la viola

on a chilly saturday night in rittenhouse square i was hanging out for a really decent, high quality feed. la viola seemed to fit the bill, so i was happy to wait until a table became available (a much bigger group had a very large wait, so i was rather fortunate).

after the usual starter of fresh, rustic italian bread with olive oil and balsamic, i went for the penne alla caruso - pencil point pasta and tomato sauce, lightly creamed with peas and pancetta.

this was a tasty dish, even if the hint of vodka was not strong. in fact one observation about the pasta menu is that a majority of the sauces are laced with alcohol. not a bad thing, except for the irony that la viola does not serve alcohol! i was caught short, because this place was byo booze. the food was very good nonetheless.

next time i'll come prepared with some grog, possibly to try the veal. four stars.

philly's filled with italian byos and one of the most attended has to be la viola. in fact, it's so popular that a second location across the street was opened (la viola west), where a more expanded and affordable menu is offered. . from what i hear, the west location also accepts credit cards unlike the original bistro location.

my favorite italian place in the city. it's byob, reasonably priced, the service is incredibly fast, you can usually get a table last minute if need be, and the food is delicious - starting with the bread. my favorites are the penne alla caruso, orchiette alla romana, the gnocchi, and the ravioli alla viola. you will absolutely be full when you leave. it gets a little bit loud inside the restaurants, but it's a small italian place, which is what you should expect. make a note if you are going to the ovest location or the bistro. the bistro is more casual and is cash only. ovest you should be dressed up a little classier and they take credit cards.

although la viola is a non-italian family owned business, this restaurant provides diners with some fantastic italian food. in fact, la viola is such a busy spot that the family ended up opening la viola west right across the street from the original byob location. the west location is open seven days a week while east location is closed on mondays. however, each location differs slightly in hours, so in order to keep from getting confused, it’s best to make a reservation beforehand.

when i graduated from penn 5 years ago, i took my family to la viola for some hand-made pasta for my graduation dinner. i have fond memories here and the quality of food is great for the price. speaking of price, this place is cash only so please keep that in mind when you visit. frutti de mare this dish had grilled calamari (steaks not the rings) in lemon juice, garlic, olive oil and tomatoes. i wasn’t too fond of this dish but joe thought it was all right. to be fair, i’m not a huge fan of calamari steaks. tagliatelle al salmone joe ordered the home-made tagliatelle pasta sauteed with salmon in a pink cognac sauce. i liked his a lot. the salmon offered a nice variety in texture. pasta of the day this was home-made tagliatelle pasta with shrimp and fish in a blush tomato creamy sauce. i preferred my dish over joe’s dish because i loved the blush sauce and the shrimp. the dishes here are simple but delicious. i love treating myse

bad experience. was with a party of 10, crammed into a room smaller than my bathroom.prices were ok but when you figure in tip and parking its not cheap.
me and my daughter ordered same dinner. with 10 people final bill split 10 ways came to 26 dollars per person. plus 20 dollars to park comes to 72 dollars for me and my daughter. was served a plate with 12 gnauki and a teaspoon of diced tomatoes on it. needless to say went to burger king afterwards. so stay away

november 27, 2012 tags: philadelphia , restaurants by colleen if you’ve ever been to philadelphia, you might have noticed the popularity of byob (bring your own bottle) restaurants. what’s amazing is that there are some very high end places without liquor licenses, making fine dining in philadelphia quite affordable (that is, if you’re a wine drinker like me). i now appreciate the fancy places, but my best memories from college in philadelphia are from some favorite cheap italian byobs. that’s not to say that these restaurants are bad; let’s just say that the focus was the wine at the time. still, i remember always enjoying my food at these restaurants, so we made a reservation at one favorite – la viola – the night before the philadelphia marathon . this time the focus would be on the food, and i was curious to see how much of my love for la viola was just wine-fueled. we arrived 15 minutes early for our 7:30 reservation. as it got closer to 7:30, people started pouring in and there w

great italian food and byob. can't go wrong!. i had dinner here and loved it! the food was delicious and very reasonably priced. also, the restaurant is byob and there was no corkage fee (which i think is typical in philadelphia, but being from toronto, this was a nice surprise).

i particularly enjoyed the caesar salad as the dressing is so good. the grilled calamari appetizer was also good.
good portion sizes, not too large!

let me clarify... la viola has always been on the top of my list for byob's. my staple was the lobster ravioli. loved it. they have changed the recipe. too much tomato sauce in it, not enough conac, not enough heavy cream. changed something amazing into something just normal.


-----16 jan, 2012-----

lobster ravioli used to be great...

very good food. very crowded dining room.. the lobster bisque was a little thin, but very flavorful. the trout special with capers and lemon was perfect. this has to be the most crowded dining room in philly. went there on a sat night before the theater and there were at least 50 patrons in the room...

great pasta and seafood. went with my father and some friends on the way to see the phillies last week. very good food, excellent white mussels.all around great place.

was a bit disappointed. veal and spaghetti dish wasn't great. salad was lettuce with mostly oil, no flavor. the best part of the meal was the bill. with it being byob it kept it just at about $125 for the six of us.

ever since ud's epicurean spidey-senses first led us to this cozy, bona-fide italian spot tucked away on a side street in philadelphia's theater district a couple of years ago, we have made it a point to return on each subsequent visit to philly. la viola

great value!. dinner at la viola was fabulous! it was an incredible value. i ordered the homemade spinach gnocchi with a light flavorful tomato sauce, which was fantastic! la viola is a byo and cash only, which i did not realize, but luckily, there is an atm in a convenience store around the corner within proximity of the restaurant. i will return to la viola!

cash only! food was excellent.