Vetri Cucina

For my birthday this year, we decided to treat ourselves to an unforgettable evening at Vetri Cucina in Philadelphia. From the moment I walked in, I knew I was in for something special. The ambiance was warm and inviting, with a touch of sophistication that set the perfect tone for the night.We decided to try both the seasonal course menu and the classic menu, and every single dish was a delight. The pasta was perfectly cooked, the bread was fresh and warm, and each plate was a beautiful combination of flavors that just melted in my mouth. The food tasted incredibly fresh and was simply delicious.The wine pairing was a highlight of the evening. Each wine was carefully selected to match the flavors of the dishes, creating a unique and delightful experience with every course. It was unlike anything I've ever tasted and added an extra layer of enjoyment to the meal.The service was fantastic. The staff was friendly, attentive, and really knowledgeable about the menu and wine pairings. The cozy setting, with only a few tables served each night, made it feel like a private dining experience. It was a pleasant and intimate atmosphere that made the night even more special.Overall, my birthday dinner at Vetri Cucina was everything I hoped for and more. The food was amazing, the wine was perfect, and the service was top-notch. It was definitely worth the hype, and I can't recommend it enough. If you're looking for a special dining experience in Philadelphia, Vetri Cucina is the place to go.

Tucked away in a stately Spruce Street townhouse - the former home of Georges Perrier's late, great Le Bec Fin before it moved to its Walnut Street location - Vetri Cucina, which opened its doors in 1998, remains the distinguished flagship of chef/restaurateur Marc Vetri's restaurant regime.The interior is sedate and sophisticated. And while servers are young, they are also quite personable and extremely knowledgeable with regard to both menu and wine list. They set the tone for our evening at table; and we sensed from the moment we were seated that the experience will be a pleasant one.The evening of our visit we chose the four course tasting menu, currently priced at $165.00 per person (plus beverages, tax, gratuity and various supplements). There were, however, a number of freebies along the way, which added enjoyment. My dining companion and I began, for example, with complimentary glasses of prosecco spiked with bitters, a delightful concoction that immediately energized our appetites for the good things to come. This was followed by an intriguing amuse-bouche of mini toasts adorned with silky chicken liver mousse topped with mascarpone and pistachio.To begin the meal proper, my dining partner couldn't resist the Squab en Croûte, the moist tender meat of a young pigeon encased in a light, flaky pastry crust. The thing that really attracted her to the dish, however, was its accompaniment, the rhubarb agrodolce. This is a condiment that is made by reducing sugar or honey, vinegar, and sometimes fruit and/or vegetables; in this case, rhubarb. The result was a slightly sticky, marvelously tangy sweet-tart sauce that succeeded in propelling the appetizer into orbit.And my Sweet Onion Crepe was every bit its equal and even more addictive. Prepared to caramelized perfection, the sweet onion flavor was simply irresistible. But the pièce de résistance was the pool of truffle-infused parmesan fondue, the perfect complement to the decadently delicious starter... This is one wow of a dish that is simply not to be missed.The pasta course also had a great deal going for it. My dining partner quickly settled on the Spinach Gnocchi, which was an excellent choice... And the ethereal dumplings found the perfect traveling companions in shaved ricotta salata and splash of brown butter. But even better, in my opinion, was the Ramp Ravioli revved up with a ricotta cheese filling and dash of lemon. An absolute winner! As an added bonus, the kitchen sent out a complimentary plate of their Tagliolini with Morel Mushroom Ragu for us to share. Tagliolini is a type of ribbon pasta, long like spaghetti, similar to tagliatelle, but thin like capellini. It is a traditional recipe in the Molise and Piedmont regions of Italy. Although not as photogenic as either the Spinach Gnocchi or Ramp Ravioli, the Tagliolini was, in its own unique way, exceedingly comforting as well as soul-satisfyingly delicious.Since my dining partner and I both love Dover sole, when the Dover Sole for Two was announced as an entrée special, it was, as they say, a done deal - especially since our server noted that it would be prepared à la meunière. The word itself means "miller's wife" in French. The fish is first dredged in flour and then sautéed. The meunière sauce, as the name implies, is a simple, rustic presentation consisting of brown butter, chopped parsley, and lemon. What arrived at our table, however, was strictly a bastardized version... filets drowned in a surprisingly viscous sauce overwhelmed with radish slices and a salty flavor derived from a surfeit of capers... And, as if to add insult to injury, the texture of the fish was decidedly rubbery, a sure sign of overcooking. Not the kitchen's finest hour.Desserts, though were right back on track... However, one very important additional item needs to be mentioned... namely, the wines. Two white wines being offered by the glass were particularly noteworthy. The first was the Tiefenbrunner Müller Thurgau 2018 "Feldmarschall von Fenner" from the Alto Adige region of Italy; the second, Domaine Thomas St. Aubin 1er Cru 2018 "Murgers des Dents de Chien," a chardonnay from Burgundy, France. Both wines were extremely impressive... And the restaurant's price tag was pretty impressive as well... $35.00 per glass. $35.00!!!!! Both these wines were very nice, indeed... but charging $35.00 per glass is more than just a little outrageous. Especially when you realize that the Tiefenbrunner may be purchased online for $43.99 per bottle ($48.99 through PA State Stores); and the Domaine Thomas is available from Total Wine for $59.99 per bottle. Couple this with the disappointing Dover sole, and the fact that the check for the evening, including tax and tip, came to over $400.00, and you begin to understand why our visit to Vetri Cucina prompted such a host of mixed emotions.

I read a lot of reviews prior to writing . I didn't want to start mine out the same but it true. I wanted to love this place so much more than I did. A Philly icon chef who has taught and train so many more talented chefs what a place. We arrived for our 6 o clock reservation. Many tables were full. The space is dimly lit , drab void of any decor. It was meant to be simple cooking with simple ingredients. The china was bone and white plain, the glasses were all murano and noticed the napkins were also from Italy. Now on to the food. The summer menu wasn't awfully appealing to us but one of many wait staff explained that you can add on take away, substitute from either menu. We stuck to the regular menus and picked courses to our liking. We were asked about food preferences and allergies at the beginning and told the chef will accommodate as best they can worth mentioning we didn't have any allergies or preferences. We started with amuse bouche. Was a lobster soup wonton. It was meant to not be savored but one bite. It was tasty but hard to taste in one bite. We had the onion crepe which looks more like a slice of an onion crepe but wonderfully flavorful with sweetness and saltiness. My better half opted for the chorizo stuffed octopus which he say was good not amazing. We had a pasta course of rabbit ragu and the split gnocchi and tortellini. The tortellini was good but the brown butter was off for the gnocchi. It usually has a nutty flavor but this seemed greasy only. For entrees I had the smoked lamb which was absent of all smoke. One lamb chop came on the plate which offered about three bites . We also ordered the striped bass which came out decorated beautifully but not flavored so well . Only finished half of the entree. The dessert was the star the molten pistachio cake was complimentary for our anniversary and was good. The cheeesecake option was also decadent and creamy and delicious. We also had the polenta biscuit with gelato that one wasn't as memorable or pretty. The meal also had some bread service with butter and andouille spread which was just off. We had a sorbet with yogurt palate cleanser. They started off the meal with complementary cocktail.... It was lovely summer spritzer that was nice start. We opted not to do the wine pairing as we don't always love sweeter wines and opted to buy a single bottle to share. The wine was Italian and good. All in all we had a nice time , it definitely didn't live up to the hype of other reviewers but that's food for you. We all have different preferences and expectations. All in dinner was 540.00 for 2 people including gratuity. Was a special night out for us.

Service was absolutely amazing. We were running late, and they were very accommodating and told us to just relax when we got there (almost 40 min late for our reservation due to Presidency campaigning being in the city & blocking off many freeway exits).They started us off with some sweet wine which was great. We got the Classic Tasting Menu which I'll detail below. The "*" indicates their older menu items that have not really changed and they highly recommend. It was not always my favorite. I also did the wine pairing which is 3 oz a pour each item, and was decent. If you finish it all it can get you a good buzz. For the price of another person, I do not know if I would do it again though. (Free) Oyster - strawberry ontop. Already separated for you so you can just slurp it up. Tasty and nice freebie.*FOIE GRAS PASTRAMI with TOASTED BRIOCHE - Four pieces, very rich and buttery. Well prepared and creamy - not a huge foie gras person but probably one of the best I've ever tried(Free) Tableside bread - very soft, came with a pork/sausage spread which had a pepperoni-like spread taste. Unique.Antipasta- TESTINAMILANESE - the most flavorful, very tasty and enjoyable. Probably my favorite of the 3 tried- GRILLED OCTOPUS - was expecting more. It was well cooked but just not super flavorful- *SWEET ONION CREPE - Very uniquely cooked with the layers. Nice flavor. Would recommend.Pasta- MANDILLIDISETA - not a big portion but very tasty, not a strong mushroom flavor. probably my favorite of the 3 tried.- PACCHERI ALL'ARRABBIATA - lobster was good and pasta was shaped in a very unique style, was good but nothing super unique- *CLASSIC SPLIT - gnocchi is more flavorful but has a decently strong spinach flavoringSecondi- POACHED HALIBUT - well cooked just a little too soupy/watery. The - VEAL - little bit of fat in the piece served but tasty- PORK SECRETO - pork shoulder that's nice and crispy, potatoes were layered and very well cooked. My favorite of the 3 tried.(Free) Palette cleanser - tasty light, mix of luke warm and cold, sweet flavoringDolci- *MOLTEN PISTACHIO CAKE - a must! This was delicious. Came with a little congratulations chocolate. Easily the best of the 3- STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE - Good but nothing out of the ordinary- COFFEE SEMIFREDDO - Tasty, nice combination of a hard and soft pieces. (Free) Cookies - Nice finishing 3 types of cookies given at the endThroughout the night there was fantastic service. The initial server did mishear me in asking for still instead of sparkling water so the whole night I got sparkling water but I didn't mind. The servers speak off a script when presenting the food, and it felt so rehearsed I'm not sure how much they would know if asked things OFF the script. Inside looks a little older style. The glasswear and setting are all nice. There is a kitchen experience that I saw some others going to that seemed very fun to hang out with the chefs.Overall, it is a pretty penny to attend but service is fantastic and they give you a bunch of freebies throughout the night. We got an extra dessert because they served an incorrect one on accident (not sure if it was truly an accident because they had the second one ready immediately), oysters, a Polaroid picture for memory, extra cookies, and wine. Service: 5/5Ambiance: 4/5Food: 4.5/5

Last weekend, my husband and I enjoyed a lovely date night at Vetri. The last time we ate at Vetri was 3 years ago, right before the pandemic. There have been some changes and new additions to the tasting menu. We definitely had more variety and more food before. Even though we got less food from the tasting menu this time around, the cuisine was more elevated. The complimentary pre-dinner bites from 3 years ago were these local raw vegetables. There's nothing wrong with local raw vegetables, but it just didn't make any sense as part of Vetri's tasting menu. Last weekend's complimentary pre-dinner bites were raw oysters with salmon roe and a celery root soup, which made more sense and was definitely an upgrade from before.I did notice service was slow to start and reminded me of the slow service from 3 years ago. Since we were both starving, we ordered the foie gras pastrami with toasted Brioche as an add-on and thought that would arrive quicker than the rest of our food. Eventually, the foie gras pastrami with toasted Brioche arrived, and it was so good. After that, the service picked up. The house bread with house made 'nduja was delicious. Our server didn't mind that my husband asked for another serving of 'nduja. For our appetizers, my husband had the torched Hiramasa Crudo, and I had the Potato Burik with broccolini and caviar. Nothing out of the ordinary, but we both enjoyed our dishes. Then came the pasta course. The spinach gnocchi and almond tortellini classic split and the chestnut agnolotti were spot on. You can always count on Marc Vetri's pastas. After the pasta courses came our meat dishes. I had the seared venison, and my husband had the smoked baby goat. I loved my seared venison. It was perfectly prepared and I could have totally eaten another one. Desserts were a molten pistachio cake and rice cake. The Molten pistachio cake was delicious. My husband wished he didn't get the rice cake. I definitely prefer the new and improved version of Vetri. Even though I didn't walk out with a stuffed belly like last time, I enjoyed every single bite.

Recently visited for a private event, and the experience was great! The dining room was stunning and the opportunity to watch things being prepared in the kitchen was very cool. The staff were very friendly and extremely knowledgeable and passionate about everything being served. There were a lot of food options between the reception and tasting menu. They were even able to accommodate and make substitutions to account for dietary needs. My only knock is that the tasting experience is pretty pricey, but that's to be expected given the level of service and quality of food.

About a 1-1.5: We came to Vetri Cucina as a group after a work event, and we all opted to go for the seasonal Forchetta menu, as it had the option of adding a white truffle supplement (which, we did).The menu included:+Sweet onion crepe with truffle & Parm fonduta - reminded us of a French onion soup, but in crepe form+Veal Tartare with brown butter, sweetbreads, and hazelnuts+Beef shank cappelletti with parsnip custard stuffed bone marrow+Salt baked branzino with charred brussels sprouts - this was overly salty+Squab en croute with cippolini and stone-milled polenta with chestnut crema and cured egg yolk - didn't try this, as I'm not a fan of squab+Blond chocolate budinoThe white truffle shavings were generous and ample.Service was a bit underwhelming; we felt that it was a snail-like pace and were eager to finish and leave.Lot available adjacent to the restaurant.+underwhelming menu items+slow service+lot adjacent to restaurant

Food and service is excellent. I will always pick on wine costs in any restaurant other than byo of course.I don't spend money on golf etc., other than the orchestra and FOOD & WINE. I mention this because I will occasionally indulge in Michelin rated restaurants in other cities. Philly will not pay for Michelin rated reviews of their city. I think it costs $100k - perhaps a year, but Michelin probably won't pay their demands.I mention the Michelin ratings, because Vetri is perhaps a 2 star. Dinner cost was close to $600 w/o tip. The only issue was the cheap wine for $145, but it was ok. This was of course w/o the Philly 10% drink tax. If this was a byo, we would likely visit 5 times or more per year for the great food. Probably once per year for a special occasion. My wife is worth it.

This was our first visit to Vetri after years of being on our list. We came to celebrate a special occasion, and Vetri did not disappoint. Service was 5/5 100% One notable situation that night is that when we were ordering the pastas, I had asked the server if we can add on a pasta mid-meal as we weren't sure of our hunger level and were stuck between 3 pastas we really wanted to try including the morel mushroom one. The morel mushroom one ended up being the one we were going to add on later. The server had asked which pasta we were thinking about adding on later. Fast forward to the pasta portion of the meal, our server had given us a serving of the morel mushroom pasta to try - on the house! That morel mushroom pasta was so flavorful, and ended up being our favorite of the 3 pastas we chose. The noise level is average, and the setting of the restaurant is well lit, bright and a wonderful atmosphere for a good meal. For our entree we tried the pork cheek and the sole. Both were very good - but 2 months later what I still remember the most is that mushroom pasta and the service we received.At the end of our meal - the desserts were decorated with "congratulations" from the pastry chef, a thoughtful touch to our celebration. When the check came, there were even more complimentary bon bons - my favorite being the raspberry caramel.I would highly recommend Vetri for a special occasion. It's not cheap, but in my opinion worth every cent for the experience you receive. Hats off to both the front and back of house, chefs, sous chefs, pastry chefs , everyone - thank you for an unforgettable experience.

This restaurant is so overrated!! Service was good but food was mediocre. The duck was chewy, the swordfish antipasti was tough, the lobster in the pasta was very overcooked!!Best part was dessert. Over $400.00 for such a mediocre meal. Never again!! There are so many better restaurants . Philadelphia!!