Ristorante Pesto — Restaurant in Philadelphia

How lucky am I to have been able to experience one of the top 5 restaurants recommended on Trip Advisor right in my own backyard! If this is not.the case for you- IT IS WORTH THE TRIP!

Located in the heart of South Philly, Ristorante Pesto welcomes it's guests with wide open arms and makes everyone feel like family. Vivian, the hostess, adorable,warm and friendly will greet you and get you seated as soon as possible. We had virtually no wait time - albeit we were a tad bit late due to traffic, the restaurant was running pretty darn punctual. I've been to many "unknown" places with obscene wait times so to get seated immediately after a stellar too 5 in the nation review - IMMEDIATELY IMPRESSED.

Did I mention down-to-earth people? I felt like Vivian and I were ALREADY friends! We got seated and our waiter for or table was Eric. Again- friendly, attentive - easy to talk to and wanted to make sure everything was up to par. I can't remember the last time I went to a restaurant and had such attentive and friendly staff - like - it SHOULD be a given, but NEVER is,but HERE IT IS!!!!!!!! Conchetta, the owner's wife, also stopped by our table to chat and always checked in on us to make certain we had everything we needed..The owner, John came over and spoke with us to see if everything was great and if we were enjoying our meal. I can guarantee - if the tiniest complaint was made (which there was nothing to complain about!) he would if fixed it - as would any other of the staff there! Even servers who weren't I servers noninvasively made certain we were taken care of!

THE FOOD -.O M G. !!! I thought I died and went to heaven! I've never had carrots in balsamic dressing?! -WHOA!!!! AMAZING!!! That dish I eye-balled earlier in the day on the menu - The Cavatelli -OMG!!!! I can't even! Eggplant - to die for ! Each and every dish was better than the next! I ate till I couldn't eat no more! And don't skip dessert!!!! I've never had a cannoli like the owner/chef John made - seriously ridiculously.amazing. It's all in his homemade crispy, crunchy shell! PS - Make sure to order a gelato Martini as an addition to your dessert order too - it's a must!!! Okay - enough - headed home to dream about heading back here soon - and you should too!! I promise you won't regret it !! And please say hi for me 🤗.

Thank you EVERYONE at Ristorante Pesto! Please save a table for us to come home...

Out of all the Italian restaurants I've been to in the US, I've never had one with food this incredible, not even in NY, whether they were well known spots or otherwise. Here, it tasted like I was dining in Italy. Everything was fresh, high quality, and tasted homemade. We all tried a bit of each other's dishes, and there wasn't a single thing that tasted short of breathtaking both nights we visited. I would be here all day describing the delicious complex flavors of each dish we tried, so I won't do that. I've honestly never had to do this before, but I have to just list every dish we tried because it was all terrific beyond words and I feel it would be unfair to leave any of them out. For appetizers, we had the Portobello and the Eggplant. For main courses, we had the Cavatelli, Salmon, Lamb Chops, Pollo alla Marsala, Pollo alla Fiorentina(never tried anything like this before, it was amazing), Penne Primavera, and Gnocchi al Pesto. I personally tasted at least a small portion of each one of these dishes and I can't say I've ever had Italian food in any restaurant in the entire country that can even compare to how great these were. I'm extremely particular when it comes to seafood because it's not fresh most places you go to and it tends to taste very strong, which means it's old, but each dish here with seafood was to die for. Everything tasted practically fresh caught and had absolutely no off-putting fishy odors or flavors, not even the salmon, I was shocked. We typically never order desert in restaurants, but we knew we'd regret it if we didn't, so we got the chocolate cake, ricotta cheesecake, hazlenut gelato, vanilla gelato, and the creme brulee. I also tasted each one and what a perfect way to end a perfect dinner.

As for the service, the hostesses were great, they treat you like family, and the waitstaff was top notch too. We had two different gentlemen serve us on our visits and they were both very friendly and knowledgeable. The owner even spoke to us on both occasions and was very friendly and had lots of interesting stories. He explained how things were made and prepared, and how he learned to cook in Italy among other things. It was a magnificent experience coming here and we felt right at home. If you're looking for dinner in Philly, you'd be a fool not to come here, it's that good. I...

If you’re like me, you 1. really like calamari and 2. have only ever had some that was at least a bit chewy. Maybe you, also like me, didn’t know there’s not another way. Well friends, there is, and Pesto is where to get it. Breaded to perfection and almost melt-in-your-mouth soft and fresh, this is now the only place I’ll be getting my squid bits from. If that’s not reason enough to check Pesto out, let me give a small run-down on the rest of my experience. We were allowed to bring wine (despite them selling it) and they did not charge a corking fee. We were given fresh bruschetta on the house and the bread was toasted but still soft enough for the texture to compliment the topping. My mother’s burrata exceeded her expectations and the prosciutto that came with it was fresh and thicker than the average cut, but not too thick to be tough. My gnocchi, however, was the real star of our meals. Have you ever had fresh gnocchi? I hadn’t. It’s basically mashed potato pillows. The perfect amount in each bite. The perfect delivery system for whatever delicious sauce you get them in (there are three to choose from). Oh, and lord, don’t get me started on that creme brûlée. When I saw the price of the cannoli ($8) I laughed, but if they’re as good as that creme brûlée was, I’d happily pay it. Aside from the quality of the food, the staff was exceedingly warm, friendly, and attentive. I’m pretty introverted and typically prefer to keep to myself when I’m out eating, but the staff here truly made the effort to make ever exchange a warm one and it was my pleasure to interact with them.

Basically, this place is delightful. Treat yourself to a night at Pesto and you...