What a cute little intimate spot for a delicious Italian dinner! We went during Restaurant Week which was a great deal of one appetizer, entree, and dessert for $45/pp! We order the caesar salad, arancini, meatballs, and the ricotta toast! All were VERY good. I would get them again. The arancini has mushrooms INSIDE the rice ball which I never experienced before. The meatballs were juicy and seasoned really well. The ricotta toast was to die for!! The honey really complemented the ricotta well. Our meals were all delicious! The desserts were good, too! The service was amazing. We really enjoyed the BYOB option! read more

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Love coming here for some quick dinner reservations it is always so welcoming and the staff is so friendly! It is a BYOB so don't forget to bring your own wine or drinks! We had the chicken Parm and the portions are so big that I had leftovers for lunch the next day it was so yummy. The chicken had the perfect crust on the corners and those were my fave. My fiancé had the Fusilli pasta to be honest, this one was not my fave. I didn't really like the fennel. He did seem to enjoy it. The rip ricotta was so delicious and the meatballs were so good that we didn't even take a photo of them! Highly recommend such a cute ambience for a date night! read more

Mercato - Chicken Parmesan and Fusilli Salsiccia - Italian Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

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Fresh made pasta, tasty seafood, perfect portions, creamy cheese dip, pricing is acceptable for the value you receive, & BYOB Cute little restaurant, cozy atmosphere with a hip vibe. There was only 1 person serving the entire restaurant, given the limited seatings, I guess you don't need more than one. The server was busy and maintained attentive to all the tables, good service. High walking score, walkable to Reading Station and more. Definitely recommend by @WineDinenVacay read more

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This was such a find for us! Such a beautiful late summer evening outside, with heaters as the chill came on. Probably the best shrimp and lobster tortelloni I've ever had, and fantastic squid ink pasta with crab. The whipped ricotta and sourdough is insane! Note: fully BYOB, no beer or wine service at all. Staff was attentive, but not doting. I could see it being loud inside, but outside was fantastic! read more

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Another restaurant week dinner at this lively bistro with two hardworking servers doing their best to keep up (comped us cannoli due to delays on appetizer, which was nice if we liked cannoli!). People watching is more exciting than the food here, which is your standard Italian comfort food (chicken parm, linguini with clam sauce etc). If you're looking for a fun evening with familiar dishes, this is the ticket. read more

How this is the first time we have been to Mercato in the 19 years it's been there, is beyond me! Four of us on a summer Saturday night, had open window seating. I didn't take pictures or everything, especially the appetizers. But we had the flatbread special, beat salads, and eggplant caponata- all really good. Entrees: Chicken Marsala, crab tortolloni, and braise short ribs something. We love everything. Prices and reasonable, service was great. We will be back! read more

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We were only in Philly for 48 hours, but Mercato was our favorite stop in the city by far. The dining room is small and very intimate, making it the perfect date spot. We dined with another couple, and we all absolutely loved our appetizers and entrées. The whipped ricotta was savory with a hint of crushed red pepper, and the market board was full of sweet and savory options that paired well together. The bread was fresh, crispy, and delicious. The rigatoni bolognese will be on my mind for some time. The sauce was full of flavor, the meat was perfectly cooked, and the flakes of parmesan and side of whipped basil ricotta paired perfectly with the dish. The mahi mahi with brown butter sage orzo and capers was the perfect balance of light while still being filling. The sauce was not oily like one might expect, and the fish was cooked to perfection. We ended our night with the tiramisu, which was not overly sweet and exactly what we were looking for. Our server was so kind and helpful when we looked to her for menu preferences. If/when we return to Philadelphia, we will definitely dine at Mercato again. read more

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Food was great! I got the Rigatoni Alla Vodka for my main entree and it was great. For appetizers we got the focaccia bread and and the speciality salad that had apples in it. It was good and 2-4 people could share the salad because it is fairly sized. For dessert, we got the specialty cannoli and the tiramisu. The place is small but it's very nice on the inside. The service was efficient. I would come back here again! read more

Had a lovely early dinner at this cozy byob. *Starters: Mussels and focaccia bread Mains: gnocchi, cacio e peppe and orchietti. *Service was attentive with new utensils and wiped clean tabletop between courses, ice bucket for our bottle and attention to keeping water glasses filled, as well as reasonably timed check ins. *Because we did an early weekday dinner, there was only one other table in service during our visit-which was perfect for us. The menu is not extensive, however, each dish was very well done and visually appealing. Definitely on our return visit list! read more

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Great meal as a large group here. The restaurant is smaller but still a great fit for groups. We had a cheese/meat board, muscles, pyramid pasta and lasagna and assorted desserts. All were great dishes. Service was knowledgeable, timely and helpful. read more

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Dan the manager called me 2 hours before my reservation to tell me that our baby counted as a seat and that they have to push our reservation from 7pm to 8:30pm? because we have a baby? Thanks, but just be honest and say that you didn't want a baby in the restaurant.. Won't be going here. Thanks for below avg customer service. read more

Went to this place for Valentine's Day dinner. New to the Philly area, so I looked forward to trying out this place. Felt a bit crowded and was packed but our table was away from others so I didn't mind. Everything was well flavored and tasted amazing. The service was pretty attentive and made sure the courses came out at good intervals. Gave my boyfriend the incorrect third course. He ordered salmon but got gnocchi and ultimately didn't say anything because the gnocchi was so good. Towards the end, the manager (I'm assuming) asked about it and corrected their mistake by giving him the salmon to go. read more

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Really disappointed. Ordered the shrimp and lobster tortelloni, which I've had before. Instead of the small and delicate tortelloni I expected, the dish is now thick pasta, giant-sized, and I got more than one mouthful of shrimp shells. Bad experience. read more

Food was delicious! However, I did not love the service. I went with my group of girl friends to have a nice celebration but we were welcomed with death stares from the staff and cold service. Our whole table felt uncomfortable and disrespected. As someone who works in hospitality, I understand long nights but it felt as if the staff didn't even try to fake a smile. $65 for 4 courses however we had to split 1 board of cheese and dessert between a table of 9. read more

Oh dear... we ordered pickup through the restaurants website on Valentine's Day but shortly got a call to let us know Valentine's Day is prefixe only and they aren't taking to go orders (understandable, no worries). We called Sunday for a refund but were told they didn't know how to refund and would ask their manager. Same type of response again when we called Monday. Wednesday I stopped in to ask if the refund could just be cash if that's easier than crediting the debit card. The manager didn't know how to refund either and gave me a phone number to "the office". I called "the office" on Wednesday and today, Thursday, but was met with a standard answering machine and no returned call. I don even know if the number is legit because of the answering machine line! We decided to just file a dispute with our bank because I don't think Mercato ever plans to repay us for $120 worth of food that wasn't even prepped let alone cooked or eaten! When we first called on Sunday, the girl working stated that two other to go orders were placed "but they must not mind the charge." I'm sorry, but we need to be refunded! I worked in the service industry for 6 years and can't imagine a manager not knowing how to refund a charge. read more

My neighbors and I came here for restaurant week dinner - it was my first time here and it was amazing! Glad we made a reservation because it's pretty small but has both indoor and outdoor seating. Seating was a little tight in our area (had to ask the woman next to me to move her chair so I could get up to get to the restroom) but comfortable, and nice servers. Love that it's BYO so we brought a few bottles of wine to share. The restaurant week menu had great choices for vegetarians and also gluten free. I got the whipped ricotta to start which was incredible! For my meal I got the seafood pappardelle which was tasty and filling and the lemon ricotta cannoli for dessert. read more

Mercato - Whipped Ricotta - Italian Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

The food was quite amazing to be honest, every flavor seemed to pair well with one another. We brought with us several bottles of wine and the restaurant was excellent in bringing us glasses, chilling buckets, opening the bottles and pouring for us. The waiter also took his time to really go over every special and every ingredient added to each dish so service is absolutely there! We ordered the pyramid pasta, the gnocchi, and the market swordfish and shared everything family style, but each plate had enough of a portion that you can feel like you ate something substantial. We sat outdoors as we had a party of about 8 people and they accommodated us very nicely. The area is great for walking off your meal after and more drinks and dessert are all very close by. The price was pretty typical for a nice sit down italian restaurant. I would absolutely love to come back soon, maybe for something more intimate a 1:1 dinner. I would definitely recommend making a reservation ahead of time as things were pretty busy in the evening time. read more

Mercato - Italian Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

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Highly recommend! Incredible service, food, and atmosphere! I love that there is so much natural light and lots of windows. Such a cute spot. We ordered the whipped ricotta and homemade focaccia for appetizers which were incredible! For my entree, I ordered the Gnocchi Alla Vodka which was so tasty! I will be coming back! read more

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Had a great Valentine's Day dinner at Mercato! The abbreviated menu had well thought selections allowing the courses to flow perfectly on an extremely busy day! The portions were shareable, so you could try just about everything & trust me, you wanted to! The beef tartare & Halibut absolutely delicious & the service exceptional! read more

Mercato - Valentines Menu - Italian Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

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To call the $54 prix fixe a "tasters' menu" is a misnomer. Portions were full sized and generous. First bit of advice: arrive hungry! We were, and still had plenty to take home. Course one: the table shared an antipasto of olives, artichoke hearts, peppers, squash and burrata with crusty Italian bread and an olive oil dipping sauce. I would have liked a little soprosata, but this wasn't presented as charcuterie and it was chef's choice. Course two: Choose any appetizer from the menu. My daughter and I each had salads, but the winner was my husband's mussels. Served in a rich and flavorful tomato sauce, the mussels were plump and delicious. Accompanying sourdough was perfect for sopping up the sauce. Course three: Choose any entrée! Each dish hit the spot: lamb shank (the night's special), pork chop parmesan with fresh buffalo mozzarella and chicken saltimbocca with a marsala mushroom demi glaze and polenta. (My daughter's saltimbocca may have been the least favorite -- though I thought it good! A bit too much gravy, and the polenta needed jazzing up.) Course four: A trio of desserts, again restaurant's choice. Cheesecake was the bomb, tiramisu second best and cannoli -- usually my favorite -- brought up the rear. There was too much of an anise flavor. I really enjoyed our dining experience. Contrary to some reviews, our service was great and the staff was really nice. As we're finding with a number of byob's in Philly, the restaurant is small and tables are pretty close to one another. If that's how proprietors can maintain quality and cost control, who cares?! (Couldn't help but overhear the neighboring table's discussion about politics, so without hesitating I jumped in... and they welcomed me!) As you probably already know, cash only, reservations encouraged and parking somewhat difficult. Expect to splurge for a garage. read more

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This was a wonderful date night and we surprised the establishment by ordering three restaurant meals for a part of two. Must get: fig toast, short ribs, swordfish, crab pasta Meh: meatballs, mussels, veal cutlets Missed: pyramid pasta Mercato (paying attention to the BYOB) is a very small, yet romantic restaurant. My wife and I came during restaurant week and certainly took advantage of the special deals. The service was prompt and the food came out at appropriate intervals. I will say that inspite of COVID restrictions, we did sit fairly close to our neighbors, not that it was a covid risk, but more uncomfortable if you were looking for a romantic dinner. read more

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Discovered a great restaurant tonight- Mercato BYOB. We met Chef Anthony and he was so kind and knowledgeable. Highly recommend their watermelon panzanella, whipped herb ricotta & strawberry toast, stuffed long hots , gnocchi (sooo good) and tiramisu! Thanks for a wonderful meal! read more

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The girlfriend and I visited Mercato last evening with a few bottles of wine and two empty stomachs. We came Hungry and were not disappointed! The ricotta appetizer was great. Our only problem was we should have ordered two of them! For entrees, my girlfriend got the short rib pasta special and I got the steak tip gnocchi. The short rib pasta was unbelievable. My girlfriend didn't leave anything left on her plate. I devoured the steak tip gnocchi and honestly think I could have eaten 3 helpings, albeit the dish being a fairly large and generous portion! Capped it off with a massive piece of tiramisu that tied everything together beautifully. Love the BYOB as well. Helps the wallet! Will be back soon! Thank you! read more

It is about Mercato restaurant 1216 Spruce St, Philadelphia, PA 19107, that we visited on 3/8/2025. First thing- you are there but you can not find it- no sign/ name of the restaurant at the entrance. Very small , cramped space- tables not even 2 feet apart, it's hard to imagine. We ( there were 4 of us) ordered , as per waitress's advice- steamed mussels plate to share as an appetizer. There were just 3 pieces of bread with it so I asked the waitress for extra bread. She ignored me with an attitude. I asked for bread 2 more times. Finally bread arrived and a man - manager?, owner?, his name was Dan- arrived and gave me a lecture how to treat his waitressing staff. I did not hear his tirade because of the noise in the restaurant, I did not know what he was talking about. He ended his tirade with " do you understand, lady!!!" We should have left right away, but we were hungry, tired, going to a concert, so we stayed. We had grilled artichoke plate- nothing to eat, just dried, non-edible leaves- $ 13. We had 2 plates of veal piccata-$ 29 a plate- bland, no spices, veal-hard to chew and even hard to cut it with a knife. Can you believe that they charged us $5 for an extra bread?!!! They also added 20% of gratuity to our bill (4 people) not even asking us if it is ok. It was supposed to be a nice dinner experience. We just left. We'll never go back there. I have never written a negative review , this is my first, but do not support this restaurant- Mercato!- bad customer service, bad food, 0 stars! if it is possible! read more

We reserved the whole restaurant for my sons rehearsal dinner on 11/23/22. We had 42 people - Service was impeccable thanks to Dan, he could not have been more wonderful to each and every one of our guests. Kudos to all the other staff and the cooks as well! The market boards on each table (buratta cheese and roasted red peppers, scooped up with French bread) were devoured as soon as we walked in, so delicious! Our guests had choice of first and second courses and I can honestly say every entree choice was a winner that night - unbelievably scrumptious. The ambience when we walked in was all soft twinkling lights throughout the room & everyone there loved the coziness of all of it. I think you will have many return guests from our event because they all loved it. read more

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This is a nice little BYOB. Service was above average. They were out of a number of items when we arrived - reservation was at 7:30. We started with the stuffed long peppers. These were quite good, but slightly lacking on seasoning / salt. Add salt boom, very good but you have to ask for salt which seemed a little frowned upon. I ordered the spicy crab and squid ink pasta. It was not bad, it just had almost no flavor. No brininess from the squid ink no real crab flavor. The wife ordered the pasta pyramids which were well above average. read more

AWFUL service. the waitress was nice but towards the end after we paid, some pompous man in a gucci sweatshirt and red scarf and glasses came back with our check and read our tip back to us out loud and got mad that we gave too little money on the tip. We apologized and said we didn't have a lot of money, and he said "that's why you shouldn't go out to eat" in a snarky tone. It's valentine's day, and we wanted to take our experience out somewhere nice. incredibly disrespectful. wish we took back the receipt and crossed out the tip altogether. He was seemingly the manager or someone in charge. read more

Wonderful experience. Outstanding service. Quality of the food was also outstanding. My wife's entree was delayed and, without prompting, they removed the charge from our bill. They did not need to do so, but thank you! Would highly recommend, both for the friendly and attentive service and wonderful food! read more

I had a great time here with girlfriends for a late Friday dinner. It was just a real good atmosphere with better food. The staff was fast, friendly, and generous. Amazing restaurant week deal and I'm glad I described this spot through it. read more

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Great restaurant with great food, open kitchen, so you can see how they cook, which I love, you must try the muscles, they are fantastic, also had the grilled Romain, eggplant and meatballs, everything was delicious especially the muscles, ambience is very casual. read more

TLDR: Go here! Went here for the first time last week on a whim and it did not disappoint. The restaurant is on a corner of a quieter street and the dining area is on the smaller side which gives it a cozy and homey feel. Things to note: -BYOB - They have pre-fixe menus ($35 for a three course meal per person on Tuesdays) - Amazing ambiance: Imagine Frank Sinatra and John Mayer on repeat in the background What I ordered: - Pyramid Pasta: Cooked al dente which I loved but couldn't really taste the lobster or shrimp. - Braised Short Rib: Must-order! Creamy polenta and the short rib melts in your mouth. - Clam Toast: Also must-order! Comes loaded with littleneck clams on top of a big piece of toast with enough broth to sop up any remaining bread - Mussels: Just delicious. Make sure to ask for more bread for the broth! All in all, I was most impressed by the seafood plates and the short rib. Grab a bottle of vino and come here for a great time! read more

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My boyfriend and I went to dinner last night for the first time at Mercato and we absolutely loved it! What am amazing local find with a great neighborhood vibe. The night was beautiful so we sat outside in this cute tree lined street where noise level was very low since it was tucked into a side street and not on the main walking street. The staff was all very friendly, we got seated immediately when we got there and I do recommend making reservations. The ambience is casual, chill, and summertime. Great for small groups or a nice dinner date. The food was the star of the show. We shared the mussels which was great. It was in a red sauce with peas and fennel served it toasted bread. He got the chicken parm and I got the pasta pyramid - both were delicious. Seasoned just right and was very yummy. Prices are very reasonable and made even cheaper since it's BYOB. recommend this place! read more

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I enjoyed my first dinner at Mercato, especially the byob part. I went with friends and we brought ingredients to make aperol spritz's, which they were fine with and gave us plenty of containers to chill our drinks. For appetizers, we ordered the lemon ricotta and meatballs. Both were really good, but the meatballs were not the most tender or the best meatballs I've ever had. I've had better at Guiseppes. I then ordered the short rib gnocchi for my entree. It was a great portion size and lots of short rib and broccolinni. It was good, but I would have liked even more gnnochi in it. Finally for dessert, we ordered their special vanilla cheesecake and their tiramisu. Wow, the tiramisu might have been the best tiramisu I've ever had. I would 100% order the tiramisu again. read more

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Our group of 9 (incl. 2 children) made reservations a month ahead of time given the busy holiday time of year and Saturday evening desired. We were informed that groups of 5+ had to go with the tasting menu, which included a shared charcuterie board and dessert, but each adult could choose their own appetizer and entree from the menu. At $65, definitely more expensive than the normal menu ala carte, but we agree given the BYOB would offset the addtl. cost. Appetizers and entrees were mostly favorably reviewed by all; pasta had WAY too much sauce to even taste the pasta, though (and this from our mostly Italian group). The one $27 chacuterie board was shared amount the 9 of us; we were honestly shocked, as the board would normally serve 2-4 so we assumed that there would be two provided, but only one. Dessert was similar--three desserts provided to be shared by the 9 of us; again, seriously not 4-5 so everyone could at least try a bite of each? Lastly, the check arrived and we were mistakenly charged twice for every entree, which they promptly corrected when I pointed out the error, and they were nice enough to remove the two soft drinks and children's $16 pasta (!) also. All in all, they do a good job and our waitress Rita was attentive and really nice, and the BYOB in Center City Philly unique and a definite draw, but the noted negatives left a bad taste in this treating dad's mouth; would try again but definitely not a group with the forced and noted tasted menu shortcomings. read more

Dined last night before a show. Mercato is my go to before a show at The Academy or Walnut Street Theater (8 min walk). Last night I was stressed b/c coming from suburbs GPS was telling me 1.25 hours to go 20 miles at 3:45pm for 5pm dinner. I called to ask if we could move res to 5:15 and the gentleman who responded was soooo kind and told me not to stress that it would be fine. Sigh of relief! I needed that kindness after a busy work day. Dinner was delish...trout special with amazing flavor and chicken Parm for my friends. Appetizers of harvest salad and burrata were also very flavorful and perfect amount. Dessert was a fresh berry cannoli which was seasonally delicious. Service was efficient and warm. Love the BYO since some of us don't drink. Just makes it easier. Thank you for a perfect Spring dinner! read more

I came in here tonight after not having been for many years, but there was a time when I visited quite frequently. Of course there are outside tables set up during COVID, so that's fine, but I was immediately kind of weirded out by the waitress (hostess?) because she wasn't very friendly to me when I came up to ask if they were still serving. She kept on pointing out they were a BYOB and I was like... yes, I know, the name of your restaurant is Mercato BYOB. It didn't help that she never really passed on the pleasantries one expects: you know, "Hi, how are you tonight? My name is Whatever, I'll be your server." And then out of nowhere another guy came to my table, and he was just downright brusque. He just spewed out a list of water choices which...I don't know, but between that and the first lady, it rubbed me the wrong way enough that I literally asked if I had done something to offend them in some way. That being said, I had hoped to have the pumpkin ravioli I used to have but they don't make it anymore. Instead I had a delicious lobster "pyramid pasta" (ravioli). It was divine. I also had the stuffed artichoke which was sort of just okay. Far too much bread crumb for my liking, but I did devour it anyhow. I ordered a garlic bread that was really quite bad though. To be frank, the garlic was burned and the dish was extremely bitter. I will say that for the rest of my meal a different man was my waiter, and he was exceedingly better than the other two people I interacted with. I left him a 50% tip accordingly because honestly anything below 20 is an insult during this pandemic, and he really was extremely good at his job. (Also he noticed I didn't eat the bread and took it off my check without my requesting it, which was a correct and extremely courteous gesture. I didn't expect it, but it was the right thing to do.) So I'm not really sure what to say, because my visit was really all over the place. I'll also note that when I left I said goodbye and thank you to that first man I interacted with (fairly certain he was the manager,) and he literally didn't respond or even acknowledge my presence. So I may get food from here again moving forward but I think probably I'll get it to go. read more

Been twice. Place is slammed and the food is just meh for the price. Meatballs - very bland. Super disappointed Pyramid pasta - cream sauce was very watery Bonus points for the fire alarm going off when I already couldn't hear my partner over the super loud restaurant. They also didn't give us the window seat on an anniversary reservation. Instead gave it to a guy by himself lol. I'd recommend murphs or even thin and crispy's pasta. read more

Probably the best Italian I've had in Philly so far! Literally amazing, would recommend the veal parmigiana :)) The garlic bread side is also good. Definitely want to go back to try more dishes. Only complaint would be lack of attentiveness from the waiter, and wait time for getting the bill. To be fair, it was a Friday night they were super busy - but it did feel a little chaotic in there lol. read more

Mercato - Lamb Bolognese & Veal Parmigiano - Italian Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Mercato is an excellent dining establishment. The food is absolutely lovely and BYOB (no corking fee) really pushes it into 5 star territory. We started with bread and prociotto which was delicious and got us started with the wine we brought. My spouse and I each had appetizers for our meals (the burrata toast and panzanella salad) and we were not disappointed with the size of our meals, which left enough room for desert. Our friends got two pasta dishes that they really loved. They were smart and couldn't decide what to get so they split and shared the sausage and broccoli rab Campanella and the pyramid pasta. We finished the meal with the blueberry cheesecake and the pistachio cannoli. The cannoli was outstanding. Im a bit of a NY cheesecake purist and Mercato's had a little lemon in it so that one was a little bit of a miss for me flavorwise. Check out the pictures because everything looked amazing!! 5/5 stars will definitely be back for date night! read more

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I've been meaning to try this place for a while and finally got the opportunity tonight and I'm so glad I did! The place is adorable, small, intimate, perfect for a BYO whether it be for a date or catching up with a friend. Italian fare with an emphasis on seafood. Whipped ricotta: 10/10. It was delightful and creamy drizzled with some italian honey with what I believe were chili peppers lightly infused in it. Served along side fresh hot bread. Short rib: 10/10 tender, flavorful, juicy over a butternut squash puree that really set it off Crab fra diavlo: 10/10. Squid ink pasta with lump crab in a spicy tomato sauce. I thought maybe the squid ink pasta would taste a little briney but it didnt, it was delicious and a perfect complement to the crab! My mom got the fontina stuffed meatballs with pasta which she seemed to really enjoy. Overall everything was fresh and you could tell homemade. Our waiter (whose name I unfortunately did not get) was the cutest; he gave us honest recommendations and provided fantastic service. Would absolutely go again. read more