Adoro — Restaurant in Philadelphia

Service: 4 Atmosphere: 4 Food: 5 Presentation: 5

Reservation was at 2000, we were seated at 2030. It is a very tight spot, but I foresee the executive chef and co. possibly moving to a larger venue in the future because with their skills, there is no way that such fine cuisine could not lead to the business growing exponentially. However, with the tight atmosphere, it was very hard to hear our server when he was explaining the specials, and the staff appeared to be stretched quite thin. This is possibly due to the restaurant being new and it was towards the end of the night, however. Overall, my interactions with the servers and hostess were pleasant. The art adorning the walls was very pretty, and the accent wall was interesting.

I ordered the clams and mushroom fungi for appetizers (not shown), and while the clams were served with slices of bread that were slightly tough and chewy, the fungi was perfection. The texture and flavour profile was intense, delicate, and truly memorable.

For the entree, I ordered the squid ink linguini which was offered as a special and served with shrimp, slices of fish, calamari, and capers. To note, I ordered this same dish at another local Italian restaurant, La Viola Bistro Ovest. While that dish was incredible, the blend of ingredients, quality, and flavour of Adoro’s squid ink linguini far surpassed it. It was absolutely divine. My only note is that the portion size is very large for such a filling dish - but that is not necessarily a bad thing.

For dessert, the server brought a presentation tray containing a cannoli and several slices of dishes from their menu. I very much appreciate the chef providing an opportunity for guests to see the dishes rather than order from a paper desert menu. I had the pistachio flavoured cake. The dish had a level of richness and sweetness that was neither too intense nor too low, and the ratio of cream to pistachio was curated to perfection. An incredibly decadent end to the meal. Finally, I had espresso for a digestif which I normally would not include in a review, but this was worth mentioning. Their espresso was very smooth and bodied, not too acidic nor did the bean taste too roasted. Perhaps the best espresso I have tried in this city.

Overall, I look forward to returning in the future to sample more...

My husband and son took me to Adora’s last night for my birthday and it was our first time there. We were seated right away and the place was adorable! It’s a small dining room and they had lots of waiters and bus boys. I think our waiter was Italian and it was very difficult to understand him when he was telling us the specials. We ordered three appetizers. The first was fried calamari. The pieces were very thick, not quite as tender as I would like, and the breading lacked flavor. It was supposed to come with cherry peppers, but there were none. The second appetizer was mussels in white wine sauce, and both my husband and son enjoyed them very much, but there was some crunchy sand in there. The third appetizer was grilled artichoke hearts And we all enjoyed this one. For dinner, my husband ordered Veal Adoro. He loved the sauce and the veal was tender And the mashed potatoes were delicious. My son got the veal Parmesan, which was a huge portion and he said it was delicious. I ordered the grouper with shrimp and pesto sauce. It came with summer vegetables and a pesto risotto. The risotto and vegetables were delicious. On the other hand, as you can see by the pictures, The grouper was completely covered and flooded with pesto sauce to the point where I could not see what was on my plate. I couldn’t even tell you what the grouper tasted like because the pesto was everywhere. Very bad plating and very disappointing. Overall We will return and try...

I've walked by Adoro many times as my girlfriend lives in the area, and on multiple occasions have seen the staff sitting outside smoking cigarettes to escape the brutal Philly heat. Talk about authenticity.

We came on restaurant week where they had a set menu for $40 and you got an appetizer, a main, and a dessert. SUCH A STEAL! All that for $40 in this economy!?! Shoutout to restaurant week we hittin licks. Although everyone else had the same idea as it was standing room only in here.

I went with the caesar salad, the chicken parmesan, and a dessert for my girlfriend and her mom as I simply wasn't born with a sweet tooth... unless it's vanilla ice cream or red velvet cake. Then my sweet tooth steps out of the shadow realm.

This chicken parm was phenomenal. A red sauce on top of the cutlet with a healthy portion of mozzarella cheese to tie it all together, and spaghetti on the side. It was a dream. The 2nd best chicken parm I've had in Philly, with only Trattoria Carina besting it.

I’ve said this thousands of times at this point, but in my heart of hearts I believe Philly is the most underrated culinary city in the country.

IG...