Il Cantuccio

It's funny how many times you can tell people on the phone when making reservations if they can come in earlier or that you'll need the table back at a certain time because another party will be using the same table, they always find something to complain about. they dont thank you for bringing them dessert on the house even trying to get them in at that time when someone already made reservations weeks before them. people have to understand we only have 11 tables and try to make everyone happy! we're severs not miracle makers! We love our customers. more

My family and I took my mom here for her birthday celebration, which we had hoped would be a nice, relaxing evening. We had a reservation for 6:00 pm for ten people. We found out when we arrived at the restaurant that they had another big party with a 7:30 reservation, therefore their goal was to get a party of ten in and out of the restaurant in 90 minutes! \r \r From the moment we arrived at the restaurant the rude waiter rushed us and did not even allow us to look at the menus, trying to force us to order the specials. He was extremely annoyed when we asked him to repeat the specials more than one time...the overall experience was dreadul. When I go out to eat, I like to be able to relax, enjoy my company and enjoy good food, this was not allowed of us at Il Cantuccio as we were rushed every step of the way. After we paid our large bill, in which they included 18% tip, they were even more impolite clearing our water glasses and our wine glasses off of the tables and telling us to leave the restaurant as the other party had arrived. They did not even allow us to finish drinking our wine and coffee.\r \r I would NEVER reccomend that anyone go to this restaurant, the food is mediocre and the service is absolutely AWFUL! The worst experience I have ever had dining out. more

The waiter that had our table seemed to make up prices for the food we ordered, specifically the appetizer. Apparently because we had a ""group"" of 2 people we were charged double for the appetizer, then barated by the waiter as to why we were charged. If I was presented with a reasonable argument with evidence as to why I was charged I would have been glad to pay, but the only reason I got was ""that's just the way it is"". Ended up being a terrible ending to an otherwise great night. Awful service, but worse server, recommended for people who LOVE arguing and getting phantom charges on their bill! more

Ate at Il Cantuccio last night with a party of 6 mature adults. The atmosphere was reminiscent of Italian restaurants I have been to, noisy but quaint. The service was very good. The mussels marinara was top notch as everyone was dunking and slurping the sause after the mussels were gone. My meat lasagna was delicious as was the fusilli seafood pasta. Desserts were basic italian and very good and above all the cost was very reasonable. In short would eat there again. more

When we began planning our daughter's small intimate wedding, I asked her where they wanted their wedding dinner. Not being familiar with Philadelphia, I was at a loss as to where to even begin. When I asked where she wanted to have the dinner, she didn't hesitate and said ""Il Cantuccios in Northern Liberties"". She and her fiance had dinner there a few times and loved the atmosphere and the food. They could not have picked a better place.\r We arrived and found this small intimate place set up for our 20 guests. It was a little cramped, but it only served to give us more of an atmosphere of a family dinner, like we wanted. Rita greeted us warmly and it felt like we were entering into her home. When my father in law was late, she worried along with me (he is not familiar at all with driving in Philly). When he finally arrived, we began and everything, and I mean EVERYTHING, was fabulous! The server was extremely efficient and handled all of us with professionalism and we didn't need anything. The food was out of this world and was enjoyed by everyone. The pasta dishes were unbelievable. Everything was wonderful and we had the best time ever. Even the other patrons joined in on our celebration and toasted the couple and cheered them on.It was exactly like our daughter and her new husband wanted. It was an evening we won't soon forget! more

This is the best BYO in Philly! Every time I go there it is such a treat. Love the bread and dips to start with and have never been disappointed by any of the appetizers, main courses and desserts that I've tried. The setting is adorable and the wait staff is always friendly. Can't wait to go back again and again..... more

I ATE OFF OF A STRANGERS FORK IN THIS RESTAURANT. Seriously, if that's not the sign of a friendly, lovely neighborhood restaurant, I don't know what is. We decided after we had already chosen our entrees to have an appetizer and it was no problem. We had many servings of fantastic warm bread, and my friend even ate the greens on her plate (trust me, it's a HUGE accomplishment). Everything thing I ate was really the best thing I ever put in my mouth. The service was knowledgeable, friendly, and helpful. The tables are intimate, so much so that when our neighbors had enough of their three deserts t,hey were more than willing to share. Overall the experience was delightful, delicious, and distinctive. Fantastic, too. more

My boyfriend and I went here for Valentine's dinner. A sign at the front said '3 Course dinner Mon-Thurs $25'. We didn't have the option to choose from the regular menu, we were just handed a Valentine's day pre fixe menu. The portions were a good size and we enjoyed our food. \r \r However, the bill came and to our surprise, we had been charged $50 per person! Not only that but they automatically tacked on 22% gratuity for our party of two! When I asked the waitress about these charges, she gave me a curt response. If I had not just had a bottle of wine to drink, I would have made a stink. How presumptuous to tack on 22% tip??? And how dare they have a sign in the front for a 25 dollar course meal and then charge us double--the Valentine's day meal price was printed no where in the restaurant, nor were we informed by the waiter. They took advantage of the fact that most guys would just pay it instead of making a fuss about the bill in front of their date.\r \r Despite the delicious food, what I will remember about Il Cantuccio is their unscrupulous business practices. Pros: food Cons: Business practices more

When we arrived with reservations, the busboy? seated us without a word. Not sure if he even checked the book. Customers seemed to be a problem for him. Maybe it was a bad night for him but he also seemed irritated that we didn't want bottled water...... The owner came and quickly (and loudly) gave us the specials. (Hey, we're not hard of hearing.) Since there was no special board or special menu, we got to hear the specials loudly repeated to each new table of diners throughout our meal (ummm so much for uninterrupted conversation).\r The food each of us had was excellent (Veal, OssoBucco, Fish) and the decor is standard 'cute' Italian restaurant . The waiter/busboy did warm up later on. Talking on the way to the car with our dining companions, we all decided that the good food was not worth the unfrendly attitude and being jarred by the 'dinner specials' that could be heard thru most of the small dining room each time.\r We won't be returning. There too many other great restaurants in Philadelphia where the wait staff seems to be actually trained in customer service and/or appreciative of you dropping $35-50/person at their establishment. (El Vez, L2, Tria, L'Anglo, etc.) After all, $20 for an entre should include more than the food on the plate. Pros: Food Cons: Almost everything else more

A surprise birthday party thrown for me, but it seems like the real surprise was the sucky food. Usually you can't go wrong with a local cozy Italian BYO restaurant... well it was a good thing I had appetizers with my boyfriend around the corner at Koi (highly recommended local BYO), because I feel sorry for all my friends who were starving and had to suffer through this meal.\r The BYO is always a plus and the appetizers they had made especially for ""big groups"" were ok. \r However when it came time to eat, as the birthday girl, everyone let me have a bite of their food, and by the way , AS the birthday girl, I was the only one who didn't have a plate for 10 minutes. Guess they F'd up the Risotto, so although I tried to make my friends start their meals, no one would eat until I got my plate. \r As I tried every plate, the ""hamburger helper"" with capers was way over salted, the veal had more fat then meat, the ""special"" Mahi-Mahi was overcooked and lacked flavor, the clam and linguini had no flavor other than over salted, the marinara (stew?) with meat and veggies was a soggy soup wit few chunks of meat, and other plates were left half eaten.\r I'm just happy everyone brought at least a bottle each to drown out the awful taste, before going back to the house for birthday cake. Pros: BYO Cons: The dinner menu--overly or under seasoned, nothing amazing or even good more

A wonderfully down to earth BYOB in Northern Liberties with great food and thorough, unpretentious service. Make reservations as it fills up quickly! Pros: Great service, tasty food, unique decor, intimate atmosphere Cons: Not directly served by public transit more

Our first impressions were: cute atmosphere, friendly service, and Zagat-rated (so it must be good, right?). Our server was knowledgeable and friendly. That aside, dinner was disappointing. Our ""misto"" platter included olives that tasted like they were from a can, some nasty fried mushrooms, and lukewarm roasted vegetables. The entrees, both $15, were just short of horrendous. My pasta had canned olives (again)-- shouldn't authentic Italian food have real olives??? My date had vegetable risotto that tasted like a box mix, and the vegetables had that bad frozen in a bag flavor. The bread was the only good part of the meal. Seriously, I want to know WHAT meal people are ordering when they say this place is delicious. Ok service-- albeit too fast-- but the food was quite possibly the worst I've had in the city. more

I had been going to Il Cantuccio for years, and in the begining they were hands down my favorite restaurant, the food, was the closest i had to when I was in Italy. BUT recently i have been becoming more and more disheartened with the food and especially the service. As a whim i decide to check out what was being said about different restaurants in the city thru this service when i came across the site for this restaurant i felt the need to give my opinion, especially since I knew this place in its prime. I dont know why they have lost it, but the last visit there with my usual crew we were very upset to see that had gotten rid of one of their longtime employees Frankie who brought a certain professionalism and added to the family like charm and we also didn't see the owner's husband simon who also was the chef, that usually stood in the kitchen area helping out, that was teh stuff that added to the place's charm.\r But the saddest thing i saw was when one of the owners was leaving comments as if she were a regualr viewer on this site claiming that the restaurant was the best place ever! instead of lying on here maybe they should think of other ways to improve this fallen star. i am on a new quest for a great Italian BYOB any suggestions anyone? Pros: used to be a great family owned place with great food and service Cons: fallen star of a place more

A third disappointing visit to this restaurant. Each time the food and service is sloppier and sloppier - perhaps because they are successful and they don't feel really need to care about the quality of the food and service anymore.\r \r There were human hairs in my dish and the other dishes were made without any care and little flavor. Their main goal was to see how quickly they could rush people in and out. They say they take reservations, but the first two times we went we had to wait 45 minutes even though we had supposedly made reservations. On busy nights they will ask you to leave your table the instant you have stopped eating so they can get more clients - not at all a relaxing meal; this happened on our third try. What a rude and utterly unpleasant way to finish an evening. Of course the small and colorful room has ambience - if that is all you want - but if you want to enjoy a fine and relaxing meal, go somewhere else. Pros: ambience Cons: tasteless food lousey service more

The food is delicious, hands down. The lasagna, to die for, as is the appetizer tasting plate. The restaurant is small, only a dozen tables, but they are not on top of each other at all. Has low lighting, great for intimate conversation. romantic in a nice, subtle way, not overly so. i really like it b/c there is no pressure to act romantic either. BYOB. Also, good for small group, like four close friends who want to catch up over a bottle of wine. i have never seen kids there, but i have mostly gone at 9pm-ish for dinner. Pros: wonderful food, great service, intimate w/o being overly romantic Cons: street parking that has 1 hr or 2 hr limits more

I went to Il Cantuccio for dinner and it was the best ever. It's a resturant that i highly recommend. Bring the whole family they'll love it. I have to thank Rita the server, she was great!!\r more

After reading some not so positive reviews about Il Cantuccio's inability to handle a large group, we were very apprehensive about having a birthday celebration there. We had a party of 13. The staff at the restaurant was very efficient and friendly, not at all rude. The only rudeness we experienced came from other diners who did not appreciate our humor! The food was wonderful (unbelievable seafood special that we will never forget). more

Food was good and fresh, but don't expect to finish your wine or coffee. The hostest brought us our check, in which we promptly paid, and two minutes later the ""chicken hawk"" swooped in and told us we had to leave b/c the next table had a young boy and he was outside freezing (it was 65 degrees outside!). We acknowledged the request, but continued to finish our wine. So did the table next to us who was told the same thing. Three minutes later, the chicken hawk came back again and asked us and the table next to us to vacate b/c there were other reservations. We eat out in restaurants 5 times a week and never, ever have we been asked to get up from a table only three minutes after finishing dinner. Very rude. We will not go back and not recommend this restaurant to anyone. Pros: Fresh food Cons: Rude service, Very small, No mixers, no ice more

The ladies went out for a birthday celebration. The food was good. The service and the waiter was awful. We had 7:00 reservations got there at 6:47 and still weren't seated until after 7:30. Then were rushed during our meal. The waiter kept passing coments ""let's hurry up"". ""are you done yet?"". The poor bus boy did all the work which is the only reason we left a tip.The waiter was down right abusive, even followed us out after our meal and harrased us. Do Not Go To This Place! more

I visited this restaraunt with a group of 11 for a friend's birthday dinner. While the food was delicious and the ambience pleasant, the staff was incredibly rude and unfriendly. After barely finishing the desert we had ordered for the birthday girl, we were asked to leave as another reservation needed to come sit down. When we asked to have a few more minutes, the people waiting for our table were shown where they were waiting to sit. The woman of the waiting party was allowed by the manager to come up to our table, interrupt our meal and ask us how much longer we would be. Regardless of our age, or what we ordered, we all felt very cheated of what could have been a much better experience. Pros: food Cons: warm water, rude service, rushed eating more