Savona

Savona always delivers great food. The staff is friendly and helpful — each makes a real effort to make the experience memorable. The Dover sole is well prepared. I personally look forward to the fois gras. Recommended for everyone who enjoys fine food well prepared.

My husband and I went to Bar Savona to celebrate our 8^th anniversary. One word to describe our experience is bemusement. The location is a little strange, as it’s a lone island of sorts crowbarred between two busy roads. That being said, the exterior of the restaraunt is charming; rustic colonial. The downstairs was very nice and bright with good spacing between tables. Bar Savona where we ate is upstairs, rather tiny and dimly lit. The upstairs décor was dated with wood vases in the window sills and colored blinds. Also, the tables are right on top of one other. We were seated next to another couple and couldn’t help but overhearing each other’s conversations, which was annoying. Also, the wait staff seemed really confused and ineffectual. We had two waiters. The first took our cocktail orders, but was unable to tell us specials. After 10 minutes the maitre de waiter came and recited the specials in a very monotone and unenthusiatic manner. He was pretty brusque which was a little off putting and did not appear eager to answer questions. The food was generally good, but a bit pricey. We split a caesar salad which was quite good. The Margarita Pizza was okay, certainly not bad, but a bit doughy. My husband enjoyed his parpadelle with pancetta and peas and he ordered a side of veal meatballs which he liked. Our cocktails were pretty good, but again a little pricey at $ 12– $ 14,; however, hey were innovative; a Margarita with avocado purée and pineapple (my fave) and a vodka with ginger beer (so-​so, it inexplicably tasted like a cosmo). We probably won’t be back. Food was good, but not great and the service and ambience were lacking. With so many good options in the area, this was just okay.

I want to like this place since it is walking distance from my house. But it’s just okay, probably for trying too hard. My advice is to simplify things and make the food the priority. Everything seems just a beat too stuffy and fancy if the food is not going to be stellar. Get rid of valet parking that saves me a 10 yard walk. Tell the wait staff and hostesses to lighten up and be less formal and pretentious. While the wait staff is very attentive, the overwrought descriptions and presentations are too much. Same for the very extensive beer and wine list — it’s great but not if the food doesn’t deliver too.

Over time, we have enjoyed dozens of great meals at Savona. We would go on Saturday night, sit at the bar, enjoy food from both menus and get a fantastic bottle of wine. The last 2 times have been horrible. I mean horrible. What happened? The bartenders last night were more interested in talking with each other than engaging with us. Day old bread, (make croutons for God’s sake, don’t serve it!) octopus tentacles that were burnt and tasteless. Not one meaty piece on the dish. The lobster dish was sitting under the warming light for much too long. A crust had begun to settle around the edges. Each dish taken away half eaten and no one asked why and clearly no one cared!
What a shame, it was perfect for us, a mile from home. Not going back!

Excellent cocktails and good food. However, the restaurant has an odd practice of reserving seats at the bar and bar area. It is very disappointing to be turned away from empty tables and bar stools (with no reservation sign on it).

Had a wonderful evening here this past Saturday. I thouroughly enjoyed my Kansas city steak but wished i had gotten the lamb instead. Had a few bites of my husbands and was a little jealous. For dessert we all shared gelato (ehh) and the carrot cake (fabulous). Staff was polite and courteous. Will definitely come here again.

I’ve been to this place plenty of times and the food is average.
The staff isn’t bad either. They have valet and great parking space. My only concern is the menu, it’s too limited and very over priced. I’m assuming this is because of the location in the mainline.
I am really not a fan of cold bread on the table so that’s already giving a bad taste in my mouth. Unlike breads from Cheesecake Factory where they serve you warm bread.
My experience here isn’t as unique as what someone might think. Like I said, it’s average. You’re not missing anything.

Dinner started with cold rolls and a flat wine when a cave was ordered. The seat next to our table was missing a side glue and rough wood were visible. Given a different menu then the table next to us, when asking about it we were told that they belonged to «Club S» which entitled them to order from the standard menu. I had the duck breast which was tasty but served in a soup of vegetables no spoon so I ended up wearing my dinner because the chick would not stay on my fork. The beer I ordered was listed incorrectly on the bill.
Been here several times now, while it has been a while and liked it in the past, this was certainly a bad experience.

Superb food prepared with great care. The faro risotto was perfect. Hot and complex flavor. The orecchiette and lamb sausage rich and filling with some spice and heat. Wine list extensive. But it gets 5 stars because of the service. Knowledge about the menu and wine pairing and flawless teaming made our evening. Loved it. Going back next week.

We have always been impressed with Savona… food, service and most of all wine service/​knowledge. Unfortunately, the recent 2 visits have been disappointing. The menu is tired, the food lacks definition and recent changes in the wine sommelier has left a void. Service is good but appears stretched. Hope they find their way again soon.

We were taken here by friends of ours who live just a few miles away from the Merion restaurant, which is housed in a very lovely Victorian style home with beautiful and more contemporary furnishings inside.
This establishment is long on charm but just a touch short on cuisine… which is why I hesitated and couldn’t award four stars. But it is obvious from both the service and the food, that the chef and his staff are trying hard. Overall, we had a wonderful experience here and would return to give it another go.
The wine and cocktail list is very nice and there are plenty of options for all tastes. We enjoyed our glasses of rose while our servers described a few specials. I opted for the hamachi crudo with blueberry-​lime composta. My husband’s charred octopus was spectacular but sadly, I cannot say the same of my appetizer. The small pieces of hamachi were room temperature and on a hot end of summer evening, one would think the raw fish would be served chilled. To me this was a huge misstep since raw fish should be served cool to the touch and with some acid. The lime citrus flavor was obscured by what I can describe only as the filling you might find in a blueberry pie. It was thick and sweet and just didn’t pair very well with the hamachi. That said, the Bronzino entrée made up for the poorly executed appetizer. It was filleted and cooked to perfection. moist and flakey. And the peppers and onions that accompanied it were very tasty. They accommodated my request for a side order of broccoli rabe which was fine. The duck entrée over succotash seemed to be a big hit with my hubby.
Dessert was really the star here. We ordered the twice baked carrot cake with cream cheese frosting flavor gelato topped with a delectable caramel sauce. The cake was really a loaf of carrot cake. incredibly moist. What was spectacular was the absence of frosting. The gelato that accompanied the cake was the perfect addition to the cake and the sweetness and tartness cream cheese frozen dessert really paired perfectly. Our friends had a sampling of the gelato and the flavors were divine. Even the hot coffee was very good.
The front of the restaurant features a trendy bar scene and a lighter menu. There is seating on the patio which is a plus. The service is very professional even if the experience of their young staff shows a little. All in all, a fine dining experience in a cute setting. I would love to return and try some other menu items.

Savona is one of the very best, period. The service is impeccable. The food has never failed to impress. The ambiance is great and the service is always top-​notch.
Savona has an amazing wine selection, and a great assortment of drinks. The bartenders are professional and can make anything your little heart desires.
The food is delectable, and the menu will never fail to impress. Having eaten here numerous times, everything on the menu will impress and anything featured will blow your mind. If the featured items don’t tickle-​your-​fancy the dover sole is always stellar. Fish is cooked perfectly, served table side, and the sauce is a decadent masterpiece.
You are doing yourself a disservice by not eating at Savona.

We went to Savona last week for dinner, and overall it was not well executed. My sardine first course was pretty good, but my wife’s grilled octopus was horrible. The octopus was not cooked properly, either the grill temperature was too low, or the fish was just not good. Either way, it was a charred chewy mess. My lobster roll was pretty good but not exceptional by any means, and my wife’s scallops were ok but the risotto was overcooked, not seasoned well, and greasy.
The service was a bright spot in typical French fashion we were asked several times about our meal, but overall its hard to justify the price of a meal at this place given the amateurish execution and cost per head.

Very very nice. Recently moved back to the burbs from Philly and have always wanted to try this place. It was very good.
Had the octopus. Was a bit slimy for my taste but all in all not that bad. Had the duck breast as the entrée and it was phenomenal. The only other duck that I had that was better was from the now defunct Avance. I would definitely get it again. My wife had the scallops and risotto. The scallops were literally cooked perfectly and the risotto they give you is sweet and filling — but may be a gut buster for some.
My only cons are that it took quite some time to get my first drink and after that the two scotchs that I asked for they were out of. They did give me a higher quality one though for a cheaper price. I’d still expect a place of this caliber to have ample stock of common drinks.
Service was spotty as they had a new guy and there seemed to be a lot of missed communication.
The parking lot was full of high end snobby main line cars like Ferraris and Porsche’s and Maseratis but don’t let that dissuade you. There definitely was a LOT of pretentious conversation going on in this place that certainly made us roll our eyes a lot. I’ve certainly had nicer dinners in the city but for the burbs this inst a bad place.

I hadn’t eaten here in a long time (since before Unilocal), and I always remembered how good it is. Well, I went back recently and was not disappointed. Great service, a good wine list, and excellent food including superb Bolognese. Yummm.

My fiancé and I had dinner there last night and it was excellent. I had the roasted winter vegetables to start and then the duck breast – both were seasoned perfectly and so delicious. The latter was probably one of my favorite dishes ever. She had the polenta and ham dish followed by the bistecca (steak), which was cooked exactly to her liking. We ended the meal by sharing the best soufflé I’ve had in a while. For drinks, I just had a glass of scotch and a Bordeaux. The service was great as well and the food came out and a comfortable pace.
We had gone to Savona before about two years ago and it was just ok then. But they have really made a lot of improvements. I was so surprised at how good the food was last night. We live in center city and usually go out to the restaurants there. But we were on the mainline and wanted to get dinner after seeing a movie. We ended up at Savona because it was a 1000 point option on OpenTable. Needless to say, we will definitely be back soon. Their food last night rivals any of the best restaurants in Philly.

Savona is our favorite restaurant, period. Everything is exceptional. Try the chef’s tasting menu. They have an extensive wine cellar as well.
Unilocal seems to have this restaurant miscategorized. It’s a very upscale French influenced restaurant. You pay top dollar, but the whole experience is reliably great so it’s totally worth it.

I ordered a chicken caeser salad for take-​out. I received two tins. One tin with wet iceberg lettuce and dressing. The second tin contained a chicken drum. Yes, an actual chicken drum — but accompanied by a plastic fork and knife! I then began the journey of cutting the chicken drum to create my chicken caeser salad myself. Turns out, not only was it too difficult for Savona to create the salad but also too painstaking to cook the chicken! I’ve added a few pictures for reference.

We have mixed reviews about Bar-​Savona. I really like it… My husband «doesn’t think it’s that great». I’m pretty obsessed with their brick chicken… I will go back and order it again for sure. The wine pour was minimal, the atmosphere is Business or Über romantic stuffy. The main dining room has a different menu that is pricey with a wonderful cheese cart. I look forward to going back to this restaurant but I’m not sure I can convince my husband to take me.
If you love olives order them on the appetizer menu they give you a huge bowl of them.

Super good food.
Beautiful room.
Service was a little weird — a couple of very young teenagers, basically trainees, doing their awkward best. It was ok, more amusing than anything else.
The staff did make a big phony spectacle over «presenting the Dover Sole», in its copper skillet, to one person who ordered Dover Sole. Also amusing.
But the food was great, and I would definitely go back.