La Viola

Always a good choice for good food and fun times. The portions are hearty and tasty. We ordered calamari for the table and each had a pasta. Delicious. Staff is fun.

Service was awful. Our server took our order than dissappeared for the rest of our meal. Very strange "flow" (or lack thereof) for a restaurant. Appeared that no one was really "in charge" and no management to speak of. The food was fine , but nothing earth shaking. The ribeye was decent. Again, "service" was practically non-existent. Very clearly understaffed and there seemed to be no one who really cared to make our visit a memorable one. Honestly, I'm surprised this restaurant manages to stay in business with the wide variety of italian restaurants that surround it such as Ralph's, villa d, etc. No one is taking pride here and if it's family owned, you really should have dinner at your own restaurant on a saturday night. as a former server for many years I can only say good luck and I hope this was an anomaly because we will not be back:(

Overall: La viola is always my go to when I'm feeling Italian and byob. All the spaghetti I've ordered from here never fails to surprise me and ingredients are decent! Ive shown up several times with out a reservation and they stil happily take my party on a weekend night, definitely a hidden gem! Ambiance: not too dim, can get crowdedService: always great and friendly Tip: BYOB and CASH ONLY!

Nice little spot but very crowded and loud. It's BYOB which is really nice but cash only which is hard in a large group. We went for my friends bday dinner and each tried something different. We all split some apps which were good. The Caesar salad dressing is delicious. The antipasta had a lot of food fresh meats and cheeses. My orecchiette was ok but pretty bland. There wasn't much flavor to the sauce or dish in general. My friends enjoyed the gnocchi but overall no one was super impressed.

Oldie but goodie BYO between Rittenhouse and theater district. Everything on the menu is fantastic, especially the homemade pasta. Excellent service highlighted by the family feel of the entire experience. Like many family affairs, it can get quite loud but that didn't stop our group from having a delightful conversation with our neighboring table.

Intimate BYOB, CASH ONLY dining experience almost like in the dining room of someone's home. Came here on a Thursday night and all tables were full, would definitely recommend getting a reservation. Some of the closer banks didn't even having working ATMS so I would plan ahead getting cash. Ambience was intimate and low lit so nice for a date but also great for groups with a reservation for a nice BYOB spot. The have two prix fixe menus along with the normal menu. One comes with an appetizer and entree for $25 and the other one is the same with dessert and a more extensive selection of dishes for $35. We chose the first one which was a pretty good deal. I got the arugula salad and pasta both of which were yummy. We also got the tiramisu for dessert to share.

I was looking forward to dining here and was unfortunately disappointed. My friend and I had a reservation and were forced to order from the restaurant week menu. Neither of us were hungry enough for a 3 course meal and we would have appreciated it if it was indicated before we reserved that the standard menu would not be available. We were also not informed that the restaurant is cash only until the bill arrived. In addition, the hostess was rude to my friend. I don't usually write negative reviews but it just felt like one thing after another with this place. My friend and I are both easy going people and even we felt fed up with the entire experience. At least there was an ATM machine within the restaurant, the food was okay, and the waiters were nice enough. Overall, I was not impressed and will not be returning.

3.5One of the best options for restaurant week as they give you a four course meal with coffee/cappuccino. First course - Caesar salad was delicious in a light dressing with great flavor. The trout salad was also very tasty. Standard Buffalo mozzarella Second course - mussels in a red sauce was very good could have used a title heat. The mushroom appetizer was fair. The pea soup was spot on Third course - the homemade pasta was cooked perfectly but lacked flavor. The veal was fair but the lemon chicken was tasty. Best meal was the Orecchiette Alla Romana (not pictured) due to the rich flavor and tasty combination of meats. Fourth course - dessert; we had one of each and they were all good. Added plus was the coffee/cappuccino which isn't usually offered at a restaurant week.

Had a taste for some Italian food and based off the reviews decided to stop and try it out. We were seated immediately. Inside was clean yet dim. Staff was friendly and attentive to tables around. Ordered the lobster ravioli and ..can't remember but penne pasta, red sauce and add a protein to it (chicken). Nothing about the meals stood out. Flavor wise it tasted like something was missing but couldn't place what was missing. I wasn't too impressed with our food and left a bit disappointed.

Dinner tonight was amazing. However, our wonderful meal was capped off with Dominick, coming over to our table. What a sweet, funny and interesting man.We look forward to going back for dinner with the hope of Dominick joining us for dinner!