Messy had read about this vegetarian and vegan friendly Italian restaurant in a free magazine at the gym, so we decided to go one Friday night. We walked in and were greeted by a cheery maitre d' who asked if we had a reservation. We didn't, but it was no problem. He also asked to take our coats. We weren't used to this request and chose to take our coats to our table. He then asked our preference of menus: vegetarian/vegan or regular and we chose one of each. We were lead upstairs to a large dining room which was outfitted with a gas fireplace and disco/party lights which were not in use (it looks like one can rent out that room for parties).
We were seated in a cozy table next to the fireplace. There was a cute family with young children seated next to us. They happily gobbled down their food (they have a kids menu with about six different choices) and excitedly yapped about going to Starbucks for dessert afterwards. We opted to order off the grown up's menu which was presented in a nice silver metal binder. We were told that they were just about to overhaul the menu due to the success of the veggie/vegan options on the current menu, but when we went back last week that change had not yet taken place.
The service was outstanding. Our server and two assistants were attentive while giving us enough time to enjoy our meal. However, they did mess up our bread which came with straight balsamic instead of olive oil with a splash of balsamic infusion. We thought they must have realized their mistake because they gave us an extra serving of bread, which we had not asked for, with the right balance of oil and vinegar. But when we went back for a second time, we got two servings of bread as well, so maybe it was just a fluke. Also, the second time we were there, our server accidentally gave a non-vegan meal to our vegan friend, but she noticed her mistake before any harm was done.
We had a vegetarian antipasto which came with fried mozzarella balls in marinara sauce, ricotta cheese ravioli in a mushroom cream sauce with peas, diced honeydew and canteloupe and strawberries, raspberries and blueberries. All very good.
Picky had the lobster ravioli carbonara with wild mushrooms, peas, prosciutto, parmasean, lump crabmeat in a cream sauce. There were more than enough ravioli to fill him up, no worries about skimping on the good stuff. For our second visit, he tried the penne a la vodka, a very simple favorite of Picky's right up there with gnocchi a la vodka (just about anything slathered in creamy vodka sauce will do actually). It was in just as heaping a serving as expected from our first visit, but he did not fail to gobble it all up along with an ample dose of freshly shredded parm. Along with the parm our server brought out, we were also given a small dish of hot pepper flakes (like the ones that you put on pizza), but nobody touched those.
Messy had a hard time deciding among all of the vegetarian options. She settled on a "chicken" penne dish with spinach, artichokes, mushrooms, garlic in an alfredo sauce. The portion was big enough for a family of four and it was very tasty. For our second visit, she tried the vegetarian chicken parmesan which was also yummy although not as plentiful as the penne.
The only disappointing part of our meal was dessert. The tiramisu was small for its $7 pricetag and something about it just tasted… off. The dessert also came with some strawberries, raspberries and bluberries sprinkled on the side. The next time we visited, our dessert was also kind of weird: a brownie baked in a muffin tin. Maybe the family next to us knew about the not-so-hot desserts when they excitedly headed to Starbucks instead.
On our way out, it was about time for the neighborhoodies to come out to the bar downstairs. It was packed with South Philly hipsters starting off their night. We were just passing through, but it looked like a pretty cool area with pool tables and the Violent Femmes pumping through the speakers.
Messy ****
Picky ***1/2
The final word: Great faux meat options in a classy setting.
Vesuvio Restaurant
736 South 8th St @ Fitzwater
(215) 922-8380
Tue – Thu: 5pm-10pm
Fri – Sat: 5pm-11pm
Sun: 10am-2pm, 5pm-9pm
