I will be in Philadelphia this coming Saturday and would like a recommendation for a very good...very nice ambiance...Italian restaurant.

Thanks.

What is your budget?

The Saloon is excellent.
Vetri is fantastic - though unless there is a last-minute cancellation, it books months in advance.

You may want to go to Citysearch.com and search restaurants for Italian. You will find plenty of reviews there and you can search for something that meets your price range and expectations.

Or go to the Philadelphia Inquirer's website and search the archives for Craig LaBan's reviews.

We enjoy Maggianos at 1201 Filbert Street, Convention Center area. You can make reservations via their website http://www.maggianos.com/. Highly recommend the Sliced Tomato with Fresh Mozzarella appetizer. FYI, the meals are plentiful.

Primavera is great.

My bad, it was not Primavera, and I can not remember the name .

Check out www.gophila.com for restaurants. There are a LOT of great Italian restaurants in Phila. What kind of budger?
Maggianno's is a chain--go to one of the wonderful local restaurants instead. Bistro Romano is good, Valanni is great also.

scherl is right, Maggiannos IMO is all right...nothing compared to Ralphs, but Ralphs does not have "nice ambiance". A friend of ours, loves Monte Carlo Living room.

If I can assume that VTC wants a restaurant in center city, then I would suggest Upstares at Varalli, Soto Varalli, Portofino, and Valanni for good food and ambiance, La Viola for great food and awful ambiance.

Many thanks to all of you! It is a special occasion so am not that worried about the budget!

Has anyone ever been to Kristian's Ristorante?

Only ate there once, but Kristian's had very good food - nice atmosphere, decent service.

Whatever you do, please don't go to Maggiano's - it's like going to Mexico and eating at Taco Bell...so many better Italian restaurants in the area, why go to a chain? They built it next to the Convention Center for a reason.

If not Kristian's or The Saloon in South Philadelphia and you are looking for a place in Center City, you might check the menus/reviews online for Le Castagne, Ristorante La Buca, La Familigia or Ristorante Panorama. All good for a special occasion dinner.

Thanks so much!

Portofino is excellent!

Haven't been in year's, but Positano Coast in Old City just got a great review in Philly Magazines top 50 restaurants in the area.

http://www.phillymag.com/./articles/the_philly_mag_50/

Ceidlah, YES...it was Ristorante Panarama, not Primavera.....I could not for the life of me remember the name..but it was quite good and it was lovely too...right near the Ben Franklin and the river,,,whew it was driving me batty.

Do any of these specialize in northern Italian cuisine? I am not a huge fan of traditional southern Italian cooking (or the Philadelphia variant thereof).

A friend of mine who lives in the area recommends Franco & Luigi's. I haven't eaten there but he swears by it. Prices are reasonable. It's a BYOB, so you can take a bottle of your favorite wine, and I understand they sing opera while they are serving you your food.

http://francoandluigis.com/

BTilke: Vetri or Le Castagne would most likely be what you are looking for if you prefer Northern Italian. However, Vetri is one of the best restaurants in the U.S., a James Beard award winner and it is very small and books WAY in advance. Definitely not a last minute reservations kind of place.

You can view menus for both these restaurants online (along with just about every restaurant mentioned in this thread).

Visiting from out of town. Thoroughly enjoyed our visit today of Frida Kahlo exhibit at Philadelphia Museum of Art.

Based on post above by LawrenceJ we made a reservation tonite for Franco & Luigi's. I've got a bottle of a nice white wine in the cooler and ready to go.

Will return after our meal and post some comments.

wintkat

Regarding Franco & Luigi's High Note Cafe
http://francoandluigis.com/

Overall our meal was good. We shared the Antipasto platter. The sharp provolone was only lightly shredded over the greens, I prefer to have the provolone in slices. I ordered Penne ala Vodka with Parma Prosciutto. My husband had Chicken Otello, a chicken/2 shrimp with pasta in a lemon cream sauce.

The wait staff was very pleasant. We arrived for 7p reservation. At that time there were only 2 other tables of 4 guests each having dinner. By 8p more diners arrived.

The restaurant has “A SINGING STAFF AND LIVE MUSICIANS THURS-FRIDAY -SATURDAY & SUNDAYS----(TUES-WED )-& WE HAVE OPERA MUSIC & MOST TIMES A SINGING STUDENT,OR CLASSICAL GUITAR !”

Last night they had an opera singer with a wonderful voice but the overall volume was too loud for us in such a confined space. She sang 2 selections accompanied by a pianist. Also one of the wait staff sang 2 songs, which in my opinion were not lighthearted enough for a dining experience.

The pianist, on her own, was enjoyable with gentle background music which still allowed conversation.

I would return again but probably not on an evening when music is offered.

wintkat