Le Virtu

Le Virtu is one of my favorite restaurants in Philly. The restaurant is gorgeous inside and out, and has amazing ambiance. I personally love sitting at the bar, but the outside is lovely with a community table, beautiful greenery and a huge patio.The service is always great. They've had some staff changes lately, but it doesn't seem like anything to worry about. The new staff has been great so far. I don't think I've ever had a bad meal at Le Virtu. Or a bad drink - they have an impressive wine list! They also added a wine shop lately, which I've been frequenting. Overall, a great place for a night out!

I had THE most delicious pre-race dinner at Le Virtu two weekends ago with my husband. The whole place -- outside and inside had a rustic feel, which matched the style of the restaurant's food. To start, my husband and I shared an order of the fried calamari. The calamari was soft and delicious. Not one bit overcooked or rubbery. Since we came here to carb up, I ordered the Taccozelle, while my husband had the Chitarra frentana with the Butchers' ragu. My husband's red sauce pasta was good, but nowhere near as good as the Taccozelle. I absolutely loved my Taccozelle. Everything in this dish complemented each other, from the mushrooms, the black truffle and the saffron. I savored every single bite. I could eat this pasta every day. Our pasta dishes were sizable portions and my husband and I both polished our entire plates. We were both very full, but decided we wanted dessert anyway. We decided to share the tiramisu and chocolate mousse. Both were well-made desserts, but I would definitely recommend the tiramisu over the chocolate mousse. Service was great. The staff here were very nice. Le Virtu is also dog friendly! I cannot wait to come back here with our dog when the weather is warmer!

Le Virtu is my go to in South Philly for Italian, hands down. There are so many reasons to come here, and I urge anyone looking for a great night out to try it. First and foremost is the food. This isn't a place for your made for Instagram, two bites and you're done, overhyped BS. No no. When you get a plate of pasta here, you get a large helping of some PERFECTLY cooked tagliatelle or gnocchi, heavily sauced and seasoned to perfection. Although I am usually an appetizer guy, I actually recommend skipping the appetizers and going straight for the pasta as a starter, then finishing up with a meat or fish dish, European style. The menu is set up this way, and while apps then pasta is a totally valid way to do it, the apps are not the strongest part of the menu and it would be SUCH a shame to miss out on either the pasta or their amazing second courses--Branzino and swordfish particularly stick out to me. One of my favorite things is that Le Virtu isn't run by a Mr. Starr or a Mr. Schulson who have a dozen other restaurants in a dozen other cities, but rather by a really kind operator and his wife, who have been running the show for over ten years now. This means that they're really part of the community, and the difference shows. The owners have done local fundraisers for various causes, as well as national issues, such as donating a given weeks worth of profits to Afghan refugees or Planned Parenthood, as two recent examples come to mind. The people who work here also really seem to like being here, and it shows in the service, which has been spectacular, kind, and pretty witty, with plenty of good advice and friendly banter during the meal. The patio space is gorgeous, and the inside doesn't feel crowded at all either. It does tend to get pretty busy on peak weekends, but it's really worth snagging a reservation! I love coming here on weeknights too--a little slower, quieter vibe, but a great night out nonetheless. They have a full bar but also allow BYO for a fee - I believe it's $25. No fee on Tuesdays, which I have take advantage of more than a few times! Go to Le Virtu! Get a patio seat in the summer, or go on Tuesdays for a fun weekday date night out. You won't regret it!

my order was the cavatelli's, the pasta was very soft and the sauce it was in taste it like crab gravy, which was very nice and unique for a cavatelli dish. The shrimp were also cooked very well and tasted very fresh. The service was very good fast and on point. The ambience outside where I sat was very nice and gave a feel as i was outside in Italy.

By far, this is the worst service I've witnessed in a long time. Dinner portions during restaurant week are a little smaller than regular dish sizes (which is reasonable), our main waitress was kind and appropriate, but my biggest gripe is with side service (unsure of the terminology). During the entire dinner event, we can hear swearing from the kitchen, staff talking about mixing up the dishes, or 'you can't cook this like this, it's ok, the kids won't tell a difference.' When we asked to take some food to go, the other assistants just dropped off the to go boxes on our table like we're charity cases. Finally, as we were leaving, my daughter bumped into a staff because he stopped walking all of a sudden. Instead of apologizing or asking if my toddler was ok, he just stared at us, and continued his work.I can't justify our dinner event (which, I think the pasta were a bit underwhelming) when we were affronted with this kind of mannerism. My advice is to please provide consistent training across your staff members.

Excellent restaurant on South Philly's diagonal Passyunk Avenue, with nice mix of outdoor and indoor dining. The menu is imaginative and great for wine-pairing.

My husband and I came out for dinner here and this was definitely one of our favorite stops from our mini vacation to Philadelphia. We made a reservation for dinner and we were seated immediately. It was a beautiful night to be sitting outdoors with the musicians they had playing music as you ate. The food was delicious! We have been to Italy before and when we had the pasta we definitely tasted the similarities. My husband was melting in his seat after his first bite. No photos because I only had a video of it, but it was the fazzoletti Al ragu'd'anatra. Yum! They even helped split into two plates since we were sharing. The mussels were also really good. Probably one of the best we've tried so far. We were also sold on the special of the day where they had branzino. Super flaky and cooked perfectly. We really enjoyed our meal here and wish we were able to visit once more before we left Philadelphia. If we ever are in town again, we'll definitely try to make another visit here to try more dishes.

Don't overlook Le Virtu. Yes, while from the outside, it may appear to be a bit more formal, it truly can accommodate dressing down a bit (comfy casual). They have a full bar with signature drink items and plenty of wine. Our party was running late and they were so flexible for us! Definitely high quality service.The food was SO good. I ordered red mussels for an appetizer. This was something else...I literally had to pass my dish around for everyone to swipe their bread through it.For dinner I had their lemon gnocchi with sausage. This was standard - nothing crazy good or bad about it, but next time I head there, I'll try something else (which is easy to do given the size and variety of their menu.)

First visit to Philadelphia and first dinner out. Very impressed with the service and food. Small but diverse menu serving more upscale Italian delicacies. We chose a the Affetati Misti appetizer platter of cured Italian meats, sliced paper thin, with vegetables and pizza frites. Excellent starter. For dinner I chose a braised lamb with black truffle mushrooms which was fall off the bone delicious. As sides we chose table sized portions of broccoli rabe and a long pepper stuffed with sausage and cheese. Finished with espresso w/sambuca. Thoroughly enjoyed the experience

Terrific evening with friends. Creative and traditional melded into some beautiful dishes served by a truly professional staff in a lovely space. Bravo!