Borromini — Restaurant in Philadelphia

First time diner at this restaurant. Everything was really well done and I have nothing bad to say about the food, service or atmosphere. Starr has high standards, and they were met. The only reason. I gave it a 4 out of 5 stars in my rating is because there's no accounting for VALUE. I don't mind paying premium prices for dishes that clearly include expensive ingredients and/or very involved preparation... and some of the dishes on the menu clearly fall in that category, but many don't. Most items ... but not everything ... on the menu is overpriced in my opinion.

Speaking about the menu, I was very surprised at how limited it is. Really only four or five choices of the difference courses... which would suggest that they are curating what they serve in great volume... so you would expect more economy there.

I had a cocktail... the Botte... which I highly recommend if you like Burbon and Compari... but was disappointed that the $19 cocktail was served in a pretty small highball glass, loaded with ICE and the pour did not even completely fill the glass.

We skipped the salads and ordered two Antipasti dishes.... the Artichokes alla Giudea and thr Burrota ... both of which were very tasty. But to my point about value, the Burrata dish was a piece of the cheese about the size of an egg, one fig... maybe two small ones... cut in slices and three small pieces crustini for $21. How much prep did that take... and how expensive are those ingredients in bulk? The Artichoke dish o the other hand was a bit less expensive at $18 but was much more complex and interesting. The Artichokes themselves were very crispy yet delicate and flavorful with a wonderful dipping sauce to accompany it.

For our entrees, my wife had the Cacio E Pepe... one of the more reasonably priced pasta dishes at $23. It was nicely presented in a small saute pan... but the portion size was smaller than expected and the pan obviously was for show only because it... and the food... was not hot when it arrived. Despite that, the dishes was properly prepared with nice flavors.

I had the Crispy Dorade on fresh herb salsa verde. Since I've been harping on value, this dish was worth the $44 price tag. It was a large butterflied double filled that filled the plate, sitting on top of the fresh herb salsa Verde, which was a great companion to the spice on the fish, which and a nice little kick to it. The skin was super crispy, as advertised, yet the thin filled meat itself was amazingly tender and moist. My only criticism of the dishes is that, while therexwere no sharp bones, there were a few small remnants of the vertibra along the joint of the fillet that I had to navigate around. Also at that price point it would have been nice to include a side or two. But no. It was just the fish. All the side dishes are extra and a la carte.

There was an extensive list of bottled Italian wines, but the prices were nuts, so we both opted to each pick a glass of red from the limited by-the-glass options, which range from $15-$22 per glass for non-exceptional choices. My wife had the Sangiovese at $18 per glass and I had the Pino Nero at $17. Neither were great.

For dessert we split the Chocolate Olive Oil cake. It was excellent... but not so good that I felt great spending $16. There are many places within blocks where I could have gotten better desserts for half the price.

A word about the ambiance... it is a beautiful restaurant... as is typical of a Starr venue... and we deliberately booked a late weeknight slot... Wednesday at 9:45 to avoid the loud crowd. It was still plenty busy when we got there... but several empty tables at the lower level (there is a complete second dining room on the second floor which i ventured up into and it was completely empty).

We got a nice table right by the window set for four.... and they took two of the place settings away. And, truth be told... the table wasn't that large and would have been tight for a party of four.

Bottom line: worth the experience but with so many other options in Center City I'm not sure when...

The evening was spared by excitement and good company, but unfortunately the restaurant was a miss.

First, the atmosphere. Not what we expected. It gives an Italian cafe vibe, which is nice and all for lunch but certainly not a “special dinner” feel. The booths are unstained wood, there’s blurs on the windows which block the view of the park. The lighting was very bright for an Italian dinner. It was noisy and it seemed like the queue at the door just built and built and built and added to the noise — as if no one could be seated for their reservation in time. The interior design was OK but just didn’t give the Stephen Starr vibe you see out of a Barclay or Parc. If you’re putting on your best dress for a romantic date night, reconsider.

Next the service. Of course they were attentive and very professional, but we felt rushed. Probably pressured by the crowd gathered at the door waiting for their table. We were asked about appetizers before our drinks even came. While it can be equally frustrating when there’s a lack of diligence, I think we all know the difference between “checking in” and “would you order already” levels of frequency. To be clear, we were not being excessively slow. It just felt like they wanted us to eat and hit the road.

Next the food. I may be old fashioned, but what’s to a bread basket? Parc nearly gives you a whole bakery when you sit down there. For an Italian meal it’d be nice to have some bread and oil, not be forced to order 3-4 of the tiny appetizers that only give a few bites per guest at a 4 top. We would’ve ordered some anyway, but it’s nice to have a base especially as you’re drinking wine and chatting. It just feels like they were cheaping out. No apps were substantial for a table, you had to order a bunch of little things if you wanted enough. There were no specials. I’ll give them a break on that — it may be because the place is so new.

Everything was just okay. I mean this with sincerity that I probably could’ve made all of the food better at home. Collectively, we ordered the lamb chops, veal, linguine and clams, and tortellini. Each more meh than the next. The linguine and clams almost seemed pre-made. Lots of clams not in shells like they came from cans. The tortellini was just okay. None of the food was very hot. And the proteins were disappointing. If your toes aren’t curling up after a bite out of an $80 veal or lamb, there’s something wrong. The lamb didn’t have much flavor. The salsa grande was good but it almost needed it because it was dry without it. And with all due respect, it was pizza place takeout level veal parm. With seriousness, there’s not a ton of difference between a chicken parm you’d get at Little Tony’s Pizza and this veal parm. Certainly not $70 difference. Dessert was pretty good. As good as premade desserts usually are.

The portion sizes were tiny. Think “side of pasta” small. Lamb chops were ~ $40-50 and I think you got 3-4 with no side. For the price point, pretty bad. This really doesn’t bother me if it’s every bite is amazing. But again, I don’t just think, I know I can make this food better in my own kitchen. It wasn’t hot, it was greasy, and portions were side-esque for full price.

Side note, they had some kind of 80s rock/new wave station playing.

I regret to say that we door dashed chicken fingers when we got home because we were still hungry after a $500 dinner.

Pros: it’s a hot spot, no denying that. Good company, good vibes. The drinks were good. The service, while felt rushed, was extremely polite and professional. While I complained about prices, it’s really not bad for what you’d expect out of a Rittenhouse Stephen Starr joint. The difference is you usually get what you pay for.

Don’t know if I’ll return for a good while until they work out the kinks. I’m not usually much of a critic and I did have a good time — but that was our own doing. I hope this feedback gets to the right person. If you’re dying for a reservation,...

Borromini leans form over function and feels overpriced for the quality of the food. Ambiance is a 10/10 for a low-key yet upscale date night— the lighting is perfect, service was great, and while it’s on the louder side, you won't have to yell across the table. We spent $200 before tax and tip for two people (2 appetizers, 3 mains, 2 desserts, 3 drinks). Even if you order less, it’s hard to get out of there for under $150 for two people, so it’s definitely on the expensive side.

Most dishes seemed to be missing one or two key elements- moisture, fat, or acid, which left them underwhelming. If the food were a notch better or the price a notch lower, this would be a 4/5 review. As is, the value isn’t there, so it drops another star. There are several other places I’d rather spend $200+ for dinner.

Starr reportedly spent $20 million on the renovation, and it feels like they’re focused on recouping costs right now, and they probably have little incentive to improve the food while the buzz is high. I wouldn’t be surprised if they tighten up the cooking after the hype fades and review flow in. Italian food isn’t expensive to execute well so I don't see why they can't right the ship without ruining margins.

Artichoke & Arugula salad: 8/10. Could use more dressing, and a more acidic dressing to make it interesting. Extremely basic salad for $13.

Arancini (Rice and cheese balls): 10. Good flavor and texture

Pane Focaccia: 9/10. We got the $9 focaccia instead of the overpriced $27 cheesy focaccia that everyone complains about. It was really good. If you're into focaccia, I will say that it's better than the focaccia across the street at via locusta. The crumb (size of the holes) is larger, and it's served with rosemary on top and side of oil and vinegar.

100 Layer lasagna: (7.5/10) This was dry. It could use more red sauce. There was a good ratio of pasta to cheese, and the pasta wasn't mushy (as some reviews mentioned, but maybe they changed this based on feedback), and the serving size seemed good (some reviews mentioned it was small, so maybe they increased the size based on feedback) but it was just dry and boring. It was begging for a ladle of garlicky, oniony, chunky red sauce to be on top, but I guess that would ruin the presentation of the "100" layers. Unfortunately this dish failed due to form over function.

Polpetta (giant meatball): 7.5/10. This is a large meatball so it’s a ton of meat, but it’s served on polenta instead of a red sauce. The gritty polenta seems dry and doesn't help the meatball at all. It was more like meatloaf. With that much meat, it would have been really nice to have some moisture from a red sauce to balance it out. Please just give me regular sized meatballs in a garlicky, oniony, chunky red sauce.

Branzino 8/10. The fish was cooked perfectly, but it could use more flavor. We asked for lemon, which helped. Some extra salt and fat would have also helped too.

Limone Di Amalfi (Lemon sorbet): 9/10. If you like lemon sorbet there's nothing to complain about here.

Apple Crostata (Apple tart/treat w/ice cream): 7.5/10. The outer crust was hard and flavorless. The center where there were apples and ice cream was pretty good though. Overall it wasn't very dense though and didn't impress me. I am a fan of apple deserts like apple pie so this...