Caffe Valentino — Restaurant in Philadelphia

Below is a comprehensive and honest review from an inside perspective:

The only saving grace of this restaurant is its employees, notably Sam, head server, and its kitchen staff (2 people) who work tirously 7 days and nights per week to ensure the entire restaurant is fed and daily service is a success, which often includes cleaning and dishwashing while cooking. The loyalty of long term patrons also does much to liven the atmosphere. The food is tasty but leans toward overpriced. Most likely because the owners are trying to make up for the fact that they do not profit from liquor sales, which is reasonable. However, be careful about any add ons or changes to the menu...it will cost you $10 to substitute pasta for veggies and starch, $10 for chicken, $10 for proscuitto or salami, and $6 for shrimp. Unfortunately, the owner is arrogant and egotistical, with a mightier than thou outlook towards guests and employees alike. He puts on a nice show at times, but it is all a facade. He speaks much more than he listens, with no regard for the opinions, suggestions, and feelings of others. This has led to disgruntled staff and also unhappy guests. For instance, he will blast house music to the point where it drowns out conversation and guests want to leave, refusing to hear or accept that no ones enjoys this. Him and his wife also like to steal tips from the servers and actually think its normal. One of the restaurant's worst attributes is its neglect in maintenance, with standing water in the kitchen from unfixed plumbing leaks to ongoing pest issues. Cleanliness is questionable at best, so much so that one of the guests felt the need to hire their own cleaning crew before an event upstairs. With lack of staff and necessary vendors, its impossible to maintain the restaurant to the standards expected for safe, sanitary, and sufficient conditions. Also, be careful about visiting during extreme temperatures, as their thermostat in the summer is set to 78-80 degrees, and winter not much better. But alas, ownership knows best. So to all those that want to pay a visit, you will most likely receive decent food and have an OK time, but really...at what cost?...

This was one of the worst dining experiences I have ever encountered. I would give a 0 stars if I could. We had a table of 18 people reserved for New Years Eve. The reservation was made more than a month in advance and was confirmed the day before. It was a $65 prefix menu served family style with the only selection being the third course. It took 1 hour and 25 minutes for what looked like just a can of kidney beans and chick peas emptied on a plate to come out. We were then served bruchetta on cold soggy bread and the worst calamari I have ever had in my life. I went to talk to the manager and was told no discount can be given since “food can’t be given away for free” and “rack of lamb and veal are expensive dishes.”

Things continued to get worse. When other members of our group complained, the manager became very hostile and began yelling at a person at our table saying that she did not have restaurant experience and did not understand the stress involved with running a restaurant on NYE, which was very unprofessional. She then once again stated that no discounts would be given. The waiter was great, but he had to constantly apologize for the manager and stated on multiple times that he would give us a discount if he could but it was out of his hands.

The main courses were just as bad as the starters. The chicken parm was dry and was not touched by anyone who ordered it. Some of the veal that was ordered was also not cooked. The string beans that came with every order were literally taken out of a bag and thrown on a plate and did not even have any seasoning or anything on it.

I would not recommend eating here. There are several other BYOBs in philly that have way better food...

There was some really good, strong dishes and a couple of really bad ones. We waited about 30 minutes after our reservation to be seated... I can deal with that, no biggie. My girlfriends and I ordered the grilled octopus special, a Caesar salad, mussels red, bruschetta, gnocchi scampi and the risotto. The grilled octopus came on a bed of arugula, was nice. It was cooked perfectly, just a little under seasoned, a bit plain. The Caesar salad was a Caesar salad. The bruschetta was not memorable, we didn't even finish it. The mussels red was the star of the apps. It was delicious! The gnocchi scampi was fine, the sauce was tasty but we got like 5 tiny shrimps. I probably wouldn't order it again. The risotto was the worst thing we had. We asked the server to add salmon to our risotto, he did. The rice was completely under cooked, it wasn't even cooked enough to call it rice, let alone risotto. The fish was very dry. I told the server about the dish, they offered to refire, but it was already late and we've finished eating, so we declined. At the very least, I thought they'd take the risotto of the check, more. The dish was practically untouched. We didn't make a fuss, figured they needed the $36 more than we did. This restaurant doesn't stand up well to the many Italian establishments available in the city. I...