I just told my husband that I haven't had a meal like that in a restaurant in a long, long time. The food was outstanding, to say the least. Each dish was better and better. We live in Bkllyn and can't wait to go back to Phila. just to dine at MELO GRANO. read more

I had dinner there with my wife a few months ago we had reservations at 9pm, we waited for 45 minutes to sit down. I then wanted to order the Mussels but the girl said they were out. So my wife placed her order while I decided on something else. I ordered the steak well once again she said we ran out of steak, are you kidding me on a busy Sat night with at least 35 people still waiting to be seated you should not run out of Mussels and Steak! Never again. Place is to small and in no way should you wait 45 minutes when you have a reservation. I would not reccomend this place. read more

Our go to BYOB in center city. Food is good, reservations are reasonably easy to get (during the week) and being a BYOB is a nice plus. Would recommend the homemade pasta dishes (with pumpkin and sage butter if available) in particular. read more

We went there on a packed Saturday night, food was very good and the service was fine. Some of the reviews I read faulted the service but we had no issues. However it is incredibly loud, it was hard to hear the specials and out server was standing right next to me. As long as you don't mind the noise it is worth checking out. read more

Finally made it over to their new location. I like the new digs. Still has their wonderfully concieved menu and the dishes are healthy tasting. This is my fave BYO in the city. One note: they don't take reservations, be prepared to wait. read more

Lovely atmosphere and relatively roomy for a Philly BYO - - but very loud, making conversation difficult. The hostess is abrupt and unfriendly and uninviting; certainly she should not be standing at the door. Our waiter was inattentive and rushed, and we, too, were left sitting at an empty table without water for several minutes. I likely had the same waiter as the previous poster, who impudently retorted when probed about menu selections. Food was mediocre, the artichokes in the salad were tough and virtually inedible. The pappardelle mushroom and walnut sauce was wonderful, but the pasta itself was not outstanding. The short rib, however, was great. Though the food was equivocal, this restaurant needs to work on service. Melograno is anything but a warm and cozy BYO and I wouldn't return. I would recommend La Viola, Branzino, and Mercato hands-down over Melograno. read more

Very good. Staff was great. Food was very good. We arrived 10 mins early and table was waiting. I recommend Melograno to everyone.

I made a reservation for 915pm and didn't get a table until 10pm. The hostess was rude, often ignoring customers to talk to other staff and some friends who showed up. A party who showed up 30 minutes after us got seated before we did. The food was nothing special compared to other Italian restaurants in the city. The prices were comparable as well. I couldn't get out of my seat to use the restroom without having to squeeze my way out and hitting the person behind me. It is the loudest restaurant I have been to and I was yelling all night just to talk to the people in our party who were only 2 1/2 feet in front of me. Overall, it is nothing special and I will not be going back on the weekends and maybe only if better restaurants are booked full and this is the only one available. read more

Not kind to large parties. Canceled our reservation at 8 pm for party of 10 on Tuesday evening after woman manager or hostess insisted that our party must go to a prefixed menu of 4 selections at a cost of $45.00 a person not counting tax or gratuity. I did talk to manager 2 hours prior to reservation to add 2 people to reservation. There was a prior agreement at time of initial reservation with hostess on Sunday to waive the policy of a prefixed menu for parties over 8 people, if I moved our online time from 7 pm to 8 pm. on the night of our dinner the party increased to 12. The lady manager insisted we definitely must now go to a prefix menu. She was noticeably not happy that an arrangement had been made with the hostess. No reason was offered by either the hostess or the lady manager? for the policy other than " it is their policy." I canceled the reservation on principle. I was able to reserve a table at our holiday venue from 2012. Our party had a fantastic time again at La Viola ( this time west as there is an east location across the street) on S. 16th street. The staff was very accommodating and friendly and the selections on the menu were many and the Italian cuisine was delicious. The cost was $40.00 a person including coffee / dessert, tax and gratuity. The restaurant is BYOB. My party had another great holiday experience in town, especially with a last minute switch to La Viola. Thank you to them for their understanding. I would highly recommend this place. Happy New Year 2015 to all the fine restaurants in Philadelphia. See you restaurant week in January. read more

This place was just ok desert was over cooked and disgusting! Boar with pasta absolutely disgusting and over priced. Love Italian food and frequently travel to new restaurants in the city doesn't barter the price, this place just isn't good!would never come back!! read more

One of the very few restaurants in the city that is packed from 5:00 PM till closing every day of the week except Monday. Stellar Italian turned out flawlessly and effortlessly by the chef and two sous' in view in their tiny but efficient domain. Outdoor tables always filled from early on. This is a neighborhood treasure which the neighbors fully appreciate and patronize Expect to wait an hour or more for a table. No reses. Moving to a larger space doubled their capacity but the the story is exactly the same. read more

i just had a flawless dinner at melograno. mussels in a white wine sauce, beet salad with pears, goat cheese and walnuts, and a spaghetti with clams in a white wine sauce (same as the mussels i think - also both dishes with large whole pieces of garlic). everything was cooked perfectly. best mussels and best spaghetti i've had in this city. loved my dinner. walked in from the street and got a table right away - lucky us! i'll be back here again and often. prices were great for food this yummy. read more

Two stars might be bit of a generous rating. Are the people who gave 5 stars smoking some of that philadelphia crack I hear about? Now I've only dined there once, and definitely will not be going back, but the food was a complete turn off. I ordered the black cod, usually a fairly easier fish to prepare but not your typical italian dish I admit, and it was completely over cooked and prepared in a sauce rich in oil and not complimenting the fish at all. I barely ate half. Our waiter was another bad spot. Completely unprofessional and emotional. Keep your shit at home broooooooooooooooooo! Salad was good but not too adventurous. read more

The greeters at the front door of this restaurant fail to understand they set tone for the dining experience of the restaurant guests. We arrived a few minutes before our friends. The restaurant was empty, but we were forced to stand in the front of the restaurant (or outside) until everyone from our party was there. Unfortunately, we could not reach our friends on their cell phone to divert them to another restaurant. This rude greeting sticks with you when you think about the restaurant. A restaurant is more than food. It is the whole experience. Once we got past the troll at the door, the wait staff was friendly, attentive, and helpful. The food was excellent. This restaurant needs to remember there are many restaurants in Philadelphia that show you they are happy you walked in the door. read more

We visited Melograno for the first time a few days ago for Restaurant Week. I ordered the calamari stew, salmon, and tiramisu. My husband had the mozzarella pizza, lamb osso buca, and tiramisu. Naturally, I sampled a few bites of my husband's selections, but he declined to try any of mine. We thought the food was just so-so, but maybe my opinion was influenced by our recent trip to Rome. Anyhow, it wasn't terrible or anything, just not great. I would have rated it as a 3.5 or 4 (if the service had been better). The reason I give it a 1 is because following the meal, during the middle of the night, I woke up feeling nauseous and then my stomach gave an involuntary contraction, which scared me. I ran to the bathroom and thus began the first of three episodes of upchuck. Hours later, when my stomach was empty, I was still nauseous, and I couldn't keep down water, I went to urgent care. I don't know if it was the calamari or salmon, but I'm pretty convinced that my food poisoning came from one of those dishes at Melograno. Fortunately, my husband was completely fine. Unfortunately, I will never be able to eat at Melograno again. read more

Melograno used to be across the street from my apartment, and I was disappointed to see it move. I gave it a little time to work out the kinks with the new larger location and sort of forgot about it existing, but I've been there twice recently, and both times were terrific! Both times I went, I went without a reservation, and the lovely hostess (owner and wife of the chef I think?) was so accommodating. She sat my boyfriend, his mother and me right away on a very busy night. She actually recognized me from my resemblance to my sister who was a frequent customer at the old location. Crazy right? The next time, she seated our party of 6 with no reservation right away too. She really is so nice, and really went above and beyond. She is exactly what you hope for from front of house. The food was really the star though! Here's what I had and tasted. First Visit: - Pappardelle Tartufate - my old standby. Seriously delicious for mushroom lovers. - Osso Buco Special w Polenta - tasty and tender, but maybe not the best osso buco I've had - Mussels - seriously delicious. We weren't going to get this, but a server walked by with a bowl for another table, and the smell was intoxicating and we had to have them. They taste as good as they smell - Crostini with grilled raddichio, gorgonzola and sweet pear. Very delicious. Second Visit: - Antipasto platter - this is really big, and I think I liked everything. lots of veggies, grilled and pickled. The crostini were just just ok. - Beet Ravioli - ABSOLUTELY AMAZING!!! I think this might be only a summer dish, but I'm not sure that I could go back to Melograno and not order this again if it was available. The filling is earthy and sweet, and it comes in a sage butter sauce that is to die for. the crispy sage leaves are so Yum! Every bite was a perfect bite. I used to think my favorite thing was the truffle pappardelle, but this moves into first place for me. - Strangozzi pasta with pecorino romano sauce with artichokes and black pepper - I almost ordered this, and I'm glad I didn't. The homemade, rustic pasta was delicious. Great texture, but the sauce was only OK. It is the only thing I've had from here that I thought was meh. - Seafood Risotto - my sister got this, and I just had a bite and it was so delicious. It is a cool bluish black color, I guess from squid ink, and it was just really flavorful and rich feeling. - Pork Special with lentils - I only tasted a little bite of lentils, but they were porky and delicious. Overall, the food is fantastic here. I might stick to the pastas because they are really something special, but to be fair, I haven't tried very many meat entrées. It's a BYO so don't forget to grab a bottle of wine or something. We forgot the first time and were disappointed without it. The staff is attentive, and the new location is nice and big. If there is any complaint, it would be be that that larger tables are a tad too close, bc I was unfortunately sitting in a seat close to another table, and a server walked into my chair about every 5 minutes. Seriously though, they could have been stepping on my feet and pulling my hair, and I would have been okay with it if I was eating the beet ravioli. read more

We went to Melograno during restaurant week, although we had been meaning to go for quite a long time. I had heard quite a few rave reviews from friends who swear by the place. We made a reservation earlier in the day, but we still had to wait for about 30 minutes after our reserved time. This was not a big deal, since restaurant week is always chaotic, and it was reasonably expected. The place is really charming inside and a lot bigger than it looks from the outside. It is dimly lit and tastefully decorated, which creates a cozy, romantic ambiance that we both enjoyed. The food was delicious as well. We both got the veal, pork, and beef meatballs which were really flavorful. My dish consisted of breaded chicken topped with prosciutto, arugula, tomato, and fresh mozzarella. The portion size was more than enough for an entree, and I really enjoyed it. My girlfriend got the pork chop with creamy polenta and pomegranate reduction. We were both a little unsure about how the pomegranate would mesh with the rest of the dish, but the whole thing was delicious, and she recommends it to everyone. For dessert, we got both the chocolate lava cake and creme brulee. Both were very good, though the portion size of the lava cake was smaller than expected. All in all, the food was near perfect. I would normally give this place five stars, but unfortunately the service was not as flawless as the food. The hostess was great, but our waitress was completely inattentive. We went almost thirty minutes without our waitress checking our waters, which were both empty for the majority of that period. Maybe that sounds like nitpicking, but when you are eating really salty food, thirty minutes is a long time to wait for water. It wasn't for lack of trying either, because we did try to flag her down several times as she walked by. Eventually, we were able to get a hold of the hostess as she was seating another table. We didn't say a word about it or complain at all, but for the rest of the meal, the waitress would not so much as speak to us. I understand that restaurant week is hectic and her night was close to being over, so this won't stop me from going back or from recommending the place to other people, but hopefully next time the service will be as good as the food. If it is, I'll definitely add that final star. read more

Everyone has already talked about the food, it's pretty good. The "hostess" or "manager" is horrible. Unfriendly, rude, making faces at people as she was seating them. Definitely not the first person you want to encounter when trying to have an enjoyable experience here. read more

Went to Melograno with a group of 4 last night. We had the calamari puttanesca, insalata arugula, and mussels to start. The calamari was quite spicy but very good. Mussels and salad also very delicious. The salad is a decent size so would suggest it for more than one person. I ordered the pappardelle tartufate which was amazing- so good! The restaurant was pretty empty but I would imagine it gets crowded on the weekends. Nice ambiance and great BYOB spot. read more

my favorite byo! amazing food, totally reasonably priced. the amatriciana is so, so good i have to force myself to get anything else (i am determined to try everything on the menu). there's one waiter with a bit of an attitude but the service is all around good. they also don't take reservations on the weekends, but the wait is never too bad. still, it's worth it! read more

Should have read Yelp reviews BEFORE going to Melograno! 9/21/10 Cort C wrote: "Rude staff who keeps checking their watch." 8/11/10 Lisa K wrote: "The hostess greeted us with a certain air of impatient contempt, as initially did our server." 7/11/10 Lia M wrote: "One of the hostesses was rude." 2/26/10 Lauren H wrote: "I've always found the hosts to be a bit abrasive." 12/11/09 Rebekka T wrote: "Our waiter was fine, a little rushed. At some point it seemed like he got irritated." Notice a theme here? Dined at Melograno last night with a party of 6 and received horrible service. The hostess and our server were rushed and rude. It began when I was the first to arrive for our 6:30pm reservation. I checked in with the hostess who proceeded to ask me questions about party size (even though she was aware that I was not the one who made the reservation). I could not confirm that our party was still 6 and this seemed to annoy her. I waited in the foyer with one other person for the rest of our party to arrive and at 6:40 on the dot the hostess approached us and asked if our party was close by because "your reservation was for 6:30". It had only been ten minutes (I know this because I took my cellphone out to call my friends and noticed the time)! She looked at us as if it had been an hour. Luckily less than a minute later the other members of our party arrived and we were seated at 6:41pm (a whole 11 minutes late:). I was annoyed by how impatient and impolite the hostess was but figured the waitress would be better. I was WRONG. The waitress was just as rushed and impatient as the hostess. My entire party ordered appetizers, entrees and deserts. The food was good but not exceptional; it certainly was not good enough to compensate for the rude service. The group I was with is a dinner club that has gone to different restaurants one Friday out of every month, for the past five years. We have never experienced such a culture of rudeness as the one which exists at Melograno. If you are looking for an Italian BYOB I suggest you check out some of the others we've been to: LaViola, Radicchio, Modo Mio, Bistro LaBaia. We will not be back nor will we recommend Melograno to others. read more

New Melograno is open for business and was fairly packed last night despite the first game of the world series being on. We never went to the old location so can't compare but we really liked the space. It was twice as wide as your typical Philly BYOB and open in the back with a true open kitchen that stretched across the entire back wall. The food was good, we just got salads and pasta which were both borderline exceptional. Well, my beet, goat cheese and walnut salad was top notch. The ravioli was *almost* there but the pasta was a little tough -- not al dente but just a little too thick or something. The service was exuberant while I wished it were a little more low-key. It could have been our server but he was a little overbearing when he was there and then absent for spells. Overall, I really like the space and the food was above decent just not ass good as I was expecting. Maybe I am just over the Philly Italian BYOB... read more

i love this place!!!!!!! my fav is the pasta with truffles! so good!!!!!!! i've never really had to wait that long, but even if i did it would be woth it! i moved before the new location opened but i loved the old place. although it did get pretty hot in the summer months. read more

Had several apps...all excellent and our main entrees the salmon, the wild boar and the lamb osso buco were all right on the mark. The home ]made pasta was almost like eating your dessert with dinner....the staff is super friendly and one minor drawback was the noise level....but hell when it looked like the whole place was enjoying their meal as much as us.....and everybody was talking....who cares.....it's the food that counts...and this place is well worth it. The BYOB is also a nice addition! read more

Amazing food!!! Incredible service. Can't wait to return! Tip: the risotto is amazing, as are the truffle fries. :) Antonio was absolutely phenomenal, we never felt rushed and he was extremely attentive. Thank you for such a great evening! read more

Superb dining experience and the fixed price for Sunday was a pleasant surprise. Service was impeccable and very friendly. Pasta is really done al dente and the risotto was one of the best I've had. Will definitely go back! read more

After waiting 45 minutes after our scheduled reservation, the waitress took another 25 minutes to acknowledge our table after asking 3 busboys for a corkscrew. To add to this miserable experience, she poured our very expensive wine into a chipped decanter and had difficulty finding fresh glasses. Food was mediocre at best and after all the reviews we used to make our dining venue selection, it was extremely disappointing. Service and the noise levels are the primary cause for never returning. read more

Wow! I used to think all of Italian BYOs in the city tasted the same, until I came to Melograno. When we got there, I was surprised how much larger the space is than it appeared from the window. And the rustic decor made the ambiance warm and inviting. Our server, Antonio (who was awesome!), pleasantly greeted us and shared his favorite items on the menu. Per his recommendation, we started with the calamari. I'm not usually a fan unless it is fried, but I did enjoy the dish. It had nice hints of spice also. He also recommended the veal breast and wild boar ragu, which both of my friends ordered. And I love anything with truffle so I had the pappardelle tartufate. Everything was absolutely amazing. My homemade pasta dish had awesome flavors and the crunchy walnuts added a great texture. None of us are big veal fans but this was like no veal we've ever tasted. It was a thick cut and it practically fell apart. It sounds strange but it actually tasted more like brisket, in a good way. I wasn't adventurous enough to try the wild boar, but my friends raved about it. Next time I want Italian, this will be my first choice! read more

Substandard. We ordered the Mussels appetizer but had to send it back because of broken pieces of the shell. For entrees, we ordered: (1) paparadelle with the boar ragu which was fine; and (2) the risotto without the shrimp. Because I am vegetarian, I asked that the shrimp be substituted with some vegetable. I was told that although the chef wouldn't add a vegetable to the risotto, I could get a any vegetable separately. Accordingly, I ordered artichoke. Surprisingly, I was not only charged for the one tiny little artichoke stem that was brought out, but also, the waitress refused to charge me less for the rissotto although I had asked for the seafood to be left out. What's worse, she was gutsy enough to lecture us that one doesn't ask the chef to change his dish and/or not charge for what he didn't put on the plate "just like one doesn't ask an artist to change his painting". Yet, the chef did exactly that - acquiesced when I asked to keep the seafood off my dish. Anyway, we ended with the cherry and almond panacotta. Without exaggerating, this is one of the worst desserts we have tried. It tasted medicinal. Do yourself a favor and try Monsu or Osteria instead. read more

Last night (Sunday) I was meandering around Rittenhouse area after hearing some great live music and was craving a good, authentic pasta dish. A flight to Italy was not an option so I decided to finally try this place. About 1/2 full, much different from when I've passed on ultra-busy Fri/Sat nights. The hostess was very solicitous and made some recommendations but when she said byo and the local wine shop was closed and I didn't feel like going home and returning with wine, I decided to head around the corner, grabbed an Allagash Dubbel and proceeded back here. Started with the fritturina...fried Smelts with some herb mayo. Lightly coated in flour, they were good, but not exceptional. Then the Pappardelle Tartufate arrived and I instantly felt transported to a neighborhood trattoria in Bologna. Earthy wild mushrooms with chopped walnuts, some truffle oil and three small rectangles of pecorino on top. Wow! Perfectly balanced, simple and fresh, the kind of dish that all too often is swimming in sauce, but here the melding of flavors was pure bliss. By the way, although I mostly drink wine with pasta, the Allagash Dubbel was a perfect pairing with this. Concluded with the warm ricotta cake with creme anglaise and fresh blueberries and vowed to return ASAP to start working my way through the rest of the menu. I will gladly add a 5th star if the rest of the menu holds up to this. read more

We have visited Melograno on multiple occasions since moving to Center City Phila. a little over a year ago. Each visit has been spectacular; service impeccable, food wonderful, specials always tremendous! They are very accommodating, kind and pleasant. The young lady that runs the dining room is named Ann, I am not sure how to spell her name but she is absolutely the most pleasant, kind and professional dining room manager I have ever worked with. She can handle a crowd! She can deal with reservation issues, she can solve most anyones problems. Just this past week 4 of us had reservations at Puccinni's Restarant on nearby Samson Street. They were running 45 minutes to an hour late. They have no room to accommodate their patrons and the owner was nasty, rude and could not handle the reservations he made. We left after being treated like pigs in an pigpen and stopped by Melograno's. Although they were extremely busy and very full, Ann found a way to calm us down and made arrangements for us to be seated in less then 15 minutes, while serving us our wine in their waiting area. She was great, the food was fantastic, the service was perfect. Melograno's salvaged the night. I dont want to give them too many more accolades, then we will never get a chance to make a reservation, but they do deserve all the best in praise..... fondly Gary read more

First, be careful with on-street parking. Although I paid at a kiosk, there was an obscure No Parking - Loading Zone sign. My penalty from the great City of Philadelphia: $51.00. Our Melagrano's waiter was great (Elind); the food only fair. Pasta dishes were pedestrian (I make better at home - always my yardstick for rating restaurants). My lamb dish was fatty and without much flavor (suspect it sat in watery juice too long). All in all, not a bad experience, saved by being with my lovely wife and daughter. Big Dave from Ambler, PA. read more

Skip it. I have two words to describe our dinner here last night - uninspired and lackluster. None of the 4 dishes that we ordered lived up to the hype. The pastas were flat and tasted like the chef completely forgot the salt. The Bronzino with shrimp and calamari were all burned to a crisp. My husband got the seared scallops and pork belly. It truly was seared adding to the burned flavors of the night. There was no reason to eat either the polenta or the mashed potatoes. The only good part of the dinner - the bottle of wine that we brought. read more

I'm 64 not a foodie but the four and five stars for melograno must come from kids raised at mcdonalds. The food is awful. Don't trust me....eat there, pay $96.00 and you'll know. My question is why anyone over 40 goes back twice. Very loud. read more

I am pretty familiar with Italian food. I can tell you the chef here knows how to cook Italian dishes (from North to South).

All I have to say is wow! As a tough critic being from Long Island, NY. I will see the food was awesome, amazing cheese appetizers. It passed with flying colors! oh and it's BYOB! I would give a 5 star but they do not accept American Express. read more

Cute place where you are given a warm welcome from reception and we were seated in a round table (perfect for a girls night out with much wine and laughter). Every meal was delicious! The arugula/procuitto salad is divine and two of us had the filet on a bed of heavenly mash with a pomegranate reduction - seriously divine! Tow girls had the salmon which was not only delicious but plated beautifully. Everyone at our table loved their meal and would definitely go back again. It came highly recommended and we were delighted with the great menu, terrific service and it is BYOB - too perfect! read more

their service was very nice. i went there with my bf, and we shared a pasta as we were not that much hungry. we did not say anything, but they served pasta in two separate plates! i wish i was more hungry, and could have tried some other dishes too. read more

I really used to love this place when it was new. I think that popularity and notoriety gave birth to complacency because it's just not what it used to be. The service is lacking. I felt like I was bothering the hostess when I showed up and asked for a table. The food has also declined in quality. I think I'm going to give them one more shot but that's it. I really want to like this place again because it was so great for so long. read more

Great food, tried almost everything in their Sunday pre fixe menu and it was all delicious