Chiarella's Ristorante
1600 S 11th St
Philadelphia, PA 19148
Philadelphia, PA 19148
We ordered some calamari which was tasty but nothing special, some toasts with spreads that were skimpy and not impressive and aracini. Because the server who took our order then gave our order to the owner, the arancini was mistaken for something else and we had to send back the dish and repeat again that we asked for arancini. Maybe if they had actually written the order down, this couldn't have happened. It finally arrived and the aoili it came with was better than the arancini itself.
For entrees we had a angel hair with pesto which was okay but boring and nothing special; a pasta dish with lemon cream and shrimp that was way too lemony (overpowering and bitter), a few pork specials (which was pork rolled up with cheese and spinach I think) and a pasta dish with sausage.
The pork special was $24!!! And it was tiny! Everyone agreed that the food was mediocre but the prices were RIDICULOUS! Especially since it is right next door to DaVinci's which is far more reasonably priced and consistent in quality.
I give the owner props for trying to fix the place up and it seems like it has a tiny glimmer of potential. But honestly, if he wants to make this work, he needs to hire good servers & let his servers to their job and not it for them, hire a manager who actually knows what they're doing, and keep his kid off the floor. Right now, the whole operation is unprofessional and sloppy.
There are just way too many amazing places on the Avenue and even more amazing Italian places in South Philly for this place to be a contender.
PLEASE don't waste your money here.
