11/17/07

Total mess

by starrysmith

Well, it is hard to rate a restaurant that you didn't eat at... but after waiting an hour I think I would tell you to turn around and go somewhere else. When we got there the lady at the desk said 20 minute wait. Okay, we put our name on the list. After 30 minutes we checked and she said 10 minutes more, we were third in line. By then the lobby was filled up. When people started to ask why there were so many empty tables and so many waiting, she told us the dishwasher was broken and they couldn't get dishes. After an hour she told us that 3 more reservations had come in and there was another person in front of us still. Adios Penne, we got take out and went back to the hotel, leaving a crowd of people behind waiting for their "20 minutes" to be up.

08/29/07

Great Italian restaurant in University City

by stevegraffew

Great Italian food, very romantic atmosphere. The homemade pasta are excellent, very fresh and cook perfectly. We enjoyed watching the chef making the pasta in the middle of the room. Service was friendly and polite. We had a great Italian server, very typical, he reminded us our last trip to Italy.

• Pros: Freshness of the food
• Cons: Parking

08/29/07

Best Pasta

by stevegraffew

Great Italian food, very romantic atmosphere. The homemade pasta are excellent, very fresh and cook perfectly. We enjoyed watching the chef making the pasta in the middle of the room. Service was friendly and polite. We had a great Italian server, very typical, he reminded us our last trip to Italy.

• Pros: Freshness of the food
• Cons: Parking

07/12/07

Bad Pasta

by m_raven415

There are so many restaurants in Philadelphia that I think it is such a waste of time to come here trying to find good pasta because you won't. I ate here twice and was twice disappointed. I tried it the second time because someone told me that it was under new management. Either way, I know now to stay away and spend the same amount of money and the many amazing restaurants that the city has to offer.

• Pros: Wine List
• Cons: pasta

01/12/07

Average food for its class, overrated pastas

by djdje

This restaurant would probably not survive if it didn't enjoy a priviliged relationship with the University of Pennsylvania. It's main claim to fame is gourmet pastas made in house. Although some of the creations are interesting, I have consistently found them to be overcooked and the sauces to be heavy (I've eaten there at least ten times because of work). The menu is also overpriced for what it is and the wine list much more so. On a plus side, service can be good and the small bar area is nice if you can get a booth.

• Pros: Convenience for UPenn people
• Cons: Overpriced and very overrated for its pastas

07/31/06

Mediocre at Best, Horrificly Overpriced!

by runner0382

I went to this restaurant in March of this year expecting the quality of the food to align with their pricing structure. While the service and sommelier were excellent, the food left more than a bit to be desired.

My girlfriend ordered a fish pasta (simple enough) and I had a special that evening which involved handmade hazelnut pasta in a sauce with far too much cream (it was much too rich and should have been an appetizer at best), and the hazelnut, frankly, just didn't work.

Considering that the restaurant was empty, I was left assuming that their food is disappointing across the board and will not return. "Nothing special" would be the best two words to describe our experience.

11/18/05

great wine list, average food

by lawfoodie

The sommelier on hand made some good choices for my companion and me. The capellini was mixed: hand-shaved noodles are awesome, but the tomato basil sauce is off. Ambience is very nice- it's a popular spot where students take their visiting parents with bigger pockets. I think the above-average price is for the nicer surroundings rather than for the food.

The Hilton's showy pasta lab attracts businessmen with its leisurely paced meals.

by Contributor

In Short
There's something undeniably Vegas about the Inn at Penn's pasta restaurant. Maybe it's the Roman heads bordering the dining room, or the shiny open kitchen, or the cheerful splashes of yellows and blues; whatever it is, this laboratory kitchen's understated experiments in Italian cuisine are consistently enlivened by a zesty wine list.

06/07/04

The Best

by plv

The food is great and the service is nice. Especially the pasta. The primitivo by the glass was an excellent suggestion by our server, it went wel with the gnoochi special and with the steak. highly recommended.

• Pros: food is great, service attentive, price is right

05/27/04

Great Pasta and Wine.

by edwardvadden

The Simple starter of assorted Bruschetta. with Chik pea and olive pesto, warm Mozzarella and Roasted Pepper, and Tomato Basil were perfect. the Mussels were sweet and delicious. I highly recommend them. The Shrimp and Linguine with Lemon corriander sauce is also high on my list of things to try at Penne. The Flights of wine are very nice. You can have 3 different taste of wine at a great cost. For me it is nice to taste different wines so the next time I come I can select a bottle with some knowledge. Penne was great.

• Pros: food was delicious, wine flights