Bellini — Restaurant in Philadelphia

TLDR: Wait staff is amazing, food is delicious, managment can take some courses on customer service. Food came over an hour late. When arrived, the food was room temperature to cold. Felt that managment was more defensive about the situation than correcting a wrong. They did remove the cold Tortellini off the final bill.

Bellini has a great environment. A cozy ambiance and a fantastic wait staff. The one thing it lacks in is a proper managment response to escalations. We were hoping to enjoy a nice meal with the family to celebrate a happy occasion. What it turned out to be was the opposite.

The start was great, our waiter was fantastic, offered the right amount of attention and gave some great feedback. We were having a great time up until it was time for the main course. We had some delicious appetizers and were ready for the main course. 15 mins passed, we were still enjoying the bottle of wine we ordered and cocktails, along with the complimentary bread. 30 mins passed we started noticing tables that were seated after us already receiving their meals. We brought this to our waiters attention, who immediately checked with the kitchen and management. He let us know that they are a bit behind in the kitchen. 45 mins, we still haven't received our meal, the manager approaches the table to discuss that the kitchen is behind. When we brought it to the attention that other tables that arrived after us are already leaving, the manager just repeated the same thing, kitchen is behind. At a little past an hour, we still had not received our food. We asked for managment again. They returned with that our order is next to be plated and it's on its way.

Our food was finally on its way, as the food arrived we were also offered fresh bread. As we started to dig into the food as we were hungry being almost 10 mins past 8PM and we came in at 6.30PM. Everyone took one bite and put their forks and knives down. The food was borderline room temperature to cold. Tortellini stuffing felt as if it was just pulled out the fridge, and warmed up in the microwave. The pork tenders, were tough the cut and chew. We asked for the manager to return and inform him on the food and that we waited paitently because they said food is being prepped, this felt that the plates were ready just weren't sent out. The manager showed no empathy towards the fact that one person's dish was so cold that they couldn't even eat it. Just offered to take it back in and warm the item up. Out complimentary bread was warmer...

Ah, Bellini! I went for the first time in 2021 and haven’t been able to stop going back! Every time I’ve entered, I’ve been greeted with a warm welcome, and attended to like I’m a member of the family. The altitudinous Italian art will catch your eye ,the menu is guaranteed to please the palette, and the service is going to exceed your expectations. While all that is proves to be true to most, one thing’s for certain: you’re going to feel like you’re at home here. We lost track of time while enjoying the food, drinks, and one another, once again! It happens every time!!!

Our server, Mike, knew the menu thoroughly and was extremely accommodating on every possible level. His suggestions for cocktails, wine, and food truly enhanced our experience. It was also quite impressive that he remembered and catered to our specific likes and tastes from our previous time dining with them. Its not often a server remembers your name, face, and favorite menu items. His service is consistently excellent, and I hope to be served by him again.

The Silk Road is my favorite cocktail I’ve tried all year!! Simple, spicy, and balanced perfectly. The lavender bitters are a game changer, and I wouldn’t be surprised if their recipe was copied all over.

I could write an entire separate entry for the food. If everything else was terrible, the food alone would be worth coming back for!! The Chef cares, and it’s obvious. You can easily tell every dish was well thought out, prepared, tested, perfected, and executed. You hear the other guests around you continuously humming sounds of satisfaction while indulging. There is something on the menu for everyone, and every dish is has something special to offer. It’s easy to feel like you’ve left Philadelphia and are seated in your Nonna’s dining room, in Italy, being served cuisine made with only the best ingredients and lots of love.

I am looking forward to returning and exploring more of Bellini’s menu. Please don’t bypass the linguini, order the bruschetta, and take a walk down the Silk Road. As always, before departing, order an espresso martini, everyone’s doing it but no one’s doing it better!!!!

Thanks for another great night! I wish I had better and...

We went during restaurant week and the menu looked great. There were a lot of options, and it seemed like a really good deal for the price. However, it ended up not being a good experience at all.

First of all, the food was only okay. Three courses (appetizer, pasta, and entree), and they were all fairly mediocre. The steak was the best course, but half of it was medium well and half was medium rare (I ordered medium rare). The bread was very stale though. Despite that, I would be tempted to come back to try the food again if it weren’t for the service.

The service was unacceptable. Initially it was fine. Attentive, pretty quick, and always asking if we wanted anything else. However, they kept pushing out courses before we were ready for the next course. By the time our entrees came out we were still only halfway through our second course. When the waiter was trying to figure out who ordered what, he demanded our “full attention” which really rubbed all of us the wrong way. Most restaurants make a note of which guest ordered each dish, and they obviously did not. It was very condescending and really ruined the rest of the experience here.

The final issue was the fact that the desserts were not included. On the restaurant week menu online it included a dessert, which was one of the reasons we came here; the desserts looked great. We brought this up to the waitress, who said it was a mistake and that the menu was from last year. We showed her that the menu was in the CDC restaurant week 2019 site. The manager then came over and explained to us that this was an error and that Bellini actually helped pioneer the restaurant week movement in Philly. Okay? He then left without giving us any compensation. Basically just a “sorry, you’re SOL.”

Mind you, our final check for 6 people was $443.00. Not a cheap dinner and they weren’t making nothing on our check, despite it being restaurant week. There was no excuse for the poor service, as the restaurant was also only around half full and it’s a small restaurant as it is. I can’t speak for the restaurant during other times of the year, but do not go for...