Best Seasonal Restaurants in South Philly

We had a wonderful evening at River Twice. From the warm, friendly greetings by the hostess and the wait staff, to the food itself, this all made for an excellent dinner in one of Philly's most interesting neighborhoods. The meal itself was a great value, with four noteworthy- and interesting- small courses including a terrific dessert. I also recommend the wine pairing.

Wow! This was an awesome experience! As a fan of the Rocky film series, I knew about this place from the Rocky Balboa and Creed films. It is so much more than that, though. As the founder was a major player in early 20th century opera recordings, The Victor Cafe has an opera theme permeating its soul. The walls are adorned with photos of the opera greats, opera music plays softly in the background, and, most importantly, the waitstaff are all classically-trained opera performers. Every half hour or so, they gather everyone’s attention to perform a selection from a popular opera, complete with a synopsis of the story they’re about to tell through their performance. Every performer was wonderful and this made for a unique, joyful and memorable experience for my family. I grew up on Italian cuisine, and this was among the best I’ve had in a long time. We shared the Calamari Fritti, and I was pleasantly surprised to see that we could have substituted Smelts for the calamari. This was a staple of our Christmas Eve dinners when I was young. My Veal Saltimbocca was perfect, as was my Daughter’s Prince Igor (penne with a vodka blush, salmon, tomato, and Asparagus). We enjoyed our cannolis while watching our last performance of the evening. Breathtaking! Special shout out to our server, Brenna, who took our dessert order mere seconds after completing her duet! Remarkable! I can’t say enough about The Victor Cafe; if you’re looking for a classic South Philly Italian Restaurant, paired with one of the most wonderful and unique experiences you’ll find today, then this is the place for you.

Our hostess assisted us in every way possible. She was incredible at helping us and we greatly appreciated her work!!! She was fantastic.

I have had the pleasure of dining at Fiorella's several times before, both in the downstairs dining area and with their pasta club dinner series. This was the first time, however, we visited with an 8 month old. Friends of ours were in town from California, and we really wanted to show them an example of a dinner that makes us appreciate Philadelphia so much. The staff was incredibly patient and accommodating with our young pasta lover. The noise level and other diners that evening made our experience feel simply like you were eating in a friend's living room. We're grateful for Fiorella's in many ways, and always suggest this restaurant for smaller, more intimate gatherings for friends and family.

This was a wonderful first fine dining experience. I was struck speechless by some dishes. The espresso before dinner was not complimentary, the hollandaise was slightly cold over my tortellini and the potato gratin’s cheese split which was unfortunate but overall it was truly a magical experience and the were highlights (the nonalcoholic spritz, the magical lighting, the dessert, and the aji with apple and peanuts) that struck me speechless and made up for it. Magical. Wonderful. So happy I did it.