Frankie's Fellini Cafe — Restaurant in Easttown Township

Went back to Frankie's Fellini Cafe in Berwyn 2 years after I wrote the below review and had vowed not to go back. Had a good meal - great salad, slightly overcooked pasta dish. Well, fool me twice, shame on me. Received the check and each entree was $3-$6 more than the menu price. My bad, I should have realized by now that these guys will just never be honest and up-front.

Really want to like this place. We live pretty close and have been there several times over the last few years. Each time, I say I won’t go back because the tiny tables are squeezed in like sardines and there is a usual wait even if you have a reservation. Other reviewers seem to think the food here is unique or special but can’t say I agree when compared with more inventive Italian restaurants in the area or better value elsewhere.

Straw that broke the camel’s back was when our bill arrived at last night’s meal. I did a quick review of the credit card receipt and it had something called “non cash adj” tacked on for 4% of the bill. Curious as to what the charge was, I asked the wait staff, who seemed to have no idea. They came back with a vague description about a new fee for something that the bank charges. A shame because the wait staff is very friendly, accommodating and attentive. Seems clear to me that the owner has recently decided to try and cover his credit card bank fees by passing this on to customers. The issue I have is that there is no notice of this and staff is not informed.

As annoying as this was, I did another quick check of the bill and discovered that they had also charged 7% sales tax as opposed to state law of 6%. A mistake? Maybe, but in light of the other ticky-tack added charge, I have my suspicions. If you need to make up for your cost structure, charge a $5 or $10 corkage fee (put it on the menu), or raise your prices by $1. Don’t try to be...

Fellini’s has always been a great place to eat. The food tonight, #86, was very good. However, we asked for doggy bags and when we got them, both meals had been placed into the same bag. The problem with this was the fact we both had ordered the same meal so there was no way to know the difference between the meals. And one of us was sick, so it was rather important that we each got our own food.

We mentioned are concern to the younger waitress who went inside and told the original waitress what the problem was. We were sitting outside and could view the interaction between the two of them and it was quite clear that our original waitress was quite upset with this development. Our original waitress came out and rather rudely set one bag down in front of my friend and the other bag down in front of me; as she did this she said “this one is yours” to each of us. When we looked inside the bags we found that she had given the one with the word “right” written on it to the person sitting on the left. Clearly she had no idea who’s was whose.

We talked with the manager who it seemed was going to give the healthy one of us a fresh meal to take home. However, he brought the original waitress back out and she, in the same unpleasant tone she had used prior, told us that she knew that we had the right boxes. When it was pointed out that the person on the left got the box that had the word “right” written on it, she switch the boxes and said that now we had the right ones. I think it’s pretty clear she had no freaking idea whose box was whose.

Great food, just don’t ask for a doggy bag! 🐶🦊🦁 No guarantee you’ll leave...

Quite possibly one of the worst Italian meals I have ever had. I was excited to try this place as it had very high ratings and although it looked a little on the high side price wise, I assumed that would be as a result of superior ingredients.

Our dinner for 4 was over $100, no appetizers or drinks, so expectations were high. I had the “Sunday Gravy” which consisted of a ton of pasta, one large meatball, one braciole slice, and one sausage, in home made pasta sauce. The sauce and pasta were border line tasteless. The meatball fell apart but was decent. The braciole was brittle and dry and devoid of flavor. The sausage was decent. Not bad, not great.

For $25 for a pasta dish I was expecting something like my grandma used to make (like they say in the description on their menu) sadly it didn’t come close. I have had better Italian food at Olive Garden, which is saying a lot.

The rest of our party were equally unimpressed with their entrees. I ordered takeout so didn’t really get to experience what it was like to eat there but the inside looked small, dark, and cramped. For the price I can’t recommend this place.

Summary: The atmosphere didn’t seem all to impressive. The prices were very high. And the food was disappointing. Save your time and money and try...