Via Locusta Reviews

If you want a authentic Italian meal then this restaurant is a great choice. We had the rosemary focaccia, paparedelle and garganelli- all dishes were well prepared with interesting flavor combinations. The wine list is Italian and offers many options at different price points. The location and atmosphere are wonderful in addition to the food.

We went for SIPS, and unfortunately, got there right when they stopped seating. However, the kind manager found us a table that had a canceled reservation. The table was perfect, as was the restaurant. Very nice atmosphere and SIPS menu. We would love to return for an actual dinner.

I love it! Ordered the swordfish and NY steak and they taste good to me! The gelati comes with honey and cherry and I highly recommend it!

We had an early dinner before a show. Got to take advantage of happy hour for drinks and shareable plates. I usually can pass on the bread, but the focaccia was way too good! Branzino for my main meal was one of the best dishes I’ve had. Very welcoming place and staff!

We went here for an early dinner before heading to the airport to go home, and were delighted to find it was happy hour (i.e. bargain prices)! The food was good, as was the service, but the real highlight for us was the beautiful restaurant itself: it's situated in old building retrofitted into an elegant but relaxed room, with really flattering lighting. It's a very comfortable place to unwind and we really enjoyed it a lot.

Seated at 5:45 in a covered outdoor table on a beautiful fall evening. We were able to order off the happy hour menu and full menu. We shared several small plates. The pasta was cooked perfectly. We enjoyed the papperdele with pork ragu and agnolloti. Be sure to get the focaccia with three delicious spreads. The veal slider was a bit chewy. The roasted artichokes were excellent. Not BYOB which we like. Wine list ok. Our server, Samantha, was friendly, knowledgeable and the meal was paced in a leisurely way but also so we easily made our concert on time. If you want a meal that can be filling or light and near the arts area, this is a great choice.

We came here on a Sunday for dinner. The inside was open for seating, so we were excited to finally see the interior. Our server, Java’s, was very knowledgeable and polite. He helped us pick our food and wine choices. We started with the vitello tonnato. It was an arugula salad with green and yellow waxed beans with tender pieces of veal. It was perfect to share. I ordered the quadretti ravioli. It was ravioli stuffed with a very special mozzarella in a butter sauce. Delicious and a large portion. My husband had the suckling pork. It was so tender on the inside and crispy on top. Very delicious. We can’t wait to comeback.

Homemade pastas, unique sauces. Cozy atmosphere. Had the swordfish, and steak both were terrific. Save room for dessert. The salted caramel chocolate cake was incredible! The huckleberry tart so good! Have been twice already, going back to try the salted chicken entree.

Top food. Top service Top ambiance Very impressive Service was very friendly and efficient Well set up outside with heat lamps during COVID Very professional staff A very well run restaurant We will return!!!

TOO LOUD! The decibel level was off the charts & even the outdoor seating had speakers blasting music. People don't go to restaurants to listen to music; they go to enjoy conversation & good food. A fine menu destroyed by a painful level of noice.

We made a reservation online in advance. They confirmed the day before by text. The service was good and the food served was delicious! We recommend the bread and the burrata cheese to start! Only criticism would be that it was rather noisy!

Went before COVID a few weeks after they opened. They have a few outdoor tables (now only outdoor dining with about 130 capacity on sidewalk and street not the nicest atmosphere).

I was very disappointed with the restaurant. While the menu options sounded incredible, the dishes didn't deliver. The ricotta gnocchi with lemon sauce tasted like dessert to me. There was an excessive amount of sweetness in the sauce that truly spoiled it for me. The broccoli appetizers had a strange sauce over it that did not enhance it at all. It was too salty and detracted from the taste of the broccolini. The pasta with mushrooms was okay and so was the green salad. I had hoped for a much better experience.

Absolutely Delicious! Ate outside on a beautiful day. Only got what was recommended. Cucumber salad is delightful and could be a lunch entree. It has a bit of a kick at the end in terms of spice but that just makes it better. The tomato penne is very fresh and tasty. I left nothing behind. The recommended Nero red wine was pushing me to go buy a fiddle across the street. Just excellent all around. Kudos to the Chef and to Javas for his impeccable service.

We had a nice brunch at Via Locusta..some interesting menu options and drinks…at 10:30AM everybody was having cocktails in this place…service could be better…staff has to be more customer focused

The menu looked really good. But the broccolini appetizer was mucked unnecessarily with a garlicky brown sauce, and the polenta was over salted. The gnudi were... simply not right: too salty and too garlicky. The agnolotti were good but too salty. The green salad was good. Service passable.

We came here on 10/04/25 for breakfast. There was no one else in the place when we arrived and as we left. We ordered smoked salmon bruschetta and also the cheese omelet. The cheese omelet was supposed to have cheese as well as asparagus. It had neither. The accompanying salad was supposed to be dressed with a vinaigrette. If it was, it was undetectable. The smoked salmon bruschetta had plenty of smoked salmon but arrived with two cold poached eggs. We will not be back. Too bad because we previously enjoyed dinner here.

What a delight. I went out for a dinner with my daughter and her boyfriend. They have been raving about the restaurant, so we finally got to go when I was visiting. The food is anything but ordinary. It's so nice to go out for a meal I can't make better myself.(I am not bragging, just like well-made food). The focaccia, the asparagus with a crunchy topping that I realized was bacon (outstanding), a delicious beet salad, cacio e Pepe, a DEE-licious branzino (yummy sauce) and a perfectly cooked NY strip that one of us ordered. Even the dessert was wonderful; strawberry mint sorbet and a hazelnut mousse dessert (not sure since it wasn't mine) was also delicious. I was really impressed that the food I really like was elevated to something special. I am a fussy eater and don't like crazy unusual ingredients, so for me, this was a really wonderful meal. I also have to admire the staff. They are well-trained and professional and not all over you. They take your order, bring the dishes and disappear without hovering. The restaurant itself is a lovely spot, not huge and nicely decorated. I told my daughter that of all the restaurants in Philly, I like this best.

We booked a reservation for a Sunday night dinner here. Turned out to be a great choice. The service by Samantha was on point. Very attentive, engaging, and knowledgeable about the menu. John, the manager, was also very engaged and attentive which helped to make the experience good. We had the Tuna Crudo which had a great mustard and lemon juice undertone, the Little Gem Salad with a Gorgonzola dressing, and the Suckling Pig. The food was outstanding; very flavorful with all the right notes. We paired it with a 2002 Chateau Musar that we brought. The corkage fee of $50 is a little stiff, so make sure you bring a bottle of wine worthy of that type of corkage fee. They do have a very nice wine list although like most places, their wines are young and most of them either need more bottle age or should be opened much earlier in the day. Industry issue, not a restaurant issue.

Quality of food was absolutely outstanding-As with service. Javas Was so friendly helpful and made her experience wonderful. Every dish delicious and perfectly balanced. Drinks are also delicious. Pasta was handmade reminded us so much of eating throughout Italy. The whole vibe and Decore of the place is beautiful as well. Would come back just to go to this restaurant. Ten stars.

I don't visit Philadelphia that often, but I do try to visit Via Locusta whenever I do! The food and service is consistently amazing! I had the focaccia with three delicious spreads and Doppio Ravioli with fig and gorgonzola. I enjoyed dining outdoors, which they have perfectly orchestrated. My server was personable and helpful. I can't say enough good about this experience!

Service was really great. Food in general was amazing. Appetizers, main course and dessert amazing. Burrata and octopus great. Ambience was nice cozy place to have a nice dinner.

I almost hate writing this review as I would like to keep this place to myself. We came to via Locusta on a Sunday at noon for lunch. We asked for a table in the shade, and were provided one. The staff were all very pleasant and informative. Our server, Nicole, was wonderful. Our starters were the snapper crude as well as the eggplant. Both were excellent. The eggplant was a nice sized portion, perfectly lightly fried in pieces that resembled steak fries. Moist inside with the perfect accompaniments. The snapper crude was spectacular. Light, melt in your mouth with the most delicious sauce. We felt like we were back in Italy. Our entrees consisted of the paparadelle with pork ragu as well as the casarecce with lamb confit. They were both perfect. Again, large portions even though it doesn’t look like it at first. We can’t wait to go back and try different things. I had a glass of sparkling rose and then a glass of Chardonnay. They were both very good. If I had one suggestion, it would be a better pour for the $16 and $15 prices. We will be back as soon as we can.

The Chianti wine was so delicious. We had several starters that were very tasty. The crab spaghetti and the branzino were cooked to perfection and tasted very good. I plan to visit again when I return to Philly.