La Viola West - Philadelphia

Young, attentive, personable staff; older clientele most likely heading to a Saturday night Philadelphia Orchestra concert at the Kimmel Center. That's the vibe of this bustling restaurant while we were there. My only complaint was the pacing of the dishes to the table. I'm guessing it's because of the above concert. It wasn't ridiculously fast but a slower pace would have made it more enjoyable. The shared Frutti Di Mare was a delicious plate of grilled Calamari and Shrimp marinated in a lemon juice, garlic, and peppered olive oil sauce. A fantastic start. The Fish Special for the evening was a perfectly cooked Swordfish in a picante sauce. (We requested the change in sauce to this one they were more than happy to accommodate) The Risotto Ai Gamberi was one of the best risottos I've had in a long while. The Arborio Rice was perfectly cooked and served with Shrimp and Peas in a Porcini Mushroom sauce. The shared Tartufo dessert (ice cream formed into a ball and coated with chocolate) was delicious. The Cappuccino was also very good. Before tip, the bill came to about $90 a very reasonable price for a very memorable meal. We will definitely be returning.

Terrible. Chicken was raw. The dish was chicken rolled with ham, fontina spinach. I had eaten one already before realizing the pink wasn't just the ham it was raw chicken. They comped my meal and dessert but I paid for the rest. The rest of the meals came out soquickly too quickly. Perhaps microwaved? Hoping I don't get sick.

A perfect hidden gem for before a show, a date night, or just an excuse to dine out at an excellent BYOB. We were so excited about the food that I forgot to take pictures of everything! Three of us shared the antipasto plate and the delicious warm crusty bread served with olive oil. We all the prix fixe menu and enjoyed a fantastic and fresh Caesar salad and the light and tasty arugula and goat cheese salad as our first courses. For entrees we had a tangy chicken piccata served with veggies, a creamy penne pencil points with vodka sauce, and the most decadent gnocchi I ever had. We shared a wonderfully light and only mildly sweet cannoli cake. No complaints. Service was stellar and we chatted with the owner for quite a bit what a sweetheart. PLEASE visit this restaurant or the Bistro across the street and keep these small family restaurants in business! You won 't be disappointed!

Always trying to find something new during restaurant week. What a great find! Two small adjacent places with great service and atmosphere. The soup special was spinach vegetable and was perfect on a cold and windy day. I had the veal and shrimp; perfectly cooked shrimp and tender veal delicious. Desert was the biggest piece of NY cheese cake I have ever had. Good coffee. BYOB, cash only.

This is a nice BYOB Italian restaurant. Service was good and the food was very tasty. We had reservations which was good because the place isn’t very big and it was full.