Cancel

    Open app

    Search

    Bistro Romano

    4.1 (685 reviews)
    ModerateItalian, Wine Bars
    Closed 4:45 pm - 9:00 PM
    Updated over 3 months ago

    Order Bistro Romano Takeout or Delivery

    Bistro Romano Photos

    Business Info

    BISTRO ROMANO ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Moderate noise
    Intimate
    Romantic
    Happy hour specials

    Recommended Reviews - Bistro Romano

    Your trust is our priority, so businesses can't pay to alter or remove their reviews. Learn more about reviews.
    Yelp app icon
    Browse more easily on the app
    Review Feed Illustration

    Reviews With Photos

    Charred broccoli
    Analiese K.

    This place was the perfect pre-Christmas reunion spot--and what an unforgettable experience! My best friend made reservations so we could meet up before the holidays. She flew in from Kansas City, we drove up from Frederick, MD, and this restaurant already held a special place in her heart. She has fond memories of dining here years ago with her aunties and even turned it into an annual tradition with her son. For me and my husband, though, it was our very first visit--and wow, were we impressed. [[HIGHLIGHT]]From the outside, it looks like a tiny little spot. You walk into a small wine shop, then pass through into the bar area, and I remember thinking, Wait... where is the restaurant? Then you descend the circular staircase into the basement and--WOW. What an incredibly cool space. Rustic, cozy, and intimate, with gorgeous original brick walls and a clean, high-end dining vibe that somehow feels both elevated and welcoming at the same time.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] Our waitress greeted us with a huge smile and delivered non-stop, attentive service all night long. We ordered quite the feast: Mussels, burrata, and olives to start--then the special black truffle gnocchi, lamb chops, veal saltimbocca, and the gluten-free version of the black truffle gnocchi. Let me just say: the mussels were friggen incredible. That sauce? Fully drinkable. I could've asked for a straw. The burrata was good, but honestly, it didn't stand a chance following those mussels. ‍ We ate mostly family-style, sharing bites, and I have to say--the veal was my personal favorite. Absolute perfection. The lamb chops were a close second with amazing flavor, and the gnocchi was an all-out flavor bomb. The special version stole my heart thanks to those big, crispy chunks of lardo. And then... dessert. Even though we were completely stuffed, we somehow made room--and thank goodness we did. The tiramisu was fantastic, but the cannoli? Holy moly. And I don't even like cannoli. That alone should tell you how good it was. This is a true hidden gem in Society Hill, and I cannot recommend it highly enough. Cozy, memorable, delicious, and full of character--we'll absolutely be back.

    Brussels Sprouts Cacio e Pepe
    Kendall H.

    [[HIGHLIGHT]]To start off, our service was great and we had a nice private area to ourselves.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] The food was prepared well and very flavorful, with the menu offering a lot of options. There is also a very robust gluten free menu as well with delicious mocktails to go with everything. Great food, highly recommend.

    Tiramisu
    Madison R.

    My fiancé and I dined here for our first restaurant week in Philly! We loved every dish we got, with every one being tasteful and filling. [[HIGHLIGHT]]I also really enjoyed the ambiance - dark, moody, and steamy![[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] Our waitress was great at recommendations and was very kind.

    Caesar Salad and Sea Salt Focaccia & Ricotta
    Megan C.

    [[HIGHLIGHT]]Great location in Headhouse, romantic basement atmosphere, and good Italian food.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] [[HIGHLIGHT]]My friend and I went for their $20 pasta and wine deal at the bar, but after seeing the gorgeous downstairs menu and ambiance we decided to do a full meal instead.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] Service was prompt and courteous! [[HIGHLIGHT]]The vibe here skews older and more corporate, and the menu reflects that kind of clientele.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] We went with the focaccia and ricotta to start along with a Caesar salad. The bread dish was the stand out of the evening for me! Great soft focaccia creamy ricotta makes for a decadent start. Too much for two people! Delightful. The Caesar was as basic as Caesars come and, while fine, something I would skip the next time. The hugo-inspired Romano spritz was drinkable but needed soda to cut the St. Germain and tartness from the fruit. The pasta dish came out piping hot and was very much your standard bolognese. We each got a fabulous glass of Montepulciano with our pasta. I loved that the wine list focussed on Italian heavy hitters and would come back to the bar in a heartbeat for the wine. This rating really stems from the fact that there's just SO MUCH good Italian food in the city. This is a great spot for pleasing a group and for fairly specific occasions, but not one I find to be as remarkable. Thanks for the fab hospitality from the team here!

    Duck. Amazing. Absolute perfection.
    Dave P.

    Incredible! I finally made my way to Bostro Romano. We had the Ceasar salad, the arancini balls, seafood risotto and the duck. I would highly recommend the risotto and duck, both were exceptional!

    Veal Saltimbocca
    Sydney B.

    Loved the wine and saltimboca. The olives were warm and delicious. Wasn't a fan of the ceasar salad. [[HIGHLIGHT]]Great date spot.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] Service was on it and super nice and quick. Would definitely go back and big big fan.

    FETTUCCINE BOLOGNESE
    Deedee G.

    [[HIGHLIGHT]]Bistro Romano is an intimate, delicate romantic experience.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] [[HIGHLIGHT]]The overall experience was delightful.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] [[HIGHLIGHT]]The restaurant is beautiful inside.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] The offer wine bottles to purchase. [[HIGHLIGHT]]This is multi leveled and you are able to reserve seating in the wine cellar.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] [[HIGHLIGHT]]We were sat upstairs where the pianist played live music.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] The wine was delicious. The calamari was tasty. I enjoyed my FETTUCCINE BOLOGNESE however, I will say the pasta was somewhat hard in some parts so there was a miss there. I did give 4 stars due to ambience, and attentiveness with service. Our waiter was patient and checked in constantly. They were very mild mannered in temperament however I appreciated the attentiveness. Definitely a date night spot to try out in our city.

    Tortellini,  Mafaldine Pesto
    Ariana C.

    [[HIGHLIGHT]]This restaurant was such a treat! From the food to the service to the ambience, everything hit the mark.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] [[HIGHLIGHT]]The live piano music was a cherry on top.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] Our server, Emily, was so wonderful. We are visiting from out of state and she, along with the other staff, were eager to give us a list of Philly cheesesteak recs. Everyone was so lovely to talk to! We got the tortellini and mafaldine pasta without crab, both were delicious! They have a dedicated vegetarian menu which was amazing. Would definitely recommend and would definitely come back!

    Lavender lemonade

    My wife and I came here for their valentines menu, it was definitely worth the price. The pasta was absolutely delicious, the ceaser salad was fresh and the crab on top was the perfect touch. I will absolutely be coming back to try their regular menu. Our server was nice, but there was a female server that was walking around assisting with all the tables, she was so friendly and outgoing. She went above and beyond to make sure everyone was having a good time. [[HIGHLIGHT]]The only thing I could recommend for them to do different, the second floor dining wasn't as romantic as I was hoping because it was very bright in there. I would say adding currents to the wide open windows would be a great touch to help make it a little bit more romantic and relaxing.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] Other than that everything was great.

    Jamie M.

    Went here for an early Valentine's Day dinner and it was exactly what I was looking for. [[HIGHLIGHT]]The ambiance is so nice and romantic and cozy.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] Our server was Bill and he was incredible. His service was beyond perfect and was probably the best I've experienced in Philly. The food was delicious - I scarfed down my lobster ravioli in about 5 minutes. My boyfriend had the fettuccine bolognese and it was so good as well. The manager came back to check on how everything was going and was very sweet. I could not recommend this place more! Go here for the perfect date night or a night out with friends.

    Sally R.

    Excellent service! We started with the Caesar salad, which had an excellent light dressing the gnocchi was fluffy and wonderful. The veal Ossobucco fell off the bone, served with broccolini and polenta. Absolutely perfect meal!

    Fang Jun Q.

    [[HIGHLIGHT]]The restaurant has 2 floors and they had a live pianist which was nice.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] [[HIGHLIGHT]]The environment is really dark and intimate.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] [[HIGHLIGHT]]It's a good place for family dinner or a romantic date, not really for friends to sit down and catch up in my opinion.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] The food was good/okay, just regular fancy Italian food. Our waiter was very nice and pleasant though. We ordered 2 dishes (chicken parm and a pasta dish) and an appetizer and the bill came up to $95 which is quite pricy. I'd recommend this place for a fancy dinner date, or celebrating a special occasion.

    Veal Saltimbocca

    Celebrated my girlfriends birthday here. Great food and great service. Recommend the pork chop and veal

    Brussels Sprouts Cacio E Pepe

    See all

    Review Insights

    Photo of Jordan N.
    370
    13
    13

    4 months ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0

    1 month ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    5 months ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0

    7 months ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    2 months ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 1
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0

    5 months ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0
    Photo of Megan C.
    4829
    1111
    8704

    1 year ago

    Helpful 12
    Thanks 3
    Love this 7
    Oh no 2

    6 months ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0

    6 months ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    1 year ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    2 years ago

    Helpful 2
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    3 months ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0
    Photo of E K.
    0
    8
    2

    4 months ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    8 months ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    5 months ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    1 year ago

    Helpful 3
    Thanks 1
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    11 months ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 1
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0
    Photo of Sally R.
    90
    62
    43

    1 year ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 2
    Oh no 0

    1 year ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0
    Photo of Beck E.
    211
    2
    4

    6 months ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    3 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 3
    Love this 2
    Oh no 1

    2 years ago

    Helpful 4
    Thanks 0
    Love this 2
    Oh no 0

    3 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    3 years ago

    Helpful 2
    Thanks 1
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0

    3 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 2
    Oh no 0
    Photo of Neka R.
    59
    20
    43

    2 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    3 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    9 months ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0
    Photo of Brian W.
    79
    230
    106

    2 years ago

    Helpful 3
    Thanks 0
    Love this 3
    Oh no 0

    2 years ago

    Helpful 4
    Thanks 1
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    2 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0

    2 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0
    Photo of Amanda K.
    242
    10
    0

    6 months ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0
    Photo of Jocelyn O.
    65
    130
    331

    2 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    3 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 1
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0

    7 months ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0
    Photo of Joanna V.
    102
    33
    127

    3 years ago

    Helpful 10
    Thanks 1
    Love this 6
    Oh no 0
    Photo of Tori P.
    0
    20
    11

    2 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 1
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    3 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    10 months ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    Page 1 of 18

    Ask the Community - Bistro Romano

    Is this place BYOB?

    Hello Justine, We do not offer BYOB at Bistro Romano. We do have a full service bar and award… 

    Does anyone have a sense of whether they are LGBTQ friendly (in terms of couples on dates)?

    Just celebrated my girlfriend and I's anniversary there! They were super friendly with us and gave us excellent service.

    View All 4 Questions

    Sassafras Bar

    Sassafras Bar

    4.4
    (457 reviews)
    0.5 mi
    $$

    I wish Jen and I had shown up in matching flapper dresses because Sassafras feels like stepping…read morestraight into the 1920s. Huge bar, giant wall of liquor bottles, dim lighting, and a cool old-school vibe. I told the bartender that ordering a beer in a place like this felt like I was insulting him. He laughed and told me not to worry about it. The drink special was called "Naked and Famous," which honestly sounded like the perfect cocktail to order in honor of Jen. But then I spotted a dark beer on the menu that sounded too good to pass up. If you follow me, you know I'm slowly becoming a dark beer guy. I liked it a lot. The sandwich special was a cheesesteak. Sorry, I should've taken a picture of the menu. But I really enjoyed it, and for $18 it came with a mountain of seasoned fries, which feels like a bargain these days. Bomb Shell: the two people working absolutely crushed it. I don't know if they were understaffed or if Monday night got busier than expected, but they were working their tails off the entire time. Even with that, they stayed polite, friendly, helpful, and incredibly accommodating to the guy carrying around a mannequin. Great visit to Sassafras!

    Found this on the first day of our trip and ended up going back the 2nd night as well. The drinks…read morewere such high quality and they had something for absolutely everyone. We also ordered a grilled cheese with sweet potato fries which was so so good. The service was top tier. I cannot recommend this place enough.

    Photos
    Bar
    Bar
    Pretzel
    Pretzel
    French 95

    See all

    French 95
    Le Caveau

    Le Caveau

    4.3
    (20 reviews)
    0.5 mi

    We came to Good King Tavern an hour before our res because we are a couple psychopaths, and they…read moresaid they couldn't seat us but have a cute wine bar upstairs if we wanted to kill some time. Reasonable. We walked upstairs into the cutest little dimly lit romantic wine bar I've ever seen. That was a lot of descriptors, but I felt them in my soul. We ordered a bottle of Pinot Noir and got a side of fries ($5) and pickles ($5), as there is no better date night than wine and fries. One of the most underrated combinations in the food game. They are oddly reminiscent of Brandon Roy and Lamarcus Aldridge, just so underappreciated. We sat there, watching the USC and Florida football games on our respective phones between sips of Pinot Noir and bites of these phenomenal fries. These Good King Tavern fries are my favorite I've had in Philly. Both of our teams suck this year, but both won that night. HUGE! Le Caveau delivering miracles... IG @jnov_ Tiktok @jnov_reviews

    Such a nice wine bar! Glasses are on the pricier side in my opinion, but their $12 Negroni was…read moredelicious and felt like a steal. Ambiance was pleasant with romantic dim lighting, but definitely on the louder side. Food wise, we ordered some fries, their French hot dog (came on a sizable baguette) and chocolate mousse which was the perfect finish. Would definitely come back! Was also nice to get a table without having to wait on a Saturday night

    Photos
    Le Caveau
    Le Caveau
    Le Caveau

    See all

    Keating's Rope & Anchor

    Keating's Rope & Anchor

    3.0
    (103 reviews)
    0.3 mi
    $$

    Keatings Rope and Anchor is nestled in the bottom of the Hilton Penns Landing, but don't let that…read morefool you. This restaurant was so good that we went back a second night while we were visiting Philadelphia. On our recent annual trip up the east coast to visit the north east part of the country this year, my wife and I stayed a couple days in Philadelphia. One of the highlights of our trip in the way of food was Keatings Rope and Anchor. On the first night, we sat outside overlooking the water and it was very romantic. If you have the option of sitting outside or sitting inside, I highly recommend sitting outside. We were not that hungry on the first night so we both ordered salads. My wife ordered the chicken Caesar salad and I ordered a special of the day Caprese salad. They were both absolutely delicious and the portion to price ratio was right on par. We were absolutely exhausted on day two and we thoroughly enjoyed the meal from evening one that we decided to go back. I am so glad that we did. We both had the Keating's famous double burger and I normally don't find anything special about a burger in this case, however, The burger was cooked to absolute perfection. I cannot tell you how many times I have asked for a medium burger and it comes out somewhere between medium well and well done. In this case, there was just enough pink on the inside of the burger that it was hands-down one of the best burgers I've had in a very long time. The staff was awesome, the restaurant was clean, and we had a wonderful experience.

    I recently went to Philadelphia for a wedding and we stayed at the Hilton at Penn's Landing. After…read morean early morning flight and not eating, I decided to come down to the hotel restaurant for lunch. I ordered the avocado and crab salad to eat and a blood orange margarita to drink. The salad was okay. A heaping serving of crab, with half an avocado on top and served on a bed of lettuce. So not the most complex of flavors, but it was fine. The margarita was a tad on the sweet side for me. The service was excellent. My server was friendly and attentive. He gave me a few recommendations for how to spend my time in Philly and was prompt with taking my order as well as bringing out the food (but given my description of my salad above, I would expect it to be easy prep and quick to come out). The ambiance was very nice. The hostess sat me at a window seat right next to the water. The view was gorgeous and a perfect solo lunch where I got to read my book and await for the wedding festivities. If I didn't stay at the hotel, I probably would not have gone out of my way to eat here, but it's a good option to have for vibes and drinks.

    Photos
    Decor in the restaurant.
    Decor in the restaurant.
    Sarah's Cobb Salad with Grilled Chicken
    Sarah's Cobb Salad with Grilled Chicken
    Keating's Rope & Anchor

    See all

    Bistro Romano - italian - Updated July 2026

    Loading...
    Loading...
    Loading...