Trattoria Prima Donna

After reading some of the reviews I have come to the conclusion that people don’t know what they want. I want a feisty Trattoria here in America so i do not have to pay the airfare to Rome. The Food is great and I always find myself totally entertained by the experience. It might be the staff totally immersed in the value of the night or the abundance of characters walking by but I go out to dine to get away, to experience new things, to boldly go where the action is at over a great bottle of wine. John Carlo has done a great service to the people of Philadelphia by bringing us Italy in a decorated box with ribbons behind the Kimmel Center. Five o’ clock hits, the curtain is drawn and you are invited to have a great Experience and enjoy your time at Prima Donna. Everyone else the Olive Garden is calling You.

Was I just here on a bad night? Andrew T. is right the staff seemed to be dualistic, they were very attentive to other diners but seemed to be more abrasive and forgot we were in the restaurant at all after we declined to order from the bar.
The only good part of the meal was the asparagus soup we ordered. The special pasta of the day, linguine w/​chicken sausage & what was purported as lamb meat, was terrible. The pasta itself was ok and not over cooked but the sauce it was swimming in was little more than the fat cooked out from the sausage and mystery meat. I decided not to adventure into their desserts.

I attended a private rehearsal dinner here over the weekend, so I can’t speak for the usual atmosphere or menu. However, the couple chose this location as one of their favorite restaurants, so I’m assuming we got a feel for the regular fare. This is the first time I’ve attended a rehearsal dinner where I literally had too much food. They began bringing an assortment of appetizers immediately … delicious scallops with sauteed spinach, mussels in a light tomato broth and the only fried calamari I’ve ever really liked (lightly breaded with some spice in the batter — YUM!). By the time they brought the pasta dish out for the «first» course, I was stuffed. I didn’t even get a chance to try the osso bucco, but I heard it was awesome. I’d definitely check this place out if in Philadelphia again. Great Italian food and friendly service.