There are so many italian BYOs in the city that it's hard to decide which one to go to when you want some good pasta, but I've decided to stick to Melograno after having tried a few other BYOs in RHS. I haven't had one pasta dish that I didn't like at Melograno. All the other BYOs I've tried recently (i.e. La Fontana, La Viola, Branzino) pale in comparison when it comes to the food, service, and atmosphere. P.S. My only complaint would be their lack of side options. Swiss chard and carnnellini beans? Really??? read more

I liked it better when it was on 22nd and Spruce. At least 4 years had elapsed since my recent visit on Friday night and the one before that. To my surprise, it appears the menu hasn't changed much (same bistecca fiorentina, same wild boar pappardelle that everyone raves about). But why mess with good, straight forward Tuscan fare? The pappardelle were overcooked and drenched in truffle oil. The bistecca was well seasoned, nicely cooked, served on chopped tomatoes and white beans. Good, but nothing to rave about. The octopus was also nice, but we were served three small pieces; tough to share among four. Melograno's biggest problem, however, is the very LOUD dining room, making conversation all but impossible unless everyone agrees to shout, leading tables into a kind of war of escalation with their neighbors, resulting in everyone shouting. Theory suggests another possible "all-quiet" equilibrium, but that will have to wait until next time. read more

Had dinner here last night with a group of friends. My wife and I split the Rustico appetizer (board of meats, cheese, and veggies) and thought it was great. I ordered the pappardelle with wild boar ragu for my entree and thought it was good, though it was a bit small for my appetite and I was still a bit hungry afterward. Luckily that led to me swiping a few bites of my wife's pasta (with kale and prosciutto in a cream sauce) that was pretty awesome. In all, a decent and inviting Italian place. But with so many options for Italian in Philly, I'm not sure it's worth the revisit. read more

Their Pappardelle with mushroom and pecorino was absolutely delicious. At first,I didn't know what to order because I didn't understand all pasta names in Italian. I just decided to trust waiter's recommendation. Pappardelle was very fresh,mild and rich. That made my day. All of my friends liked it. And their focaccia was also speechless. read more

Great food with a very attentive staff is very authentic Italian food. The chef is from Rome, the staff is Italian, if you want something different this is the place to check out. BYOB as well. A ya for me do I can have my favorite wine with the high price. Will be back soon! read more

Came here for my friends birthday with a party of seven. They were extremely attentive, bringing extra bread when we ran out, dousing our meals w fresh cracked pepper, etc. when the restaurant was completely packed. They recommended great meal Choices and everything we got was delicious. Combined with the fact that this place is a BYOB, makes it a no brainer! The pappardelle and the gnocchi of the day blew our minds. read more

I'm surprised this place doesn't have higher ratings! My friends and I went for restaurant week last Friday. We were seated right on time for our reservation even though the place was super crowded. I had the mushroom flat bread for the first course, the pappardelle with a wild boar ragu for the second course, and for dessert I had the tiramisu and it was all fantastic, and the bites of my friends dishes I had were great as well. The waitstaff was friendly and the restaurant itself was very cute, overall a great experience! read more

So, being Mothers day, and a bringing a group of 21 (grad school graduation celebration) and of course a Sunday, I was braced for a mediocre time. Nick, our waiter and the rest of the house completely proved otherwise. We had 3 tables; the place was packed and we literally had not only perfect service, but the kitchen delivered all 3 courses to each table impeccably. Every dish was spot on. Every plate was cleaned by all. No rush, everyone had a good time. Great place. Thanks! read more

I've been there enough times to know it's very loud in season. In late August, I reserved a table near the door for 5.30 when they open. It was nice and quiet and we could have a conversation. The food was outstanding. Excellent crispy sardine appetizer, beet salad, risotto, and branzino. The servers were exceptionally pleasant and helpful. The branzino portion was double the amount I could eat and I wanted to take home half of it. The busser forgot so they made me a fresh portion to take home. I have never experienced that situation before and I thought they handled it very well. I would give this restaurant 5 stars except for the noise factor at a normal dinner time. read more

I have to admit I usually avoid Melograno after many failed attempts to get a table there short of an hour wait - as they do not take reservations - but I wound up there with a friend this week and was very pleasantly surprised. We split the Rustico, which had a good array of various meats and cheeses to try - the prosciutto di parma was excellent in particular. The Risotto ai Porcini was truly delicious as a primi piatti (or entree in my case). Although it may sound cliche (mushroom goat cheese risotto...), I would order that again in a hot second, and finished it down to the last bite. All this being said, the waitstaff were a bit slow and slightly invasively inquisitive, but all in all a very enjoyable dinner. read more

I had dinner with a close friend at Melograno on 9/13/13 what a wonderful experience. The Antipasti Rustico was so enjoyable we really didn't need to order entrees but I am so glad we did. The staff was great and we really loved our server Catarina. She was very informed and had a great personality. She made the experience very worthwhile. read more

We had been waiting for 35 minutes at Porcini and didn't get seated so we ended up coming to Melograno (which was originally our first choice to begin with, we just wanted to try something new). The staff there knew we were starving from the wait so they seated us right away and were so understanding, friendly and kind. They brought us appetizers right away to hold us off until our main course was getting ready. Their Calamari Inzimino and Cotoletta alla Senese was seriously unbelievable. Not only was the food wonderful but i've never had such great customer service at a restaurant before. Thank you so much for making our night better and memorable! read more

A great Italian place! BYOB is a plus. Great ambiance and good place for groups of people. I ordered pappardelle al ragu di cinghiale (Medici spiced braised wild boar ragu) which was flavorful without overpowering my palate. Our table shared calamari puttanesca and polpette(meatballs) and they were all delicious. I recommend it! read more

I'm never disappointed by this spot. My wife and I enjoy coming for date night and always get lucky with the extra personable wait staff that make us feel more than welcome. We always leave feeling satisfied but not overly stuffed. read more

I absolutely love this place. I went with a few of my co-workers for our holiday dinner and I was very satisfied. I am a huge fan of Italian food! And I've heard about this place a few times & coulddn't wait to try. It's nice, yet pretty casual. So you can be comfortable of dress up .... which ever you prefer. Also, if you're out dating or if you already have a special someone this is the perfect date spot! The food was prepared very nice, and the waitress was very friendly and gave us alot of details regarding the menu. I'd definitely go back, again and again. read more

The food was absolutely amazing Atmosphere was inviting Incredible service from the staff including the manager who was very attentive Will be back read more

The menu is small and rarely changes, there are just a couple things for vegetarians, the service is competent at best, and I miss the old, intimate dining room. But the pasta. The pasta is just way too good - tender, chewy, fresh and pretty much perfect. Their pumpkin ravioli is the first thing I think about when it starts to get cool in the fall. read more

the food alone deserves a very solid 3 stars. service seriously killed it on this one- such a disappointment. enough to bring it down a star :( had an almost solid experience at melograno over the weekend. 8 girls, 5 bottles of wine (yay for BYOB), an assortment of apps, pasta dishes, entrees, and desserts... overall very decent. staff was impersonal but okay throughout the meal(though we had to ask multiple times for bread, and our water glasses weren't really attended to... and we weren't told the specials until after we placed part of the order so we missed out on the eggplant app, which sounded like it would've been yummy) until the end, when they asked us to leave before we were through with dessert. ugh. i understand the food service industry and the push to flip a table, but kicking out paying patrons and leaving a bad impression at the end of the meal is just not worth it. definitely took off a star for that :( our group ordered a bunch of food and split everything family-style, even though the food is not served that way. we made our way through just about the entire menu, which was a plus. the majority of melograno's options are standard italian fare- meatballs, pastas, etc. with some creative twists here and there. specific food notes: - calamari appetizer. it's not the typical large rings fried calamari with marinara. Instead, tiny calamari rings and tentacles very lightly sautéed and tossed with white beans, tomatoes, and wilted baby spinach. the sauce was light and lemony with a little kick. very yummy. - mussels appetizer. they were yummy, with a lovely light white wine broth. giant chunks of garlic swam in the broth, and was great for dipping when we finally got some bread (only had to ask our waiter about 4 or 5 times). - pasta special with duck. this isn't descriptive enough to be helpful, but if they have the special of ripped pasta noodles with duck- get it. - pass on the risotto. it was undercooked and underseasoned. highly doubt it was made-to-order as risotto should be. the shrimp were tasty, but the overall dish was a let-down - salmon got great reviews from the table. we even ordered a second one to split. it was cooked perfectly, though the accompanying tomato salad was s bit blah. - the chicken. the one that's a half-chicken. get it. the cook on the chicken was perfect, the sauce was full of flavor, and the accompanying kale, potato, and pancetta hash was soooo good. - don't bother with the filet. It was a decent medium cook but was still tough and the sauce was bland and was a non-appealing shade of light pink. - tiramisu. this was yummy. light and airy, not dense like some variations. definitely a good pick, and i'm not typically a tiramisu fan. - skip the chocolate hazelnut crème brulee. yes, really. unless you just want a few spoonfulls of nutella. i mean, nothing wrong with that... but the burnt sugar top that lends a lot of depth to a typical standard crème brulee gets lost on this dish- it's textuarally pleasing, but that's about it. the best part was the small cluster of candied hazelnuts on top. overall not the best, but could've been worse. the food is decent, BYOB is great, and the location is convenient (especially if you're heading to helium comedy club for a show after dinner). service could really use improvement. read more

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the food taste good but my brother had the special squire ink pasta today july 28,2012 that we found out a piece of scrap metal in the pasta. The waitress did not give us any replacement nor discount for the food. This is really bad experience which cause my brother to vomited after an hour of the meal. read more

Horrible service. As soon as we were seated our very cold and awkward waitress rushed to tell us the evening specials because they had "other large reservations this evening so let's get going" excuse me? Ridiculous. I can't even rate the food because I was too annoyed at how we were treated to even enjoy the meal. read more

This place is fantastic. I have been going to Melograno since before the move and it has never let me down (except for the whole move thing...) And while the fact that it was BYO brought me to the door, the food keeps me coming back over and over again. I frequently get the Penne (spicy red sauce with pancetta) which has never failed me. The other big winners have always been the papperdelle with truffle infused mushroom sauce and the beet ravioli (which a friend describes as "unique to the world"). And sure. Its hard to get in because they don't take reservations and you have to wait. But the food is worth it, which is more than I can say for a LOT of restaurants I have waited longer to get a table at! So get here early and bring a second bottle of wine (to drink on the street while your waiting for table). And eat the best byo italian in the city. read more

BYO. My favorites are the pine nut, goat cheese topped portobello appetizer w/ balsamic + evoo (yes you can recreate this when you go home), and the beet-marscarpone ravioli. Or any pasta in the brown butter and sage sauce. Seafood is well executed, quail is a little fiddly. Be careful without reservations in the wintertime- gets chilly outside or even inside by the door. Outdoor seating is nice, service will never be annoyed with you for dawdling after your meal. Nothing larger than a 4 top although they'll put together tables. Also it can get noisy in the dining room- it's all hard surfaces so noise rebounds in this little box and it can be high volume even when the restaurant is less than half full. read more

Although I miss the old location, the new bigger location means getting a table on a Friday night is no longer an hour+ ordeal. New menu additions are awesome and well executed. Melograno is easily one of the top italian restaurants in Philly! And it's BYOB! YUM. read more

Went for restaurant week on a Friday. We were seated immediately and the waitress, Kristen, was friendly and extremely competent. I had the meatballs for my app. They were good with the sauce but a little dry without. My boyfriend had prosciutto with arugula and cheese which was also good. The wild boar ragout was amazing! Loved it! My boyfriend's steak was just ok. He said it didn't have a lot of flavor besides the sauce. Dessert was the chocolate cake. Tasted like a yummy brownie. Overall it was ok but not too special. read more

Worst customer service. This was a place we were very excited to try for the first time based on yelp reviews. We made a reservation for a large group of 12 people for a Friday night and were told there would be no problem accommodating our group. Then 3 hours before reservation we get a phone call informing us that our party would likely not be sitting together, but we would still be required to do the limited pre fixe menu. Are you kidding me?? Why were we not told this in advance and why were we given only 3 hours notice??? Why would we go to a restaurant with a group of people to sit separately?? Really disappointing because this was a night my fiancee planned for my birthday that was subsequently ruined.... read more

3 friends and I came here for the restaurant week menu. It was quite amazing. For starters, we ordered the proscuitto salad, calamari, and meatballs. None of these were particularly outstanding in my opinion, but they were quite gigantic portions especially compared to other restaurants that tend to skimp out, and especially given this was restaurant week where hordes of cheap diners (cough us) come to places that they can't afford :) For the main course, I ordered the fish of the day, something I still can't pronounce, but which was served with garlic mashed potatoes, shrimp, and calamari. My friends also ordered the fish and a scallops + pork belly dish. The fish was very well cooked and seemed pretty fresh. Nothing like out of the lake fresh after an afternoon fishing, but it certainly filled my seafood craving. The scallops and pork belly were really well made, with a crispy outer layer but the inside being nice and tender. Finally we had creme brulee and molten chocolate cake for dessert. Both were delicious and made well. I think what really makes this place stand out though is the ambiance and atmosphere. It's not a loud byo, but it's not a super quiet conversation place either. Instead, it seems to appeal to all of the above! It'd be great for a date night, or just casual conversation, or for a 6-8 person group. Food was great and delicious, waiters were very attentive, almost a little too much sometimes, and I'd come back. read more

Have never had a bad meal here. Entrees are always deftly handled, with good attention to transparency of distinct flavors. The only drawbacks are the sometimes long wait for a table on weekends (no reservations) and the decibel level, which can mount to a disconcerting clamor with the tables so close to one another and no soft surfaces to dampen the noise. Nice, friendly service, though. read more

An old favorite with great pasta dishes - mushroom pappardelle and wild boar pappardelle are standouts. Bring a bottle of red and enjoy the bread basket (but you often have to ask for it). The space on Sansom street is bigger than its old Spruce St. location (when you couldn't get a table) but it's a little less cozy and unique-looking than it was there. Melograno has more competition in the byob arena in recent years - since the service is sometimes variable I'm giving it 3 (and 1/2) stars. read more

Delicious food (dishes can be hit or miss) and great atmosphere. 2 years ago and more recently. A bit loud at times and service can be spotty but an enjoyable Philly BYOB experience. It is definitely not my top tier for Italian food in the city so just go hungry and with the right expectations. read more

The food was good. Decor, service and location were excellent. The sound level was deafening, however. 95 decibels constant (equivalent to a jackhammer at 50' or a subway train at 200') with occasional forays into 100 decibels (snowmobile, motorcycle - a level at which sustained exposure may result in hearing loss). Conversation was impossible. I would return to this restaurant only if serious sound deadening measures were taken. read more

We found flies in our food. And when we told the waiter they wouldn't let us speak to management. Awful experience. We took this picture as the waiter kept taking away our plates and telling us we'd got it wrong and that it wasn't flies it was sediment. read more

Melograno - Service was terrible. We found 14 fruit flies in our balsamic vinegar. - Italian Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

The customer service when I called for a reservation for a large party was so unprofessional and unhelpful that we never even made it to the restaurant this time around. I had called and left a message and did not receive a call back. When I called again, I was told there was no availability. I know via urbanspoon that it would've been available if my phone call had been returned in a timely manner. To top it off, I was faced with attitude. They should consider who they elect to answer their phones.The quality of the food isn't high enough for me to put up with that. There are plenty better BYOB's in this city. read more

The day before a race in town a few weekends back, my wife and I grabbed dinner at Melograno. When we were in school in Philly, we walked by this restaurant several times on the way to Vic's down the street, but I had never made it in before this year. It was quite packed on Friday, and a reservation was definitely a good call for this cozy restaurant that has NYC-style spacing between tables (read: not much). The upshot of being close by to others is the table next to us did not finish their bottle of wine - so they offered us a couple glasses! Unfortunately the service was less hospitable, with menus taking a while to arrive and our waitress being inattentive in general. Perhaps it is better in a slower environment, but it was quite impersonal and at odds with the atmosphere of the restaurant. We started out sharing the meatballs. While the tomato sauce was rich, I found the meatballs to simply be overdone - they were dried out and a bit on the rubbery side. While it still had decent flavoring, the texture was simply not up to snuff given the overcooking. My wife and I both ended up doing the pappardelle; she went with the truffled mushrooms, while I did the wild boar ragu. Mine was the worse of the two; I felt the ragu did not stand out at all in terms of flavoring, as it tasted like a generic tomato-based sauce with pieces of meat here and there (and let me tell you - there was very little actual meat in the sauce, as far as I could tell). The pappardelle with the wild mushrooms, though, was delicious; I really enjoyed the walnuts that added a bit of crunchy texture to each bite, and the truffle oil added that nice richness as a bit more of a bold flavor on top of the wild mushrooms. While my wife's dish was impeccably done, I couldn't really understand why the rest of the meal was pretty disappointing overall. The value is decent, and I like the old-school feel of the restaurant, but the quality definitely came off as inconsistent. Combined with service that didn't really seem to care, and you have an experience that I probably wouldn't be seeking out that much. read more

Okay - I don't know how I had not heard of this place before. This is a great Italian, little white table cloth BYOB type of spot. I'm all about the ambiance, which was great here. The food was brought out promptly and the service was excellent. We started with the mussels, which were amazing in a white wine garlic and tomato sauce. They serve a great bread as well good for dipping. I had the rissoto with portini and goat cheese, which was brought out in a perfect portion size. This is a classic Italian spot with tables close together, fairly noisy but still great for a date or small to larger parties. read more

Really, really enjoyed our ladies night dinner here! Great location, just West of Rittenhouse Square on a block with a few other gems (I'm looking at you, Il Pittore & Vic). This place has a dark & seductive atmosphere perfect for a beautiful ladies night or date spot. I joined my group of hot doctor ladies on a night out to remember and we had a very delicious meal all around. Every place certainly gets props for BYO, and this place does not disappoint. I think it's extra special when you have the BYO option at a more upscale place like this. I always think BYO lets me feel like I'm at least a little bit "in control" but, I digress... The food was phenomenal -- if you were at least thinking about it, get the pasta with wild boar. Holy shite. This was good. Ginger creme brulee is also a must. I'd definitely come back here for date night with a nice bottle of something red. Note this place pretty much requires reservations. I have walked in and walked out immediately in the past because the place was swarming. read more

An impromptu dinner date in this neighborhood had me searching yelp for a charming BYOB for after work and yelp didn't let me down. We arrived at this warm and inviting restaurant with a decent bottle of wine and a little concern about our budget/appetite ratio. The specials offered this evening were seductive in their description so we decided to simply order 4 courses and share everything between the two of us, hoping not to go broke or hungry. Our server was really great about this. We were hoping they didn't mind too much our meek budget. The appetizer special was a Gorgonzola flan with poached pairs and toasted almonds was incredibly delicious. If I could, I'd spell out "incredibly" in italics. The homemade bread brought to the table also proved a wonderful vehicle for some of this savory flan. We then tried the pasta special, a homemade fettuccine with a seafood ragu. It was very good, though we noticed it was a little heavy on the salt for our expectations, not that we had any problem finishing it. Our server was kind enough to bring this shared course in separate dishes and yet it seemed like we each received a nice size portion. For a main course, we opted for the grilled pork chop on top of something creamy-risotto-like dish was beautifully grilled and tasty. We finished with good coffee and a wonderful dessert. We chose the light and airy ricotta torte with strawberries on top of a sweet cream that proved a happy ending (for the meal, not the evening ... yet). The bill turned out to be a total of $75 and left us more than full and content. Considering the superb service and quality dishes, this proved a reasonable meal indeed. I'm already looking forward to returning soon. read more

EDIT MADE SAME DAY (1/3/2017): Received a call from the general manager who was extremely considerate and respectful. Made me aware that she had indeed taken precautions by informing her staff of my dietary restrictions. Let me know that it was a server error. Vegetarian dishes had been prepared, however, our server grabbed wrong plate and served it. Although there was a mistake made during my meal, I am both relieved and reassured that they do take allergies and dietary restrictions seriously. Appreciate the call! -------------------------------------------------- Negatives: I went in Friday (the day before NYE) and spoke to the restaurant manager about arranging for an all vegetarian prefix meal. She was very kind and went through the menu with me and assured me I would only have vegetarian options. Ordered off the regular menu the day off, requested to the waiter that we have the bruschetta without octopus. Both the bruschetta that were served to our table had octopi. I've been a vegetarian my entire life, and this was quite a disappointment to me. It seemed careless on the part of chefs (maybe? Or someone else?) that they possibly wanted to use the bruschetta mixture with octopus regardless of what the customer's dietary preferences are. There was no compensation given on behalf of the restaurant, we paid full price and also gave a 20% tip off the fixed price NYE rate ($65/per person). Positives: Entrees were good! Ambiance was cozy, and elegant. Hope that Melograno thinks about and respects the customer's dietary preferences next time! Whereas I was lucky enough to have just been vegetarian out of religious and personal preferences, some people may have been allergic to shellfish/seafood, etc. In those cases, there would be much more serious consequences. read more

Went there on a snowy/icy Sunday night so it was pretty quiet. My husband and I split a calamari appetizer which was delicious and copious. I think the most tasty dish was the pappardelle tarafuse with wild mushrooms. The service was impeccable and the price was right too. read more

Melograno is fantastic. The mood is elegant and dark, but strangely homely at the same time. I started with an artichoke that was grilled and sparsely dressed with lemon, parsley, and cracked black pepper. It was probably the best artichoke I've ever had. For my main course, I had the swiss chard ravioli in a light butter sage sauce. The ravioli were perfect. Unfortunately, the tiramisu I ordered for dessert wasn't as good as the rest of the meal. It was presented in a bowl, and I was expecting the creamy, layered tiramisu I've had in Italy. However, as soon as I dipped my spoon into the bowl, cream flowed out all over my spoon--the thing was too damn liquidy. Despite the mediocre dessert, I thoroughly enjoyed the meal here, so I'll give it 5 stars. read more

What happened? I loved this place when they were on Spruce.....it was a real gem. The food is still excellent, but the atmosphere has tanked. I felt like I was at the Italian Bistro or worse, Olive Garden. I think I'd enjoy it if they would hire a GOOD interior designer. read more