Spasso Italian Grill — Restaurant in Philadelphia

AVOID AT ALL COSTS! THERE ARE DOZENS OF PLACES IN THE IMMEDIATE AREA THAT WONT MAKE YOU DEATHLY ILL I don’t ever want to leave bad reviews. In fact, I only try to pump up the good ppl who are doing good things. Rewind to this past Wednesday. Me and a friend were looking for a place for dinner before a concert and for some strange reason I’m craving chicken parm which I hadn’t had in years. So we find this place randomly online. Tagline is something like “old school Italian restaurant that does the classics right”. I’m thinking, THIS IS THE PLACE! We get there and it is not old skool, it’s just blah. Four red walls and wobbly tables. Fine. I think they must be sacrificing atmosphere for amazing food. We order drinks. Red Wine for her. Me signature holiday menu drink, the Frostbite Martini. Drinks arrive. Red wine is ok. My $17 frostbite is garbage time and it’s garnished with a lemon half moon hanging off the side (respectable bartender foul.but I go on out of respect for the Christmas spirit). Dinner order: red mussels shared app, pasta for her, the long awaited chicken parm for me. Mussels come out kinda plump. 25% are half closed that we both avoid. Main course comes. Her pasta dish is mushy enough to pass as baby food and my chicken parm is dry and bland beyond words. But I’m still trying to smile my way thru bc I want her to have a good time. Check time comes. It’s 6:30pm. Pay. Leave. We go to the show and are back at the hotel by 10:30pm. By 3am we are both awoken by raging stomach pains, headaches, chills…name it! Just two ppl falling apart in a hotel room with every food poisoning symptom you can imagine. This nightmare goes on for six hours. By 10am we decide we can’t even continue on with the rest of our holiday plans and just go home. Spend the next 24 hours getting back to normal and when the storm finally passes I contact Spasso to tell them something is definitely off in their kitchen. Given the fact that there was only one thing we both shared that night and that we both got sick within minutes of each other it was clear that it was the mussels iwhere it all went wrong. Enter Loredana the GM. I explain I’m in restaurant biz myself and know that even in the best kitchens things like this sometimes happen and had this just been a mild stomach ache I could let it pass, but this was so severe I had to reach out. At first she responds with an outright denial. “Our mussels are dated so they can’t be bad”. Umm….anyone who thinks mussels are individually inspected is already not the person you want to talk to. She then falls back on, “we’ve been in business for 26 years and it’s not bc we serve bad mussels”. Ok, again. Congrats on the long run but if you’ve been in the game this long you know this sometimes happens. I’m saying, I understand. unfortunately it happened to us in the worst way possible. Her next fall back was, “it was probably something you ate elsewhere”. Hmm. Well, we were both in different states before dinner. We only shared a single thing at your place. We had nothing else to eat together before getting sick or after. Soo…NO. Then she responds, “I looked at your check and you had two drinks each and then you went to a concert. I’m sure you drank more there so that was probably it”. Ooh, Loredana. We went to a Mariah Carey Christmas Concert. Not exactly the tailgating, party crowd. We had one more drink each there over the course of three hours and it was a wrap. Replied, a boring guy like me, that saves his itemized receipt from dinner, surely saves all other receipts to back this entire course of events. So if you want to go down this road I’m happy to. By her third email of excuses I saw where it was going. This was a person who has no concern for the well being of their guests and who is unwilling to accept even the possibility of responsibility, which is not only wrong, it’s dangerous to anyone who eats at Spasso. This place is NOT worth the gamble. Food poisoning aside, the food, cocktails, and atmosphere are a 2 out of 10. YOU DESERVE BETTER...

So look—when you get invited to lunch with your boss, his boss, and the big boss, you don’t come empty-headed or empty-stomached. You come ready to represent and ready to eat. We pulled up to Spasso Italian Grill in Old City, Philly—because apparently when execs break bread, they do it with taste.

Let me just say this: Spasso is him.

In a post-COVID world where most places barely remember how to do lunch right, Spasso said, “Let me show you how we used to do it when the food came from the soul and not the freezer.” Ain’t no chain energy here—this is straight Italy, no passport required.

I ordered what looked like a humble plate of linguine in red sauce with seafood, but baby, that thing hit like Sunday morning on the third stanza of Total Praise. The noodles were homemade, soft but not mushy—had that little bounce to them, like they was tryna two-step in the sauce. And the sauce? Rich. Simple. Tomato-forward. Tasted like somebody’s auntie been simmerin’ it since 9am with the windows open and a Luther Vandross playlist on repeat.

The seafood wasn’t stingy either. Full chunks of flavor in every bite. Not chopped up mystery meat. This was seafood with a name and a résumé.

Even the bread came with style—roasted red peppers, parmesan, oil, and some lil marinated veggies that honestly made me pause and reflect on how blessed I was. That bread alone deserved a praise break.

Then came the cappuccino… listen. It showed up with a lil’ foam hat, cinnamon dusted on top like it had somewhere special to be. Smooth, comforting, and grown. No sugar needed. Just vibes.

We did have cannolis too—but I ain’t get a pic ‘cause the moment was too good to interrupt with a phone. Just know it was crispy on the outside, creamy on the inside, and balanced like a good choir director. Sweet—but not too sweet.

Would I go again? Without a doubt. Should you go? Only if you’re ready for real Italian food and not that reheated stuff folks try to pass off in the microwave.

Spasso is where you go when you want lunch to mean something. When you wanna eat food that got memory, history, and respect in it. Ain’t nothin’ fancy—just food done right, with care and culture.

That’s my...

I recently had the pleasure of dining at Spasso Italian Grill with a large group of 20 people to celebrate a birthday, and I must say that it was an outstanding experience from start to finish. The friendly and attentive waitress who took care of our table truly made the evening memorable.

From the moment we were seated, the waitress greeted us with a warm smile and a genuine enthusiasm that immediately put us at ease. Handling a table of 20 people can be challenging, but she effortlessly managed to attend to each of us with grace and efficiency throughout the evening. Her attentive nature ensured that our glasses were never empty, and she expertly accommodated any special requests or dietary preferences within our group.

Now, let's talk about the food. One standout dish that I absolutely loved was the Fettuccine Shrimp. The combination of perfectly cooked fettuccine pasta and succulent shrimp was a match made in culinary heaven. The dish boasted a rich and flavorful sauce that complemented the delicate seafood, leaving me craving every last bite. The portion size was generous, satisfying even the heartiest appetites around the table.

Aside from the Fettuccine Shrimp, the menu at Spasso Italian Grill offered a diverse range of options to cater to everyone's tastes and dietary preferences. Whether you prefer classic Italian favorites or innovative culinary creations, there is something for everyone to enjoy.

The overall ambiance of the restaurant was charming, with an inviting and cozy atmosphere that contributed to the overall enjoyment of the evening. The staff were professional, and the service was prompt and efficient, despite the bustling nature of the restaurant.

In conclusion, my experience at Spasso Italian Grill was nothing short of excellent. The friendly and attentive waitress who took care of our large table of 20 people truly went above and beyond to ensure a memorable dining experience. The Fettuccine Shrimp dish was a highlight, impressing with its delightful flavors and generous portion size. I highly recommend Spasso Italian Grill to anyone seeking a combination of impeccable service and mouthwatering...