Sorrentino Pasta + Provisions — Restaurant in Ambler

I met one of the owners of Sorrentino at the East Falls Farmers Market and was easily sold on their pasta fresca. After enjoying that, I knew I had to visit their brick & mortar shop at some point. Seeing their menu for Easter weekend, a friend and I decided to bike to Ambler from Philly to check it out. The ride was beautiful, as was the weather, so we sat outside with a nice view of the main street. We got the dishes split, so that we could each try a good portion. The pasta did not disappoint, of course, and each dish was well made, and reasonably priced for being such high quality ingredients. The semolina is imported from Italy, so it is wheat that meets Italian standards. This is the only reason I can eat it, being intolerant of glyphosate. In the US, organic wheat tends to have factors more glyphosate residue than normal Italian wheat. And I am told the flour and pasta bought in U.S. grocery stores with labels "made in Italy" etc., are often just U.S. (and other) wheats that are processed on Italian machinery and packaged exclusively for the U.S. market. I have thus far had no problems with Sorrentino's food - that's not to say that you won't if you suffer from something similar, but, for me, it's a real gift to have access to well-thought out and skillfully prepared foods that I can actually enjoy. The focaccia is amazing: light and fluffy on the inside, and crisp (but not hard, nor too chewy) on the outside. It was perfect for scarpetta. The cannoli are fresh and crisp, and the espresso is very nice - unlike most cafes' espressos. The gelato is not special to me (I got an affogato), but, after all, they're not a gelateria! I will have to try the tiramisu, but I fear it won't be able to compete with my Sardinian mother-in-law's single-layer made with Sardinian savoiardi, which are about 3x the size of typical ladyfingers. I digress... Everyone working at Sorrentino was very friendly and helpful, whether it was busy or calm. Excellent customer service, no question. In the deli, they had such wonders as scamorza (a strangled and smoked mozzarella), 'nduja (spicy spreadable salami), and chinotto (a sort of orange soda that is bitter-sweet). And, of course, their pastas!

Peruse, and sample...

Food: very average. Customer service: absolutely TERRIBLE.

We were going out to dinner with a toddler! We called ahead of time and they said we can just walk in and I did tell them I’m coming in to dine-in in a few minutes. We get there and there is no one ahead of us and the wait is 30min. We waited and kept the toddler distracted, then they told us they will be closing in half an hour and we can’t dine in but can still orde takeout. As inconvenient and disappointing as that was, we asked if we can place an order to-go but if while waiting a table opens up we dine in and they said “absolutely ". Few minutes later a table was seated and they said those were ahead of us but didn’t answer the call but now showed up so they have priority!!!! Then THREE other tables were seated and the girl at the front said “I guess he (pointing to the owner) has other plans for those tables ". How unprofessional and terrible is this customer service! Absolutely horrendous!!!! The food is okay but not worth being treated and inconvenienced this way!

Also the takeout order took 45min !!

Note that the owner was very nice while having a chat with us! But I just can’t justify ruining our night like that!

RESPONSE : we called to see how busy it is and how long is the wait not to reserve and we were told there is no ONE on the wait list. When we got there we were told multiple times « no one is on the list to be seated ahead of you, it’s only you guys on the list »! So your response is truly a bunch of lies and sooo untrue!! Makes the experience with your restaurant...

This place defines local. Cool little spot which sells specialized food products but also SERVES specialized pasta. I had them give me half and half of 2 of their 3 past specials, the bucatini all'arabbiata (red spicy sauce, AMAZING) and the spahetto aglio e olio, which is garlic oil anchovy (love anchovies), etc). I really liked the white oil/anchovy sauce but the bucatini all'arabbiata was one of the best red sauces I have ever had. I also had a bean salad as an appetizer which was VERY good. The owners I believe are two brothers and their sauces and pastas (homemade, fresh every day) are simply next level. $16 for these two half dishes, just remarkable. They also carry gourmet sodas. I do not drink soda with any frequency but they had a ginger beer, which is really ginger ale with actual ginger. It's ginger ale if someone tried. It's outstanding. I love a small business, I love a good story and I love good food. This has all 3 and I'll definitely be back when...