Porcini

Experience
Waited awkwardly at the door while they got my table ready even though they had a reservation for me on file. At one point a hostess shut the door in my face as I patiently waited for a table I made a reservation for.
Food
Good. I’d say about ⁷⁄₁₀. Honestly I’d only come here if it was resturant week, not really worth it otherwise.

Our favorite place ever! Great food. Perfect portion sizes. The owners/​chef are amazing. They could not be more accommodating. It’s small yes, but very cozy atmosphere. Love it.

One of the best gems in Philly! Love this place! Very small and quaint.

Yummy but VERY noisy. Small portions.
The pasta is quite good and the owner will make just about anything you want. Specials often include homemade gnocchi.

The pasta and seafood at this place was amazing. It might be the best Italian restaurant in Philidadelphia. I will definitely be going back!

After a year of wondering about this restaurant & weeks of anticipation, I was thoroughly disappointed. While the ambience attempts to give off a quaint & intimate atmosphere, it just passes of as too small. While there is a current resurgence of homes being turned into storefront restaurants, this one failed to provide adequate space & comfort.
I attended this restaurant for restaurant week and found the menu to be bleak. The appetizer (asparagus risotto), was bland. The entrée was chicken that had no seasoning & appeared to be chicken tenderloin slices versus an actual chicken breast. The dessert was weak and did not leave me wanting to finish it. My boyfriend ordered black & white pasta with shrimp and when he asked for more sauce (because this dish was quite dry) he was told he would have to wait until someone else ordered it. Needless to say since the restaurant only holds about 25 ppl, that never happened.
One thing is certain, we will not visit this place again. Once was more than enough.

Response to Marni B:
Check out multiple reviews on this page. seems as if we are one of the many victims treated in poor taste. I certainly don’t own a restaurant, but if I did I would be sure to treat my customers as melograno did down the street once we left this homie establishment, not to mention their food is rated a lot better. ps: based on ur review stating our arrival at 8:47 I’m imagining you probably work here
1. it was not a waiter it was the «owner»
2. it was 30 minutes after we were scheduled to be seated
3. the table which he told us was ours when we first got there had been cleaned and empty approximately 5 minutes after he told us that
4. my mother checked in about 15
minutes after for an update and he rudely said its Saturday night give me a break. (we apologize for the inconvenience of Asking for an update after being told we would be seated in 5 minutes.)
5. my dad wasn’t the one that started yelling, I yelled after the owner started yelling and treating him with nothing but disrespect telling us we were ungracious people. I don’t know what his definition of ungracious is, but having people wait outside for 30 minutes with no explanation and then bursting out in a childish rage to them? hmm
6. the restaurant is the size of an apartment, if u really don’t have the ability to set a table in 30 minutes, it wouldn’t hurt to apologize for the inconvenience. that goes a long way rather then being disrespectful to an elderly woman. That’s something called class.
7. pretty funny when asking around the area (we dine at many of the restaurants and know many of the owners) how this is not this man first incident and has had numerous occasions of «disturbing neighboring residences» and causing scenes outside his restaurant. when I said «ok» and tried to walk away he continued to egg me on and say ok what are you gonna do? … if only his passion to fight me could have been channeled into customer service. not trying to fight over some pasta and a hot headed owner just trying to enjoy a night with my family

Came here for restaurant week, as the four course meal looked appealing, but left very disappointed. Started off with a risotto that was OK, then a basic Caesar salad that needed more croutons. But the entrée was the big disappointment. I had a shrimp & pasta entrée. The first problem was that there was not enough shrimp for the amount of pasta. The second problem was that it’s cooked in a very light sauce. It has no flavor without the sauce so I asked if I could have more sauce. I was told I could wait for more to be made when someone else orders the dish. I’ve been to many restaurants and have never seen a request for more sauce denied. Since I needed to get to a movie after dinner, waiting was not an option. So I ate what I could with the shrimp and light sauce and left a mound of dry pasta on the plate. Dessert was a tiramisu and some kind of pastry. Both were just ok.
The restaurant is very small and had the possibility of being romantic. But while I was there a family came in with loud children, ruining the mood. The restaurant is BYOB and a little girl asked for wine as the wine was being poured and was given someone’s glass to sip. She seemed like a natural wine drinker before age 10! First time I’ve seen that in a restaurant. I guess at a BYOB anything goes?
With a movie theater open on the same block I’m in the area often for dinner. With Il pittore making great pasta dishes on the same block I’ll continue to take my business there.

What a wonderful experience we had dining at Porcini! We were planning on going somewhere else for dinner but the restaurant was close. So we called at 8:00 and they got us in at 9! Upon arriving there was another family waiting. It’s a BYOB in the city, so except to wait 20 – 30 minutes for your table. Food was amazing and service
Was wonderful!!! We ended up ordering an additional entrée because everything was so good! You are going to have a wait so bring a few cups & a wine opener to enjoy while you wait!
On the negative posts about a family having to wait:
There was an issue with a family having to wait 27 minutes for their table. Upon getting their table they were demanding answers why their table wasn’t ready on time and calling the person that works there an idiot. They could have just appreciated that their table was ready & sat to have a good meal. I have never seen anyone act that way and I’m glad the worker took it upon himself and stood his ground!

We had a reservation for 8:45, we waited outside till 9:07 while the waiters were talking to everyone in the restaurant rather than setting our table. My mom went in and asked the owner when our table would be ready since we had been waiting for 25 minutes and he started yelling at her telling her he’s trying the best as he can. After 35 minutes our table was finally ready, my dad asked him what the hold up was and the owner started yelling at all of us telling us were ungracious for waiting outside for 35 minutes. He continued yelling at us in the street then closed the door on us.
Great customer service let me tell ya.
We ended up going right down the street to Melagrano. They flipped over table within minutes and the staff was so nice and pleasant to be around all night.

Wonderful meal that I will truly remember. I went to Porcini, which is a BYOB with my family on Saturday for my Birthday. We had a reservation and we were seated upstairs upon arrival. The room was dark and romantic.
We ordered the eggplant special as an appetizer. It had bright red plum tomatoes, gooey mozzarella cheese, and eggplant. The dish was light, hot and fresh. I ordered the Cannelloni, it was soft and melted in my mouth. The other members of my family had the Ravioli Di Ossobucco and the Fettuccini Bolognese, both light and quite tasty. All of our dishes had a southern Italian flair, which always hits the spot for me.
Our server brought out my Birthday cake, which my brother brought from home. They were super gracious about lighting the cake. My family started singing and the entire floor chimed in. The price was right for a BYOB. I can’t wait to go again!

The veal is always outstanding!
The clams w pasta special was great as was the egg plant app and the arugula salad
Finally, easy to converse.
Feel like u r in a small Italy Restaurant!

I went here on a date and was surprised that I hadn’t been here previously because the food was great and the service even better! It is a BYOB establishment and there isn’t a «corking» fee — so you know we are already on our way to a GREAT REVIEW! I went during restaurant week, so the choices were limited, but all were delicious. I enjoyed the Olive oil served with the bread and homemade pasta for my meal. Be prepared for the small space-​it is a tight fit, but it is worth it for the service received and the Good Food. I would recommend to others and return for future visits.

Went here last night, we weren’t able to sit for 45 minutes after our reservation. Luckily it wasn’t freezing because we had to stand outside the restaurant because it is so small. So be advised this is not a place where you will sit at your reservation time. It’s more of a longer dinner.
Although there was a hug wait the food was really good. The waitstaff was nice and let us have a long meal and open plenty bottles of wine. The cypress salad was amazing I had the fetticini bolognese which was also fantastic. The pasta was so light I was able to eat my whole plate! The olive oil they give you to start with has cheese in it it is delicious. My friend had a special with squid ink pasta and crab claws. It was also really good. I highly recommend it for the food if you have the time for a longer dinner.

Great little BYOB in center city. Food was incredible but everything seemed to take so long. We have reservations for 7:30 and were not sat until 8:15. It was a cold wait outside for the table.
On one hand it’s nice they don’t push you out like most BYOBs, however your meal ends up taking over 2 hours. Foods incredible so it is worth the wait… Just be ready for it.

I’ve been eating at Porcini for years and you know what? I keep going back.
My husband and I dined here on a busy Friday night and were greeted immediately by the owner, who seems genuinely happy to see everyone. Food is delicious and service is prompt. The chef even came out to ask how things were.
Next up — learning how to speak Italian because it sounds so cool when the owners are doing it!

I’ve had dinner here twice, and tried to figure out what exactly it is about the food that kept me coming back. I guess the best way to describe it is that the food simply tastes fresh and real. The pasta is fresh and doughy in a way that makes you imagine it was just rolled from flour in the kitchen. The tomato sauce tastes like real tomatoes.
This little bistro is cozy– some tables are jammed right next to each other. It’s not crowded, but it does feel a bit like you’re having dinner with 20 other people in someone’s living room. The wait staff is friendly and enthusiastic, and do a good job of making you feel at home.
Overall, a unique and plesant dining experience.

Cozy and quaint byob. The food was especially very good, we enjoyed the shrimp scampi and the artichoke. And the pescatore pasta.
I was disappointed that after we had ordered the waiter has to come back and inform me they only had enough of the short rib at our table for one not 2. Being in a good mood i politely changed my order. Thou I was jealous when the short rib did come out to my family member.
I also was a little diss appointed that they forgot my cannoli for dessert. We were with a large group so instead of complaining I didn’t say anything as I didn’t want to hold up the others.
The tiramisu was extremely good and authentic.
I just think with a large group they got a little overwhelmed

Typical BYOB. Very noisy and small. The place looks run-​down and not too sanitary. Normally when the owner/​chef comes to my table its really nice to meet them. This was weird though, my entire table felt pretty uncomfortable. All of the workers seemed to be over the place.
Food was ok. Definitely not worth the prices. Service was great thanks to Jessica.

YES this is a small restaurant but shouldn’t you be coming here for the food?! That being said this cozy hole in the wall is ideal for a party up to 4… Otherwise I would suggest somewhere bigger (melograno and il pittore are nearby) BUT this BYO is a great spot to get authentic Italian and cozy up to the owner who was there to oversee the place. Loved the selection for restaurant week, homemade pasta and flavorful meat dishes are just what I was looking for. Pricing is comparable to other BYOs in the area like La Fontana Della Citta, La Viola, and Branzino. What’s great is that they take credit cards here vs those cash only other BYOs
And don’t be fooled by the name– most dishes don’t include mushrooms!