We love this place !! Our fave place to go in Philly !! Excellence food , customer service and atmosphere !

Food was amazing ! Atmosphere is genuine. Have anything Veal, so tasty. Breadsticks yes! read more

Bellini - Insalata Bellini - Italian Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

We have walked by Bellini Grill countless times and never popped in. I finally decided to book on OpenTable and go for dinner with a friend who was in from out of down. We brought a bottle of wine, and were seated at a lovely table by the window for some quality people-watching. The food is phenomenal and it is a great BYO. I would definitely recommend for any occasion. They have a lovely, intimate environment, and the service was great as well. read more

I came here a few weeks ago with some friends. Overall, I thought the food was ok, but I felt that it just wasn't worth the price. Don't get me wrong, I know that BYOBs tend to charge a little more because they have to make up for the fact that they're not making money off of alcohol sales, but paying $30 for my entree just felt like a rip off. I ordered their seafood pasta special which included large scallops, shrimp, and clams over a bed of pasta. It tasted pretty good, but I've had better. Also, even though it feels awkward, it would have helped if I would have asked how much the specials were because they were around $10 more than several of the other regular menu items I was considering, and had I known this in advance, maybe I would have been more satisfied with my meal. The friends I was with felt the same way about the place. Average tasting food and a bit pricey. One of my friends got the salmon special (around $30), and my other friend ordered the crab ravioli. We enjoyed the dining experience -- the waiter was very friendly, and we got a nice table by the window--but I don't think we'll be coming back. read more

By far, my favorite Italian restaurant. Great service, delicious food and wonderful atmosphere and decor. I highly recommend Bellini.

I have walked by this more times than I can count. I went here on my first day at a new job... Boss' treat! I had a mushroom soup and the Caesar salad with chicken. The soup was really good!!! The salad dressing however was really mayo-tasting and thick... it didn't sit well. Doesn't help that it was my first day... it just wasn't a good salad. Sorry... The paninis looked good and their special salad sounded really good as well, it was shrimp, calamari and salmon.. all 3 on the salad! it looked good I just don't like it when the shrimp is staring back at me, I have a soul and I can't eat them... I don't know if I'll be back on my own and venture outside the menu even though it received praises from my boss and his coworker. Perhaps, one day... I just wasn't blown away. read more

Failing to get seats in other restaurants, we were walking in the pouring rain to find somewhere to eat. Bellini Grill seemed too fancy from outside but we walked in to a half filled restaurant and asked if they welcome walk-ins. The manager/hostess was very nice and got a table for us right away. The place got packed as soon as we were seated. It took them about 10 min to come by and take our orders. Food came out faster on other tables even though we ordered before them, which made all of us frustrated. Food was delicious,though. I had::Vitello alla Parmigiana -Freshly breaded veal topped with marinara and provolone over a bed of linguini My friends had other veal dishes, pasta and steak - all pretty good. One reason why it had to be 3-star:: the owner(?) came by our table at the end and tell us that it's cash only because the credit card machine is broken. REALLY? They should've told us before! My friend had to walk out in the rainstorm to go to ATM nearby and take out cash... Not sure if I'll go back, but if you exploring Italian food in Philly, give it a try. read more

I was walking around Rittenhouse Square this past weekend and found this on UrbanSpoon. Since I was already on 16th and it was nearby, I figured I'd give it a shot. Unfortunately, I forgot about the whole BYOB thing in Pennsylvania...they're just aren't as many in NYC or CT where I live. It would've been more trouble to go and find a State Store, anyway. Oh well. The restaurant was pretty empty at 7:00pm on a Saturday. The host quickly offers a bottle of San Pelligrino, I accept and ask for a couple of limes. He also brought me some bread to nosh on while I waited. The waiter, Josh, suggested I try the Caesar Salad. The dressing is made in-house and was pretty tasty; had a nice citrus-ey "tang" in the background. Had Shrimp Alfredo as an entree. Would've expected maybe one or two more shrimp for the $8.50 it added on to the dish, but other than that, no major complaints. Fresh pasta (also made in-house according to the waiter), delicious sauce. Ended up too full for dessert. Decor was kinda gaudy and tacky but that added to the charm of the place, I guess. All in all, not bad. I probably wouldn't come here again since there's so many other options in the area. read more

There were a few mediocre and bad reviews here on Yelp, but we enjoyed this restaurant. The appetizers, food and desserts were delicious. Service was not 100% there for you, but when asked for water or more bread, they came over right away. BYOB. read more

We had a 6:30 dinner reservation on a Saturday evening and got seated promptly. Waitress was by to check on us right away. However despite the great food, can only give it three stars. They packed so many people into the restaurant it was absurd. Staff couldn't even move around the tables and pacing of our food was off. Courses came too fast or too slow. Plenty of restaurants in Philadelphia, won't be back for a while. read more

I had a great experience here. My waiter was very friendly and the food was great. I ordered the crab stuffed ravioli with blush sauce. It was very delicious although the portion size wasn't that big. My friend order the seafood lasagna and I was definitely a great choice. The restraint is great not to mention it's BYOB. The only small negative was the portion size read more

I don't even know where to start. DO NOT DINE HERE! I came with three other Co workers after a gruelling day of production. The service started out fine but once our food arrived, it was terrible. Me and one other ordered the special: lobster ravioli. It was terrible. Store bought sauce, no flavouring. Terrible. I sent mine back for the pesto.. because, I mean, you can't screw up pesto right? Wrong. It was again, flavourless and gross. My other Co worker ordered the Branzino fish which was supposed to be filet from the server. He completely butchered it. Like my 7 year old cousin could filet better than that. On top of the butcher job, it was over cooked. The server said he would bring him another fish but never returned. 30 min later, we called the server over to ask about the new fish. Ensue the loud and rude argument from the manager. They refused to bring another fish! The whole experience was terrible. I'd never return. On the up, the bartender made a great manhattan. read more

I never leave reviews, but feel obligated for this restaurant in order to do its overall rating a bit more justice. The food was absolutely fantastic last night and the service prompt and personable. Had the carpaccio, bruschetta, and fettuccine with duck ragu--all of it entirely exceeded expectations. Ingredients were high quality and fresh--pasta was perfectly al dente and the ragu had an excellent and unexpected depth of flavor. We were delighted and surprised to have found this little gem. Disregard the reviews from restaurant week--give Bellini a try! This place deserves your business! read more

Food was delicious and the service was amazing. The best part was definitely the dessert! Highly recommend the sampler

From the minute I walked in the owner was obnoxious. Insulted me for being early for my reservation. Can you grab my umbrella and took it out of my hand and a package I had my hand aggressively took them away from me any aggressively walk me back to the tiny little bar and put me in a seat right next to the only other person sitting at the bar. The owner needs to take a lesson from the staff there super he is beyond believe obnoxious and he is not in the back room by any stretch is out in front pushing people around pushing customers around trying to make the absolute last penny he can make my slamming people in on the other hand the food was good was OK wasn't fabulous it was above average but every single one of us in the party had the same opinion of the owner read more

I scarcely know where to begin. A friend of mine had a small get-together for his birthday, and chose Bellini only after plans at another restaurant fell through. We were a party of 10, with reservations a week in advance. My girlfriend and I arrived about 15 minutes late, and upon arrival learned that nobody could begin drinking their wine or ordering until our the entire party arrived. We ordered. Waiter was nice, but a little awkward. No problems here. We were cramped up in the corner, but that was fine. My food was absolutely atrocious. Salmon/pasta dish that tasted like ramen noodles. I even let this slide. We were rushed the entire meal. Of course the waiter was the mouth piece, but I could tell he was getting pressure from the owner, as he was reluctant to tell us how another party was awaiting their seat. As we were rushed to pay the bill, the waiter explained that we could only use two credit cards, which had to be split evenly? When I inquired about this unique policy, he said that he did not have a POS and their system was old. This was a LIE, as I saw the ubiquitous ALOHA! System in the back corner. In addition to their weird "policy," they AUTOMATICALLY added 20% gratuity. So reluctantly, we began trying to figure our how to divvy up the cash/card payments. The waiter "compromised" with us that we could use four cards. As we took a few minutes to get the money in order, the rather small OWNER with Napoleon's Syndrome marched over to our table and tersely ordered us to LEAVE. We weren't even finished paying yet! So I (admittedly) lost my temper and spoke out: I told him to leave the table, and he immediately stood and front of me and tried to kick me out without my credit card! I refused to leave, sent a few choice words his way, and absorbed a barrage of disparaging comments. Let me conclude by stating that I never thought that I would write a negative review of someone's business: this is their livelihood and I normally would never try to ruin that. But this little man does not belong in the food/beverage industry. I will NEVER go back, and quite frankly quiver at the thought of our great city's tourists being exposed to this small creature. Plenty of world-class restaurants in Philly - move along folks read more

Second time coming here for a work lunch and definitely was not disappointed - food and service was great. Our larger party was in and out within the hour and the restaurant wasn't very crowded for a Monday lunch. Will return more often! read more

My party and I were very unimpressed with our meal here. The wait staff was inattentive to our needs, not bringing enough menus and giving us attitude when we asked for the check. The food was subpar - not the greatest italian food I've had, but not the worst. The tables were on top of each other, and the AC was either not on or they don't have one, providing for a very uncomfortable eating experience. Overall, I would not return- far too pricey for the quality. read more

First time poster. I was part of the group of five discussed by the recent reviewer. My experience was a bit better, but not much. When the waiter/bartender came for our drink order, I asked about the happy hour cocktail prices on the website and was told this isn't true. In this day/age, these things should be current, but OK, I ordered one anyway, an old fashioned, which is a classic cocktail with whiskey or bourbon. I think rather than listening, the waiter/bartender took a look at our group and assumed we'd want cosmopolitans; he asked if I wanted vodka, then pushed my friend a bit hard towards a cosmo, which she declined. Once my bourbon old fashioned came, it was quite good--the best thing about my experience. My meal, the seafood pasta ($24) was just OK. I agree with my friend who thought maybe their seafood is frozen and defrosted, which doesn't seem OK at that price point. I did finish the pasta and too-chewy mussels, but left the sad floating shrimp and calamari. I was then a spectator as the waiter first brought my friend back the same piece of fish she'd returned as overcooked, then another piece still frozen inside. And charged for the replacement salad. Then there were items on our bill we hadn't ordered: this is a small place and the same waiter served us the whole time. Not sure how that happened. The whole thing devolved into comedy by the time we left, or to be accurate, were asked to leave by the manager who accused us of trying to get a free meal. Buddy, if I wanted to run up the tab and get a free meal, I'd have gone somewhere with better food and ordered more than one cocktail. Do not recommend. read more

So disappointed with food and service here. It was a busy night, but service was so entirely unacceptable, it was almost unbelievable. We were seated 15 minutes late for our reservation and table was short a place setting. I had to ask 3 times to get the missing setting. One person at our table didn't get her order taken and had to hunt down waitress. Bread was so tasteless I regretted wasting calories eating it. Arugula salad was also tasteless, with little or no additions as listed in the menu. My main course,Pollo Bellini, was average. Wait staff tried to take one persons plate while she was clearly still eating. Would not ever recommend the place. read more

This place could be incredible; unfortunately the service is not good and the food is hit or miss. We were "welcomed" by a very young inexperienced hostess. Despite the place being nearly empty, she attempted to seat us at a table that was being blocked by a party of 10 at the bar. She couldn't understand why we wouldn't sit down; we literally could not sit. The place is wall to wall tables and they attempt to bring food out on carts that couldn't make it past the seats comfortably. I kept getting bumped into. The waiter gave us time to purview the menus and disappeared for 20 minutes. I saw him drying glasses and making drinks at the bar. Perhaps hire more waitstaff or a bartender??? The food is ok; the mushroom risotto was fabulous. Salmon was good, side veggies were good. Branzino was not good; I've had so much better. Hope to find a better Italian place in Philly soon! read more

Had the peach Bellini which was terrific. The bruschetta was the best I think I ever had, it tomatoes were amazing, definitely a must try. Ordered the special butternut squash ravioli, all the flavors of fall in every bite, rich but not too heavy. read more

Mediocre Italian food, the most hideous decor I have ever seen in a restaurant (and that is saying a lot given it is an Italian restaurant, which is either overindulging in pink marble or a lot of black and white shots of Roman street scenes) and a forty minute wait past our reservations to be seated. Our reservations were for 8:30. We arrived at 8:20, we were seated around 9:10. They came over twice to tell us that the table was just finishing dessert and would be ready momentarily. On the second time they came over, we looked at the table and they were just being GIVEN the desserts. None of our dishes were particularly memorable, sauces were bland. My escargot tasted like burnt rubber - and yes, snails can be delicious if you do it well (try Parc if you're interested in the real deal). We paid for the restaurant week menu but nothing I received was worth the $35 I paid for the four courses. Portions were smaaaaalll which is actually not the typical policy of restaurant week. The best thing they did for us was open our wine a half hour before they seated us so we were tipsy by the time we got to the table. At that point we really didn't care too much if the meal was going to kill us, we were starved. read more

We celebrated our 10th Wedding Anniversary at Bellini Grille. I chose it because I remember how fresh and wonderfully presented the food was a few years ago! My husband and I truly enjoyed every course of the meal. I called a few days early to order our first course... Clams Casino ( a favorite of my ) with whole clams and no bread crumbs... the staff that took the calls were very responsive.. The Clams Casino were perfect! The Antipasti that we shared was fresh and well presented .....both soups that we ordered were much more than tasty.... our entrees were delightful and delicate.Dover Sole was fileted right at the table.. and then the deserts... the spumoni was superb with strawberries and mint. ... the tirasumi was light.. a great ending to this special dinner. The service was superb.. Darren,our waiter was quite memorable. He was very knowledgeable about the specials-- he presented them in an intriguing and entertaining manner. All the courses came to our table in a timely way.... and Darren was there to respond to any need.. He was most personable!! Everything on the menu is reasonable priced!! The murals are unique, well done and fun! It became very noisy when two large parties came in....however we could handle it. We usually don't like the usual high decibel restaurant. From start to finish we truly enjoyed the meal.... food, service, ambience... and will happily return. Thanks Bellini Grille Our anniversary dinner is a superb memory! read more

This is one of the best Italian restaurants in the city, bar none. I go there often when I have tickets to the theater. It's also a BYOB which makes it even better. The food is fantastic - there are traditional options (e.g. delicate eggplant parmigiana, veal or chicken marsala, one of my favorite renditions of a caprese salad, etc.) and there are always fabulous specials available nightly. The owners are friendly Albanian couple who care immensely about both the quality of their food and their customers' dining experience! read more

I just went to lunch after being at Bellini for several dinners. Although I could not enjoy the fine wine selection the food was as amazing as always. They even had a lunch portion of branzini fish, delic! Thumbs up read more

Michael our waiter is great sadly the selections made by the 3 of us weren't as great as Michael. Firstly the pasta in squid ink. The dish accompanied bay some pork and chicken was too umame or earthy inasmuch as the pasta overwhelmed the meat and the experience was unpleasant. The beer was good, Goose Island IPA. Secondly the crab filled ravioli was the most disappointing. The filling tasted as if the chef went for frozen fish sticks and stuffed the pasta with them. It also made the consumer sick. This was chased by a scotch and tonic. Lastly the saltimbocca was the best with the fingerlink patatoes. Tasty and savory but unfortunately 1 good to bad makes for not a good. Philly has great foods but not in this sitting. Note to self, don't try mexican or seafood west or north of San Antonio read more

The atmosphere was lovely, all the staff were attentive and professional. The ambiance all around was exquisite. My issues lie in the taste and quality of the food. Starting with the appetizer bread which was crumbly and dry, it tasted like something off a supermarket shelf. They offered olive oil and a balsamic reduction for the bread, but no separate plate to pour them, plus the vinegar bottle was very sticky and off-putting. My and my wifes main courses were bland yet very salty. They need to dial back the salt and up the other spices like oregano and garlic. My rosemary potatoes had no rosemary on them or in them, just salt. The crème brulee was delightful though. I wouldn't go back here unless they changed a great many things in regards to quality. I understand its a chain, but step one is a better bread with non sticky bottles along with a separate dipping plate with some crumbled up herbs on it. You are in philly, there are dozens of quality bakeries you can get bread from. After that, you need to hire a classically trained chef to resolve the bland flavor of the rest of your food. read more

I had lunch today at Belinni with five colleague. We were not well received. I was stunned to learned that we were waited on by the actual owner, who did not great us, introduce herself by name or welcome us to her establishment. The food was decent. The chicken parm was good. The service was horrid. I felt unwelcomed and unwanted. My party of six also felt unwelcomed. We would not recommend this establishment for POC. I notice the other patrons were being treated better and were more welcomed. read more

Absolutely love this authentic Italian byob. It's the first choice for my family when coming into the city due to high quality Italian dishes and a great atmosphere. read more

I recently went here for lunch and ordered the gnocchi, which I thought was delicious. The service was very good here and for lunch we were able to get a great 3 course meal but they were also conscious of it being a workday and there service was efficient. read more

I hadn't been here in at least five years and now I've eaten at Bellini twice in the past two weeks. I love this place! The handmade pasta is amazing...mmm...those ravioli! read more

Amazing authentic Italian food. The melanzane alla parmigiana is what my dreams are made of! Love this place, definitely recommend it to those looking for that true Italian experience! read more

Bellini is the best place to go if you just want to relax and have fast Service. Also I recommend to bring your family to this amazing place.overall even if you just got off a plane and want Italian food you should come to Bellini. Plus the ambience is beautiful. read more

Bellini - Crème brûlée - Italian Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

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Stopped in here on a whim to kill some time with a girlfriend. Atmosphere was nice inside. We got there at 5:45pm and realized it was happy hour. When we asked about it, they said they only served happy hour at the bar. We were literally the only customers in the place.. so I found that kind of weird. We got a cheese plate, bottle of Chardonnay and enjoyed the complimentary bread basket. We also ended up splitting the chicken parm meal. The food was okay but nothing exciting. Bill for just those things was slightly over $90. Staff was friendly and overall we were glad to finally try it as we walk by it every day, but probably won't be going back. read more

This was the worst dining experience we have ever had. It is a shame too, because it could have been a good evening. First off, the food was good. Not great, and maybe not worth the price, but I would have been fine with it except for the service. The short version: The owner is disingenuous and a liar. He treated our party with no respect, no concern for our experience, and showed us the ugly side of philadelphia. He needs to learn some customer service skills, and care more about his customers. The long version (still condensed): We had reservations for 8 for 6pm, that kept getting pushed back and we ended up showing up at 5:45. Half our party was running late. They seated our initial 4 anyways, and only came around the table to fill water and ask us where the rest of our party was. Once we ordered some apps, they finally brought us some bread and asked us about drink orders. We were further pressured to order our meals - and finally did before the rest of our group arrived. They were about 45 minutes late, and ordered quickly. At just before 8pm we were asked if we wanted dessert or coffee and we declined. We were given the check. We asked about splitting and were told we could use 4 cards equally, which was fine with us. A minute later the owner came over and said the credit card system was down, and they could only accept cash. He pointed us to an ATM across the street. A number of us from the group walked over to get cash, and another asked about writing a check which the owner said was fine. When we came back from getting cash the others in our group said they saw other customers paying with credit cards. We asked the owner about this and he got hostile quickly saying we had been in his restaurant for 4 hours, and half our party was very late, and that we must pay cash! A couple of the guys in our group were not happy with this and argued with him, and it got heated and the owner yelled and made it clear he lied about the credit cards being down and that paying cash was his way of getting back at us. He was completely unprofessional. Before a fight could break out, we left cash to cover the tab and got out of there. Never have I felt so badly about spending money (it was not cheap either), on a dining experience. I could never recommend anyone visit this restaurant as long as it is owned by the current person. read more

We had a great experience tonight at the Bellini Grill. The service was great. Juan did a great job and was attentive. The food was excellent. Try the balsamic reduction served with the bread. The sneak more! I had the carpaccio, the caprese salad and a pasta dish and it wasn't too much. I had the fettuccini with lobster and it was fantastic. Their pesto is so good! Our table also had the salmon and the shrimp and it garnered a two thumbs up. Great lighter Italian food with great service and presentation. read more

We had an amazing meal here! Service was wonderful and food was very good! I would go back next time we are in town!

I saw way too many cockroaches during my short time here to ever return. The food was average, definitely not worth the $35 for restaurant week because the portions were really small. The bartenders could have cared less about serving customers but were pretty rude about being tipped appropriately. read more

This is not authentic Italian food. I went during restaurant week and for my first course, the caesar salad had carrots and lemon juice in it. Also, the plate was ice cold making me believe it was pre-made and stored in a fridge. For my second course, I ordered a linguini dish. However, the waiter tried to claim I ordered a penne bolognese dish (but I am vegetarian so that is impossible) and gave me an attitude for sending back the dish. It took forever to get my second course and my friends were already finished with their dishes by the time I got mine. For my third course, I got the eggplant dish and it tasted as though it was just reheated in the oven or microwave. On top of all of this, we were served sparkling water at a (unbeknownst to us) price of $7 per bottle (he gave us 3). On top of all this, 20% gratuity was automatically added to our bill so I felt his care for service was lacking due to the automatic tip. All in all, it was not worth spending $50 at this establishment. Spend your money at a better, more authentic Italian restaurant that cares about their service more. read more