Trattoria Valona — Restaurant in Hatboro

Expensive for a BYOB. Pay cash for a discount. Very good food and service. Nice new dining room. Semi open kitchen. The kitchen and servers are fast! We went from appetizers to dessert and out the door in an hour. Large portion sizes. This is actually a slight criticism, because we would prefer smaller portions that would allow us to have a separate pasta course.

We had grilled salmon with citrus salsa and parmesan polenta, and a grouper with shrimp special, served over risotto. Both were good, though my partner thought the salmon was a bit dry. I would happily order the grouper special again; the fish tased fresh and was nicely flaky. We also had the lobster gnocchi, which has received some rave reviews here, but I thought was just okay.

For appetizers we had a Eggplant Rollatini special, and grilled octopus. Both of these dishes were fantastic. The red sauce served with the eggplant was simple and slightly sweet. I was reaching for the bread to mop up every last bit. The octopus was tender, and presentation was very nice. Dessert was some kind of chocolate brownie cake (made here!), and presented nicely. Bread and oil flavored with dry herbs are brought out to each table. The oil was not great; bread was average.

Overall, this is one of the better quality Italian restaurants in the area. Worth...

I stumbled upon this hidden pocket of pasta because someone else’s scallop risotto review looked amazing and I was craving something new and Italian.

Loved the grilled octopus… and it comes with basil pesto?? I try grilled octopus at almost every Italian restaurant that has it, and I was impressed with the texture/flavor/aroma and the really nice plating. Also ended up getting the scallop risotto and the scallops were awesome - not HUGE but really tender and plump/bouncy.. so hard to get that texture. Rice mixed with asparagus had great mix of bite and creaminess. My plate looked pretty similar to the other reviewer’s so I appreciated their consistency.

Loved the quaint but unique decor. Sucks that I didn’t find out about this place until 6 months after moving to the area?? People need to review this place more to get the word out because it’s in a modest strip and easy to miss. Portions were middle of the road, not huge but perfect for me. (Prices reflect quality a little more than quantity, so I couldn’t gorge myself on everything like my Friday garbage can stomach would have done.) I also plan to try out a bunch of their other dishes soon. Agree with others it could be a cute/decent date night...

4 Star overall rating above is generous. If I could have selected 3.5, I would have.

BYOB Restaurant. Vibe - No nonsense, clean, smaller space w/ close quartered tables. Doing a fairly brisk business.

Meat and Cheese Board App was just OK. Some of the cheese was cut too close to the rind and entire board was served too cold. Meats and cheeses should have been served at room temp.

Caesar Salad - Simple and Very Good.

Entrees: Daily Special - Grouper w/ Shrimp ($44) that was very good and decent portion.

Daily Special - 20oz. Ribeye w/Crabmeat-Gorgonzola cream sauce, Mashed Potatoes and Broccoli Rabe. ($52) All very good but they should have mentioned that it was a bone-on ribeye and wasn’t really 20oz. Don’t think it was worth the $52 price.

Tiramisu was good but not worth $10

Service OK but could do with some improvement. Even though it is a BYOB no one offered to open our bottle of wine. Good thing we had a bottle opener with us. You are required to order all your food at once. (Apps, salads, entrees,…) I requested to have the Gorgonzola sauce served on the side - that didn’t happen. Timing of the food arrival could also do with improvement. Our Salad and our Meat & Cheese board came...