Core De Roma

This was the WORST DINING EXPERIENCE OF MY ENTIRE LIFE!!! I am a resident of West Chester borough and have worked and dined in the restaurant business for over 15 years and would never dream of not tipping or refusing to pay a tab but this was over the top bad service and the food was worse than the bad service. We waited for an hour past our reservations
while we watched the owner greet walk-​ins who were either friends or family grab a table before us. After we mentioned it to the «hostess» who was drinking a glass of wine he finally seated us «a party of five» at a little cramped table for 4 with a seat on the end. Our waitress approached us with a what do you want attitude. We ordered water and asked for wine glasses it was a BYOB and she was like uhhhh oh yeah sure. We later had to ask the busser to get us those glasses because she never came back except to take our order. When she took out order she left and we never saw her again until she made an attempt to drop the check. Mean while our food server was rude because we joked about no room on the table for our appetizers (by the way if you want to pay top dollar for three paper thin slices of meat and a ½ wedge of cheese this is the place to go) their antipasto appetizer is a disgrace!!! Mussels were under cooked, pasta way over cooked, very mushy and tasted like it sat under a warmer for an hour. It was bland and tasted like a flour reduction. When the waitress brought the check we had expressed how terrible the food was (4 out of 5 dishes were not edible) she said wait here and I will be back. She came back and said well we comped the salad but that is it. Unfortunately for the busser, who we later found out was new, regretfully after we unleashed our frustration on him. He was the only person who showed any kind of remorse and concern and made a great mmattempt to rectify the situation. While we’re stood up at the desk waiting for the «manager» who turned out to be the half intoxicated «hostess» to settle the matter, I began to explain to him what went wrong with our service and he began to cause a scene by yelling that I was yelling at him. My boyfriend was in total shock and began rattling something I am sure was unsettling to him in Italian which caused him to take a seat. I then told him this was the worst food and service I have ever experienced, I tried to get his attention on more than one occasion to rectify the situation but as the restaurant emptied out, their concern was more focused on cleaning up the joint than servicing their customers. He was both mouthy and rude. We paid the a majority of the bill (I was not about to pay for the appetizer and salad), tipped the busser and left the restaurant and went to Tecca up the street where we had the most delectable appetizers I have ever had. This owner/​host what ever he calls himself should be ashamed of his behavior and his business. I will never go back nor would i ever recommend anyone ever waste their time in this establishment. If you want great Italian food try Fiorellos café or Teca but please do not waste your time or money in this establishment.

We put in reservations for 8pm on a Saturday night and waited an hour to sit down. The table they had for us sat with the last customers dishes and glasses for almost 25 minutes while we stood around and the manager asked us all if we were the group of 8 to be seated there. Beware when you put in reservations… they don’t count for much unfortunately.

Started off with white bread with a bowl of beans in an oil sauce which I loved over the normal olive oil dip. Got the meatball app and calamari to start. Calamari had a pretty mediocre fry on it and was almost white. The meatballs were delicious though!
We got the penne vodka and bucatini pasta and liked both of them. The bucatini pasta was especially delicious to eat but the sauce was kinda acidic so I ended up mixing it with the penne and vodka sauce and loving it.
Got the house dessert sponge cake with a cream filling and fruit and it was kinda mediocre. The house made tiramisu was delicious though!

BEST Italian food around, period. Accommodating, great service, I feel they genuinely care about each of their customers’ experiences. So nice to have a restaurant of this caliber in the vicinity.

Food is always outstanding. Like a real home Italian meal. The choices are also wide and varied. Pasta, meats and seafood are all fresh and well prepared. Only drawback is service can be slow at busy times, but the food generally makes the wait worth it.

JUst outstanding — from the service to the food this place is an excellent Italian restraunt that I am happy to be located nearby. The cook was very accomodating to my spouse, who has an onion allergy. She had the salmon; I had the special — Bresaola over past! FINALLY, an Italian restaruant not afraid to put bresaola on the menu (it is also an appetizer)! This was the best I had in years. BRAVO!

My wife and I stopped for lunch. Meatball appetizer. The meatballs actually melted on my mouth. AMAZING! Linguini with mussels in a spicy red. Again, excellent. The service was outstanding. The prices are great as well. They do anything to accommodate their customers. We highly recommend this BYOB.

So, so good! My husband is very critical of food/​restaurants and is a really tough sell since he hates to part with his hard-​earned money on anything less than excellent but even he loved the food and is still talking about it. Absolutely delicious! Looking forward to going back. (And no, I’m not an employee, friend or relative of the owner as suggested by another reviewer. It’s possible that not everyone agrees with you or had the same experience.)
We didn’t have a reservation but they found a spot for us even though it was a Saturday night and they were busy. (Definitely make a reservation.) We were disappointed to learn it was a BYOB (my favorite kind of restaurant, btw) but the owner very graciously poured us each a glass of red wine. We felt like we had been welcomed into an Italian home. Restaurants make their money on the liquor so I think BYOB’s need to charge a little more for the food or they couldn’t be in business. Fork over the extra 4 bucks and enjoy! If you’re the impatient, cheap-​food type, Olive Garden would love to have you.

Tasty Italian goodies. Try the artichoke appetizer.

We chose this location for our Valentines Dinner with another couple. It was our first time here and had gotten and read mixed reviews. We were seated promptly and received immediate attention from our waiter and also the owner.
we tried the Calamari and Mussels appetizers and were satisfied. White sauce for mussels was yummy.
For dinner we had the lobster crab meat gnocchi and mushroom ravioli both flavorful.
Atmosphere was average but did not experience the loudness discussed in other reviews.
We will definitely be back.

Not impressed. The food was quite bland. The service was not attentive at all. I felt like the poor waiter was rushed, and had way too many tables. The Tiramisu was mushy. It was incredibly loud, with quite a few groups. Will not be going back.

Dinner was great. Matriciana and the Lasagna for dinner. Grilled Calamari for appetizer. Our desert was home made, I have no idea what it was called, but it was good. Our service was great. One caveat, groups like to go here, and if in the back room it gets extremely loud, especially when the group couldn’t care less about the others in the room.
The staff didn’t do anything to shut them up and we didn’t feel like making a scene. I can tell you, if you want a quiet evening, call ahead to see if there are any large groups, maybe avoid that time slot or make sure to get a table in the front room. There was another large group there, who were respectful of the room.
All in all, we do like this joint, but after a third time having to eat through having to hear some loud mouth drunks, I’m going to have to give them a call ahead of time.

This place relocated from Philly to West Chester. The quality of the food tells the story. The apps were very mediocre. We ordered the meatballs, antipasto, and calamari. The meatballs and calamari had no taste/​seasoning. Very bland. The antipasto was good, but nothing outstanding.
Our entrees were all under seasoned or over oiled. The flavor lacked in each dish. Not worth mentioning. I do not recommend

Mediocre. I wanted to like this relatively new restaurant, but, I won’t be returning. The meal would have been average for a diner. In fact, I’ve had better prepared Italian food at a Greek owned diner.
We used Unilocal to select this establishment… in my opinion, the owner’s friends, relative and creditors must have posted raving reviews — strictly my opinion.
Not returning… a waste of time. A waste of money.

Luigi and Joe are the best hosts! Our Christmas dinner was spectacular (party of 18). Food, service and ambiance was above and beyond! Great Place! Expect only the best!

Over-​priced, mediocre food. Very disappointed. Spinach salad drowned in vinegar dressing, white bread (not italian bread), my fettucini was bland, my wife’s veal leathery, my espresso tasted like instant coffee, and even the biscotti that came with the espresso was stale. Worse, the bill came to $ 80 (no drinks except one espresso). I ordered the fettucini special thinking the price would be close to the $ 16 for the fettuccini on the menu. It was $ 24. The teeny bit of tasteless espresso was $ 4.
This was our first time at Core De Roma. We picked it out based on all the good reviews here on Unilocal.Was definitely our last time. Makes us lose faith in Unilocal reviews.

favorite BYOB in the general area! This is restaurant that delivers a great meal in an unrushed atmosphere.

1) Whatever you do, DONT forget to bring your bottle of wine, or two. It is your right as a Citizen stepping into Italy for the evening!
2) Order the gnocchi for an appetizer, you wont be sorry.
3) The service is on the «put on your pajamas and stay the whole night!» variety.
4) Don’t actually wear pajamas. In fact, people get DRESSED UP for dinner here.
5) it’s so yummy. go get your Saturday dinner reservation on the books.

I was happy to see this restaurant opened in West Chester after hearing about the success on South Street. Walking up to the door, a window outside peers into the kitchen allowing me to see the cooks hard at work. When you first enter there is a long bar, which is odd because it’s a BYOB restaurant. We sat down and noticed that it was quite loud, but due to the acoustics as the place was only about half full.
We had the fried calamari and mussels as appetizers. The calamari was nice but came with a fantastic red sauce with a small kick of spice to it. The mussels were a bit small. I had the braised oxtail for an entrée which fell off the bone and tasted delicious.
The waiter and owner were very pleasant and attentive throughout the night.

I visited Core de Roma last night with my parents to celebrate my new job. It is very nicely decorated inside, with a wonderful ambiance and candles on each table. Romantic! However, I felt it was a little cramped.
Our server was attentive but we felt rushed, to be honest. It seemed like they wanted us to get out of there so someone else could have the table when we left. We did have reservations, though!
Food was good. I had linguine alla pescatora which had lots of yummy seafood including tender calamari. The pasta was al dente which is A+ but they used spaghetti instead of linguine which was weird. My mom had linguine and clams and enjoyed it thoroughly! Dad had the same as me and the only complaint he had was that he wish his dish had more broth (he likes to dip his bread into the broth!).
Overall, a nice meal and a nice setting.