10/14/09

Horrible food and service

by alapen2009

I went there on a date. I ordered the smoked mozzarela appetizer.They brought me a caprese salad. When I pointed it out the the waitress. She brought it back to the kitchen. Instead of bringing out the correct dish, they deep fried the mozerella in the caprese salad and brought it back out. After that the waitress switched stations with another waitress. The lamb was full of gristle and had very little meat. The chicken that my date ordered was bland and nothing special. This was a nightmare for Italian food.

• Pros: BYOB
• Cons: Bad food and service

09/24/09

One of the Best Values in the City

by schatzie050

I've seen a couple of negative reviews, thought I'd add my 2 cents. Have eaten here a number of times, and have been totally pleased every time. Had a party of 14 visiting from out of town, they were on a budget, but wanted to show them some good Philly Italian. The restaurant could not have been more accommodating. Three course prix fixe for $30, and the food kept coming, served family style except for the entree. The wait staff took care of all our wines, chilling those that needed, and kept our glasses filled. While it's true they kept things moving, we did want a 2 hour and not a 3 hour dinner. The group from the Midwest was so happy, they gave the chef and wait staff a hearty round of applause. We were sorry to have the evening end. A success beginning to end.

• Pros: excellent food, great price point
• Cons: Small and intimate, but that's what I like

09/13/09

A Total Waste of Money

by ineedchocolate

My husband and I have pretty much eaten our way through every Italian restaurant Philly has to offer and this is by far the worst. I ordered the nightly special - Gnocchi with truffle oil and an Aurora sauce. The gnocchi looked like 3-year-old scallops. They were visually disgusting. The taste was not much better. No trace of truffle and they have quite an odd interpretation of Aurora sauce. My husband went tranditional with tomato basil sauce. The gnocchi was rubbery and drenched in a ho-hum sauce. The caprese salad was gross. I can't believe they have the nerve to charge as much as they do for it. Our appetizer was equally disgusting. Gnocchi's is an embarrasment to Italian food.

• Pros: BYOB
• Cons: Horrible Food

06/05/09

Worst Restaurant Experience Ever

by lilaemily

I went with some friends for our monthly BYOB outing. Wow. This was truly the worst service I have ever experienced. We ordered an appetizer, and when it came, it was cold seafood. We had expected fried calamari. My friend picked up a shrimp and took a bite, thinking maybe it was what we had ordered. When he found it was cold, he put it down and we nicely told the waitress it was not what we had ordered. She argued with us that it was what we ordered. Then, in a huff, she picked the plate up to take it away. With her free hand she took the bitten shrimp off of the tray and put it on MY plate. I was not even the one who had bitten it! Then for the rest of the meal, she and the other waitresses ignored us, and talked really loudly in Russian, pointing at us and laughing. Great times. We ended up pulling the busboy aside and tipping only him.

• Pros: Good Food
• Cons: Rudest Service of All Time

03/10/09

had a wonderful time with great food!

by CSMobileUser3

My boyfriend and I went here for Valentines Day and we had a wonderful time. The hostess and waitresses were extremely nice (one of them even complimented me on my outfit haha). We both ordered gnocchi and I got the spinach gnocchi with alfredo sauce and chicken which was delicious. Our appetizers and entrees both came about 10 minutes after we ordered them which was nice as well. Since it was Valentines Day it was a bit busy, but after we finished our meals we sat for a while and had some wine and did not feel rushed at all. Overall, we had a wonderful, romantic experience and Gnocchi has delicious food with great staff.

01/26/09

Very good dinner, excellent service and value

by deCre

We went to Gnocchi with some trepidation having read the most recent reviews. But, it is close to home, we prefer BYOB and the prices seemed reasonable so we gave it a go. Thankfully. The facility was very clean; the staff was very friendly and accommodating. We had the Osso Bucco and fish and both main courses were very good, full of flavor, served hot and nicely presented. The gnocchi which was served as a side with each meal was average but overall the meal was a very pleasant experience and an excellent value. We arrived at 6:30 on a Saturday night with no reservations, were seated in a few minutes and although there were two large groups in addition to other tables the service was excellent. We?ll be back.

• Pros: Value, taste, service. Bistro environment.
• Cons: Bit noisy when full but tolerable. Too small for groups larger than about 10.

09/24/08

MEDIOCRE AT BEST

by PHILLYUSERNAME

Seriously?--I can't believe this place had ANY positive reviews--maybe they've changed owners or gotten a new chef recently, I don't know, but I can't imagine they'll be in business much longer. Food was bland. Service was just...odd. Atmosphere was average. Their "specialty" gnocchi had no flavor and it appeared that all meat dishes were smothered in a Ragu-quality tomato sauce and hunk of chewy cheese. No way. Don't go here, there are too many other great little Italian BYOB's in Philly.

11/12/07

Skip this restaurant

by lisaw612

After recommendations from our group, there were 6 of us who decided to try this restaurant. We called ahead and were told to just show up at 8pm ? they would hold us a table. When we arrived, every table had recently been seated. We were told the wait was about an hour but it actually was just over 2 hours. The waitress never provided the specials and asked if we were ready to order. They brought us a basket of stale bread and then told us that was all they had. After our food arrived with much delay, it was an embarrassment. They obviously were low on gnocchi and our plates had half the usual portion. The service was lousy, the food was less than average, and we won?t return.

01/28/07

Excellent food, slow service

by maybeitrains

A friend and I went to dinner at Gnocchi around 7pm on a saturday night. There was a good amount of people there but we were able to walk right in and didnt need a reservation. The atmosphere is very cozy and romantic...just dont sit by the door because it gets chilly since people keep walking in and out!

We were seated right away, and given our water and bread (yummy, warm bread!) But then it took a good while for anyone to come over and finally give us the specials or take our orders. We ordered an appetizer and that took awhile to get to us as well. But it was SO good when it finally got to us....baby spinach salad with goat cheese, pears, oranges, and drizzled with balsalmic!

There is a wonderful selection of food...menu is all in italian (and translated, dont worry hehe). They have a bunch of different gnocchi (which, if people dont know...are basically just pasta shaped in little rounded, ball-type shapes...theyre very heavy and it doesnt take many of them to fill you up) Anyways...this was prolly the most negative part of the night...it took FOREVER for the food to get to us, or so it seemed. But when it got to us, it was worth it. The food was beautifully displayed, hot, flavorful and filled. Good portions but not too big. Bill only came to $35 with one appetizer and 2 meals.

Overall...I would reccommend this place. Its small, quaint and romantic...amazing food and very good prices!

• Pros: Amazing food, cheap, romantic
• Cons: SERVICE

11/12/06

Rushed us out the door

by kataszaj

I went to Gnocchi a week ago with a group of 9 people on a Saturday night. We were happy to get a reservation for such a large group on such short notice, and as I had enjoyed the food there a few years ago, I was looking forward to dinner. This dinner was terrible, however, not because of the food (which was just okay), but because of the service. Our reservation was at 8:15, and when we called the rest of our party (who was already there) at 8:05 to tell them we were almost there, they were threatened by the hostess that if we were not there on time, they would certainly be giving our table away. We thought this was unnecessary as we were not even late at that time. We got there in time and had a reasonably enjoyable meal, but as soon as thoughts of being done with our dinners even entered our minds, our plates were whisked away from us by an overzealous busperson. Then as we sat around chatting and finishing our wine, were were abruptly told that another group was outside waiting for our table and could we please leave? We were still drinking our wine, and had been there for only an hour and a half. I understand that if that table was not filled soon, they would miss out on the money that another table would bring, but in the process, they lost all 9 of us as future customers.

• Pros: Ambience
• Cons: Service rushing you out the door