L'Anima

Delicious Italian food with excellent service in a nice modern open space. The appetizers, pizzas which some of us shared for appetizers, and pastas were all excellent. I didn't realize until we got there that it is the same ownership as Melograno in Center City, and it is very similar in many good ways. The space is open and comfortable. It's a larger space so the tables are not right on top of one another which was really nice. we came a little early, 6:30 PM for dinner, and so many of the other tables were families with young children. That's neither good nor bad, just likely reflect both the hour and the neighborhood. All in all and excellent dinner and look forward to coming back.

Such a lovely dinner at L'Anima. The restaurant has such nice ambiance...warm setting, warm servers, big dining room and on a less hot day (98 degrees in Philadelphia last night) a lovely outdoor patio. We chose to dine inside. Julio was our server and he was lovely and professional and treated us with care. We started the meal with the special for the appetizer which was cantaloupe with prosciutto. It was delightful . I would have never considered this combination but it was so delicious. Summery and sweet and salty. For my main, I enjoyed the pappardelle wild boar bolognese and my friend had the roasted pork tenderloin. Both dishes were excellent. Pasta was al dente, the sauce was rich and flavorful and the meat was tender throughout the dish. My friend said her pork was excellent (served with polenta). We ended the evening with a mixed berry and mint pane cotto. So good! We enjoyed delicious food, great service and an evening well spent while we lingered over our glasses of wine. (BYOB!) Don't skip this one, Philly. You'll be missing out.

We had a great dining experience at L'Anima. Our server was one of the best servers I've had in a long time - super attentive, patient, and knowledgable. He was also very kind and helpful with our restless toddler (brought plain bread for him alongside our seasoned bread, offered to bring his food alongside the app, brought our check quickly when he was ready to get out of there). We felt very welcome and able to enjoy our food when I'm often self-conscious about our toddler making too much noise or mess. Our food was also fantastic - loved the bolognese (super tender, delicious boar), pesto and fish special of the day. Very high quality food - will super happily return!

You can find my little family at L'Anima almost every Friday night. My husband and I order the pasta and fish specials almost every time we go and we are never disappointed. My six year old could eat their octopus appetizer by the pound. We are met with a smile and fantastic service every time we go and they treat us like family. We are so thankful for L'Anima and what it's brought to our neighborhood and family. Oh, and their bread... YUM!

I've been meaning to try this place for years and finally made it this week. My friend & I were seated immediately (we had reservations). It was pretty empty when we arrived, but it filled up quickly.We had already decided to split the octopus since my friend remembered it being delicious when he came a few years ago and it lived up to the memory. It was cooked perfectly and was the perfect portion for two people to split.For entrees, my friend got the squid ink tonarelli with tuna and I got the pasta special of the night- it was pasta with crab in a garlicky-lemon sauce. Both of us loved our entrees. We also appreciated that there was a generous amount of meat in both dishes. We got two desserts to share: the coffee tiramisu and the pistachio gelato with chocolate flan. The chocolate flan was more of a lava cake than flan, but lava cake is always a good idea so no complaints there. We really enjoyed both desserts. Overall, this is a really cozy date spot and we had a good time here. The staff were all wonderful and we didn't have a single complaint about the food.

Our first time here and a lovely little walk to get there. The ambiance and service were top notch. It was really lovely eating outside in the courtyard. My favorite was the bread and the dessert. Hands down the most incredible parts. The entrees were ok. We were excited to eat here as my wife is from the same area in Italy as the chef and the food was very authentic. But severely under-seasoned. It really needed more salt and unfortunately it was one of those restaurants that doesn't give you salt at the table.

The vibe is great especially outdoor with byob being a major plus. Flatbread pizza is good and the gnocchi is amazing but slightly small

We've lived right around the corner from L'anima for 2 years, and we finally made it to try out their cuisine! I easily made reservations for me, my husband, and my parents on a Friday night. The inside space is quite large, and they also offer ample outdoor seating. It was a blistering summer day, so we were super grateful to be in the nice AC of the restaurant! The decor is simple yet modern, although not much from the decor screams "Italian restaurant." We did love the large light fixture in the middle of the room (is it pasta? is it octopus tentacles??)! Our service was very attentive during our meal, and our server provided many helpful suggestions. L'anima's menu is small but large enough to showcase some great pastas and more. We all split their seasonal app with corn and crab, which was delightful and fresh for the season. We indulged in the complimentary bread that hit our table prior to our meal coming out, which is always a welcome addition to any meal. The accompanying oil was a nice touch, as well. For mains, I had my eye on the squid ink pasta, which did not disappoint. It was pretty full of tuna, and the simplicity yet complexity of the squid ink infused tonnarelli was excellent. One of the best pasta dishes I've had in Philly! My husband and dad went for the papperdelle with boar bolognese, which they highly regarded. My mom opted for the potato gnocchi - after trying a bite, I was a tad jealous I didn't go for this dish, although I did love mine. The gnocchi weren't too heavy themselves, and they were nicely paired with a light yet somewhat dense cream sauce and many mushrooms. Another of the finer Philly pasta dishes I've tried! On top of our delish pasta, we loved that L'anima was BYOB without a corkage fee (something my parents are not used to in their hometown of Pittsburgh). With the $$ we saved on wine, we were able to enjoy our pastas and app without concern. Overall, we loved L'anima and I would argue that they have some of the finest homemade pasta dishes in the city. I'm only disappointed that it took me so long to get here! I would highly recommend anyone looking for an authentic BYOB Italian restaurant at a reasonable price point. We will definitely be back!

BYOB restaurant! My faves were the burrata and the gnocchi. The short rib pasta was good too. I didn't love the squid ink pasta. The tuna was good but it felt frozen. Staff was nice and accommodating.

L'anima has been on my list since before COVID and only bubbled up today as we were looking for a new place to try. It did not disappoint us in any way - the Pizza that we tried - Mushrooms and Prosciutto was really good. Roman style thin and crispy but with just enough sauce and toppings! Very tasty. We also tried the Caesar Salad - small - we ordered 2 to share amongst 6. We also tried four different pastas - the special - butternut squash raviolis, the Pappardelle with Wild Boar sauce (our favorite of the four), Cacio de Pepe, and the pasta with crab sauce (our least favorite). Each and every pasta was done to perfection. It was such a nice evening we sat outside in their lovely courtyard - and loved the fact that it is BYOB! We will definitely be back!