Sotto Varalli

Owner is creepy!

by ddmacsic at Citysearch

The food here is outstanding and more importantly it is consistently that good. I think they have had the same cook for a long time and it shows. You always get a consistently good meal here. The bartenders and wait staff are good too. The one major negative of this place is the fact that the owner lingers around his staff and patrons. He is almost obtrusive. My wife and I have noticed this on multiple occasions and it is creepy and awkward. We had an interaction with him once and it was extremely uncomfortable. He has horrible people skills and should probably let the restaurant run itself. He is a detriment to the overall experience there. If you can get in there when he is not around, you should have a great experience!

My favorite bar in the city!

by NLescaped at Citysearch

I'm a bar person, which mean I am huge lush, but rather when I go out I always sit at the bar. Fine dining resaturants right down to diners. I just always feel relaxed and able to enjoy the atmosphere. Here are some of the reasons that I love Sotto Varalli A. that it's a great place to people watch, B. it's some great yummy food. C. some of the best bartenders in town! Seriously these guys can slam it out! Varalli's is primarily a theatre restaurant, which gets people in and out in time for their shows. The bartenders do it all with such flair and humor! I have gotten a two course dinner and coffee within 45 minutes, it wasn't pretty but they got it done! On Friday and Saturday nights there is a jazz duo that are wonderful. This bar is friendly and unpretentious. really enjoyable.

Good food but TINY PORTIONS!!!!!!

by car073 at Citysearch

I was just in Philly for Memorial Day weekend and went to this restaurant on Saturday night. It seemed like a nice place to enjoy the evening and watch the live jazz musicians who were EXCELLENT.

I ordered a skirt steak and my wife had the free range chicken. These portions were so small that I could have eaten both without a problem and I'm not a big guy!!!

Portions are like appteizers.

If you go here eat before or plan to eat after as I did.

Really slow ... then food poisoned!

by dlmsimon at Citysearch

- extremely sloooooow for food to come out

- host and servers are courteous

- decent food

- FOOD POISONED!

I took my wife to this restaurant for her birthday.

After being seated and ordering our food, it took 30 minutes for the appetizer to come out.

We thought, no big deal.

We ordered fried calamari, and it turned out to be overcooked, and really tough and dry.

We also ordered salad, but after waiting another hour, nothing comes out, so we canceled our salad and just asked for the entrees.

By the time our entrees came out, we had waited another 1 hour since we received our appetizer.

Although the entrees tasted good, by the time we got home, my wife knew she was food poisoned.

Unless you have 2 1/2 to 3 hours to spare and don't mind being food poisoned, don't come here.

• Pros: Good tasting food
• Cons: extremely slow, food poisoned

Excellent variety

by annacastro55 at Citysearch

The food was wonderful, the restaurant was clean and had a soothing decor. We had a great dining experience. The seafood was the freshest I tasted and the fruit was perfectly ripe. I would highly recommend this restaurant to family & friends. I can't wait to go again!

• Pros: Fresh food, ambience
• Cons: Slightly slow service