ILLATA — Restaurant in Philadelphia

I moved to the neighborhood from Brooklyn recently. One day while walking around, I passed this unassuming place. The only indication that it was open was a chair outside with a bouquet of flowers to pin down a paper menu to the chair. The menu looked divine.

A few days later I walked past, showing my partner that the place almost seemed closed from the outside but was very cute inside. Someone who worked there came out as we were looking and was very kind, asking us if we had reservations yet. We said no but booked immediately.

The first time I visited, I had the sourdough, Marinated Mussels (hakurei turnips, miso, chili oil), Carrot (crab, brown butter), Shrimp (peaches, coppa, toasted marcona almonds), and Gnudi (corn& basil). It was an entirely no-skips meal. The mussels came cold, out of their shell, and the sauce was incredible. The “carrot” was more like a crab cake with coconut, brown butter, and an unidentifiable but delightful citrus. A perfect balance of rich & light. The gnudi seemed simple, but the lightly spicy sauce really pulled all the ingredients together. Finally, the shrimp with peaches really knocked my socks off. Lots of places will make “seasonal” menus but not put the effort into making sure that produce is top notch. The peaches would’ve been delicious on their own, but with the rest of the dish, they really shined.

The second time I went (just a few weeks later) I got the Chicory Salad (anchovy, buttermilk, comte), the Steelhead Trout (sungold tomato, perilla), and a tuna crudo special. I also re-ordered the bread, the carrot with crab, and the gnudi. Everything was just as good as last time, and the new additions were truly worth trying. Something as simple as a chicory salad can be so hit or miss - but WOW!

For dessert we had the cherry brown butter tart with crème fraiche. No complaints at all here.

Now I’ve rambled on plenty about the delicious food, which I will be back for very soon, but I truly haven’t ever been to a place with better service. The workers are extremely attentive and kind. I felt like I’ve known everyone there for a long time.

Thank you, Illata, for being such a wonderful...

One of our party (of a party of 3), having waited several months to get a booking as a local to the area, booked this for a family visit and we were all throughly excited. We arrived and were sat down promptly and the staff were really attentive. The menu could have been better explained (the fact that the tuna was raw was explained, but the fact that the pasta was served by itself only in a broth was not, although the portion amount was) The party of three had all the savoury courses minus two smaller plates and the staff were appeared surprised we were still hungry! Why, you may ask. In my humble opinion, there was only a small difference in portion size between the smaller plates and the larger entre plates. Was the food great… it was good and I personally cannot fault the taste.. but the disconnect between the portion size and the price per portion was such that it meant it was not value for money.. for example, for 34 bucks, one would expect a whole NY strip steak, not two smaller pieces of 1 strip , with only 5 small pieces of celery root hidden under the peppadew. Anyone going there should be aware of this disconnect between portion size and price!! The icing on the cake leading to the 3* review, was the fact that whilst tucking into our desserts 80 minutes in, the bill suddenly arrives with a message that the next table booking had arrived. Were we aware that another booking was requiring the table at the start (or even during the booking process).. NO! It is not our fault that the restaurant could not manage its bookings or sit the couple waiting at the bar till we left. That really put a damper on the evening and as such, we would neither visit again, nor would we ever recommend it to anyone else unless these smaller issues...

Without a doubt, this is one of the top five restaurants in Philadelphia. You need to eat here now while you can before this place is booked out months in advance! Illata is an absolute gem from beginning to end, top to bottom. The space itself is small, cozy, and very charming - the perfect spot for an intimate date or to celebrate a special occasion with a few loved ones. The service, though, might be what set it apart. You know when you go to a restaurant and the people just don't seem to care too much? Nothing worse. Illata is the complete opposite. Everyone is so warm and welcoming, knowledgeable about every dish, and every detail is covered. Then the food itself - holy cow! We ended up ordering basically the entire menu and we didn't regret a single dish. One after the other, home run after home run. The flavors were complex and multi-layered but were in perfect harmony with each other. It's actually difficult to pick a highlight dish but if I had to, I'd probably go with the mussels. And don't skip on dessert! If you're lucky enough where the banana creme puff dessert is still there, GET IT! We cannot wait to return and bring all of our friends and family. Thanks so much to...