Vetri Restaurant

Doesn't Recommend

henry0000

Joined 7 years ago

Bring your sense of humor and a lot of money.. If you visit their website, click on the Menu, then Photos of the Food. You?ll see an empty plate and the phrase ?I guess somebody ate it, you?ll have to come to the restaurant!? Don?t be fooled. That?s what it looks like when they serve it. You could see the waitstaff nervously smiling either from feeling foolish or thinking you?re a fool when they bring it to the table. Eight postage sized bites of food with two glasses of wine each = $1,000. No, that is no mistake. That was the bill for four people. I would love to comment more on the food, however, there was so little of it, I can?t.

This was one of the most valueless meals I?ve ever eaten. How do I know? I am not a gastronome. But I do dine out about 160 nights a year as a result of my work. I avoid the big name chains and seek out local restaurants. During the year I have a few great dinners, and the majority are normally very good, representing good value, and very few bad. And I have spent upwards of $200 per person with varying levels of satisfaction.

I?ve traveled to Italy on numerous occasions and have eaten in many very good (not the equivalent of pricey) restaurants for authentic cuisine in Rome, Siena, Florence, Sorrento, Venice, etc?portions were alway satisfying and wonderfully prepared. This place was neither authentic Italian, unique or satisfying.

My advice is to buy a plane ticket to Italy, have dinner and return home. It?ll be cheaper and much more satisfying.

My hat is off to the owner though. Vetri craftily separated us from our money. Once. It's ashame he doesn't utilize that same inspiration to give his customers something memorable other than an inflated bill for a most uninspired meal.

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vedere2

Joined 7 years ago

Overrated; hire the owner's PR person!!!!. Yeah, we've all heard it by now.:"Best Italian Food in the Country". Pulll-eeeese. All I can say is this: if you need to hire a Public Relations expert, hire whomever the owner of Vetri's uses.

Don't get me wrong. The food was tasty. But I've had food as good as Vetri's at weddings -- and in my family's kitchen. The tasting menu is $95 per person, and the portions are tiny. In other words: good food, but way, way overpriced.

The service was too much of a good thing -- we felt overwhelmed as we were asked if we wanted wine/dessert at least twice each (do they understand "No"??). I really felt the staff was under orders to pad the bill with high-margin wines and $12 desserts.

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makeredhappy

Joined 7 years ago

I'M WARNING YOU..... This place is absolutely the biggest ripoff in the city!! Tiny, cramped, overheated place, mediocre food and so little of it!! They tout their wine list - well, I had the wine dinner and can't remember a single name of the 6 wines we had, none memorable enough to even write down! Overpriced, pretentious, and they call this Italian??! Be warned...you'll leave your wallet (2 people at "wine dinner" was $380) and then go home and make a sandwich!! A disgrace what they get away with!!

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mmmdelicious

Joined 7 years ago

Best Italian in the USA. We did like they said we made our reservation two months to the day in advance. We waited and waited in anticipation. We thought to ourselves is it going to be as good as we heard. Well....it was better than that, Vetri was the most incredible Italian Gastronomic experience we have had in the USA. On a par with the best Italy has to offer. The intimate space, the attention to detail, the well thought out menu and well chosen wine list are to be applauded. Vetri does Philly proud. Bravo

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lovegolf

Joined 7 years ago

Love Vetri!. Vetri is my favorite restaurant in Philadelphia. All of the food is superb, especially the spinach gnocchi. It is a very elegant, romantic restaurant, perfect for a date! Be sure to make a reservation in advance.

Recommends

andymark

Joined 7 years ago

The Best. Vetri is by far the best restaurant in Philadelphia. Both Jeff and Marc make dining at Vetri a unique experience....we have never had dinner at Vetri when we didn't come away saying "That was a Top Five" dinner of all time. A great special occasion restuarnt...or a great night out in a most relaxed atmosphere and a congenial staff...most importantly, a chef, Marc Vetri, who really knows what he's doing in the kitchen! I cannot recommend it highly enough!

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onthelamb

Joined 8 years ago

The best Italian. Easily the best Italian restaurant in the City. We loved it!

Doesn't Recommend

gbcollects

Joined 8 years ago

Walked Away Hungry..... Booked reservations for 4 on a friday night,waited 6 weeks to go. Antipasta awesome,price but awesome. Menu is far to "artsy" and unique to appeal to everyone.Had to order their signature disk a week before(Lobster), lacked any distinctive flavor,just ok. Had the almond Gnocci,excellent taste however 5 small gnocci for a grown man is an insult. The wild boar taste great but looks like a kids meal. Skipped dessert and split a cheesesteak at Jims..4 people w/drinks & tip ran 270.

Go else where,this is not the place you want to go if your hungry.

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dokbok

Joined 8 years ago

Wonderful Restaurant and Wonderful Chef. The food was devine and the decor was charming. We ordered the pre fixe menu, where it's basically the chef's choice. The food took a while to come out, but it was always hot and you knew it had not been sitting in the kitchen. I thought the portion sizes were small until we got past the appetizers and into the pasta and meat dishes. The spinach gnocchi is really to die for. The asparagus flan was an inspiration from heaven. It might be hard to get a reservation, and it might be noisy, but go for the food-- which I found to be truly inspired/inspiring cuisine.

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gg_the_fly

Joined 8 years ago

Extremely Overrated. A Zagat 27 means something very different in Philly than in NYC - this is an absolutely unrepresentative rating for this particular restaurant - our salads were bland, our fish mediocre and everything overpriced. The service was very good as was the wine selection but if this is the best italian that this city has to offer, there is an astonishing amount of room for improvement. I was extremely dissapointed with my meal after readying all of the hype with this restaurant. Save your money and go elsewhere. Furthermore, this restaurant is not particularly romantic in any way - we were seated opposite a slab of pork and an espresso machine - and there are only 12 tables or so, so there's not much room if you don't want a pig extremity in your face while you're trying to woo your sweetie. . .