Tre Scalini Ristorante

I know there are newer and trendier restaurants in Philadelphia, but I keep coming back to Tre Scalini. The food and experience are as close to being in Italy as you can get. I’m a foodie, so it takes a lot to keep me satisfied, but this is truly high quality, and incredibly reasonable for what it is.
Michael, (the owner/chef’s son-​in-​law) takes care of the front of the house and is always gracious. The menu has been expanding and changing as of late, while keeping the old favorites, so if you haven’t been for a while it’s definitely worth a return.
If your idea of Italian is red gravy, this is probably not the place for you, but if you enjoy fresh ingredients, classically prepared, it is just fabulous.

Initial impressions are everything. We walked in a minute before opening. The wall was painted like a mural and we could see the chefs hard at work prepping for the evening through the open kitchen concept. But there was a huge problem, we didn’t feel welcomed. When I come to a «traditional and family owned» Italian restaurant, I want that feeling. This unwelcoming theme resonated for the remainder of the meal. Sadly, the server added to it.
The plus side. The food was damn good. We enjoyed the veal medallions, squid ink seafood pasta, and eggplant rollitini. There wasn’t a morsel left. The veal was perfection.

Food is overpriced and not very memorable. My Branzino was drowning in oil. Service was friendly and attentive. Atmosphere was stuffy old world Italian, which I found charming. Not a bad experience, but probably wouldn’t go back.

We went to Tre Scalini a few evenings ago and had a wonderful dinner. The service was timely but we never felt hurried. The overall atmosphere was relaxed and casual. Most importantly the food was excellent. We shared a few appetizers between a table of four (some we chose, some recommended spontaneously by our waiter) and then enjoyed delicious entrees — lobster ravioli, black papardelle pasta with prawns, and lamb popsicles. All of our meals were prepared perfectly and were portioned well. We don’t live in Philly, but plan to go back for another meal the next time we’re in town.

Spectacular, authentic and delicate Italian food from the Abruzzi/​Molise region. Best pasta, lamb, veal this side of the Atlantic. BYOB; family run. Highly recommend.

From start to finish our meal was amazing we had three appetizers mussels, eggplant and capris salad. Followed by pasta course and we loved the black pasta. We were a party of four and I had the scallops were perfectly cooked. Just wish we could have went with more people to order everything off the menu.

Now any time we go to an Italian restaurant that serves Lobster ravioli, we get it to compare. We were told before we went that these were great. We were not disappointed. The sauce was excellent as well were the ravioli. So tasty and you knew it was fresh homemade. WOW! We didn’t think there could be a better place that cucina forte but this place is better and cucina is great.
Now on to the other plate. I also had the veal medalions, i’m not such a veal eater and haven’t had it since I was a kid but the waitress sold me on it. they were good, I have nothing to compare them to but as someone who never eats veal I ate the whole thing if that says anything.
A friend ordered the lamb, again i’m not quite the lamb eater but they had great flavor.
Service was excellent and they even went out of the way to make an appetizer a friend of mine used to get that they no longer have on the menu. Can’t wait to go back !!

Eh… No Thank you… Pasta is supposed to be piping hot… And sauce, creamy… Not watery… really Nice chef… But maybe revise the menu. It’s OK, sometimes you need take it back to the basics. Good luck

If you’re looking for a place to treat your mother, look no further. Between the
cliched wall murals of Italian Piazze and the soundtrack that veers between Andrea Bocelli and Enrique Iglesias, it’s everything she could ask for in a place. But perhaps I’m being too critical. The food, after all, is great. The waiters are knowledgeable and creative (ours suggested an off-​menu platter of prosciutto, cheese, and grilled vegetables), and the food is excellent. We had about seven dishes; Mussels, Pasta Nera, Gnocchi, Veal, and a few other things that escape my mind. All of them were great, but the gnocchi was spectacular! It practically melted and unfolded in my mouth!
I definitely recommend this place; it’s a stand up South Philly Italian joint.

We were looking for a restaurant to eat at in South Philly while my daughter was at a concert. We do not eat in the city that often so I wanted to find a restaurant that got good reviews. After lots of research we decided on Tre Scalini and I am so glad we did. Service was good, friendly staff. The food was a definite winner! Shared the Antipasto, good starter. My husband had the Wide noodle pasta with short rib ragu, it was a special. Delish! Hearty dish with great flavor. I had the Veal Filets with mushrooms. So tender and juicy, I never had veal like that before. Enough to share with my husband. It was delicious. I also had a side order of gnocchi in red sauce. Light & fluffy pasta and the red sauce was so tasty! I could have eaten more. The plain cheesecake was just okay. No frills.
We will definitely be back. There are more things on the menu we want to try. Valet service right out front was so convenient. BYOB saves you money on alcohol. I wish we lived closer!

To the people who said that the service was unfriendly… maybe you’re the problem! I LOVE Tre Scalini. My waiter was so friendly and so nice to my boyfriend and me. And we are well under 40! The other waiters walking around were so nice to me as well. I love the chef too– she is as authentic as you’ll find in Philly. Thick Italian accent.
The food is EXCELLENT. I’ve never had a bad meal here. I’m taking my entire family tonight actually. Scallops– excellent. Lobster ravs– excellent. Eggplant parm– the closest I’ve had to my grandmother’s (it’s GOOD).
Hidden gem, byob, excellent food, and real Italians… I’m sold!

I was pleasantly surprised by this unassuming Italian BYO that I had not heard anything about.
The service was fantastic and the food was even better. The antipasti with burrata cheese was amazing. The polenta that I had read so much about was actually one of the lower points of the meal. It was a bit flavorless and on the night we went, it was served under a bed of broccoli rabe which was a little overpowering for the under-​seasoned polenta.
For my entrée I got the poached halibut special with a tomato caper sauce which delicious, but wasn’t as good as my boyfriend’s homemade black squid ink pappardelle pasta with jumbo crap and shrimp. Had I not tasted his entrée I would have been totally happy, but ended up having food envy the entire meal. The pasta was so good that it was the only thing my boyfriend talked about for days on end and was the first thing he talked about when he woke up the next morning.
All the food came out in a timely manner on a busy Saturday night. I will definitely be back here again.

Food was very good and atmosphere is nice. Once done with main course it takes too long to get desert and check. Took away from a 4 star rating

Love this place. Hate writing a review because it might make it harder to get a reservation!
My family comes here every time we are back in Philadelphia together. The food is amazing, the service is enjoyable and friendly.

This place was never recognized for its warm and fuzzy personality, but the food was always so good that you tended to overlook the servers that acted like they would rather not be there and the constant answer of «no» from the chef whenever there was a request for a special order. However, those elements are now ridiculously unacceptable when the food shows up late and cold. Tre Scalini seems to be moving rapidly toward mediocrity. Our most recent visit will be our last. There are just too many places that provide as good or better food while demonstrating genuine pleasure to have your business.

A true gem. Lovely storefront that morphs into blond wood and bright white trim as you walk in. Soft lighting keeps the atmosphere warm.
Unbelievably good service. It’s a BYOB, but they know wine service and their wines well. One server’s eyes popped at a bottle my husband had brought back from Napa, and as she poured it, her «enjoy this one» spoke volumes.
We ordered antipasto for the table, and it was amazing. Lick the plate good. My husband ordered a beautiful veal chop, cooked to perfection, and I had an excellent veal piccata. My arugula salad had a delicious lemon vinaigrette, topped with fresh parmigiana shavings. The most popular entrée at the table, though, was the lobster ravioli. It was divine.
Desserts, too, were top-​notch. I had a flourless chocolate torte with vanilla ice cream, and a well-​made cappuccino.
Parking is on-​street but we managed, finding a spot less than a block away. All in all, a fine example of the emerging fine dining scene in the neighborhood. Can’t wait to go back!

I recently dined at Tre Scalini with my boyfriend and two friends. Thank goodness I was in good company and we brought enough wine because the service and food were horrendous. The lobster ravioli would have been good if it was hot when it was brought to our table. I would have normally sent it back but we were already waiting a long time for our dinner, didn’t want to risk waiting another hour for a hot entrée. The waitress was rude and unpleasant. We waited over an hour for our appetizers an almost two hours for our entrees. Our waitress did not even apologize.
I was so disappointed in the service. I would not recommend dining at this restaurant EVER!

Rude waiter
Rude chef
Complained to us that we were late even though the place was empty on a weeknight
Everything over salted

Three stars are only for the quality of food. This restaurant is byo with plenty of space for big groups. However, the service is very slow. Not just in bringing the food over but also to take orders or even sit at the table. Every time I’ve been there, they are busy but not to the point to make it an excuse. Definitely worth to try some great Italian dishes.

We went here a few Saturdays ago for my mom’s birthday and had a lovely time. The space is cozy and intimate without feeling claustrophobic. Pictures of Italy and old Italian language posters adorned the walls. The (very handsome) waiter was perfectly attentive and paid special attention to my mom as he knew she was the birthday girl.
While everyone at the table enjoyed their meal, I can really only speak for what I ate. I had the fig special to start and it was just perfect — figs with speck and Parmesan and a drizzle of balsamic. .yum. For an entrée I had the black pasta with crab and shrimp. Yummy again! It was a good sized, portion and since I wanted to leave some room for dessert, I didn’t finish. As a small side note: the waiter put in the wrong seafood special for my mom and therefore, her entrée came out after the rest of the tables — but the server was very apologetic and they comped her dessert so no harm no foul. The dessert, semifreddo, was huge and I would highly recommend sharing.
All in all this was a great pick for my mom’s birthday and we all had a great time.
PS — valet for $ 8 — score!