05/04/09

Great time!

by bethany717

I went to Branzino Saturday night with a group of 8, we had a 9:30 reservation. We were seated within minutes of arriving with no problems. I had the mussles to start, and they were amazing! The sauce they were in was sooo good. For dinner I had the Bass- again, delicious!!

The service and the food were both great! The only real drawback was that you can only split the bill up on 2 cards, which is normally not an issue, but we were a large group, and had not all planned on paying cash. It would have been nice to know that before we got there!

Anyway, overall a great experience, and I will certainly be back!

• Pros: BYO, delicious food!!
• Cons: There's only 1 bathroom

02/16/09

loved it!

by bobglen

My girlfriend and I dined here on Valentine's day (a very busy night for restaurants, one of the nights that often lead to poor service and cold food) . We were seated immediately and when I requested another table (because we felt that we were in the middle of too much activity ie. near the door and aisle where the waitstaff busied themselves with food and orders), we were graciously shown to another, and much more favorably located, table. We shared a delicious appetizer featuring calamari and delighted in two wonderful entrees, mine with rabbit (believe it or not), and my date's with salmon. We shared a bottle of wine that we brought, and topped the meal off with coffee and espresso. The waiter was very professional and helpful, the service excellent (no sense of urgency because of the busy night), the ambience intimate and romantic. I have read some of the negative reviews on this list and I am perplexed, were they in the same restaurant or did they come "with attitude"? Finally, I felt the prices certainly were in line with what I would expect of a restaurant of this calibre.

02/06/09

RUDE STAFF!!

by mdluv2eatgoodfood

Service was awful. I am not sure where they are from, but apparently where ever it is they don't know how to be nice or accommodate their guests. This was the absolute worst dinning experience of my life and I am pretty easy to please. Since I work in a restaurant myself I very often understand the challenges. The service was horrible and was accompanied by an attitude of "oh well, screw you." I can't ever in my wild dreams imagine treating people the way that my friends and I were treated when we ate there. I wouldn't ever go back. I rather eat a raw hamburger off of the floor at McDonald's, than eat the disgusting food they served there. Don't say I didn't warn you!

• Pros: none
• Cons: thumbs down, rude, ignorant staff, starving, waited for ever, stunk

01/19/09

Will not go back! Rude hostess!

by Blondie0401

We never even sat down to eat. We were at the restaurant on time for our 8 PM reservation. The hostess told us that the table was not ready yet and it would take about 15 minutes (there is no where to stand in the restaurant while waiting and it was freezing outside). The reservation was made for 5 originally, but one more wanted to come, so I asked if they could squeeze one more at the table. I looked at the table and it would barely hold 4, let alone the 5 that I made a reservation for. The hostess was so rude and said that is impossible could not do it. She would not even ask the manager or see what she could do. At least tell us a time where you could accomodate our party that night. I asked her if she could try to find us a table since we were on time for our reservation, but the people at the table had not even received their check. She said it was only a little after 8 and said it was not her problem that the table was not ready. She was not apologetic and did not even try to accomodate us. We walked out and went to an even better and more fun BYOB. The hostess ruined our experience there before we could even try the food and I will never try to go back there.

• Pros: None
• Cons: Very rude waistress.

12/07/08

Nice menu selection

by Iamafatty

Ive seen some negative reviews for this restaurant, but my experience was fairly pleasent. We were a bit early for our reservation but we were seated immediately. The server came over fairly promptly to let us know that they were short staffed that evening and appreciated our patience. Our server that evening was very helpful and we didnt have to wait all that long for anything. The osso bucco was very tasty and plentiful and my girlfriends ravioli was also very tasty. The riccota cheesecake wasnt all that good, but the meal as a whole was nice. The menu has a fairly good selection of meats and fishes. The only negative is for a BYO the prices seemed a bit on the high side. I would recommend.

• Pros: Menu selection, service.
• Cons: Pricey for a BYO

11/26/08

Just go to La Viola.

by acc198

Ordered the endive and walnut salad... It came with 1 walnut. The squash ravioli at 19 bucks was undercooked and underseasoned. It was homemade, but it should be. the veal scallopine came with 3 tiny pieces of veal that were smothered with white onions. No originality and just a ripoff. The hazelnut gelato was really good, and the service was decent.

• Pros: cute hostess
• Cons: sloppy, boring food.

05/25/08

mediocre food bad service.

by centercityfoodie

Tried this place on a Saturday night for the first time with great expectations....very DISAPPOINTED. We enjoyed the appetizer dishes of mussels in a garlic tomato sauce and bluefin tuna and goat cheese pasta; however, there was a 45 minute delay between finishing the appetizers and our main dishes being served. We got the branzino and a fish special. Not worth the wait. My dish was literally dripping in butter, despite the grilled fish description...disgusting. The branzino was acceptable, but not worth the 27$ price tag. Came with a side dish of soggy vegetables drenched in butter. When we politely asked about the food delay, the server committed what I think is an unacceptable error...saying that a bunch of orders came in at once. Never, ever blame the customer for your delays! Definitely avoid. 84$ for this BYOB was money poorly spent, in my opinion. With all the excellent byobs in the city, this one is definitely one to skip.

05/25/08

Bad service, mediocre food

by centercityfoodie

Tried this place on a Saturday night for the first time with great expectations....very DISAPPOINTED. We enjoyed the appetizer dishes of mussels in a garlic tomato sauce and bluefin tuna and goat cheese pasta; however, there was a 45 minute delay between finishing the appetizers and our main dishes being served. We got the branzino and a fish special. Not worth the wait. My dish was literally dripping in butter, despite the grilled fish description...disgusting. The branzino was acceptable, but not worth the 27$ price tag. Came with a side dish of soggy vegetables drenched in butter. When we politely asked about the food delay, the server committed what I think is an unacceptable error...saying that a bunch of orders came in at once. Never, ever blame the customer for your delays! Definitely avoid. 84$ for this BYOB was money poorly spent, in my opinion. With all the excellent byobs in the city, this one is definitely one to skip.

• Pros: outdoor seating, beautiful building
• Cons: bad service, mediocre food.

05/09/08

Top of my list!

by menter

Branzino is my favorite restaurant in Philadelphia. It is rare to be able to eat several courses and have each and every one be perfect. It is also rare in downtown Philadelphia to be able to use a credit card at a B&B.

There is no corkage fee. I highly recommend reservations.

I have been eating out every night in downtown Philadelphia since last August. When people ask for my top recommendation I do not have to hesitate with the name 'Branzino'. Everyone has reaffirmed my choice.

• Pros: The food speaks for itself.
• Cons: None

03/29/08

EXTREMELY RUDE Staff

by gabsao

Apparently the idea that the customer is always right does not apply to this restaurant. My friend had made reservations for 7:30 on a Friday night, and when we got to the restaurant they said that they had us down for 5:30. My friend even showed them her confirmation e-mail saying that the reservations were for 7:30. Instead of being apologetic and offering us the next available table, the host staff was extremely rude and said that it was our problem, not theirs. Despite the fact that there were MANY empty tables, they showed no signs of wanting to seat us, so we were forced to leave despite the fact that we had made reservations. This is the second time that Branzino has had trouble accommodating reservations. I had been there once before and they had set up our table for the wrong number of people; we ended up waiting another 20 minutes before they had a table ready for us. Once we were finally seated, the food was forgettable at best. If you're looking for a good Italian BYOB, skip this place and go across the street to Fontana della Citta. Unlike Branzino, they are very accommodating (and their risotto is delicious).