Fellini Newtown Square 🍝🍷🇮🇹 — Restaurant in Newtown Township

This used to be my favorite Fellini’s. I traveled 60 mins to get to this particular location, and my experience left such a distaste in my mouth I feel compelled to leave a review.

The reason this place is a poor choice for dinner can be summed into one critical problem: lack of professionalism.

We arrived for our reservation at 7:15pm and were sat right by the kitchen. Normally this isn’t a huge deal but they squeezed us in so our backs were right by the lane of traffic with the servers and it was very hectic, and made for a distracting evening.

But I’m not high maintenance so I let it go. At first no server came by for a bit until I had to flag one down. But again no worries - it happens.

The night turned seriously wrong when we were inundated with a passive-aggressive sense of rushing. We were having a bit of a family reunion, and figured an hour and 45 minutes for a nice dinner would suffice for a lovely time. However it was clear the restaurant only cared about moving tables and not providing a welcoming atmosphere. After we were about half way through our appetizers - salads, etc., the entrees came rushing in crowding the table in an already stressful experience, leaving no table space and causing a ruckus. If a server sees apps aren’t done, don’t fire the entrees. Or if entrees are done, keep them under a heat lamp until the table is almost done their apps. Again, professionalism.

Mid-way through our meal, the servers decided to eat their closing dinner RIGHT next to us and do their paperwork. There is a back kitchen for this - don’t play on your phone and count your money right next to our table. What kind of restaurant has this become?

Lastly, and the worst part of it all - we were hurried out of the restaurant when we showed signs of slowing down on eating our entrees. It was roughly 8:15pm. They closed at 9pm but the server and the manger clearly had a different agenda. This stressed out the whole table and yielded a horrible dining experience.

Needless to say I will not be returning to this location ever again. If you want to go to a second-rate Italian restaurant where the management’s only perceived goal is to burn through tables and take your money, go for it. Food was also mediocre and hasn’t been reimagined at all for years....

If you haven't been to this location, you are truly missing out! Fellini Newtown Square (formerly called Fellini Cafe) is my all-time favorite Italian restaurant! They're a family-owned business that takes great pride in their food and providing exceptional service.

I've been dining here for 20 years, but unfortunately, I moved to NC in 2013, so the opportunities to get back have grown few and far between. My brother and I were in the area last December, and they had just completed a renovation of the entire place—so cool to see after it being so long since we visited. The food was exactly as we remembered: fresh, delicious, and high quality!

The dressing on their salad is something I've tried to duplicate at home, but it just never hits the mark—so, I'm convinced they're using magic. :-) Fresh bread? It's like NOTHING in NC—unfortunately for me, I'm not kidding.

Anyway, they offer a very robust menu with many Italian classics and their own specialties. They've never turned down modifications on dishes—literally, I've never had anything bad here. My mom ordered eggplant parm one time, and I don't even like eggplant—but I liked this one. Calamari, salad, soup, pastas, pizza, desserts... they have something for everyone.

Almost forgot—they're also BYOB, so bring your favorite bottle for everyone in your party and enjoy! The venue is small and may have slightly more seating capacity after their renovation, but we almost always made reservations before moving—whether it be lunch or dinner. They also accept large party reservations with advance notice.

Their parking is very limited, with more signs than ever dictating "customer parking only" for various businesses. If you’re going during peak hours, be prepared to wait for a spot in the front lot. You can also buy alcohol past the bank and Verizon store at Newtown Suds (to stash in your trunk) and then walk down, or park across the (small) highway in the ACME shopping center for free.

In summation… just gather your favorite people, bring some wine, and...

Date of service: Thursday 10/14/21 Worst service I’ve had in many years. Won’t ever go back. We were on time for our reservation. I asked for another minute to order at 7:30 and was reminded that the kitchen closes in 30 mins. 2 The tables are ridiculously small. I knocked over my soda by accident. The bus person handed us 2 extra napkins which were completely non-absorbent, He did pick up the ice cubes from the floor and threw a napkin down but he left and we never got any other help. A server came over and literally said “don’t worry about it”. I believe she was trying to absolve me of my guilt, bless her heart, but she walked away and never wiped the table or offered to refill my drink or replace our wet napkins. We were rushed to finish from the minute they brought our food until we decided to just take the rest home because they were hounding us so badly. There were 3 tables still eating when the lights went up, and the manager or owner or whoever he was put a tv up front and turned on the Eagles Thursday Night Football pre-game at 8 o’clock. He could’ve waited until kick/off , at least. I don’t know why he even bothered, like we ever had a chance, other than Brice Ariens making them go easy on us because of his past ties to Philly. Derek Barnett’s lucky he didn’t make Brady really mad and put up another 28 points on us. Anyway. the servers were just kids and didn’t know any better, and never will because no one cares what they do. I respect them for working. But, to the owner or manager or whoever you are - you suck, and I hope you go broke. You don’t deserve...