saltimboca was great. By now, the place was hoppin' - so our service began to suffer. At $8 - $10 each (and $9 for a single cannoli) we skipped dessert. I really, really wanted a latte - but they were $5.25 (yikes) - so we both ordered decaf coffees. FAIL! My coffee had coffee grounds all over the rim of the mug. The coffee itself was not hot - and tasted awful. My friend had to ask for cream multiple times (I had wanted milk, and she cream - but they brought only milk.) At $2.50 percup/mug - we were glad to not be charged for coffee we could not drink. Note: This place is a BYO - which I had forgotten, and seems odd given the name (Bellini) is a cocktail. Also Note: They added a 20% "Service Charge/Gratuity" without us asking. In this case, I would have left maybe 18% given the service decline at the end of the evening. That kind pissed us off. When all is said and done, I would return to Bellini - but I would order dishes lightly sauced and ask more questions before ordering. I also would NEVER order coffee nor dessert here. (At my local Italian bakery I can get a small cannoli for $1.75, large for $3.00 - but I am very lucky to live right near one.) read more

I wasn't that eager to try this place out, and I feel about the same now that I have. I'm admittedly a little snobby about Italian food, having lived in Italy and feeling that I can make a lot of (especially pasta) dishes on my own at home, so why pay $12 for them at a restaurant. I will give them credit for little details that are definitely important in making a good impression. The waiter was very attentive, courteous, and eager to please. They give you a little sampling of one of their soups for the night as an amuse bouche. When we were wineless, having not realized they were BYOB, he gave us each a glass on the house. Hubby seemed to like his ravioli, though the pesto sauce they came in was very soupy. My gnocchi was light, and came with a slab of melted mozzarella, but the tomato sauce didn't have much flavor. The chocolate cake was very rich and tasty. Not horrible, but not the best I've had. read more

I would give this place 0 stars....HORRIBLE PLACE Bellini Grill was a TERRIBLE experience. There were several people there with BOXES of wine and JUGS of wine; engaging in what appeared to be under age drinking. Upon arrival, our table was not ready and the owner/manager was terribly rude. We literally waited an HOUR before leaving because of the rude, sexist, lying owner who continued to tell us that we would be seated, but we never were. I will NEVER go there again, nor will my friends. We are constantly out and about and as a person in the hospitality industry, I will be sure to tell a myriad of people about this awful place. read more

Me and a few friends went during restaurant week and the owner was very impolite and yelled at us after he made us push back out reservation from 7:30 to 8 and made us wait over 20 minutes. He told us a table was getting their check when they were just getting served their food. Terrible way to treat potential new customers, never going back read more

Very odd experience. We had a party of 8, of which 6 showed up on time. My wife mentioned on the way down that the owner/manager had a bit of an attitude during the confirmation call. Despite the table being open, they didn't want to seat us until all eight were there. It was 8:15, I didn't think they would turn the table over again. Unnecessary attitude. Three of us were ready to walk. Once we sat down and started to eat, things improved. Our waitress, Chris, was very personable and nice, I thought she did a good job. I enjoyed my meal, however others didn't feel the same way. I had a fettucini special with seafood in a spicy sauce, quite good. They need to work on the customer concept at the front of the house. read more

Won't be returning here. Restaurant fairly empty and I understand why. Veal parmigiana was not edible and was returned to the kitchen. Grilled shrimp with spinach was good but portion consisted of only 4 shrimp. Duck was good but comes with no side dish and looked very naked on the plate. The WORST part was the giant BUG that appeared on me as we were finishing our dinner. NEVER RETURNING. read more

I met my four girlfriends from college here on a friday night. Our Server, Brian was great and extremely attentive. We all ordered appetizers, entrees, and desert. Towards the end of the evening we were the last of two remaining tables in the restaurant. The other table was a large group of college students that we also happened to know. We were all laughing and enjoying ourselves when the Owner of Bellini came up out of no where and started screaming in my girlfriends face! He stated we were being too loud and was literally just inches from her face. He was scary and appeared intoxicated. He then proceed to tell us to get out. Our waiter was mortified. Its a shame such a great place is owned by a complete psycho. read more

Another great Restaurant Week find. Went here with a group of friends. We each brought a bottle of wine and the maitre d commended me on my choice of a nice Italian white. (I'm a sucker for compliments). The service is outstanding and the menu is as delicious as it is expansive. We all tried different dishes and no one left disappointed. The Linguine Puttanesca was amazing, a nice pasta dish with kalamata olives, capers, and anchovies. And any place that serves creme brulee is worth checking out. read more

Let me start by saying that I didn't actually eat dinner here. So the reason I'm giving a review is because it was such a pain in the neck to MAKE a reservation that we ended up cancelling. A group of friends planning to run the Philadelphia marathon wanted to eat together. We have a group of 16. I made the reservation six months in advance. The restaurant has called three times to change the reservation. Our original time for dinner was 6:30 but they kept moving it up to the point that during the last call, they wanted me to change it to 4:30. I'm sorry, but I don't want to eat dinner at 4:30. We settled on 5:00, but then they wanted me to get everyone's order ahead of time. And told me I would have to pay a fixed price for anyone who didn't show up. In the course of my calls with them, they kept telling me how busy they expected to be and how they hoped I understood their rationale. They also said that other groups with reservations made arrangements three months ago. I told them I called six months ago. He said, "let me check on that." And said, no, you made your reservation in September. It's November now, that's not six months. I had to explain that I FIRST made a reservation on open table, but when they called me the first time to change the time of our dinner, they took it off open table and made the reservation by hand. But then again, why am I arguing with this guy over whether I made the reservation two months ago or six months ago? Why does that matter? I already agreed to move the time from 5:30 to 5:00 - what more do you want? To some extent, I understand their dilemma - they expect to be busy and want to make sure all their customers are served. But I have to say, by the end of the last call, I felt almost like my friends and I were being set up to be hassled at dinner. I didn't want to subject them to that, so it's best just to find someplace else. Maybe this is a great place for parties of two or four - but based on the reviews I read and my own experience - if you have a large group, I would definitely go elsewhere. read more