Reviews for La Viola Bistro in Philadelphia, PA

The main courses were all delicious. Half of us had large, great portions. But the other half got portions suitable for an... appetizer, at the same price. The bread beforehand was also not good, seemingly old bread that was toasted too much. Read more

My group of 7 had a reservation at a different restaurant cancelled on us last minute and we were scrambling to find a place to... seat our large group. La Viola Bistro was nice enough to put a table together and they turned our night around completely! Thefood was 10/10, servers were very accommodating, the music was lovely, and atmosphere was quaint. We will definitely go back tocelebrate our next Friendsgiving again! Read more

I was not a huge fan of this restaurant. For Italian food, the place felt "cheap" although the prices were anything but. To... begin, the seating is enormously cramped, I can forgive that because it's the city. But the food portions are way too small,leaving you hungry if you only get an entree and not a 2-3 course dinner which could run you $75+ per person easily. I don'tknow, maybe it was a bad night but if I'm going to pay $25-30 for an entree, I at least expect the portion to be sufficient. Read more

The food at La Viola Bistro is just okay. It's nothing to write home about, but it gets the job done. The servers, however, are... not very personable or friendly. They seem to be doing their best to avoid eye contact with you, which I get—it's a tough job!But if they could just look up from their phones and smile at the customers every once in a while, it would make a bigdifference. The appetizers and desserts were pretty good though! Read more

I had a reservation for 8 people as a birthday party. I rated the restaurant 2 stars because they are charging $3 per slide if... you bring your own cake. This does not make no sense to me. And I canceled the reservation. The person who created that rulesjust lost a business. Read more

A quaint Italian neighborhood restaurant, although be forewarned it's BYOB and cash only. The staff was quite friendly and... attentive, even a bit bantery, and the food was well-made, very rustic and traditional. It's a wonderful bistro for theoccasional brunch or dinner! Read more

Went for a quick lunch during restaurant week. The food was fantastic and the staff was so kind, but it’s important to note... that they’re cash only! Read more

The food was okay - I didn't think that the romaine in the Caesar salad was that fresh. The mussels weren't that fresh either.... The entrees though were very delicious. We sat in the corner of the restaurant and the tables were very close together, which Ididn't like, and we were right back by the entrance of the kitchen. The servers also weren't very personable and friendly. But,I will say the entrees were amazing (we went for restaurant week), but other than that the appetizers, desserts and such wereokay. The homemade tiramisu wasn't the best I've had. Read more