Recommends

pinkett

Joined 5 years ago

Good food at a great price. I love this place. It's on a very quaint street, and the atmosphere is great. The service is good and it is inexpensive for center city. This isn't the best italian in the city, but it isn't priced like it either. I will be going back!

Recommends

JMacA

Joined 5 years ago

great. This place is under new ownership with new menue, so earlier reviews can be ignored. I'm not a really big fan of Italian food and have only been to three or four other Italian places in the city. That said, Valentino is by far the best of them. Everyone I was with was impressed by everything we had. Service was excelent also. The only bad thing I can say is that the menu is small. But what they do, they do very well.

Doesn't Recommend

giannone

Joined 6 years ago

Don't waste your time!. Walked into the restaurant and it was empty (first sign that it would not be good). Service was "snotty!" And the food was even worse...almost not edible! We ordered the mussels in a saffron both...there was no broth...it was mussels on a plant, very dry. The special entree, Chilean sea bass, was slimy! The pasta would have been ok but it was served cold. Never again!

Recommends

Contributor

Joined 10 years ago

A cozy little Italian B.Y.O.B. with good pasta and great ambience.. In Short
Those who frequent South Philly's quaint Italian B.Y.O.B.s will recognize Valentino's unfailing formula. Take a space, expose a brick wall, cover another with murals, hire a few polite servers, play light opera and you've got an all-around, pleasant little trattoria. Equally pleasant are familiar menu items such as Caesar salad, grilled calamari in white wine and garlic and a plate of mussels stewed in a spicy chili, garlic and tomato sauce.

Doesn't Recommend

phillycmc

Joined 9 years ago

Don't believe the hype. Overall disappointing. The meals didn't live up to expectations based on the descriptions. Dinner started off on an especially bad note with tasteless bread and flavorless olive oil. The appetizer of mozerella tomato, roasted peper, prosciutto, arugula salad had good mozerella, but the tomatoes were inedible hot house tomatoes that were so unripe they couldn't be cut; and this was in the beginning of September - prime time for ripe local tomatoes!!! The two entrees, orrecheitte with shrimp and crab ravioli, were bland. The service was friendly, Italian and helpful. There are better choices.

Recommends

g_andrews

Joined 11 years ago

User review by g_andrews. It was a couples evening and had a wonderful time. The food was excellent, highly recommend the dark chocolate mousse for dessert.

Recommends

felafela

Joined 9 years ago

average. some of the pasta dishes are great, others need to be improved. if you are vegetarian they have slim pickings. restaurant was loud and too dimly lit.

Recommends

fatchloe

Joined 9 years ago

There are better places.... The atmosphere of this place was promising. Really charming space. Exposed brick, hanging vines from the ceiling, beautiful music. Unfortunately the food did not match the decor. Our waiter told us the specials, each item sounded better than the next. However, most of the dishes were bland. Also, when we ordered one of the salads on the specials list, we didn't ask the price. We got the check and it was $15!!! That put the nail in the coffin.

Recommends

mis1008

Joined 9 years ago

Redeemed itself..... As a frequent patron of all the Center City BYO's, I have become a bit picky, particularly with Italian ones. Therefore, the first time I ate at Valentino, I walked away disappointed. The set-up of the restaurant is adorable, comfortable, and welcoming. However, the food wasnt what I expected. The chicken dish was not too fresh, and the seafood was dried out. Yet when I looked for a place to host a large group of 12 at close, reasonably priced BYO, I decided to give Valentino another try. This time the food was excellent, the pasta fresh and sauce tasty. The service was mixed - the manager and owner(?) was wonderful, kind, and very attentive, meeting the needs of our large group so well. But one of the server had a peculiar short attitude and one buser was horribly rude. Despite the few wrinkles, it was a great evening.

Recommends

hon1215

Joined 9 years ago

a great time had by all. Valentinos was a delightful way to end the day. The menu was plentiful and the specials made it hard to choose. My husband and I had a cold antipasta that was outstanding. The grilled seafood appy was delicious and garlicy, The portabellos were amazing. I had rack of lamb. What a treat! My husband had a chicken dish that was average. A bit too bland. Dessert was fabulous. John the chef was a delight as were all the staff we came in contact with. We enjoyed ourselves so much that we booked a party for 40 in three weeks. I know my guest s will love everything as we did.