Andrew Smith

Great old school South Philly Italian Restaurant. Delicious. Wait staff were friendly and efficient. Food excellent.

Alan Cauble

Our trip to Philadelphia was to go to a Phillies game and we had a great time. However, one of the biggest highlights of the trip was our dinner here, at Villa Di Roma. It's located on 9th Street in "The Italian Market" and the street alone set the tone for what was to come as we entered this restaurant. The decor was old school, it made me feel like I was on the movie set of a good mob movie and/or Frank Sinatra was about to walk in. The service was fantastic and the food was amazingly authentic Italian. We started with an order of Garlic Bread which was mouth watering good. I ordered the Sausage & Peppers and Renee had Chicken Marsala. Our meal was flavorful and felt like "My Nona" cooked it. I'm not Italian but my "Grandma" was a great cook. I'm not sure when we will return to Philadelphia but whenever that is we will definitely return to Villa Di Roma.

Ace Asim

We celebrated my sister’s birthday at this wonderful Italian restaurant, and it was an unforgettable experience. As foodies who love Italian cuisine, we were impressed by the no-frills, straight-up delicious food that truly hit the mark. What made the evening even more special was the exceptional service. Debbie, our waitress, went above and beyond to make sure everything was perfect. Not only did she provide spot-on recommendations and create a warm, welcoming atmosphere, but she also stepped up in a way that showed her genuine care and dedication. Her thoughtful actions during an unexpected moment of need made all the difference and left us deeply grateful. A special shoutout to Debbie for her kindness and professionalism—she truly embodies what great hospitality is all about. Additionally, the gentleman at the bar kindly took care of our birthday cake upon arrival, ensuring it stayed fresh for the celebration. We will absolutely be coming back to this gem of a restaurant. The combination of incredible food and heartfelt service makes it a must-visit for anyone who loves authentic Italian dining!

Jake Hudgeons

By far the best Italian food in the Philadelphia area! This was my second time here, and I gotta say NOTHING beats this place. I was with a large party of 9 family members, and they treated us all like family. The meatball appetizer was to DIE FOR! There pasta and main entrees pleased everyone in my family. We all just couldn’t believe how delicious the food was. I will absolutely come here again. If you’re looking for ICONIC, and DELICIOUS food, this is the restaurant to visit. It’s a invigorating experience!

Jenn Gray

Excellent food! We were a big group of 10 people but the service was competent and friendly. The bread didn’t stop, the gnocchi was delicate and fluffy, the fettuccine ricotta was covered with cheese, the lasagna was delicious and the meatballs and red sauce spaghetti was an easy choice. Prices are descent ands servings are huge. Recommend!

+6

Gabrielle Henrichs

The food at Villa Di Roma never disappoints. This place is such a great family friendly spot, where they really treat you like family. Every time we go, we see Mary the bartender and have waitresses/waiters that are very attentive and kind. You can't go wrong with the chicken/eggplant parm, or any of their seafood dishes which are always good. The restaurant is pretty big and a bit loud but you rarely have to wait very long. Saturdays are the only days they take reservations but walking in is always an option and normally don’t have to wait for a table for very long.

Greg Mester

It is soooo good. My 9 year old demolished her ravioli before I was done. Don't forget to ask for a side of meatballs and garlic bread. Totally recommend. Bring cash. Now 11 year old finished everything.

+1

Justine Hulbert

These were hands down the best meatballs I’ve ever eaten. I should have stuck with them from appetizer to entrée but we ventured out and tried new things. My husband got the fish special and the pasta was perfectly cooked and it was an amazing portion size. It was a tad oily but he was very satisfied. I got a pasta dish with veal and chicken and tbh I didn’t see any veal (maybe it was mixed in with the sauce) and the chicken was kind of cubed and dry. Not my favorite dish but good enough to take it home for leftovers! Our waitress Michelle was so sweet and also part of the wonderful Italian family who owns the place. We will be back!

Sara Parente

Came here during the week and had a great meal. We ordered ravioli , baked rigatoni, tuna Sicilian and meatballs. The star of this place is definitely the meatballs. They also have a full bar. Cash only, and make sure to check the bill before you pay.

Jeremy Yowell

Tried out Villa di Roma with friends on a bustling Thursday evening. Overall I had a great time, with tasty food and good service. The dishes we ordered were solid Italian fare, although nothing I tried was particularly noteworthy. It was also a little confusing to know where to go to get seated when walking in. Would come back if friends wanted to visit again.

+11

Ani H

We stumbled upon this place on a Thursday evening and were able to get seated within five mins. It’s a lovely, family run, traditional, authentic Italian restaurant. We checked reviews before ordering and decided to start with mussels red (they were super tiny but the sauce was flavorful) and the fried asparagus (6 little pieces for $8 I think). Wouldn’t get either of those again. For entrees, we got ravioli and meatballs (8/10) and the seafood linguine (7/10 a bit too salty). Everything is fresh and made to order so that’s nice. There’s also a bar inside if that’s your thing ;) Also, cash only.

+1

Raymond Tuttle

I've been there twice now, and twice I have been underwhelmed with the food. I am not Italian, but I grew up in Utica, NY and had authentic Italian food almost every Sunday, so I think I know my stuff. This time around I had pasta with olive oil, garlic, and anchovies -- a simple, classic dish. Ingredients probably cost under $3. The menu price was almost $20. Pasta was not home-made, and not even particularly good quality dried. I suspect the anchovies were anchovy paste, but I am not sure about that. Garlic was raw. Flavors were given no chance to blend -- was anything even sauteed? Mamma mia, this is a dish I make at home at least once a month, and I am sad to say that mine is so much better. I was told by a friend who lives here that I have to go to here, and maybe it's worth going to because of the homey atmosphere, but the food is desperately overpriced, given the quality.

Luigi Botta

This review is for our only experience my fiancee and I had at this cozy, respectable, and classic neighborhood Italian restaurant back in JULY 15, 2023. Whenever I become fond of a place, trust me, I nearly always rate it FIVE stars here on Google. I unfortunately cannot do this for this place. I will explain on the Service paragraph. I will focus on the food part first like I believe I am supposed to. The food was definitely delicious. Its owners are NOT wrong whenever they claim its cuisine is authentically Italian-American. Since we were already tired of gravy sauce coming down from New York City, we chose seafood instead. We started our food journey here with some cheesy garlic bread and Shrimp Scampi. It was really to die for. We accompanied them with a Peroni beer to water these down. The entrees were so much better, of course. My fiancee ordered Chicken Lorraine with Rigatoni pasta because she saw the lady next to us eating that dish. Again, we refused gravy because we already ate it back in NYC. She was enormously satisfied with her dish. I was with mine too. I ordered a Pasta Di Linguini, which is a House favorite. I did NOT regret it at all. Like I said in the paragraph above, they DO serve authentical Italian-American cuisine. The service Ronny provided us contributed to make it more authentic, but Carol diminished everything he was striving to build with us. Ronny is an amazingly attentive gentleman who does his best to accommodate your needs. Carol, on the other hand, seemed like she was NOT comfortable serving a Hispanic couple like us and she did not hesitate to demonstrate it. Carol wanted to rush us to order despite we had NOT read the menu. She acted like she was TOO busy to take care of us because she was conversing with the other patrons seating in front of us. When she bought us our entrees, we asked her to please take a picture of us with our meal. She refused us TWICE claiming she was "too" busy. We expressed Mr. Pippy DeLuca, the restaurant owner, our disatisfaction with Carol. We told him we wanted to leave a tip for Ronny but NONE for her because of the way she treated us. He understood our situation and told us we did NOT have to leave a tip for the service; which really pained us because Ronny came economically undone as a result. We had to withdraw money from their in-house ATM because one must pay them in cash. That specific part of their service is still back in the era when they started. Just like the atmosphere of the restaurant. Besides the deliciousness of the food, the atmosphere of the restaurant makes you want to enjoy their delicious cuisine right there. It definitely takes you back to the times Mr. Pippy's parents founded the restaurant. The lightning at night is appropriate for patrons to immediately feel welcomed at their restaurant. The DeLuca family, as veterans of the neighborhood, truly show you the scenes of an Italian-American restaurant. You immediately feel inside a mafia movie like The Godfather Part I (1972), Goodfellas (1991) , or The Irishman (2019). We enjoyed the ambiance even more when we ordered a Tartuffo to share with our coffee. Despite my disatisfaction with Carol's service, I would still give this amazingly classic restaurant another try on a future visit to Philadelphia. I would just refuse Carol serving me because I do not give my business to a prejudiced individual. However, I would only ask for Ronnie to serve me some of those delicious Italian-American dishes this place has earned its reputation for. Next time, I want to try their VIlla Salad, Ziti & Meatballs, Shrimp Scampi over Linguine, Sausage Genovese, Veal Bella Bucca, Chicken Neapolitan, or a Steak My Way. All these at their classic atmosphere.

+6

They've forgotten the "hospitality" part of running a restaurant. There's no welcome when you enter, no host, no feeling that they even care that you exist. Villa di Roma serves a genre of food most people can make better for themselves at home... So what are they offering if not service, hospitality and ambiance?