Mr. Martino's Trattoria

I don’t give out this low of a review lightly. The service and atmosphere were excellent however the food was simply put bland. Of the 8 dishes we had only one had enough seasoning, the Octopus was solid. We got out for $50/head so that was a plus at least.

Best BYOB small one-woman kitchen Italian restaurant on Passyunk. They have been on the block for 30+ years. Love the intimate atmosphere and delicious food. Great for date night. Go with people you like to talk to and bring a bottle or two of wine. Usually there for 2-2.5 hrs! Open for pop ups on the weekend usually once a month (with a summer hiatus). Keep an eye on their Instagram page! Tables go quick.

Arugula salad starter, polenta and sausage entree, and the lemon tart for dessert. Thank me later.

I really wanted to like this place, based on its reputation and reviews, but was really disappointed. Went with 3 others for a 7pm dinner. The atmosphere is really cool. A small, cozy place where you’re packed in, in a good way though. That’s about where the positives ended. We ordered a soup, the broccoli rabe and the polenta as an appetizer. One of us ordered an espresso. It took about 20 minutes for the espresso and over an hour for the starters to make it out. When it got to us, we were pretty underwhelmed. Broccoli rabe was missing the taste and the polenta was great, but it was such a small portion we barely got a forkful each. It was nearly two hours before our entrees made it. VERY small portion sizes. I got the veal tortellini with Gorgonzola, I think there were 4 (admittedly oversized) tortellini. It was pretty solid but I didn’t get any of the Gorgonzola in the dish, and hardly any veal at all. One of our party ordered spaghetti with sausage sauce. They brought him penne. When he asked about it, the server told us the kitchen was backed up and that she wouldn’t be able to get spaghetti. This was kind of weird to hear, and it was made worse by the fact that it was essentially a side dish of pasta. We grabbed dessert because we were still hungry. The lemon tart was solid, as was the chocolate pudding. Got out soon after. By the time I got home, I was making a small snack. I’m not one for massive plates of pasta that a lot of cheaper Italian spots do, but I don’t want to spend an average of $50/person wait nearly two hours to eat, and still leave a restaurant hungry. I don’t think we’ll be back as there are a ton of other spots in the city.

The absolute best service I 've ever had in a restaurant! The Martino Girls are kind, attentive, thoughtful, and the food is really amazing. Thank you ladies for a wonderful night out, we can 't wait to come back for your next pop-up!