Pizzeria Vetri — Restaurant in Philadelphia

This was the third time my husband and I have dined here, we've went all 3 times we visited Philly. In the past we had a very good experience, the pizza was on point and the service was very good. This time, however, it was a bit different and so I can't really give it five stars. Things to know if you've never been here, there are either bar stools at the bar, bar seats around the pizza making area, there are three large tables which you share with other customers, or a few small table seats on the sidewalk outside. So if you like personal space when dining, or come with a large crowd when they're busy you may have seating issues. Another thing to know is the pizza crust is pretty thin, the larger pizzas are long and oval, or a round 12 inch pie is the other size option. We've tried a different pie each time, the eggplant was the best we tried, that was our first visit. This time we tried the Crudo which had no red sauce, but has prosciutto on top and even though we recieved it very quickly, it cooled off so quick that it was only warm when we had the first slice after we ate a portion of the Caesar Salad we shared (Italian Caesar salad on the menu). The prosciutto seemed to be added to the top after the pie was cut as it overlapped where the pizza was sliced and we had to pull it apart ourselves to get it evenly on our slices, also it didn't seem it was cooked with the pie in the oven. I thought the pizza still had great flavor, but my husband wasn't super thrilled with it. It wasn't a very substantial pizza. We shared the salad we had as well, I found it a bit salty, but enjoyed the bits of egg and the plain croutons which appeared to be squares of baked pizza dough, they weren't crunchy, but were a nice break from the saltiness of the salad. The salad had 3 anchovies on top, something you don't find much these days. We shared a tiramisu for dessert, it was pretty good and packed nice flavor. (Also I ordered a Strawberry Peach Sangria which was very good) Our biggest problem was the service. I think it was mismanaged. Our waiter seemed to also be the bartender even though we were sharing a large table with two other sets of people. Our initial order was taken quick and our pizza and salad and drinks came quick, after that we seemed forgotten about, which was a first at this place for us. Our waiter was mixing so many drinks for other orders he wasn't getting to the tables he was expected to wait on. To me he shouldn't have veen expected to do both if there was no one else to cover him when he was busy. Eventually when our plates were cleared by the guy helping box pizzas for to-go orders we were able to request a dessert menu. We had plenty of time to notice a lot of parties were waiting to place an order after being seated, so at least we weren't alone I guess. Hopefully this was just a bad night for them, but I think they could use some work on managing staff better and getting pizzas on...

Good food, horrendous hospitality.

My wife and I were in town for a conference, and Vetri restaurants came highly recommended to us from multiple sources, so we went there for dinner on a Tuesday. We sat at the bar, ordered a beer and a wine, and then the roasted mushrooms (delicious!) as an appetizer. The bartender was great to us, and we ordered pizza after our appetizer. All good so far.

Things went downhill when a party of high-rollers (around 8-10 of them) came in and sat at a table behind us. Our pizza came out around then (pizza was good, maybe slightly skimpy on the ingredients, and not cut very well, but the crust was absolutely excellent), and our drinks were empty. Despite multiple attempts to order more drinks, we could not catch the attention of the waitstaff, who were otherwise occupied making 8-10 aperol spritzes for the very important table behind us.

At least for us, part of the experience of fine dining is the interplay between fine food and beverage, and the feeling of being taken care of. I actually slowed down on eating my pizza so that I could experience the mix of flavors between the pizza and the wine that I was hoping for. At this point, we have had empty glasses for 10-15 minutes. We finally were able to flag down the bartender for another beer and a glass of wine. She rang it in, but the waitstaff were so preoccupied with taking care of the bigwig table that our drinks never arrived even after we had finished all of our food, roughly 20-25 minutes . We then asked for the check and for the drinks that we did not receive to be taken off of our check.

I tried to explain this to the manager on our way out, and told him that we felt ignored in favor of people who were clearly more well-connected than we were, but he was defensive and said that the bartender had said that we didn't want any more drinks (neglecting the fact that we only didn't want the drinks after they were never served to us - how long does it take to pour a beer and a wine versus making multiple cocktails for another party?). He did try to offer us free drinks after that, and said that he was trying, but at that point the damage was done (I also don't recall the words "I'm sorry" being said). What we wanted was to enjoy drinks with our fine food, and to feel taken care of. We went to another locale after we left, where we felt appreciated. I will say that the bartender was very sweet to my wife and I, and all the front-of-house staff was hustling. They were just hustling for somebody else.

Tl;dr: If you know the right people, or seem important enough, maybe Vetri restaurants are for you. If you're like the rest of us, roll the dice! Maybe you'll have a good experience, or maybe you'll just be ignored in favor of another group whose money or connections are clearly...

'Za 'za galore!

This place is doing some interesting things with pizza and I am here for it!

We arrived for a dinner date and it was packed. We had reservations but it was a bit of a wait anyhow given the crowd. Since it's located in the heart of the Rittenhouse area, we put our name down and just spent some time in the park to wait out the time.

The hostess ended up calling me about 45 minutes after putting down my name, which was a blessing since we had definitely worked up an appetite. Our seating was by the "bar" area, which was cool as it gave us a show of how the pizza was put together while we enjoyed our meal. Inside it's hip and modern, the motif is a mix Art Deco and diner casual creating an ambiance that's intimate but relaxed.

We chose to order two pies. A traditional margherita and a butternut squash pizza. The pizzas are thin and light - made with fresh dough, seasoned well and throughout. The butternut squash pie was a nice surprise. The sauce was made with the gourd and topped with fresh spinach and feta.

The service was nice. The server was great in tending to our water glasses and making sure we were enjoying our time.

The bill was a bit on the expensive side since after all, we had pizza... but I think it's worth it if you're dining in.

I'm hoping to find my way back here, hopefully as the weather starts to warm up, and to see what other culinary creations...