Dante & Luigi's

What a cool restaurant, you think you are in the 1940s, atmosphere, ambience, and music was great, our server Anthony from Hawaii was amazing, I had the bean soup which was out of this world, then we shared the Caprese salad and the chicken cacciatore, everything was excellent.If you pay cash, you get 10% off the bill.

This is a great spot if you want classic, tried and true old-school style Italian in Philly. This is a red sauce "Italian gravy" place, so you'd be amiss if you didn't try something with their gravy on it.The restaurant itself is beautiful, the decor is very classy and the tables are white linens. I'd dress up a little to come here, it's perfect for a date night.The service is fantastic. All of the servers were hilarious and very nice and everyone we interacted with was prompt and helpful. The food itself - not gonna lie, I think I was gearing up for some of the best Italian I've ever had and I think it does the job but didn't leave me wowed. We had the bruschetta appetizer and it was just ok, could've been better but the bread was actually a bit stale. Maybe our fault for coming in late in the day if the bread had been baked that morning/the day before. I ordered the lasagna and my boyfriend had some spaghetti dish with pork and white wine sauce. My lasagna was a MASSIVE portion and the pasta and filling were both great. I could taste the fresh egg. One thing I'll say is it was very salty, almost a bit much. The filling overwhelmed the gravy a bit. My boyfriends pasta was good, the pasta itself was clearly very fresh and well done. Sauce was decent. Both meals were good and hit the spot.Overall I think this is a solid place for Italian, the service and ambiance really took it over the top. I'm not entirely convinced this is the best Italian food in Philly hands down, but think it's definitely a good spot that's worth checking out.

classic old school red sauce + random pasta kind of place. overall very good sized portions (1 app to split and an entree each required us to take stuff home). flavor is as you expect, nothing 'new' or anything you havent tried before, but just classics done well. got a negroni which was delicious (altho v expensive if im calculating this right...)overall food as above + 1 lemonade + 1 negroni = $60 pp after tax and tip. bring cash and you don't have to pay tax. we called them day of on a sunday to make a res for 2 people at 6:30 pm. it's a huge restaurant so i wouldnt be too stressed but always nice to know. would come back to show ppl the history, but maybe not to rave abt the food

Here I go again - being in the minority of ratings! The place definitely has an old world feel to it and the servers were all very nice but the food was not all that impressive. The stuffed squid in red sauce appetizer was good and most likely the highlight of our meal. The Risotto with Crab, Shrimp and Mushrooms was in a sauce that pretty much hid the flavor of the mushrooms. The Sweetbreads, something you don't see very often on a menu, was a very generous portion but the breading took over the dish. I tasted another guest's gnocchi and it too lacked that special kick that was expected. A shared ice cream dessert was very good. I don't think we'll be rushing back anytime soon.

Old house, plenty of spacing, white linen tablecloths! Wine list mostly Italian, go figure. House salad plain but never like to dress my own salad unless I have a bigger bowl to mix things up! Good but no frill's. I had the rollatini or what I know as Involtini a rolled veal stuffed with sautéed spinach, cheese , and prosciutto in a thick shiitake brown gravy, a bit too thick for me, but regardless was good. The veal was cooked perfectly! Side was some penne with house red sauce on top. Now I'm a bit picky here, the pasta and sauce should be married so the pasta gains the flavor of the sauce! Still good just not how I was brought up.

I finished watching Sopranos recently so I was really looking forward to having dinner at this South Philly institution. The food was so, so good. I ordered the gnocchi and they truly melted in your mouth, but I tried bites of everyone else's dishes and they tasted great as well. There are standouts here (known for the perciatelli, gnocchi) but based on what I had I think you wouldn't be disappointed with anything. I do think the caprese was just alright though. I enjoyed it but probably wouldn't rush to order it again. About the service... we came here for a birthday dinner. We had a reservation (call ahead to place one) for 6, and our 6th was running a little late. They seated us anyway, but our server didn't check in to get our drink or appetizer order while we waited so we just sat there. Tables of two were getting far more attention throughout the night. I think it could've been where we were seated (tucked around the corner from the bar), but our service for the night was a bit slow. I don't mind servers that give you space, but I think we would've ordered more wine had they be checking in more. The interior on the corner side of the restaurant is just gorgeous though! And it had all the Italian vibes we were looking for.Prices for pastas are $18+ with most of the favorites in the $22-28 range. A bit pricey but big portions!

This Italian restaurant was established in 1889. They have brochures at the lobby narrating the history of the restaurant. Very romantic and elegant setting with beautiful chandelier and well maintained ornate wall papers. It reminded me of a manor house. The restaurant has several dining rooms and spacious seatings. I recommend to dress up although dress code is not enforced. The waiters and waitresses were well dressed with white shirts and ties and black pants. Two waiters who were in my dining area were friendly but still maintained formality. Appetizer: fried calamari. Big ring, fresh and tender, not overly breaded accompanied with marinara. Highly recommended.Entree: stuffed pork chop. The chop had the bone intact. It was filleted, filled with prosciutto and cheese then rolled back in to maintain the form of a chop.The sauce is similar to Marsala. Great flavor and perfectly cooked. It came with penne with marinara but I was too full to eat it so I took it home.Sarcone bread was served as complimentary with olive oil and balsamic vinegar.Definitely check out this place for a classic Italian dining experience.

Pardon the delay in expressing my admiration for Dante & Luigi's, a long-time favorite of mine in Philadelphia, reserved for special occasions or when entertaining family! The white tablecloths really do make it fancy! Over the years, my classic order of a Caesar salad and Shrimp Scampi over Linguini, followed by the lovely combination of Limoncello and Tiramisu for dessert has never failed to delight. However, a recent pre-wedding celebration prompted me to explore the Linguini with Crab Bianco which I now believe will be my go-to!Consistently, the servers have been wonderful and are always willing to provide insightful suggestions or share their personal favorites from the menu.Securing reservations is highly advisable, and if you're fortunate enough to secure a spot, I wholeheartedly recommend requesting a seat in the bar area. The ambiance transports you, evoking a nostalgic sense of stepping back in time--a charming addition to an already exceptional dining experience. Just do yourself a favor and book a reservation here!

A true diamond in the rough. I came here for my father's seventy-fifth birthday on Tuesday night when they opened at 4pm. We both busted out from a poker tournament at Philadelphia Live! Hotel and Casino and did not feel like hanging around the casino aka lose more money while waiting for the casino restaurants to open.My dad mentioned a few Italian restaurants in the city that we usually frequent when in South Philly as we debated which place to venture off to, they consisted of: Ralph's (which has been going downhill for quite a number of years from its hay day), Villa Di Roma (good South Philly Staple), when I interjected and said lets go someplace special its you're seventy-fifth for crying out loud and I will treat. It was settled we were off to Dante & Luigi's, which I have been to twice before and both times it was five stars all around.We started with an appetizer of whole stuffed Calamari. The dish comes with Calamari Rings bathed in a delicious red sauce along with one giant Calamari tube stuffed with shrimp. I have gotten a version of this before here with crabmeat however the server informed me the price of crabmeat has gone through the roof so they have replaced the option of crabmeat with shrimp (o well, can't win them all right).Moved on to an order of Bruschetta, which had eggplant, Vidalia Bermuda sweet onions, and tomatoes over the toast that was crostini in nature as it was it was baked to a crunchy delivering vehicle for the ingredients aboard. On to the Mains. Waiter talked up the Sunday Gravy Pasta Meal that they were supposedly offering on Tuesday and I was sold on it. He described it as an authentic old school Italian sauce with Italian meat cooked in with a sweet sausage and a meatball with pasta of choice. When he described what Perciatelli pasta was I started clapping my hands lol no joke. He responded, I think by that response we found a winner!Yesterday was my first introduction to Perciatelli, the waiter explained it was a lot like Bucatini (my favorite type of pasta). What are the main differences you ask from Perciatelli vs Bucatini? Research below, Size: Perciatelli is thin and long, while Bucatini is thicker and shorter.Shape: Bucatini is hollow, with a small hole running through the center, while Perciatelli has a solid center.Flavor: Perciatelli takes in more sauce due to its thickness, while Bucatini serves best for soup dishes.Texture: Perciatelli is thicker and more chewy, while Bucatini has a thinner spaghetti-like consistency.Still with me?Now the bad news is after coming back from the kitchen, I was informed they did away with the Sunday Gravy Dish for today. I went with a green pepper entree that is stuffed with: Veal, meat, not sure what else to be honest but it came with a side of Penne and he brough me a half portion size of Perciatelli (thank God, as I could not leave there without trying this new pasta to me).The Perciatelli did live up to my expectation and is now my favorite type of pasta with Bucatini not far behind. My dad went with the Seafood Cioppino (Lobster tail, Calamari, Shrimp, Mussels & Clams over Linguini, in a spicy Marinara or Bianco sauce). This is the dish I had in my rearview mirror and would normally get but I wanted to venture off my usual path just a bit. My dad loved it and ended up taking home some as the order of two appetizers was probably not needed as we had a mountain of food between the two of us.I forced my dad to share a dessert with me as it was his seventy-fifth and just feels wrong to leave without a dessert for any birthday really. We went with the Ricotta Cannoli with Chocolate Chips (Ricotta Cheese is highlighted with Chocolate Chips and Hazelnut Liqueur). Freaking amazing! We were able to eat half of it and brought the rest home. Pro-Tip : Bring cash. The server writes two amounts when your bill comes, it is a 10% discount if you pay in cash.I have to come back here to try the Sunday Gravy, only this time I will come on a Sunday to make sure they have it : )As always people SYOY!!!

Had a fabulous birthday dinner! Our waiter was very attentive, prices were appropriate! We were a party of 8 and our table was nice and quaint so i didn't think we needed to shout or anything! We were there on a Sunday night and we weren't rushed at all! Pasta descriptions on each photo! The carbonara and lasagna were my favorites :)